{“She Meant the World to Him” – Image by Studio MME}
I’ve been working with Jess for about a year now and I was ecstatic when she launched this new site. She emailed me to see if I would write a monthly post for you because the site was all about becoming a successful maker and I was ‘successful’.
That work instantly made me scoff.
“I may look successful but I assure you I’m nowhere near where you are,” I replied back.
“But you’re doing what you love and supporting yourself, right?” she retorted.
The simple answer to that is yes. The longer answer means revealing what my friend, Tara Gentile, rightly calls The Dirty Little Secret. All of us ‘successful makers’ have it.
All of those inspirational/crazy people you follow on Twitter or Facebook who rock their business niche, launch something amazing each month, have 10,00 followers, and that many sales, they have it too.
What’s the secret?
No one is ever as successful as you think.
There are always things going on behind the scenes that you don’t know about. Yes, that famous writer may have written 2 best-selling books this year but you don’t know how large her mortgage is, or just how much she actually made from those books. That coach who sells out all of their spots on the first day may have put all of that money toward childcare or college loans.
You also don’t know how many flops every ‘successful’ maker has.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve launched something and had it flop so horribly I wanted to crawl under my bed and hope the world wouldn’t notice how badly I’d done.
On my Facebook, website, and Twitter page, I portray myself as an artist who is constantly creating new works, getting new wholesale orders, and lining up gallery shows. Lots of my customers ask if they can come visit my studio. I do my best not to laugh because if they only knew what my studio looked like, they wouldn’t ask to visit.
You see, while I DO make a living doing what I love, my studio/office is the kitchen of my one-bedroom apartment. (Of course, being only 3 years out of school and living in Silicon Valley with my boyfriend – who is pursuing a graduate degree – means I can’t do much better than my one-bedroom, which costs over $1,000 a month.)
So while some artists have other artists as their studio mates, mine are a fridge and plethora of printers, tables, pots, and pans. This last year I pulled in enough money to cover my business expenses, living expenses, retirement savings, insurance, taxes, and THAT’S IT. I squeaked out evenly. And yet, I’m ‘successful’ when you see me on Twitter or Facebook.
So why did I just reveal my dirty little secret?
I think so many people quit their creative endeavors too soon because they compare themselves to the ‘successful’ people they follow.
But that’s silly because you’re comparing your reality with their scripted/public reality.
What you should be doing instead of comparing yourself to Jess Van Den or Megan Auman is comparing where you are now to where you were a year ago. How have you grown? How has your confidence changed? How do you feel?
Despite having squeaked by last year in terms of finances, I absolutely feel like I am on my way to being a truly ‘successful maker’ because I have no intentions of giving up. You’re only a failure when you give up so as long as you keep trying, you’re a success.
Just think of all those people who don’t have the courage to do what you’re doing. I’d bet some big money (as big as my rent) that those people think you’re a success.
After reading this post, I hope you do too.
