I'm lucky I get to meet so many creative business owners and freelancers. More often than not, when they share their creative process with me, the way that they speak is beyond passionate, it's waxing rhapsodic. I feel so lucky to be let it on the organized chaos in their minds. More often then not, I also get to hear them lament about their self-professed ignorance when it comes to running a business.
Doing business is not easy. And now more than ever, it seems like the idea of steering your own ship has become so romanticized. There is shit ton of people who post inspirational quotes on social media about being a boss or following your passion or some shit like that. I'm not trying to dump on these people for the sake of being an asshole. I'm saying it because I want to help creatives realize that business is also a creative process. And if you're figuring out how to monetize your skills, that is a creative process. It's going beyond the point inspiration to take action, learn skills, keep learning skills and creating something - making something exist in the world.
In a time of insane technological advancement, where you can make a product or develop a service and then market it to your audience, and utilize new technology to do so - that is a creative process. If you're figuring out how to market your skills to the exact audience you need to speak with, that is a creative process. If you're figuring out how to create multiple revenue streams by hobbling together your various skill sets, that is a creative process.
Whatever your craft is, figuring out how to create a sustainable business is an art in and of itself. Yes, there is the science and data of it all, but realize that's part of the technical skills required for the craft. A dancer needs to learn technical skills to dance, a designer needs technical skills to design and musician needs technical skills to play or compose music. Learning that vocabulary is the baseline for the creative process. Without it, what you can create is limited. The more expansive your vocabulary is, the more articulate your creativity can be. Same with business. The more you learn, the better you become. That feeds your business, which allows you to continue to learn and create and spread your message.
So don't short change yourselves. Don't say you don't know what you're doing. There is a whole damn hive mind (the internet) that is here to support you along the way. And if you're still in business, you're acquiring the technical skills you need and building the team to support you to continue to create. And if you're not, go read some inspirational quotes about never giving up.
Keep on creating. I love you all.
