As a teacher, I get nervous when other artists and makers want to follow my exact business strategy. It’s not because I feel it’s proprietary in any way. (If I did, I wouldn’t be teaching it.) Rather, it’s because I have a multifaceted business that varies, sometimes based on necessity and sometimes based on mood.
Right now is a perfect example of this.
I haven’t made much jewelry in the past month, and I probably won’t make much this coming month either. And because I haven’t been making much jewelry (for reasons I’m about to explain) I haven’t been doing a lot of marketing for my jewelry.
I’ve admittedly been breaking a lot of my own rules when it comes to marketing my jewelry, not because they aren’t good rules, but because that’s not where my head is it.
And, because I only have so much time.
Running a multifaceted business means you are constantly making tradeoffs. If I go full force into writing a class (like I did this summer with Sell Without Shame) then I have less time to make and market jewelry.
Now that the hard work of writing Sell Without Shame is done, I could put more energy into jewelry again. But right now, I’m not.
What I have been doing is reading. A lot.
I read eight non-fiction books in August and have already finished four more in September.
And here’s where just looking at my business from the outside (or anyone’s business, for that matter) becomes a problem.
I’m guessing that a least a few people are looking at the amount of reading I’ve done in the past or month or so (which is a lot even for me) and wondered “How the hell does she get all that reading done?”
The short answer is that I’ve made time for it.
I’ve plowed through books while on vacations in the woods and added a bit of reading time to my morning workflow. I’ve turned off the TV at night and been mindful of the amount of time I spend scrolling social media. (It also helps that my husband is coaching high school volleyball, so I have my evenings alone to myself.)
But the longer answer is that I’m working less in other areas of my business. I’m making less jewelry right now, and using reading as a way to break up time spent teaching and coaching.
And all of this reading is in service of something.
Right now, I’m in what I like to call a gathering phase. You could think of a gathering phase like grocery shopping before preparing a big feast, or carbo-loading before a marathon.
It’s basically taking in inspiration (and sometimes information) before starting a big creative project.
And that’s what I’m moving towards. A big creative project. In this case, my goal for the fall is to write a book proposal.
This is a goal, that, until this moment, I’ve only really shared with one person. I haven’t been ready to share before now.
And the truth is, I’m not quite ready to start “officially” writing the proposal yet. (Though I do have lots of notes.) Which is probably why I haven’t shared this before now. Instead, I’m luxuriating in the gathering phase.
Now I want to be clear about something. The gathering phase is not about researching the how. I’m not spending my days reading about how to write a book proposal.
The gathering phase is about sustenance for the journey.
It’s about filling my well (a phrase we like to use in Artists and Profit Makers) so that when I do sit down to write, the words pour out of me.
The gathering phase applies equally to visual projects as it does for writing. It could be about visiting museums or nature or putting together a Pinterest board for inspiration. The idea is simply that, by gathering, when you sit down to create, you have something to pour from. You aren’t trying to create from an empty well.
So that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve been gathering.
But I’ve also been worrying. I’ve been worrying because I see people who follow my creative business from the outside and don’t take the time to understand the nuances of what I’m doing. I worry that they are beating themselves up for not reading like I’m reading, or who are confused when I’m suddenly not marketing my jewelry as much.
I’m not worried that they’ll think differently of me. I’m worried that it will create confusion in their own businesses.
I worry that by constantly comparing your business to mine, you’ll have a harder time finding your own path.
Because the truth is, there is no one right way to run a creative business.
And beyond that, unless someone lets us in, we never know exactly what’s going on behind the scenes of someone else’s business.
You may see someone who has made huge strides in her business during the pandemic and beat yourself up about your own lack of productivity, not realizing that shutdowns have meant that her husband is suddenly home every day to provide childcare while you’re stuck task managing Zoom calls for your kids.
You might see someone take a step back or a pivot in their business without understanding the personal shit they are dealing with behind the scenes. You might not realize that a major shift in the kind of art or products someone is producing is not part of some well thought out business strategy, but a visceral response to grief and loss.
You might see me, reading book after book, and feel like it’s some magic key to success that you’re missing from your business.
Spoiler alert: It’s not.
Because there’s more than one way to run a successful business. And reading this much is part of the way I’m wired. It’s how I gather. You might gather by listening to podcasts or taking classes or going shopping or long walks in the woods.
Or you might not need to be in gathering mode at all. Maybe you need to just put your head down and do the work. We all have different needs for different seasons of our businesses.
As a teacher, the way I run my business is not the lesson.
And copying my business exactly will not get you where you want to go.
My greatest fear is that someone will look at what I’m doing and try to copy it exactly. Not because I’m worried about people stealing my ideas. But because I know that it won’t work. Every business is different. Everyone’s art is different. And behind the scenes, we are all different. We all have different lives and priorities and motivations.
It’s why, when I teach, I open up more about what goes on behind the scenes in my own business, but I also encourage my students to find their own way.
It’s ok if you want to use my creative business (or any other) as inspiration, but it’s not ok to use it as a blueprint. That’s like trying to recreate someone else’s house without ever having been inside.
Ultimately, this is why I teach. Because I want to help artists and makers build businesses that reflect their own needs and desires. I want to pull back the curtain on what I’m working on, if only to show that that there is no one right way, because we are all human. I want to help each person I teach or mentor build their own house that’s right for them.
All of which is to say, don’t judge the success or failure of your business based on what you see me doing. Don’t let what I am or am not posting on social media make you question your own path.
Right now, I’m gathering, because that’s what I need to do. And I’m sharing bits of pieces of what I’m gathering along the way, because, well, I want to. It’s part of my creative process.
But that doesn’t mean I’m creating a blueprint that you should follow.
Instead, I hope you’ll remember that you never really know what’s going on behind the scenes for someone else, and instead focus on your own creative business and what’s best for you, and not what everyone else is doing.
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If you need help finding your own path in your creative business, one of the best places to do that is in my online mentorship program, Artists and Profit Makers. It’s also a wonderful place to find support as we head into the holiday season. (In fact, we’re doing a training on holiday launch strategies tomorrow!) Enrollment is open, so head to artistsandprofitmakers.com to join.
