Read Time: 4 minutes
Taking shortcuts to make progress can hold you back.
I know firsthand.
For instance, this past week I drowned in business buffoonery due to technological issues caused by my own ill-timed switching of web hosts.
So in the spirit of learning experiences, I am sharing four business insights to help you stay on the fast-track to your storytelling success:
1. Embrace the power of juggling multiple projects
It’s okay to work on multiple projects.
Write fiction? Paint reality? Daydream too much?
Well, it’s all good, literally and figuratively.
Of course, you may want to rethink this approach if your personal variety show never publishes a single episode of artwork. But if you’ve been known to finish and publish meaningful projects, then embrace the multitasker’s journey.
As for me, I am working on three large projects right now. And outside of my corporate career where I closed 8-figure deals along with implementing them from start to finish involving entire company departments, I have written countless novel drafts, published seven documentary films, and developed and launched creative writing courses.
Without several creative projects in play, I often get lost doing nothing at all.
You have permission to embrace who you are and follow the muse to reach your potential.
2. Invest in high-quality solutions & services
It often pays off to pay more.
Since launching my website in 2015, I have used a few web hosting providers. But one year ago, I tried out a less expensive option. It’s been disappointing to say the least.
Nobody likes slow loading pages (or never-loading posts) and that can happen with massive storytelling guides like issue #33 of the Saturday Storyteller: 8 Plot Diagrams that Illustrate the Storytelling Power of Dramatic Structure (it should be working now so check it out).
Hence I upgraded my web host during the past week which affected my site’s stability. My tech upgrade is going to cost me more every year, but what has been the cost of lost attention every day?
3. Be flexible with deadlines & prioritize quality over perfection
You won’t always hit your date, but without a target, you could mistake your destination for a mirage.
The goal is to move forward.
I’ve been working on special projects behind the scenes, but they’ve been taking longer than expected to complete. However, I have still been making progress every week.
I am committed to finishing, but I realize that special stuff takes extra time to create.
Stay firm but get loose while building your writing business during the story of your life.
4. Transcend the hobby status & elevate your passion into a profitable enterprise
You’re not a business unless you have something for sale.
Keep in mind, every business may require you to “sell yourself” but business is defined as “a person’s regular occupation, profession, or trade” and “the practice of making one’s living by engaging in commerce.”
Thus a business needs revenue to continue running.
Without the sale of information or goods, a business is simply an expensive hobby. Yes, you can infuse it with cash but for how long?
So I recommend you work on getting a book or creative project published this year to start getting paid back for all the time and money you’ve invested in your craft.
As for me, I have not promoted or sold a product at this website for several years. During the next few weeks you will hear about a new program I will offer.
Big shifts are coming to the art of fiction, and I have never been more excited about the future of storytelling than I am right now.
In fact, I’ve been experimenting with new approaches that have already accelerated my mission to finish a novel people can’t put down. And it’s crazy because these breakthrough techniques helped me make more progress in the past couple weeks than previous methods helped me for years. Get ready for the world-builder in you to be supercharged!