I am an impulsive impatient individual. I don’t have much patience for waiting for things to happen: I jump in and do it myself. When I read stories about other entrepreneurs’ lives, I see what we have in common: we like to do things ourselves, are curious, and don’t wait for answers: we search for our own.
I’ve been a full-time creator for 6 years. Despite being in the health niche, it’s been 6 years that I am deeply interested in how things work in the Creator economy and how I can make my way into it. 6 years of nurturing calls with peers to discuss our business strategies. 6 years of studying marketing, taking courses, reading books, and reading the top players’ posts and newsletters; I am always learning about this universe. I’m most excited when learning about how other people work, their trajectories, what and how they sell.
Monetizing hobbies
I thrive when I talk about my behind-the-scenes and get to share what I know to help other creators. And still, there I was, working as a specialist in the health niche. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED it! I’ve learned so much about my own health and got to help my family and friends, as I still do. But I wasn’t fulfilled. There was a point when I finally saw it: that work didn’t feed most of my goals as a professional; I had monetized what should have remained a hobby. I had the childish image that monetizing a passion would make working a fairy tale.
As much as I think we must work with what we love, work is work. Work needs to grow, bring in results, and pay the bills; it’s unfair to put this type of pressure on a hobby. A hobby is a secret safe place, where you don’t need to be good and improve constantly; that’s work. A hobby is supposed to make you happy and rested.
Luckily, my monetized hobby demanded some of my natural traits: the ability to speak persuasively in front of a camera, creativity for content and product creation, and empathy. But there was so much of the “work me” left out of the equation. To achieve the scale I wanted, I needed to be on stage a lot and therefore, starved the part of me that loved the backstage, numbers, and business strategy.
A creator's element
Now I can see where I thrive. I know the projects and tasks that make my heart beat and my eyes shine, even though generalists’ eyes shine on many things.
I’m starting to idealize my 1:1 consultancy and I confess it’s been hard to limit its scope. I can see the path I want to help people go through; it is a path that will use several of my abilities and experience, but in terms of marketing, it is important to have a clear message. To help me with that, I ran a survey with four friends whose creative businesses I consult. Here are the questions:
How do I help your business?
Which of my skills are useful to you?
What do you look for when you come to me?
If you didn’t know me, which type of professional would you search to consult your business?
They unanimously responded that my superpower is action, that I get things done. I have the clarity to show the way despite the noise of the many ideas they always have in mind. When I look back at my trajectory, I agree. Movement is my element. Creating movement makes me feel alive.
Out of fear of going back down the burnout lane, I became extra cautious and got out of my element for a while. I felt all my steps needed to be thoroughly planned, one very small step at a time so I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. The more I planned, the less I acted; I was out of my element! Planning is necessary, but my true nature is jumping into action while I plan: not planning first - action later.
I talk to a lot of people who are frustrated with their work. Work will be more fruitful if it considers your personality. You can’t be an introvert with a job that demands extroversion, and vice-versa. If you are a planner, you must plan. If you are creative, you must create. If you are talkative, you must talk. Most people don’t get to choose, which makes me so sad. But for us, who have the privilege of creating our own paths, it is our duty to remain in our element.
Our businesses must promote the life we want; it’s not our lives that must adapt and bend to fit the business.