You Are Already There

For any of you who have created a successful creative business, I would like to remind you that you are already there.  Too often, because of the chair I sit in, I hear, "Well, I'm no Preston Bailey, Vicente Wolf, Joe Buissink, Marcy Blum, David Rockwell, Sylvia Weinstock, etc., but I am doing ok."  Then they proceed to tell me about how busy they are (and in some cases how many millions of dollars, yes millions, they are generating).  I am not saying you should not admire your chosen icon; just that you need to own your own power and the power of your art.  The negative implications of not accepting your station in the marketplace are myriad.

You will not price well.  You will be too focused on your competition and what they are doing instead of what you are doing to evolve.  You will have poor customer service because you will have no boundaries.  You will not go all the way there with your art.  You will have no filter and will take on the wrong clients.  You will have no filter and will be drawn into ventures that will, at best, cost you money and, at worst, implode your brand (preferred relationships anyone?).  You will have no perspective on the intrinsic value of your art and your business, and will be at a loss for what your next step should be.

Owning your own power may not prevent any or all of the above from happening.  But what it will do is give you the ability to act with integrity, from a position of strength.  

Nobody can know the outcome of a decision.  In the end, what you choose to do or not for your art and your business has to come from your belly, regardless of the amount of information you have (and you should have a lot).  If you do not embrace your own power, you will not be deciding, you will be guessing.  No matter the result, not a place you want to be.