We can only be who we are. The best version of you is the one that is truest to your core. What just feels right. The you you cannot and do not want to ignore. Mostly, it is the you you do not want to ever apologize for and are willing to defend even in the face of the harshest criticism.
I hear all the time: “I love [you fill in the art – taking pictures, designing spaces, making invitations, arranging flowers, etc.], but I am really not very good at business” or “I have been in business for [5] years. I don’t have any business education and I always feel like I am just winging it.”
There are many experts telling you what you need to do to run your business: write a business plan, make sure you have great (i.e., onerous) contracts, have more than one option for your clients, be all things social media, network, plan some more, create boundaries, be available 24/7. It gives me a headache. No wonder most creative business owners feel like they are not doing it right or that they just are not very good at business. People are trying to give you a formula when you spend your life as an artist not being constrained by rules.
I am most certainly not saying that the business advice you receive is not valuable. It is. But, like any information/education you receive, it has to be in the context and the fabric of what works for you, your art and your creative business. The advice has to help you get closer to yourself, not further away. The power of any advice should be to inform you, never decide and definitely never shame you. Only you and you alone should have the power to construct your creative business. If you allow anyone else to dictate how and why you do things – whether literally or as a voice in your head — you will never feel whole because, at base, you will be an imitation. Better to be yourself. Always.
It is very simple. The best business model for your creative business is the one that works best for you. The one that is truest to your core. The one that just feels right. The one you will never apologize for and are willing to defend even in the face of the harshest criticism. Yes, exactly as you would wish you and your art to be.
Bryan Rafanelli charges for his events like a law firm – hourly billing. Preston Bailey charges a design fee for his events. Vicente Wolf a percentage of the cost of his design for his interior design projects. Which one is better? Wrong question. Bryan, Preston and Vicente are all incredibly comfortable with how they do things. Their business models reflect who they are as people and artists. Works for them, may or may not for you.
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Agreed. Like anything else in life, what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for the next. However, I do think that having a business plan, contracts and all help me stay focused and disciplined in such a creative environment.
great advice. it is very difficult to try and focus on the technical side of a business when we would much rather think about the fun creative parts, but it is necessary. and if it fits us we will be more likely to think and act on the business part 🙂
I totally agree with the principle that we can only be the our best self and so need to do what works, but i think you also have to take into consideration the larger environment that you operate in and tailor your creativity accordingly.
As a commercial and consumer photographer, if i tried to charge consumer clients the way i do my commercial clients ( because this model reflects me better and i’m more comfortable with this option) I would be shooting myself in the foot, because consumer client needs are entirely different from the commercial clients and the end use of the product for consumers are also different, even though i’m selling the same product to both parties.
I completely agree, if you don’t have the inclination, time or energy for business planning and execution then you will hate it and do it wrong, when forced to. BUT, having said that, you have to have some acumen. Having a little is a success to failure.
I can manage the accounting, pricing etc but I am terrible at marketing myself. And it is this lack of talent in marketing that is killing my business at the moment. The reason for this, well I don’t have the brash outgoing personality type that will let me feel confident about being conceited and talking about myself. Yes, I think that is what it takes when you are selling yourself.
I like your blog, not commented much but am reading more and more to try and find the answer that suits me, that will help me talk about myself/market myself in a way I am comfortable with.
Do you have any pointers for me please?