Kibble for Wolves

You must be mastermind of your efforts and primary recipient of the benefits from the value you produce in order to achieve your destiny.

There are so many lazy pitfalls where-in an entrepreneur can fall in and end up laboring for the destiny of another. There is benefit from supporting an ambitious person or project, but there is only disappointment for those who are callously used and discarded.

I got stiffed by my first client...on my birthday.

Normally, I’m sure most would consider this a cause of great duress and de-motivation.

I consider it a gift suitable for a day such as this. Why? Well, there’s the obvious learning potential from such failings. But then there is the drive from such an experience to pull out all the stops.

By pull out all the stops I mean go all-in; by-pass the commissions, cheap requests, and so on, and go straight for the prize.

Lately I’ve been trying to sell my skills and talents as a service, but what of the full value to me? A logo, a tile-set, a t-shirt illustration - why not create it, produce it, and market it on my own terms?

No matter how you look at it, selling your talents is gamble when it comes to creative media. Clients get cold feet, bite off more than they can chew, or are simply terrible human beings looking to get over on people’s time and effort.

The work I put in for this client could’ve garnered greater pay and results for me right now. The t-shirt designs I submitted to Threadless could’ve been marketed and sold privately already. 

These stops are for cheap, casual hustlers, not entrepreneurs.

I consider myself fortunate to have not received positive reinforcement for these mediocre efforts.

I’ll likely receive many more gifts today, but this bitter, sour client incident will likely be the most invaluable of them all.

Networking!

Networking!

Networking!

It is of the utmost importance to talk to people who service, consume, and define the industry that I’m entering. Even a pioneer has to eventually encounter other pioneers or natives to the land they’re venturing upon. If the land that you’ve wandered into is barren, that is a BAD sign.

The only thing worse than a forest full of competitive apex predators is finding yourself stranded in a dead wilderness.

So, once I complete my commission today, I will attempt to get some people in the games and graphic design industry at least on a chat communication.

Anxiousness…

When do you decide for yourself when enough is enough?

I’ve been tirelessly plugged in trying to finish a client commission I agreed to do for way too cheap. Lesson learned; simple projects are deceptively easy in foresight, but I digress.

I find myself tirelessly staring at my computer. I’ve stopped doing my basic calisthenics, and I’ve even skipped a shower or two. 

Even passion can be exhausted by an inability to tell yourself when to stop.

The anxiousness began to set in as a response for my need to eat, sleep, and generally enjoy a bit of off time.

I figure, even if I take an hour or two away from my computer with a notepad and a book, that should be enough.

These past weeks I’ve been focused only on driving myself forward, but today I will try to learn to sit still for a while.

It is essential to have the correct attitude and mindset about money .

The saying, “time is money”, holds a principle that is harmful to the entrepreneur.

It’s important to keep track of the things you’ve tried so that you can keep steady knowledge of what works and doesn’t work.

So far I’ve tried:

1. Submission of designs to Threadless

2. Advertisement of service to Fiverr

3. Cold Calling for clients for Brushfair.com

These results have yet to yield any revenue and here’s why.

1. As I speak, my designs on threadless are still up for voting. Even if a design is accepted, there is still a 10 day waiting period while this happens, so it isn’t fast nor gauranteed money. I can create at least two new, qulity submissions per day, but it is a gamble on popular opinion until I generate a following. In other words, this is a long term community and time investment.

2. Fiverr is a strange setup which seems to be monopolized by part-timers offering extremely cheap work as a side hustle. Though I could likely generate a few cheap commissions, it would likely be a waste of time in regard to my current living expenses. Personally, I’m just uninterested in pursuing this resource any further, though I should still offer simpler services.

3. Cold-calling small businesses to peddle graphic design has not yielded any meaningful results as of yet. I’ve learned that most business owners and managers tend not to be present until after 1 pm, which is weird. I’m still concocting  a better script to gather contact info and get the appointment. Funny though, I actually really enjoy cold-calling.

As of now, I have a monopoly on my time, but I have yet to find an avenue through which to translate it into money. I have enough for rent, but the heat is on. I have to pioneer and find what works or risk wallowing in guilt and failure.

I have no idea what I’m doing, but then I suppose that is the principle of being a pioneer. I’m reminded of an important quote which drives home this mindset: