About this column
It’s been a long time since our last open thread post around here. {An open thread post is one in which the blogger asks a question, then steps back and lets readers fill in the blanks.}
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we as creative entrepreneurs know what our next move is.
Photo by dennis courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.
How do you decide/figure out/discern/intuit/shift into/lean into/fling yourself into the next phase of your business?
I’m assuming that you want your creative enterprise to grow, that you want to build it sustainably, and that you want the next iteration of your work in the world to be an even more apt expression of you and your talents.
So how do you do it? Where does your sense of knowing come from?
Who do you listen to for guidance? What inspires you? Which internal voice do you listen to when you’re figuring out what your next move should be?
I’m all ears and I can’t wait to hear how you do this.
{For bonus points, let us know what your next move is.}
Hello, you.
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
I look at what major players in my industry are doing and then I cut it down to “my size.” I don’t suggest copying the big dogs completely because you have to play to your strengths. They add an app for seamless ordering, I’ll add some code on my site for seamless interaction. Their strength is numbers and budget. My strength is personal attention. Yikes, this looks a lot longer than expected, lol
Hey, Amie {BTW — you have my favorite spelling of your name — hope that makes sense :)} —
I like your idea to borrow concepts/ideas/tactics but “my size” them to you. Good approach for dipping toes into the water and trying things out.
When I came online with Abby Kerr Ink just over a year ago, I started curating a list of “stuff to try” that I gleaned from and observed bigger players doing. So interesting to see that as I’ve grown, some of that stuff has fallen away and some of that stuff has gotten even more rooted in context for me. I bet you’ve found the same thing!
Haha, yes – my parents love Pure Prairie League (lol)
I think as entrepreneurs we get so excited about stuff that we forget our place. Unlike 99% of the world out there, entrepreneurs need to practice some risk management. Just because (big box name) can do it doesn’t mean it will work for you.
The most important thing is to think long term (echo:Alison below) and constantly tweak while moving in the right direction.
I get internal nudges/pulls, generally based on what my ‘Tribe’ is asking me for.
So if, for example, they keep talking about internal obstacles along the self-employment path and mentioning how they feel alone, I’ll find myself repeatedly drawn back to the idea for a full-day workshop about overcoming those obstacles (currently dreaming that up for the autumn of this year).
I then take any idea to my business mentor and think through logistics and sit with it a little longer – so it’s not just an over-excited piece of inspiration but a dream with legs, that I can really see through into reality.
Then step by step it makes it out into a real-life offering. Ahhh :)
A dream with legs . . .
Love that, Corrina! I also appreciate that you acknowledged your business mentor here. As someone who’s just come out of a season of intense, life-and-biz-changing mentoring myself, I realize how key it is to have others help us develop our ideas at some point in the process.
Your Autumn workshop sounds fab!
I used to be really allergic to long-term planning, so I’d always just do the next thing in front of my nose. I felt like I couldn’t predict what would happen next week, let alone a year from now, and so why court disappointment?
But since then I’ve realized that I can’t build strategically (i.e. maximizing the results from my efforts) unless I do more planning. Now my business coach and I have mapped out a year-long launch calendar based on the clients I want to be working with and suddenly I feel like I know where I’m going! Or at least that I have somewhere to aim for.
Hey, Alison —
You said ‘a year-long launch calendar based on the clients I want to be working with. This right people piece was what cracked my own vision and planning open, too. Seems that once this piece is in place, in vivid color, everything else seems to flow out of it. Anyone else have that experience?
You’re right, everything seems to revolve around right people, or even bestest people, as Catherine Caine calls them.
And my next move is an Hours For Art telethon starting April 18, where my right people (quietly rebellious writers and artists) can make a fresh commitment to their creative practice! I’m having a blast making the arrangements because I love all the people I’m doing it with/for.
‘Sup, Abby!
Was listening to you and David crack up on your podcast. Priceless.
Anywho.
How do I know my next move?
1 – I have a 3-word theme for the year. Mine this year?
– Vitamins (Do the same little things every day, for long-term health)
– Value (Focus on providing value, not busy work.)
– Tunnelvision (this was supposed to be a “V” word. :( Means saying NO. A lot.)
2 – I work on projects that need shipping.
– And I have an accountability coach that kicks my butt daily at 11:30am. :(
3 – I reject “the hot new thing”
– I focus on the valuable thing I decided was valuable earlier.
– Or, fit the hot new thing into the context of that larger valuable thing.
4 – To prevent boredom, I work on more than one project at once.
– But to prevent diffusing my potency, I try to make sure they’re kinda related.
Finally – I’m not nearly as disciplined as this list might work.
I’ve just learned to be effective despite myself.
By creating systems (like the accountability coach) that force me to produce. :)
Bolaji.
Bolaji —
SO glad you mentioned your accountability coach. I’ve found that having accountability peers has helped me immensely this year. I like to think of myself as wildly independent, but the truth is, we really do need each other!
I flippin’ love your 3-word theme list! Thanks for sharing it. I can tell you’re going to accomplish all of your goals and then some because of your focus and passion.
I am all about creating multiple career acts. I have many, many interests, and by having multiple career acts I can pursue a variety of things. And, I love the freedom and security that diversifying my income brings to me.
Multiple career acts
That’s a great frame. Do you think of your acts as sequential, like acts in a play, or do you see them as overlapping?
That is a good question. Some overlap, like my coaching services and the products related to those services. I also have an online publishing business where I create websites, drive traffic and sell advertising. And, last but not least, I am a corporate attorney.
I think that embracing multiple career acts provide freedom and fulfillment in peoples’ lives. While I am an attorney, I have lots of other interests, like blogging and coaching. Each career act allows me to explore an interest.
The other huge benefit of having multiple career acts is security. If any of my career acts stops earning me money, I have my other career acts to provide diversity of income.
I had always hoped to be the sort of entrepreneur who plans out her year in advance, with income graphs and work flow charts and all those nifty super-planning tools.
But…
Meh.
That approach always felt so contrived and forced to me, and I often ended up missing the opportunities that came my way by chance simply because my head was down trying to stick to “the plan”.
I create my work (and my schedule) intuitively and respond in real-time based on both internal and external feedback. I trust that I know where I need to go. My particularly challenge has always been rooted in giving myself that final, loving nudge off the cliff of any new project or endeavor.
“I’ve just learned to be effective despite myself.” <—- I'm with Bolaji on this one!
Erica —
Oh, can I relate. I suspect that you have a strong right and left brain balance, like I do {I always test right down the middle}, so our logical and our creative sides are often fighting each other! Part of me loves To Do lists, action plans, and such, and the other part of me just wants to trust my gut and work as the spirit moves me. Somehow, I get by. And you do, too. :)
Thanks for commenting.
Funny enough, this was posted the same day I wrote a post called ‘What the hell am I doing?’ – the equivalent of me digitally throwing up my hands.
It’s this crazy, intangible process. Lots of flailing. No blueprint (sorry, even creative blueprint guides…usually don’t work for You.) Experimentation galore.
I’ve been using a mix of instinct, feedback, and CONSTANT what I call ‘meta.’ Stepping back. Evaluating the action against the big picture. Making connections to what I’m doing on a bigger level, tying in practicality with ideals, quantitative with the qualitative.
My favorite quote I’ve heard lately is from Danielle LaPorte (she may have been quoting someone else, too) – “Throw your dream out in front of you, and walk into the dream.”
What a fantastic quote. I love how imagaic {word?} that idea is. The way you describe your process sounds very well-tooled for your unique way of understanding the world and your work in it.
I learn from the experience of others. I read a lot. I test a lot. I outline a lot (you should see my moleskine, it’s full of chicken-scratch and outlines).
My next move right now is a subscription-based writing program for my niche: Real Estate. Weekly writing advice for their real estate blog. The next step is a membership site, though I’m not sure how that’s going to work (in other words, what platform I want to launch it on, etc). So that’s going to have to wait. And then the third project is top secret…for now :-)
Ooh, the Moleskine. Every writer’s favorite tool. Well, all the cool writers, of course. ;)
Excited to hear about what unfolds for you this year.
I seem to plan my life the way I cook … I look at recipe books (i.e. follow threads, read e-books & real books, listen to lots of people, go to conferences occasionally for contacts & ideas/tools, brainstorm & journal daily) and then I improvise like crazy – trying always to remain in touch and keep a balance between with what must get done to meet immediate goals/commitments and the longer term goals I’ve laid out.
I have many interests also and I’m not very good at following a straight path so I’m constantly in the process of re-alignment, inner clarification and better juggling skills.
Great metaphor, Buff! Did you by any chance see my post on scanners vs. divers {borrowing Barbara Sher metraphors}? http://abbykerrink.com/scanners-love/ Somewhat reminds me of what you’re writing about here.
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