Creative Entrepreneurship Basics: You Need Input from Others

Have you ever had some genius creative endeavor (whether a piece of informational content, a product, or a service) that fell completely flat on its face? I mean it had all the makings of the next best breakthrough thing and its untested potential was off the charts. At least in your own mind, you had a first-class idea that finally came to fruition. Go idea go! Go idea go! But in actuality, it never went or hasn’t gone yet. What to do? What to do?

Well, here’s what you don’t do ⇓

You don’t give up on the creative process. And you don’t give up on your creative endeavor — at least, not . . . just . . . yet. I figure that you have to give your idea a chance to get off the ground the right way before chucking it altogether. Maybe your idea just needs a little focus in the right direction breathed into it first.

And I know this process oh-so-well. It’s the process where I start a thing (without doing any substantial research) based on what I deem as important to the people, put it out into the world, and hope it takes flight. I’ve taken this route soooooooo many times with my creative endeavors — to the point where I’m kind of like disappointed in myself for being so stubborn and not trying something different for a change — something that has a higher probability of working.

I consider myself to be a person of reason and a person who can deal with reality for the most part. I may not always use it, but I appreciate “common sense” when I see it. And, I truly strive to be an awakened individual. But, my woke state can easily get shook when it comes to the creative realm.

For this very reason, I can say that stubbornness in refusing to pivot when something “creative” isn’t working has historically and unfortunately been included in my unfruitful bag of tricks from time to time. It’s that stubbornness trait that gets in the way but can, sometimes, be viewed as an endearing quality if it translates into determination and perseverance leading to positive results.

It’s a part of me — sticking things out — refusing to give up just yet. Who knows? The breakthrough could be right around the never-ending corner.

I’ve been tested on the above over and over again. I’m just not wired to be the individual who gives up on something even when it appears to be void of life at the beginning. And, there’s something to say for having a don’t-give-up attitude. Don’t you think? Well, I definitely think so.

Case in point: The Degrees of Maternity blog wouldn’t be doing what it does today if I had decided to give up on it when the going got tough early on and even up to this day. So, I give myself permission to be stubborn at times, as long as I steer clear of being stubborn to a fault.

There’s a fine line to being stubborn — persistent — determined for the good versus to the detriment. And, I don’t have a surefire, foolproof method for when and when not to use it that will work for all people in all situations. So, I’m not even going there with this blog post.

What I will say is that you have to be willing to PIVOT when you see that what you’re doing in your creative space isn’t working or isn’t yielding the fruit that it should be after you’ve given it ample time to take flight.

Again, I can’t tell you what that time cut-off is for you. You’ll have to analyze where you’re at in your creative journey and where you desire to be, how much time has elapsed since you started on your journey, the notable benchmark goals you’ve set for yourself, and whether or not you’ve met any of those benchmarks yet. And then, see where you’re at.

After looking at all of those factors, does it make sense for you to keep doing what you’re doing? Are you seeing any fruit from your labor thus far — enough to keep you on the path that you’re currently trotting along? Only you can truthfully answer that question for your creative journey. (Oh and by the way, don’t travel by yourself if you don’t have to. For big decisions like whether or not to stop creatively doing what you’re doing by taking the next exit or pivoting at that sharp left or right turn, you can definitely benefit from some wise counsel from your accountability partners.)

And the group of individuals that I’m learning to value the opinions of (even more than my accountability partners) are the people I’m seeking to serve. Actually, it’s even more advantageous when some of your accountability partners are the very people you’re seeking to serve. Now, that’s what I call “reinforced input”. There’s nothing like it. Having the people whose needs you want to meet hold your feet to the fire to get done what you say you’re going to get done is an optimal motivational tactic if I’ve ever seen one.

In conclusion, I just want you to know that today’s discussion was just a prelude to the nitty-gritty stuff that I have coming to you for the next “Creative Entrepreneurship Basics” installment. For now, you should come away with the understanding that input from both:

1. your accountability partners, and
2. your readership/viewership/customers/clients

is GOLDEN. It’s a MUST if you want to get anywhere in your creative journey. If you always do what you’ve always done and it ain’t working, it might be time to try something new. Perhaps, listen to others? What do you think?