Competition

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that my mantra is to do things your way.  Do the work to understand not only the art you want to create, but the ethos behind it.  Make sure that your clients understand how you have come to your process.  If you shoot film, why.  Why you present your completed designs in one thought (i.e., do not allow your clients to talk during your presentation).  How come you install all at once, instead of over time.  Be iconic only to yourself.  Why?  The overall empowerment any artist (or human being for that matter) gets from being as true to themselves as possible often yields the greatest rewards.  This much I have spoken of many times.  But what I have not focused on is what it would be like to be your competition.

In a perfect world, potential clients would only talk to you about their project and no one else.  Reality though says that we live in a shop and compare culture.  Technology has almost made it an imperative.  Thank you Amazon, Expedia and all the other aggregators out there.  If I want to investigate the top ten of any creative business in a category, it will take just a few minutes.  Compare this with 15 years ago, when the same endeavor would take days, if it were possible at all.  So when you take the time to explain the how you are going to take an intangible (I want a fabulous wedding, design, picture, dress, etc.) and make it tangible you put unbelievable pressure on those who do not.

Imagine you are a social photographer and you insist either on receiving an image of your client’s home or actually visiting it.  Why?  Because your image is meant to live in their space – permanently.  If you can explain the importance and your (potential) client gets it, what does your competition say? “Oh, we do that too.”?  Do not think so.  Simple – the more iconic you are, the harder it is for your competition to say “me too but better” without looking like a poor imitation.  The only other thing competition can do is attack the hows and whys of what you do.  Not necessary to go to your home or see a picture of it, it is just a photo after all and up to you what to do with it.  Hard to believe you will persuade a client who has believed in the importance of your process to be so easily dissuaded.  No, the only way to compete with you will be to be iconic themselves, even if the deliverables are similar.

Ultimately, then, this is how all creative businesses can change the game and relegate those without conviction and courage to the sidelines (dare I say, where they belong).  Focus not on deliverables – how many meetings, drawings, flowers, images, designs a client will get for the money, but on how you will go about creating those deliverables.  Yes, sell trust to earn the right to deliver and get paid for your artistry.  When the destination is a given, the journey is all that matters.  If every artist had to defend their journey, there would be no room for those who chose to sidestep the discussion.  Their only alternative will be to essentially make it about price.  I may be naïve, but intrinsic value beats price every time.  Your work has to be to know and believe in the value of your artistry.  Your art will speak for itself.