The Studio Source.com

Money—it’s a complicated, emotional subject. It’s so easy to get your self-worth tied up in it, so easy to get intimidated, particularly when you ask people to give you their money in exchange for your work.

Sit with that for a minute. You ask people to give you their money in exchange for your work. Does that make you uneasy?

It shouldn’t. It’s how our economic system works, for the most part—money in exchange for a service, or something you can hold in your hands.

When an employer rents your time, you show up, do the work, go home, and repeat the process as often as necessary (or, depending on your disposition, as long as you can stand it). There might be complaints. There’s not enough money for the amount of work, responsibility, or stress that goes with the job. There’s no hesitation about wanting more.

When you sell what you create, there might be some frayed nerves when it comes to asking for money, at least until you get used to it.

So what’s the difference?

People seem to think building an extraordinary business is impossible. But consider: how hard is it to turn “ordinary” into something better?

The significant other and I were in a restaurant, a new location of a well-established local eatery. It’s not a terribly expensive place, but it’s not a sports bar, either.

Long story short: at the end of the meal, I grabbed the sevrer’s copy of the bill and wrote, “Excellent service, thanks Jennifer.”

The fella looked at me and said, “Are you trying to start something?”

The holidays are over, the leftovers are long gone, the resolutions have been made.

Or not.

Are you unnerved at the thought of either starting a marketing plan, or chewing your nails about polishing your existing image? It can be overwhelming if you look at where you want to be compared with where you are now.

It’s not a big deal. Just start at the beginning.

In December each year, the Canadian Wildlife Federation sends me a calendar, and I send them a donation. This year they included a small fundraising insert with the following quote:

“In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”
—Baba Dioum

I’ve been having vivid dreams for weeks now.  As in, take-me-to-the-movies dreams, with wildly elaborate plot lines, detailed to the Nth degree.

You might think this is normal for a creative type, but it’s way over the top for me, and it does not make for restful sleep.

My subconscious is trying to tell me something.