5 Reasons

In my last post, I wrote about creative collectives and why businesses should consider hiring one for their next project. But here’s the thing…collectives aren’t just great for clients — they’re great for creatives, too.

Without further ado, I give you five reasons why you should consider joining a creative collective.

Behold!

Community, collaboration, and networking

Creatives often thrive when they can collaborate and network with other creatives. But this isn’t always an option, especially for those — like freelancers and contract workers — who typically fly solo.

A creative collective can fill the gap by providing a ready-built community where you can collaborate on projects, network with other creatives, attend weekly workshops, and provide (or receive) mentoring in your area of expertise. It’s a great way to expand your network, improve skills, and increase your value.

Access to resources and tools

If you’re a freelance or contract worker, you know how difficult it can be to access (and afford) the various resources and tools you need to be successful. Thankfully, many creative collectives offer things like shared workspaces, app and software subscriptions, and even group health benefits to help reduce individual expenses and improve productivity.  

Increased income and financial stability

Real talk: we creatives know a thing or two about financial ups and downs. Regardless of how talented you are, when the economy hiccups, creatives are often some of the first to get laid off and lose income.

A creative collective can help offset some of those challenges by giving you (and the work you do) more visibility and providing access to new clients and projects. And because collectives have less overhead than most agencies, they may even be able to turn their cost savings into increased income for collective members.

Schedule, location, and project flexibility

Prefer to work from your sofa? Splitting your time between home bases in different time zones? Looking for bigger and more extensive projects to dive into? No problem.

Creative collectives are all about flexibility. Most are hybrid or 100% remote, meaning your office space can be anywhere so long as you have access to a laptop, power, and wifi. If you get your work done and don’t miss key meetings and deadlines, the world is your oyster. And whether you want to take on quick one-off projects…or something more extensive with a full creative team by your side, collectives can definitely make that happen.

Credit where credit is due

Your team just completed a really big project. The client’s thrilled. High fives all around. Soon, samples of your work are live on the agency website. And…your names are nowhere in sight. Sound familiar? This is an all-too-common issue and, thankfully, one you rarely have to deal with in a collective environment.

Because creative collectives — unlike most traditional agencies — work primarily with independent creatives, they don’t take all the credit for work done by various members. If you contributed to a project, you can expect to see your name (and the names of your team) attached to the end product on the collective website.

And there you have it!

If you’re feeling inspired, why not stop by the Sheer Havoc collective page, see what we’re about, and maybe drop us a line. We’re always interested in talking to other creatives, like you.