RUNNING A BUSINESS ISN'T SEXY

Art is sexy.  Creating powerful images that resonate with people is sexy.  Doing things you didn't think you could do is sexy.  Getting up in the morning and deciding that you're going to create something that changes people is sexy.

Bookkeeping isn't sexy.  Hiring people isn't sexy.  Filing taxes isn't sexy.  Post-processing your images isn't sexy.  Workflows aren't sexy.  Post-it notes aren't... you get the idea.

Running a business isn't sexy, and yet it is incredibly beautiful.  Running a business is beautiful because running a business means freedom.  Running a creative business means saying "I'm not interested in a life of someone else's choosing, instead I choose to devote my life to something I love."  I could simply create, but instead I choose more.  I choose to build something sustainable, that allows me create art and create value.

Do it right, and it adds value to your life, to you family, to who you are.  Running a business means creating something where nothing existed before.  It means adding value to this world - adding value to your family.  

Sure, running your own business means laying awake at night wondering if you'll ever have another client.  It means that your brain is always racing with all of the things "to do."  Running your own business means that all of the decisions are your responsibility, all of the successes are to your credit, and all of the failure is your fault.  There's nothing easy about running a business.

In fact, I don't think there are many things harder than starting, and building a profitable & sustainable creative business.  But is there anyone that would argue that hard work isn't absolutely beautiful?

There are a lot of sexy things you could do with your life.  In this country, where we live, there are an almost incalculable number of choices you could make, for what you want to do with your life.  You could, almost literally, do anything with this life, and yet - you choose this.  You choose to wake up each morning, and devote each day to building a business. 

That may not be sexy, but it sure is a beautiful thing.