In the beginning there was Your Work and it was good.
You had a desire to create, make and solve problems present in your world and Your Work made you feel satisfied.
As you were solving problems, you ran into the idea that you could do this forever. That there was prosperity and success in doing what you loved to make a living.
So entered Your Business. And it was good.
Your Business promised security and a way for you to create and problem solve in a way that helped others. It offered a way to provide for your needs and the needs of the people you love.
But as Your Work and Your Business started dancing, you realized there was an empty spot in this dance.
So entered Your Clients. And they were good.
The dance got far more interesting now. There was a satisfying push and pull to everything you did as the three of you went through the motions.
There were missteps and fumbles, yes, but steadily you started to see momentum and positive motion forward.
As much as we’d like to imagine our story of our creative business as a lovely dance on a stage, the reality is often more akin to a drama than a ballet.
When this happens, it’s because a creative didn’t realize there are actually three parts to the dance and not just the one they originally assumed.
You might think the only person standing on that stage is Your Business, or perhaps the only character you see is Your Work.
But you can’t have a business without Your Work and a business isn’t sustainable without Your Clients.
When we realize that these three parts make up the whole, we can also see where they overlap and the friction they cause when they do.
Your Work is the embodiment of your creativity and problem solving prowess. Where it overlaps with Your Business is where things like packaging and pricing show up. The need to quantify and define what you do and determine what you need to charge for it to be profitable.
So you can keep doing it.
And where Your Work overlaps with Your Clients is where systems, processes and schedules live. It’s where you do create boundaries around, and execute on, what you create for the people you serve.
The last part is where Your Business overlaps Your Clients. In this space is where action resides and marketing and sales come to the forefront. This is all about showing Your Clients that Your Business and Your Work is perfectly suited for them.
And at the center of these overlapping partners?
This is where learning and growth lives. Without all three of these characters moving together, there will be no growth of you as a person , your work as a whole, and your business as an entity.
Your Work
Your Business
Your Clients
Three incredibly important pieces of a satisfying, fulfilling, and important dance.