I started my business a couple years ago, and when I took some time recently to review, comparing where I am to where I started, I realized I feel pretty good about what I’ve built, what I’ve offered, and who I’ve become along the way.
There’s lot of growth + learning still ahead (as always), but for now, here are some of the lessons I’ve learned so far in this early breaking-through stage of business-building:
1) The business isn’t the thing. It’s the container for the thing.
The *actual* thing is the work + art + magic (that my business holds, supports, and facilitates). When I’ve mistaken my business for the thing itself, it hasn’t gone well. Remembering the actual function of business (+ where it belongs in the matrix of work + life) helps me ground into what matters + then direct my attention accordingly.
2) Building a business (at the least the kind I want to build) takes time.
In my experience, business is a slow + organic build. Because business is an alive thing built on relationships + networks nurtured over time (supported by qualities + skill-sets + sensitivities developed over time). So nothing’s gone wrong when it takes longer than we thought. Growing things require a lot of nurture + a lot of patience.
3) Business is a call + response relationship with the world + with others + with self.
So much of business-building is trying something + watching what happens. How do my people respond? How do I respond? How does this feel? What happens in the world around me when I do this thing (compared to that one)?
Tracking these layers of responsiveness has been key. For instance, I began deepening + developing my art in response to the excitement + interest I received when I shared some of my just-for-fun paintings. Another time, I offered a couple of group programs after I noticed I was feeling a little stale + stagnant doing just one-to-one work, which opened up a whole new set of possibilities in my work.
Listening, noticing, and responding (and then doing that on repeat) is what business is all about.
4) Marketing should feel good.
It should also probably feel uncomfortable + terrifying. But it should never feel gross.
There’s all sorts of advice out there about how to sell + market, and I spent way too much time trying to figure out the “right” strategy. Ultimately, I decided that I was only going to market in ways that felt good in my body + right in my soul.
If people choose to work with me, I want it to be because of the depth + clarity of my signal, not the cleverness or pushiness of my marketing.
I learned too that marketing isn’t just about promoting my work + making money. It’s about being the person I want to be in the world. It’s about clearly transmitting what I have to offer in ways that (I hope) make people feel good + connected + hopeful, regardless of whether they take me up on my offer or not.
It's a beautiful process of connecting with my people + sharing what matters to me + getting to know people + making no-pressure invitations. And, at the deepest level, I want that to feel good, life-affirming, and coherent for all parties involved.
5) Business matters.
There’s something life-affirming about entrepreneurship + small/local business. These smaller, more direct models of commerce are spaces where we can share our values, shape culture, prioritize + uplift what capitalism normally devalues (like art + care + connection), and imagine new possibilities.
Our businesses + entrepreneurial endeavors are an opportunity to do so much good in the world. And that's a beautiful thing worth doing.
To my fellow entrepreneurs: I’m cheering for you!
And also sending gratitude to everyone who’s cheered me on along way too .