The First Humbling Lesson of Building Your Own Business
At the airport on the way back from an author’s conference a few years ago, I was magnetically drawn to scan the best seller lists and consider who was there and why.
There were so many of those names you’ve see there over and over for decades, like Nora Ephron or Dan Brown. An entire, multi-shelf section devoted to Ann Patchett. The requisite books about how companies can motivate millennials next to Mark Manson’s bestselling The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life.
My eye caught on a cover simulating (well, graphic-designed rather than photographed) a page torn at the top and bottom with a lowercase title etched out in a watercolor-style gradient migrating from aquamarine to forest green like descending through a cross section of the ocean.
Watch the Beginning of Our Business Fundamentals Series for Free–For a Limited Time!
Our new VIP (Very Insightful Professionals) Coaching Program is different than anything you’ve ever experienced.
- Most programs that say they offer group coaching are really just doing Q&As with limited value past saving you the time googling answers to your questions.
- We specifically focus on helping you build a flourishing life AND business, because the science is pretty clear—you can’t have one without the other. (More on that in our upcoming webinar!) https://www.dreamoftravelwriting.com/flourishing-business-webinar/
- Our program centers around the closest thing to an MBA for writers that I’ve ever found: our business fundamental flows. Unlike the grind of an MBA, though, they’re designed to make your life easier 🙂
Meet Our New Team
It has been such a long journey to reopen and be with you all again.
Part of that journey has been building up our team, so that many hands are available to carry the work load and many sparkling, energetic minds work together on ideas.
How to Rain the Right Things on Your Business, Elizabeth Gilbert and Hamilton-Style
I remember watching Elizabeth Gilbert take the stage and address two very different–but incredibly impactful–topics: the loss of the love of her life, and the conversation that set her on track to be the creator she is today.
While some of us come to the writing profession later in life, she knew her commitment young, and created a sort of priestly vow-like ceremony for herself as a child to pledge her formal commitment to the craft.
But in her twenties, when she was in New York working three jobs and living in a crappy apartment wondering when her dream writing life would start, a fabulous artist she followed around like a baby bird that imprinted on a human as its mother gave her a talking-to that changed everything for her.
Do You Thrive on Riding the Waves in Style? (Danny Meyer-style)
For what I do, helping writers understand, come to terms with, and make the most of, the marketplace for travel writing today, it’s very important that I not only spend time with a diverse company of writers, to understand the issues in the industry today from many different viewpoints in terms of both background and experience, but also that I spend time with those on the other side of the desk—the editors and companies that hire writers.
Why Do We Avoid the Simple, Easy Steps that ACTUALLY Move Us Toward Our Goals?
I had a reminder to myself for weeks to do the smallest, simplest thing: email one person I’ve met several times over several years to reconnect and ask for advice.
The reasons I kept thinking of it and not doing it immediately are myriad, even removing busy-ness from the equation.
A very small number of you that I’ve met in person may have heard me mention in passing a narrative travel book I have in the works, My 15 Big Fat Indian Weddings.
(I share the story of how it immediately got 22 very well-respected agents hungering after it my first time out pitching it–and how you too can have the same experience in our webinar series on How to Publish Non-Fiction Books Easily.)
What You Do 60% of the Time is What You Do
No, I am not rephrasing the Pareto Principle.
You know, the one that says that 20% of the work you do yields 80% of the results. Though if we apply that here, it’s even more telling.
I’m talking about how you spend your time—your work time specifically—and what that says about you.
Business Planning Doesn’t Work for Creatives (or Anyone Really). Here’s What to Do Instead
How do you usually approach planning for your business—either the big picture or the more short-term goals?
Not Joking: We’ve Developed an Evidence-Based Method to Help You Get Clear on Any and Every Business Problem
I’ve noticed something insidious happening with creative small business owners for some time now.
Personally, I think it started to pick up around 2018 or 2019. Mind you, this was before generative AI and even before TikTok was such a thing. And way before the pandemic shook up others working from home and kids’ schedules. But, it was still a time filled with social media’s siren call, email overload, and a constant onslaught of “must-read” content begging for attention.