Music Entrepreneur News

Why do so many brilliant creatives stay broke?

You do great work. You put your best foot forward. You pour everything into your craft. And yet… you still struggle to make an income. You still can't get your work in front of the right audience.

Sound familiar?

In this post (and video), I break down three reasons why so many talented creatives struggle financially—and what to do about it.

First, stubbornness. I'm guilty as sin of this one. My value of freedom was so strong that I refused to compromise. It had to be my way. I was unyielding. Unbending. But you know what happened when I started saying yes instead of no? I found a lot of work. High-paying work. In a variety of different capacities. Some of the coolest contracts I've ever done came through things that initially looked like nothing I would normally do.

Second, you're convinced of the superiority of your product. I've worked really hard on my craft. I think my writing is really good. I think I'm a great teacher. I think my courses and programs are top-tier.

But here's the problem: If you're convinced your work is better than most of what's out there, you probably don't put as much effort into sharing it, promoting it, or marketing it. And the customer? They have no idea until they buy it.

So having a superior product is nice… but it often convinces us creatives that there's no need for promotion. And that's just not the way it works. There's no market advantage to having the best product.

Third, you're unwilling to be a true do-it-yourselfer. Author, entrepreneur, and investor James Altucher wrote a book called Choose Yourself. There's a quote in it where he basically says, "Artists must be entrepreneurs. That is your choice,” suggesting there is no other choice.

A true do-it-yourselfer is an entrepreneur. I didn't identify this as a personal struggle until 2011, when I was introduced to network marketing. That's where I got all my fundamental core training in business. It was like someone turning on a light switch in a dark room.

The bottom line: We've got to be willing to create our own opportunities. That's the only way forward now. There's no one coming to save you. We've got to go out there and share our work, create partnerships, and develop opportunities. That's what it looks like to be a true do-it-yourselfer. https://davidandrewwiebe.com/?p=28028