The coming recession. All things Trump. Unyielding competition. Slowing business. Upheavals in the industry.
All of it, intentional or not, is meant to strike fear in your creative business. Meant to cause you to act from a place of temerity and over-inclusion to avoid the perils of being left out of the bomb shelter when the world comes to an end.
Needless to say, I hate all of this energy and, worse, those who would prey on these fears in the name of good business advice.
Then I hear, “Well what about the 2008? Don’t you remember how painful that was?” No doubt, the moment when we all faced financial collapse was devastating and people did stop investing in creative businesses. Just not for nearly as long as many creative professionals claimed. 2008-2013 was the single biggest boon for ultra-luxury brands. Ever. Umm, the IPhone and all things mobile launched in 2007. While many creative professionals were deep in their fear, others realized the world did not implode but was, in fact, changing underneath their feet. They reaped all of the rewards when their clients wanted to invest in the transformation the creative business owner offered.
So here we are again. Fear mongers telling creative business owners that volume and revenue matters more than profit. Better business falls away in the name of do what you can to get what you can. Principally, there are two things wrong with this approach.
First, most creative businesses are looking for twenty or thirty clients a year. Those that are looking for more are working at a different scale and value proposition. Needless to say, I do not know many creative businesses looking for more than five hundred projects per year. If you are going to get crushed because you cannot find the twenty or so people that most want your art, blaming it on the coming recession or increased competition is a great way to not look in the mirror. Most likely, it will mean that you, your art and your creative business are easily dismissed because you have not done the work to be truly distinctive.
Clients will hire a cheaper version of you BECAUSE you have validated the idea that a cheaper version of you is acceptable. You did this when you made it about price, negotiated your fees, formulated ridiculous packages so clients could “compare” — all things driven by fear. See, fear makes you hide, it makes you derivative, it makes you marginal. Act marginally and do not be surprised when you are eliminated — marginally. Instead, work on why the twenty or so clients you need would be fools to choose anyone else. Here is a safety tip — focusing on doing the thing everyone else has to do — beautiful, stress-free — will not cut it. You have to own what makes you, your art and your creative business, well, you, without apology and without compromise.
Second, fear makes you stupid. When you are worried that the sky is falling, you refuse to look up. Instead of working on your core, the strongest part of your business and trying to figure out how to further leverage it, most often you try a “lite” version of what you do which, inevitably, is not based on your strength. For Interior Designers, styling instead of color consultations. For Event Professionals, Day-Of-Planning instead of almost any kind of consultation (venue, design, catering, entertainment, etc.). In the name of security, you choose to run away from what defines you, your art and your creative business. Quite literally, you open the door to those that will focus on that strength.
Do not think me Pollyanna or out of touch with the realities of the world. The threat of recession is real and competition is fierce. Of this, I am fully aware. It is just that my response acknowledges fear but is not ruled by it. I act from a place of intention, acknowledging the diversity of intention.
You can go higher or lower, chase volume or not, but it has to be with intention not reaction. Purpose and conviction above emotion. When you are lost in fear, your reaction will feel like action when it is most certainly not. Digging a big hole you can jump into might save you from the oncoming truck, but you will be left in a very big hole you might not be able to climb out of. How about you just choose to get off the road?
