What Does It Really Take? Part I
Going freelance or starting a studio is the gold ring many creative pros reach out for, but what does it take to make it a success?
I had to reach out to my LinkedIn account to verify if I had the number correct. I thought I knew just how long I’ve been working on my own — until I didn’t...which was right now. When I think back on my answer to the question, “How long?” I’ve mainly responded, “A long time”, and I’ve been doing that...well, for a long time.
My gut reaction was a decade, but I realize that number has been my standard answer for a while now. So, after crawling through my profile, I found the actual answer:
I’ve officially worked on my own or worked on our studio for 13 years now.
Why the wonder? Well, this question comes up a lot in discussions with students. Working on our own, whether freelance or as part of our own studio, is seen by many as the pinnacle of our creative career. Almost like a rite of passage, the creative pro will often move along a linear career path — holding the self-employed effort as the most coveted spot on the journey.
What does it take, though, to turn from the main path and start up our freelance career or a studio? I’ve identified a few areas (more to come in part II) we need to tackle as we head off on our own.
Risk
The first two traits we need to address right out of the gate are risk and fear.
Risk is at the heart of the entrepreneurial spirit. When we head out on our own or team up with people, we are engaging in risk. There is no safety net in this decision. You are saying goodbye to the predictable and stable (for a while) — paychecks, health care, vacations, 401k, etc. For those of us who find more comfort in stability, risk can be the thing that turns it all upside down before it even gets started.
Taking risks is an essential skill to develop, though. Much like fear, it will always be an uneasy activity to engage in. And, that unease, unfortunately, does not go away.
The interesting thing about risk, however, is that the more you do it, the more adept you become at it. The act of risk-taking can be honed like a tool and used for our benefit. How? By embracing risk we can identify real opportunities that align with the things that are important to us. Instead of living our lives being risk averse, we can spot new opportunities that will take our careers in different, meaningful, and delightful directions.
Fear
Fear should probably be at the top of the list, honestly. Taking a risk is the first step, but fear is our constant companion when we go our own way.
It’s interesting to note that fear comes in varieties (flavors??). There is the fear of failure, the fear of where work comes from, the fear of being left behind, the imposter fear, the 3 am fear, the fear of irrelevance, the fear of taking on employees, the fear of clients, the fear of letting go of employees, fear...fear...fear.
When I said that fear is our constant companion, that wasn’t a lie. It sits perched on our shoulder every day, rearing its ugly little head at the most inopportune times — even striking thoughts of terror into our hearts out of seemingly nowhere (welcome to the 3 am fear).
Yet, for the entrepreneur, fear is also essential. It’s a great motivator and can become a tool that we can leverage in certain times of need. For instance, when we need to keep moving forward on a project, regardless of things being tough with a client or appearing bleak because you’re not getting the results you want.
How about the fear of not having enough work? That can be the thing that sends you running back to full-time employment, but what if you can learn to use that fear? It could be the thing that gets you to the next series of jobs that keep you doing what you want.
The thing to remember is that fear never goes away, but you can live with it, and you can learn to use it.
Persistence
It took me three tries to get a studio off the ground. The first two times I simply didn’t understand what it took to run a business. So, they (I) failed and I went back to full-time employment to lick my wounds.
Yet, persistence is what kept me moving forward from my first attempt to my third. Most people would have given up after the first attempt, even more after the second. So, why even try a third time? Simple, I knew that this was what I wanted and where I needed to be…for me.
I do good work, but I am not a great employee. I have a very hard time working for other people’s visions. Don’t get me wrong, I’m building other people’s visions every day, but the master vision (for our studio) is, in part, my own. I have the determining voice on how this business moves forward.
Persistence can be a driving force, but it needs to be tempered. If left unchecked it can make you a relentless individual — obsessed with achievement and accumulation at the expense of everything around you. When focused, however, it can give you the determination to keep going. Persistence is about the long game, the far-flung vision so to speak. You often hear it in this context, “He was persistent throughout his career.”
Determination
Persistence and determination are closely related. While persistence is about a longer view of the future, determination is more like a sprint, an intense bit of focused energy that gets you over the hump you’re currently facing.
The creative pro/entrepreneur needs to have determination and learn how to use it as a resource. It’s what gives us our drive to achieve short-term goals, like getting a project across the finish line or setting and making quarterly sales goals. Those short-term goals, when stacked up become the foundation of your long-term vision.
These four traits are just a few that will help to determine success or failure in reaching the ultimate goal of being self-employed. In Part II, we’ll look at a few more traits we need to focus on as we get ready to go our own way.