Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing.
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đ 10 Minute Read
TL;DR
If youâre thinking of changing your business (pricing, strategy, tactics, etc.) because you feel restless, consider finding a new hobby instead â donât make your business suffer because youâre personally in need of fulfillment.
Creative people suffer from whatâs humorously called âShiny Object Syndromeâ â the tendency to chase after new ideas, trends, or goals, instead of simply continuing to do whatâs already working.
It often goes like this: Youâve been honing your craft for years, putting in tireless hours to create a business that youâre proud of⊠then it hits you.
That sinking feeling of âthis isnât working anymoreâ that makes you start to question everything from your pricing, to your core competence, to the way you spell your business name.
Itâs inevitable for creatives. Weâre practically born to be inspired by new things, curious about ideas that weâve yet to try our hand at.
But, hear me say this loud and clear: Itâs a trap.
Creative Person
As a creative person, you are free to explore wherever your whimsy takes you, uncovering new, unique expressions of creativity that fulfills and captivates you. In fact, everyone benefits when creatives are at their best â the world needs you to be creative!
Creative Business
But as a business, itâs your job to be a professional⊠and what do professionals do? They deliver consistently masterful solutions for a specific problem, without distraction, confusion, or ambiguity. In other words, your services need to be predictable and clear if you have any shot at success in a creative business.
So where does this leave us? Being an unpredictably curious creative running a stagnant, boring business? Far from it, if youâre doing it right.
Diagnosing and treating your Shiny Object Syndrome is often a cumbersome path, which is why there are so many âMulti-Disciplinaryâ creatives in the world that run themselves into the ground with possibility.
So, letâs talk âtreatmentâ.
1. Admit you have a problem.
Youâre likely in one of two situations: You offer an ever-expanding list of services, or youâve never even listed our your services because of how many things you do.
Both are not fun spots to be in. So, here are two diagnostic questions that can reveal an insane amount of clarity about your services, and if youâre experiencing a flare-up of Shiny Object Syndrome:
âIf you had to do twenty more projects identical to the last one you worked on, would you be happy?â
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âA client comes along and pays for ALL of your services: which ones do you worry about offering?â
2. Make the âDifficult Business Decisionâ
In his book, âThe Win Without Pitching Manifestoâ, Blair Enns directs readers to make the âDifficult Business Decisionâ of picking a specialty and sticking with it.
If youâre struggling to pick a business specialty because youâve got too many interests, itâs okay â Itâs literally the way youâre made to function, and the sooner youâre able to come to terms with your âflightyâ intrigue, the healthier a creative you will be.
But regarding your business, hereâs the cold hard truth: You canât do everything, and you need to pick one core competency if you want a shot at running a profitable business.
Ideally, youâre narrowing your focus down much further than simply âweb designâ or âvideo productionâ, digging into particular industries and unique problems to solve, but⊠for the sake of getting out of Shiny Object paralysis, the core industry is enough.
At the risk of oversimplifying this very complex topic, just pick what youâre the very best at, and contrast it with what skill you know is already in demand â not whatâs most intriguing, trendy, or nice-sounding for an email signature.
3. Make small bets.
The way I see it, there are really only two reasons why someone would fall prey to Shiny Object Syndrome: theyâre simply bored, or their business isnât working.
If youâve been in business for at least a few years, offering a highly-specialized service that yields helpful, profitable results, and youâre still itching for something new⊠donât change anything, consider finding a new hobby to scratch the itch instead.
Back to what we know about creative people versus business â itâs in your nature to seek new avenues for exploration, and itâs in your best interest to feed that intuition, not suppress it.
Find something that interests you, and give it a shot! But, with a few boundaries: Youâre not allowed to charge for it, it cannot become a major expense, and it canât occupy too much of your attention.
Now, the other situation â if your business is struggling to find footing or doesnât seem to be very profitable â then thereâs merit to exploring some changes, but only in small, measurably quantities.
Think of this as making small bets: If they fail, it wonât sink the whole ship. But if they succeed, youâll have a new angle to approach business from, and potentially find the
Small bets to consider:
Adjusting your pricing model
Adding a new service offering
Serving a different kind of client
Removing unnecessary expenses
Starting a blog
Parting Thought
I would argue that the overwhelming reason why people get burnt out on their business is due to the imbalance of personal and business practices â they deprive themselves of personal fulfillment, and drive their business into the ground through frivolous behavior.
Finding a healthy balance is not only possible, but necessary for the modern creative professional to thrive in a business-driven world.
