The Art of Business: The Secrets of Sustaining Success
I’ve been self-employed for 17 years, yet every few weeks I wake up in a cold sweat wondering when this house of cards will come crashing down. I’ve witnessed booms and busts. I’ve seen hard times when it’s been impossible to drum up new business and easy times when clients beg for services.
I’ve spoken to many successful creative professionals and they all have the same experience — abject fear that it will all end tomorrow and sheer wonderment that it doesn’t.
In an attempt to get a better night’s sleep, I informally polled successful graphic artists, writers, illustrators, and photographers to find their secrets to sustainability. Here’s what they had to say.
1. Commit yourself to quality.
Everyone I spoke with mentioned this trait first. They are downright obsessive about producing quality work and maintaining quality relationships with clients, colleagues, and vendors. Even when things go wrong, they try to make things right either creatively or contractually.
2. Be a great communicator.
If there’s one trait of the successful that crosses all industries, it’s the ability to communicate effectively. Communicating starts with listening, really listening, and taking to heart what people have to say. When it comes time to talk, do so with clarity and patience. During the courting phase, communicate your strengths; during the creative phase, communicate your vision; throughout the course of every relationship, communicate your humanity.
3. Market continually.
Every creative professional I talked to spoke of the need to market continually, yet when I asked how much marketing each did, they answered, “Very little.” They all dread traditional forms of marketing, so they’ve built marketing efforts into their everyday lives by being active in their communities where new clients emerge organically. These creative pros also create good and trusting relationships with current clients, since current clients are the best source of new clients.
4. Choose clients well.
It’s natural to want to accept any job that comes along. But not every job is right and some are downright wrong — either the compensation or chemistry is poor. The professionals I spoke with say they’ve learned when to reject work based on these concerns. Discretion is the hallmark of the true professional.
5. Keep diversified.
As many creative professionals painfully discovered during the dot.com crash, industries can topple. The antidote is to keep your fingers in a number of industries, so if a slowdown hits one you’ve got steady work in others. Stay with your expertise, but don’t be afraid to dabble in new areas. If you’re a master of collateral material, try trade show and annual report work. If you’re a Web designer, extend your trade to include PDF creation and workflow. The corollary is to keep your client portfolio balanced; keep a large client or two and a few small ones. Maintain the number of clients you can sufficiently handle but no more, unless you’re willing to hire or contract out work to people your trust.
6. Avoid foolish deals.
When things are slow, it’s easy to get desperate. As always, you’ll have your share of clients propositioning you with deals to work for cut rates or (greatly) delayed payments. But even when you need to fill a void fast, try not to take a job that is unprofitable or doesn’t provide some tangible value to you, such as an entrée into a hard-to-crack market.
7. Embrace change.
Nothing ever stays the same, so instead of being angry or upset when clients leave, technology evolves, or markets mature, accept change and make the adjustments necessary to live with the new reality.
8. Learn to accept criticism.
You will make mistakes and lose clients. Every such experience is a good opportunity to reevaluate how you might have managed things differently. Could you have made creative adjustments? Handled clients differently? Take the opportunity to ask your client what you could have done differently and seek out the advice of people you trust.
9. Never stop learning.
Nearly everyone I spoke with is taking a class or two, though not necessarily related to creative arts. One illustrator is taking French. A writer is trying Haitian dance, others were learning new software programs or extending their craft in other ways. All said these new experiences, information, and skills help them in their work, even if obliquely.
10. Be happy.
Remind yourself that you’re doing what you love. Maintain a healthy self-respect, a positive attitude, and a professional demeanor. If you’re feeling glum, pick yourself up and keep going because the alternative is simply not acceptable.
That’s it — all the wisdom I could gather on sustaining success. Now it’s time for that good night’s rest.
This article was last modified on January 6, 2023
This article was first published on July 12, 2005
Commenting is easier and faster when you're logged in!
