Someone I adore asked me the other day about my business plan as a writer/creative. My reaction was to laugh.
I heard of it, I know what it is, I understand it’s intention and how valuable it can be and yet, time is my excuse. With my limited time spent doing unto others, my actual business plan as of late has to be “Say Yes”. I cannot justify saying no to free books, amazing opportunities to promote others, to volunteer and give back to the literary world and I truly do love every bit of it. This is my dream, has been my dream since I was five years old, yet my priorities elsewhere limit my time and have me prioritize what is easier and a sure thing versus taking risk on myself.
So no business plan except that I intend to make a living writing full time eventually. For now, my family comes first as often as they, and my schedule, allow and then my stable income because… food… And, as much as I love my full-time gig, my inbox floods everyday with new job opportunities more inline with what I love that I ignore. I’m not ready to make that leap into self-dependency so I make excuses, work a schedule, miss out on a lot of networking and learning opportunities and pave my own path while continuing to hope Karma shows up.
I’ve also been contemplating my “expertise” and tend to mock the idea that I would be able to teach anyone anything. Yet, while talking with my son the other day about his grit, I realized that’s something I have. Persistence, grit, determination and a drive to keep chipping away with the energy I have left over. Depleted from doing unto others but… Karma is real, right?
So I believe this might be my first blog of the year and really the first writing I’ve done without a deadline, except for January when I regularly wrote morning pages which were then abandoned. So I want to know…
As a creative, do you have a business plan? Do you know your expertise and have you taught it? Do you feel like a fraud or know your value?
Thanks for reading and, in advance, for commenting,
Sarah Butland
Feb 152023