Perhaps you’re a coach, healer, or intuitive…
Who are you?
Are you an…
Entrepreneur?
Or an artist?
This distinction in and of itself is a profound understanding if you feel you identify as an artist rather than an entrepreneur.
And if you feel like you’re spending more time managing than you are doing meaningful work?…
Then there is good news.
You have a choice that can shift and reframe how you view managing so you can do a lot more meaningful work.
You see…
A lot of coaches, healers, intuitive’s & creatives I have worked with inside this space are spending a great deal of time “managing” their business and don’t like that part of their business
They secretly reject it because it doesn’t “feel” right or they don’t see it as a part of “who they are”…
Or they’re not GOOD at the multiple roles necessary…
And I reeeeeally get that.
However…
To me, this is like wanting to have a baby but not wanting the responsibility of feeding it and changing its diapers.
It’s like wanting the rainbow without the rain.
I’m not saying don’t “outsource” mundane tasks or non-talents.
The Dangers Of Outsourcing The Management of Your Business
But outsourcing the “management” of your business is dangerous.
Possibly even irresponsible.
Here’s the challenge with it (and the solution)…
You see…
There’s an idea entrepreneur’s don’t abandon.
And that is there is a wide margin of difference between creating and producing.
Artists create.
Entrepreneurs produce.
Now…
Most artists create without any regard for “demand” in the marketplace.
They project their story, talents, and curiosities onto the market where it usually falls on deaf ears for one of two reasons.
1: Either it’s the right message in front of the wrong audience.
#2: Or it’s the wrong message in front of the right audience.
Sometimes luck plays its part but this is why I hear of so many “starving artists.”
People may hear you, see you, or read about you but that’s not enough.
If the right people don’t hear, see, or read the right message or offer at the right time…
Then this is where tragedy happens.
FYI…
This is coming from someone who is an “artist” at heart myself, classically trained violinist, guitarist, piano, writer & photography.
Entrepreneurs Are Artists Who Practice A Deeply Spiritual Ritual
An entrepreneur’s sole intentions are to produce what there is already a demand for in a faster, easier, or unique way so as to stand out from the competition (perhaps even creating their own category).
And they get passionate about that, not so much the “artistry” of the mechanism.
It’s usually so they can sell the business for “X” multiples and then move on to the next “adventure.”
And yes, there is an “artistry” to this process and I feel it can be deeply spiritual.
It demands the best of the entrepreneur while they divorce the idea of trading time for money and instead…
They divorce their identity from their results…
And they marry an idea with a demand and meet it with resources, human capital, and innovation.
It’s alchemy at it’s highest form from my perspective.
You see…
One of these is a business-like arrangement but the other is not.
But…
The One Word Artists Can Use To Create Entrepreneurial Alchemy…
There is one word that turns the artist into a co-creative entrepreneurial alchemist.
And that word is “responsibility”…
Taking responsibility for the most crucial aspects of your “baby business” so that it doesn’t just survive, but so that it will thrive, may look like this…
Objectively look at:
Does your “coaching & education artistry” actually meet a demand in the market?
If not directly, how can it?
And when you do identify that demand…
– How well do you deeply understand your markets emotional makeup?
– How interested in your audience’s understanding are you?
– How much time do you continue to invest in that understanding on an ongoing basis?
– Does your artistry and its benefits meet their emotional desires and demands?
And if so…
Stop selling what you do and start selling what your prospects want to get, keep or get rid of…
This can be tricky to understand and I’m not doing it justice here perhaps, but…
My point is, most coaches and creatives put these kinds of “eggs” in after the cake is baked and that’s why it doesn’t turn out so well.
And I get it…I don’t like “rules” either.
But like all relationships, intimacy IS understanding.
And in “artist marketing”, I believe it’s the frequency and intimacy that causes us to fall in love with our audience (and them to fall in love with us or our mission too)
And when you’ve got it dialed in…
You’ll know you’re on point because you can predictably generate revenue every month.
And revenue in terms of you and your business surviving and thriving is as essential as a young baby being fed and nourished on a regular basis.
Even though it requires “changing diapers” in your business too.
The Reality of Possibility and Partnerships
In my opinion, and as someone who has seen what it means to take a coaching practice from “0” to 7 and 8 figures per year…
No one is going to come in and want to “save” an artist because they have a good idea or are passionate about what they do.
Most investors I know in this space are looking for “responsible” artists & budding entrepreneurs with a proven offer and predictable revenue that the investor can help clean up and scale-up with the right resources.
This means doing $10k to $20k per month predictably, with leads to consistency, which is born from doing it consciously…not accidentally.
And from my experience that takes someone who is willing to take responsibility and “feed the baby” and “change it’s diapers” so to speak in order to get there.
How To “Really” Make A Living With Your Passion…
I saw Jason Silva speak in Los Angeles recently and even he said, leading with your curiosities that overlap and meet a “need” in the marketplace is how you make a living with your “passion.”
Not leading with passion alone…
That’s dangerous and your outcomes are more based on luck than leadership.
I’d say even better is to allow your interests to overlap a “demand”.
The problem I’ve found with building a business on passion alone is that passion is a feeling, and feelings change.
Entrepreneurs in the context I’m speaking about, are all about being committed to something larger than the artistry alone and certainly something more tangible and immediate than a utopia of “a better world for all”.
Like solving a big problem for a segment of people and serving them with what they feel they want to get, keep or get rid of in their lives.
This is why Emerson said, “Do the thing and you’ll have the power…”
This is why he also said, “Commitment is doing the thing long after the feeling has left you.”
And this, in my experience is why scaling “artistry” in business is a finicky thing and should be handled…
…responsibly.
Oh and btw…
I’m in no way making anyone “wrong” for being an artist.
I consider one myself STILL…
I’m just pointing out where one can either take and lean more into responsibility so they can eventually relieve themselves of those aspects through strategic partnerships within the business and outside of it.
And…
This is explained beautifully by someone like Joe Abraham and his Entrepreneurial DNA concept where he shares how different entrepreneurial types can partner with complementary types to grow and scale.