Dear creative,
The good news is, running a creative online business doesn’t require much physical work. Whether you’re painting, designing, illustrating, or writing, these are generally tasks you can do anywhere from the comfort of your home to a nearby Starbucks. The bad news is, it seems easy because it’s hard for people to measure the emotional energy that can leave a creative mentally drained, exhausted and worn out by the end of a long day.
Being successful is simple but not easy, and there lies the confusion.
You’ve seen the income reports, traffic reports and launch successes from VARIOUS online creative entrepreneurs seen as experts, myself included.
I know the ones who are deeply passionate about what they do don’t share their success for show. It’s not about “hey look what I can do” it’s really about “look what YOU can do because I’ve done it.”
We all start from the bottom. We all have gone through some form of adversity. So sharing a success story is about, “if I can honestly do this after ALL I’ve been through, so can anyone else.”
If anyone knows how hard being an online entrepreneur is, it’s the ones you consider experts who started before Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Periscope could propel our brands.
As a creative and influencer, so much heart and passion goes into what we do.
We burn out so you don’t have to.
We do trial and error so you don’t have to.
We take the BIGGEST risks so you don’t have to.
When you hear experts say “skip the trial and error” it’s not just a line we feed people. It’s because we know.
We experience trial and error every single day to give you the best content. We create with a glimmer of hope that people will actually like what we serve. We test it out on an audience who trusts us. We experiment. We create with passion but sometimes execute with uncertainty. We hope people don’t throw virtual tomatoes at us. And when it works? It’s a sigh of relief.
And depending how daunting the experience was, we’ll talk about it (a lot) then package it up and sell it.
When you hit a certain level of “success” people will expect specific things from you. The trials become riskier, the room for error becomes smaller, and more people start paying attention with expectations from you. You’ve now set a precedent in which you’re not expected to go beneath.
You’re not allowed to talk about your success or else you’re bragging.
You’re not allowed to be transparent or else it’s not transparent enough.
[Tweet “Talk of success makes people uncomfortable when it doesn’t fit in their parameters of approval.”]
You’re expected to cater to everyone. (Hint: You only need to serve who you feel like serving.)
And the worst part of doing trial and error is when you bust your ass just for someone to rip it off. Life of a creative. Not so easy.
It takes a lot for us to dig in our past for others to feel more secure. So we affirm that security by letting you see the good parts. The parts that don’t include anxiety. The parts that don’t include depression. Because we want to see you pushing through.
I’m personally sorry if you’ve ever gotten the impression from me that the life of a creative is easy. It’s not. But it IS simple. And I do my best to simplify it because I want you to know that it is attainable. I don’t want to scare you by sharing more struggle stories than success stories.
I’m not gonna hit you with overkill about the bad parts because it’s still so good. The “bad” parts become less and less. The “bad” parts are worth it.
The truth is, I’m scared every single day. A wave of fear rushes over me, but I push anyway. And it’s the most amazing fear I could ever experience because it’s worth something.
I get it, you guys. I get it on the highest level. I started as an 18 year old, first generation American girl from a West African background. I wasn’t looked at as the “oh so powerful millennial”. Nobody was checking for me to succeed as a creative. It was just go to school, and make your African parents proud.
Everyone has their adversity no matter what it is.
Your struggle may be single mom with 2 kids.
Your struggle may be $30,000 in debt.
My struggle was the “only exceptional people can be successful without a degree” speech. Over. And over. And over. Do you know what that does to someone’s psyche? How many different ways can someone be told they’re not good enough?
We. All. Struggle. Do the work anyway. Simple.
Not easy. But simple.
You don’t do it because it’s EASY, you do it because it’s fulfilling. It’s worth any adversity you could ever endure.
7 years of fear.
7 years of doubt.
7 years of mental exhaustion.
And as you go on, you just tack on another year. It does get better, though.
We’re “experts”, but we’re human. We’re creatives. We’re doing the best we can. And no matter how easy we make it seem, we of all people know that it’s not.
Keep pushing, anyway.
XOXO,
The expert creative who is just as scared as you are.
THEE story of my life. Funny I started a draft post today (as I ducked and covered myself from all the debris of life crumbling around me lol) titled, “A look into my past 6 years”. One of my fav Les Brown quotes is, Anything worth doing, is worth doing badly until you figure out how to do it right. In other words #KeepGoing 🙂
Rook what an awesome quote to live by! So spot on too. 🙂
Wow. Such a powerful post Maya. I’ve not been able to catch your live scopes lately because I am always at work. But I wanted to say : I am so proud of what you’ve done and achieved despite being told over and over again that you would not make it without an “education”. Growing up in Ghana, I got the impression that you became an entrepreneur when you failed at school and had nothing else to offer society. I’ve known better these past 3 years. As someone who is finally beginning to rise above the water as a solopreneur, yes it is NOT an easy journey but it is one that is SO worth it !
I finally got my first 2 social media clients this week and I cannot tell you how GREAT it feels to get paid after putting in all the work, self-education, trial & error NOT to mention the tears I’ve cried for the last 15 months. It sure is worth it to see that job-free income ! Thanks for sharing Maya.
Congratulations, Gertrude! I am so happy to hear about your new clients! Thanks so much for being transparent about your journey!
I do not think you know how much this post meant to me. I have been looking for ways to share a my story a little more. People always tell me they don’t know how I do with 5 children and a husband. They tell me I make it look easy and that my life seems perfect. They do not understand how many nights I cried because I didn’t get a break or how its a struggle to shower alone. It took a lot of structure and discipline to get to the point to where I can say I balanced it all out. There are moments when hiccups happen. I need people to understand that no it is not easy working from home with a 1 year old attached to you. I make it work because I want to help other people who think it is not possible. So again. Thank you for this!
This blog post is what I needed. Not saying I believed that being an entrepreneur is easy but the fact that you are just as scared as am to disappoint your audience is the transparency I needed. Thank you for this Maya.
Dear Maya, I can’t even begin to say how much this post meant to be. I’ve just recently been starting out as blogger and want to transform it into a business in the near future, but reading all the “how I made 6 figures from blogging in less than 90 days”-posts really up the pressure I put on myself. That is, until I read your post. I love your realistic, butt-kicking but still so lovely-human approach to teaching. You really helped me put things into perspective. Thanks for being you!
Can’t wait for my next GetPaidChallenge!
x Mona
This post really spoke to me Maya. And the more I search your site the more I am truly inspired by how you are able to be so personable and honest in how you speak to your audience. This post will definitely stick with me as I continue along the creative entrepreneurial path and learn what this path truly has in store for me and for others. I am so grateful for people and blogs that are able and willing to help others find their way in this area. Thank you for all the hard work you put in to help us!
Such a beautiful post. Love the vulnerability. Creatives are some of the most lovely spirits in this world. We can’t help ourselves but create and change. I understand the fear you speak of – five years ago I sold my life to live in an RV with my husband and 4 kids. The fear was like a fairy tale giant. My heart could hardly beat, yet my spirit knew it was the right path.
I love connecting with other like minded creatives. There is such empowerment when we journey together. Thanks for sharing your journey.
I love this so much Maya! You hit the nail on the head about the parameters of one’s approval being the reason why they feel disdain by the “experts.” As much as I despise the word, I definitely think there are industry leaders who offer great insights on what it takes to be successful. Amazing article!
Love this! Being a blogger/business owner/inter/editor/content creator/everything is hard work! Thanks for the inspiration!
Maya this post speaks volumes. The journey of an entrepreneur is not easy, but it’s SO worth it. I love the transparency and vulnerability in your post because it highlights that we all experience fears, self doubt etc. However you keep pushing because you understand your “why” and that you’re operating in your purpose. Thanks for this post!
Maya, thank you for this. I needed to hear it! (Seems like I say that about everything I read/see from you)
Hey Maya, Thanks for being honest. Your line “it’s hard for people to measure the emotional energy that can leave a creative mentally drained and exhausted” rings true. I just want to say thank you for being inspiring, I appreciate the stand you’re taking!
👏👏👏👏👏