The greatest creative work of your professional life will not be for your clients. It will be for you.
And it begins by deciding who to become.
The greatest creative work of your professional life will not be for your clients. It will be for you.
And it begins by deciding who to become.
Manifesto
You are not your business
It’s easy to get confused on this one. Yet. You are not your business.
It is a separate entity there to serve you – to ensure you always get paid. To make sure you work with the best possible clients.
To look after you when you need to walk away for a month to reconnect with what matters most in your personal and creative life.
Your business should protect you from burnout, not cause it.
Your business should free you creatively, not force you to compromise (again) because you need the money.
It is there to free you from the routine, the ordinary and the expected.
This is the business you must build.
You sell value, not deliverables
You will never be fairly compensated for a logo, a layout, a design solution, or a brand package.
You will never be fairly compensated for a photograph or concept art or a custom typeface. And you will never be fairly compensated for your time…
… as long as time is what you sell.
You must sell value. Because value is the only thing that’s ever sold and bought fairly.
You are Warhol
Warhol. Gaga. Jay-Z.
All in 100% control.
Because being a business owner means you set the terms for your creativity. That alone opens doors other creatives never even knew were there.
I want you to blow up the idea that creativity and business mastery are incompatible.
That’s a toxic and destructive myth.
Turn your back on that myth and become a fully-empowered, creative business owner. Because…
You are the brand
Vanity Fair’s editor doesn’t say, we need a photographer.
They say, we need Annie Leibovitz.
You don’t want your clients to say we need a designer. Let them ask for you by name.
This will happen when you claim and prove your expertise.
Do this often and clearly.
That is your brand. Your earning power, your value to your clients, your ability to pick who you work with – all of these will rise as your brand rises.
You are more than a project worker
The greatest stability trap you face as a professional creative is relying solely on project work.
You better position yourself when you have multiple streams of revenue.
The freelancer who does this is the freelancer who never worries about the next client.
This is the work of an entrepreneurial freelancer.
You do the work
Consistency.
Showing up every day to do the work.
Committing to your artistic and entrepreneurial growth. Serving your clients with generosity.
That’s how you get there.
It’s not sexy, but it will separate you from your peers. It will distinguish you in the eyes of your clients.
In the long run, showing up is what will get you the results you desire because it’s what matters to your clients.
And you might be shocked to learn just how rare that actually is!
You become The Expert
You are dedicated to developing the skills the market needs.
You are dedicated to becoming a remarkable problem solver.
You are dedicated to becoming an exceptional contributor to your clients’ goals.
You will achieve all of this by becoming The Expert.
This will require you to be increasingly ambitious for your craft, your business and for yourself.
It begins now
All of this and everything it brings is a journey.
If you are ready, it begins now and I’m here to help.
I can’t predict where it will lead you, but for me, it has been a remarkable experience and I believe it will be for you too.
Ready to take your next step?
