Yeah, I know. I disappeared. Again. I tend to do that from time to time, as Ye Olde Readers surely know by now.
Where have I been this time? Traveling the world? Slaying dragons in the Far East? Racing fast cars in Europe? Nope, mostly I’ve been here in Seattle, working hard at my web design business. That’s not an excuse, I know. There are a lot of people who have jobs AND keep up a blog. I clearly am not one of them. At least not since last August. Here’s why:
Short version: I wanted to make six-figures.
Longer version (get comfy):
My last post was August 5th. That date is my mother’s birthday, and in the midst of our celebrations, she said, “Hey…didn’t you start your business a year ago?”
Mom was right. She shares a birthday with Charfish, my design biz.
And I went, “Huh. Yeah. I’ve been fully self-employed for a year. I didn’t even starve to death.”
And that was that. I didn’t give it another thought for a couple days ’til I was on my way back home from the parents’ place.
The drive back from Mom and Dad’s is five hours, and I love it. I do all my best thinking in the car with the stereo cranked up somewhere between 11 and infinity.
On this particular drive, I started thinking about my job as a self-employed designer. And as I drove I became more and more surprised.
When I’d dropped out of corporate America a year earlier, these were stone-cold certainties to me:
- I’m dead.
- I’ll starve.
- This is stupid.
- Artists don’t make money.
- I’m dead.
Yet, here I was alive and well.
As I drove and looked back over the year I saw things had been quite good. I wasn’t stressed out, I’d given money to charity, traveled a bit, wasted ungodly amounts of time when a new Xbox game hooked me like a crack addict, played too much guitar, spent far too much time in the gym, left every single workday for three hours to donate my time to causes I care about, went shooting with my dad, watched boats go by, climbed rocks…the list goes on.
I never thought I’d have clients, much less 70+ over the course of the year. I never thought I’d really help anyone out, but I’ve got a folder of happy emails from clients. I never thought it would happen for me.
Actually, that’s a lie. I’m very stubborn and I knew everything would be fine. But you still worry, right?
Anyway, I’d set out on this business adventure thinking I’d be pinching every last penny, and didn’t realize for a whole twelve months that everything was damn peachy.
I discovered Chris Guillebeau somewhat late in this process, but he’s right: Artists can do it.
The old worries have been replaced by a new stone-cold certainty:
Holy shit I’m an artist and somehow I’d survived a whole year despite that fact.
How fascinating. What’s the point?
I was explaining why I disappeared. Well, honestly, I wanted to make six-figures. For no other reason than in terms of money six is better than five and it sounds kind of cool. And I’d never done it before. So I disappeared to do that.
Well, I did it. Big deal, right?
So now what?
Well, this is where it gets good. (Took me long enough, eh?)
The past year is an impossibility. There’s no way it could have happened. A person like me, an artist, can’t make money. Especially when these facts are true:
- I have one advertisement out that costs me $100 a month
- I don’t regularly post on any of my sites
- My posts don’t get put on Digg or any other social media site
- My blogs don’t get a lot of comments
- I’m not on the Top 1,000 of any list anywhere
- I comment on other people’s blogs maybe 5-10 times a year
But yet the year just passed belies all that. And somehow, by a lot of industry and perhaps a little magic, things turned out alright.
There is a lot more that goes into it of course, and that brings us to the point.
Wait…you still haven’t gotten to the point yet?
The point is I want your help.
I don’t know everything there is to know about business, art, or having an art business. But nor was last year anything to complain about either. So…that said, I’m creating a course for artists. Or more accurately, people with an art.
And I want to know what you need help with.
The course will be roughly 50% stuff I’ve learned through the school of hard-knocks and think you need to know, and the other 50% will be stuff you feel you need help with.
That last 50% is where you come in.
I want to know if you really care.
If you were to meet an artist in a coffee shop and ask him/her ________, how would you fill in that blank?
What do you want to know? What are your business questions? What is the thought that haunts you when you lay down for the night? What are the ideas you have about your art or industry? Can’t be done? No money in it? The Oompa-Loompas have that market cornered?
Ask me.
If I don’t know I’ll tell you so.
But if I do know, hell, you’re going to be immortalized in a chapter or two.
I’ve posted this question elsewhere and I’ve had plenty of answers, so it’s likely you’re not alone with your questions.
Don’t be shy. If it’s a question you have, it’s a question a lot of people have, maybe even me.
Seriously, this is your cue. Are you curious about SEO keywords? Whether or not web design matters?
Are you curious if anyone cares about your product or craft? Wondering if RSS numbers matter? Curious about whether or not you really need to be a punk rocker to make dough?
Just curious as to how I did it? Want to hear what it was like?
Let me know. You can ask me anything. Don’t be shy.
Please comment below and let me know what you think. Or send me an email if there’s something you want to say under the radar.
Sounds like you have a bee in your bonnet. What’s the problem?
I do have a bit of a bee in my bonnet, and I’ll tell you more about it next week (Subscribe) but for now, let’s just say this:
I don’t like misinformation. I see a lot of stuff floating around on Twitter, and other places, that is 180 degrees backwards. And when these things come from the mouth of an authority, you can be certain a lot of people are struggling to make sense of it.
A now a note from the heart
I’ve missed you guys. A lot.
While I make most of my money as a designer, I actually consider myself a writer first and foremost.
Thanks for your patience in my absence everyone. And thanks for the emails. I’m glad you missed me. And I’m sorry you had to.
8 Comments
I’d love to know how to find/create a product that will sell. There’s a lot to that, I know, but I’d think that if you can do that, you’re about 90% there. The rest is up to marketing.
So…how do you know if an idea for a product is good or shite?
Great post, Charlie! I think that course will do really well.
While I haven’t had any trouble since I launched my freelance biz 10 months ago (and will hit the 6-figure mark in my first year too), I tend to be a bit of a workaholic.
Sure I take time off to go take a yoga class, volunteer, or have breakfast (and a few mimosas) with friends on a Thursday morning; however, I tend to work REALLY late after the kids have gone to bed and wear myself out because of it. Maybe because I messed off during the day too much…
I’d love to get sage advice on how to work 6 hours or less per day. Got any of that?
@Mary -
Thanks for your response, Mary. That’s awesome! I’m so wanting to answer your question right now, but I guess that would be shooting myself in the foot.
Nonetheless, rest assured your question will be a HUGE part of the course. From the other responses I’ve seen, product selection and creation seems to be a stumbling block for a lot of people.
Thanks again! Cheers!
@Rachel -
Wow, that’s fantastic! Big congrats to you on a BIG first year. And for volunteering and all that, too.
You have another pretty common complaint/question:
How do I make money without working for it non-stop?
Also expressed as:
The second I stop working, I stop making money.
That’s gonna be another big part of the course.
I thank you very much for your input. And it’s really good to see you here
Hey Charlie,
Imagine my surprise when I popped open my inbox this morning to see your fresh new post all bundled up for my consumption!
Great to hear from you, mate. And congrats on doing so well in the face of all we’re told about “starving artists” and what-not.
I’m one of those tweeners… Running my online business on the side while still being a wage slave in Corporate America.
Every day I look out of my ivory tower (lol) and dream of doing what you’re doing — but end up shackled to my office chair in fear of the unknown –
- what if I can’t find enough work?
- can I *really* work from home with all the screamin’ kids?
- where to get an unlimited source of new clients who aren’t trying to screw me out of a fair price for my excellent work and “above and beyond” service?
- what about health care for my family?
Some of that is big stuff I know, while some is insignificant. I feel I’m at a point where I could make the jump, but perhaps I need that little nudge forward.
Sorry for the long-winded response… great post. Looking forward to what’s next.
So nice to see that you have put your hands to the keyboard to write something!
As far as questions, I don’t have any. I don’t know the first thing about graphic design. I make things with vintage fabric, seriously, I do. Does that count? I am finally weaning away from host sites and developing my own website so, I might have questions pertaining to that.
Regardless, if you’re selling an ebook or an ecourse, I’m buying. Why? Because if J.D. Salinger and Tony Robbins met and had a baby, that baby would write just like you (that is of course, when the baby grew up and learned to write because after all, babies can’t write, but please, don’t let that take away from the significance of the comparison).
Looking forward to more posts.
Kristina
Cam! -
Hey, bud! Awesome to see you here.
You bring up some valid concerns, especially having the family. I wish I knew more about your whole scene (or not, heheheh) so I could do my best to shed some light on it. But from what I know about you, it’s probably well under control already.
Being at the point of making the jump, boy that is the best, and the scariest. I remember being there not too long ago. I also remember ignoring it for quite some time until I was “really ready,” meaning I’d do it if I won the lottery. There’s definitely some resistance at that spot, moving from comfy corporate to solo-flying.
Not saying that’s you, of course, as I don’t know if it’s time to leap. But one of the sure signs is when you realize your own business can’t get much bigger because your time is going towards a 9-to-5 job.
Oh yeah…and none of this is legal or career advice, results may differ and I make no claims to the effectiveness of anything I’ve ever said ever, nor does the FDA vouch for my blog.
There. I’m covered.
Thanks a million for tuning in, Cam!
Kristina -
Aww…thanks for that comment! You made my day. I am so happy you appreciate the writing.
Now, I’m not sure if my post above is ambiguous, but it sure might be
. I’ll have to give it another look. But I wasn’t asking for questions about design necessarily. Rather, I’d like to know anything you need help with in the business arena. In fact, I think my course will have very little to do with design as such.
If you think of anything over the next couple weeks, or if you paint your business into a corner, come on back and let me know, eh?
I’m certainly intrigued by what you do and it could be a great case study. You can be my vintage fabrics consultant
Thanks again for the comment. Gave me a huge smile!