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Life According to Mr K – If your business model isn’t working, change it

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lifeaccordingtomrk

“You have to do what you dream of doing even while you’re afraid” – Arianna Huffington (Co-Founder, The Huffington Post)

The evolution of our business part 2 (read part 1 here)

The inaugural DWYL retreat was a sellout success, which we were told affected many of the participants deeply. In the two years since, many of those who attended have told us very personal stories of how the retreat experience actually changed their life’s course, and how the people they met there have been a big part of those changes.

However, behind the scenes, based purely on return on investment of time and financial resources, the reality was that for as long as we had to rent a venue there was little to no future in a solely retreat driven business. When you consider the hours that went into the preparation and running of the event, the team had essentially been working for less than minimum wage, and it was not a sustainable business model. Diversification was required.

Having said that there was an undeniable vibrancy at the retreat that was almost tangible and could not be ignored, plus it was the source of a huge amount of valuable connections, both for us and for participants and teachers.

During one of the evenings Beth had arranged for an Oprah style interview with our special guest Matt Stinchcomb, Vice-President (and one of the Founders) of Etsy.com, who had travelled from Germany to come and speak. His interview was a great reminder that even businesses as large as Etsy can evolve from the most unlikely and humble beginnings – theirs is an amazing story for another day! It was the only interview that week I was able to listen to and I believe I was meant to hear what he said. It highlighted how businesses evolve due to a need that is not catered for, and how they have to be nimble and flexible to adjust to changing demands.

Seeing so many people sat in that room who had decided to travel from various countries to North Yorkshire also really struck a chord with me. I was starting to see what Beth saw. There were so many like-minded souls around the globe who just needed a purpose to meet and common ground to discuss. Do What You Love could be that vehicle – and an in-person retreat was only one way of bringing those people together.

It was from this realisation that our collaborative e-courses emerged. Beth had already developed and run her own flagship Do What You Love e-course for the first time with an astounding response, and we soon realised this was an incredible way to connect people facing similar issues in a safe, supportive environment. The next step was to start working with others at the top of their game to provide practical, valuable advice to people wanting to follow particular career paths, often challenging the norm and supporting them to make bold moves.

Over the past 2-3 years this has developed into a business model which is cashflow positive (without debt), responsive to changing needs and technology, relevant, sustainable and exciting. We turn down more offers for collaborations than we take on, and we build deep trusting relationships with those we do choose to work with. By collaborating with others we are constantly learning, improving and finding new ways to do things. Every day is different, and every day we support more and more people to do what they love. It’s not always easy – sometimes it is frustrating, sometimes it is overwhelming, sometimes it is exhausting. But always it is rewarding, profitable and totally worthwhile. And it allows US to do what WE love, creating the lives we want to live. And surely that is a massive part of what it is all about?

As for retreats and in-person workshops, for sure we will run these again in the future, but as one arm, rather than the lifeblood, of our business.

Challenging our assumptions about how we should deliver, what we should deliver, and what we knew about the people we were trying to serve was fundamental to an early major shift in our business model which has evolved into the Do What You Love we are today.

How about you? If you run a business, have you shifted your business model over time? If not, it it time you thought about doing that? What if you turned your business model on its head and tried the opposite of what you have been doing for years? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Until next time (when I will share a behind-the-scenes glimpse at each of our collaborations),…

Mr K

Winners of the 2013 Global Talent Search announced…

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1728GTS winner 2013

After four months, 1500+ entrants from 30+ countries, three rounds of competition, more than 10,000 public votes and many hours of deliberating, we are over the moon to reveal the winners of the 2013 Global Talent Search! It was so hard to choose from our outstanding six Finalists that we have decided to give two awards – the Grand Prize and a second Special Studio Award.

Click here for the full announcement on Lilla Rogers’ blog, to find out who the winners are!

Do What You Love is proud to have produced this competition, which has helped raise the profile of so many artists, and will change the careers of the two talented winners forever!

Life According to Mr. K – On how Do What You Love was born…

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lifeaccordingtomrk

“If you can dream it, you can do it” – Walt Disney (Co-Founder, Walt Disney Productions)

This month’s theme is ‘Love Business’. I thought it would be interesting to give you a little insight to the birth and subsequent growth of our company.

Just over three years ago I was sat at home listening to Beth tell me that she had made a rather spontaneous decision to book a trip to San Jose in California. She was off to ‘An Artful Journey Retreat’ to take a class from two artists named Kelly Rae Roberts and Mati Rose McDonough. She had been reading Kelly Rae Roberts’ book ‘Taking Flight‘, and decided that she wanted to meet her. As always I told her to go for it. Sometimes we just have to spend some money and treat ourselves.

At that time she had been working tirelessly on the legacy aspect of England’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018, in a very corporate environment. The trip was an opportunity to relax and get painting again after more than a decade on the back burner.

When she returned  from California her smile said it all. She looked like a different woman. She had met kindred spirits and rediscovered her love for ART. The enthusiasm was evident. She came away knowing she wanted to work with and for women like those she met on the retreat. She effusively explained this thing called blogging and the potential business model that she had observed. It was different – in fact worlds apart – from what she was doing at that point, but very intriguing.

She went in search of some relaxation and inspiration. She came back with a the beginnings of a whole new life for us. What was to transpire from the trip was more profound and pivotal than either of us could ever have imagined! The seeds of what would become Do What You Love Ltd were sown.

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Is selling your art selling out?

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jobs

From time to time we get an email, or a comment on Facebook, questioning whether monetizing your creativity is selling out. Often people speak about art and creativity as if it is something too precious to ‘sell’, and in limited supply. But I ask you this – what other talent can you think of that, if you shined brightly enough, you wouldn’t happily turn into a source of income, or the basis of a job? Professional-level sporting ability, economics genius, a flair for science, a way with teaching? So why is art and creativity any different?

When someone asks me if selling art is selling out my response is an unequivocal, “No”. In fact, I usually go on to say “If you are blessed with a creative gift so potent and true that people are willing to pay for access to it, in whatever form, why not share it? If it can support your lifestyle and family, allowing you to do what you love, why wouldn’t you do it?” Besides, every day our lives are enhanced by beautiful paintings, smart design, stirring words, gorgeous music, powerful journalism, striking photography and more. We are surrounded by creativity every day that, in more cases than most, has been paid for. If the creative behind each of these things weren’t paid for it, they’d probably have to get a ‘normal’ job and the world would be a duller, less inspiring place as a result.

So remember this: The world needs you to shine your creative light and do your thing, and the world might just be willing to pay for it.

The same goes for business. As Steve Jobs said, “Creativity is just connecting things.” Connect your talent to income possibilities and see what happens. Unleash your creativity and don’t be shy of making profits that you are proud of.

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DWYL Interview – Reuben Skinner

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thebiginterview

Reuben Skinner is one half of Show & Tell films, the company he runs with his wife Estelle. Reuben and Estelle made our beautiful wedding video, and were the perfect people to have at a tiny wedding like ours. They are lovely, sensitive to the day, and incredibly talented. We were excited to find out more about their young company, and what goes into making such very special videos. – Beth

Here’s how Reuben describes himself… “My video company may be small scale but I have big dreams and visions for my work. I believe that creativity is always letting my curiosity get the better of me, I also believe that stories can change the world. There is nothing more rewarding than to combine my creativity with a great story and ultimately return that to my clients, it is why I love being a cinematographer.”

Raw-1

1     How are you leading a life ‘doing what you love’?

I believe that we are born bursting with potential, sometimes our potential to excel in an area is lost in a job that doesn’t tap into those skills and abilities. Sometimes it might even have just gone unnoticed and we stumble upon it too late in life or at the wrong time. For me, my potential was film making. I took after my grandfather, who spent hours filming home films on his Super 8 and creating masterpieces. I fell into it almost by mistake and unearthed a deep passion for storytelling through video. I was a natural, or so I was told by friends and family, so with a little money and a lot of optimistic zeal I started doing what I love, making films for weddings and small businesses.

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Life According to Mr. K – The courage to create

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lifeaccordingtomrk

In last week’s post I touched briefly on the courage it takes to create something. Of course this ‘courage’ has to be supported by a steely determination and conviction to realise your vision whether it be a painting, a song, a design or even a story. But it is that first step that is the most crucial – that long deep breath you take that makes you feel a little sick knowing you are about to leave yourself that little bit more vulnerable than before.

Whatever you are working on, it is your vision, your creation and it should reflect you. The courage comes from imparting something very sincere and soulful from within. You are taking a very intimate part of you and placing it in full view of the world.

I have a great deal of admiration for authors of late. It is not an occupation or a calling that you would instantly relate to the need for courage. But to put your ideas down on paper for others to read, critique, form an opinion about or even dismiss outright, I feel is very courageous indeed.

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Our tiny handmade wedding!

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Paul & Beth wedding

I have been wanting to share a peek into our wedding for a while, and ‘Love to create’ month seemed like the perfect time, as it was a tiny handmade wedding. It really was a very special day, which began with a beautiful storybook complete with diamond necklace gift, and ended with rings on our fingers, smiles on our faces and big love in our hearts. I have never had so much fun in one day…

We got engaged in a beautiful secluded Japanese garden in Kyoto on my 35th birthday last May. It was perfect for us. We were at the beginning of a six month sabbatical in Japan’s ancient capital, and felt like a whole new adventure was just beginning.

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Creative magazines we love

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Seeing as we are in ‘Love to create’ month it only seems right to share some of the magazines we turn to when we need some inspiration. I am a total magazine hoarder, and have back copies of my favourites filling up many a shelf. Sometimes I read every word, and sometimes I just look at the dreamy pictures – it seems to me that magazine photography is getting more and more stunning with every new issue. The UK has some great magazines in terms of content, but many of the publications I love for their aesthetic come from overseas (although this is changing with gorgeous magazines like Pretty Nostalgic, The Simple Things and the ahead-of-its-time Selvedge). From time to time I’ll treat myself to an international subscription, but more often than not it is a case of filling my suitcase every time I am in the US (Hello, Hudson News at the airport) or picking up more rare titles in quirky interior shops. So here’s my list of favourites. I’d love to hear your recommendations if there are any others you love…

Simple Things

The Simple Things  (UK)

I’m a subscriber I love it that much – this is me last Saturday in a lovely cafe in Lewes, where I read it cover to cover in a single sitting!

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Life according to Mr. K – Finding inspiration

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lifeaccordingtomrk

I had a chuckle with myself recently. This month’s theme is ‘Love to Create’ and ever since I have been devoid of all and any ideas. The irony!!!! What a time for writer’s block. The most creative thing I have managed this week is rustling up an ad-hoc meal with whatever ingredients there were left in the cupboard.

This actually did get me thinking about this topic from a very different perspective. It raises an interesting point about inspiration and what gets our creative juices flowing. I also think it is really important to consider what affects our creativity when as children we were often overwhelmed by our imagination and possibilities… in many cases making the impossible very possible!

We live in a world of technological advancements that would have been considered science fiction not too many moons ago. We are surrounded by huge achievements of engineering, art, literature, technology, science and architecture to name but a few.

Yet I would argue that our world – and more particularly our society – restricts and dampens our imagination. We are conditioned into processes and procedures, and bound by rules. We have our bubbles burst by doubters. We are hampered by the very people who we need inspiring the most. But it only takes one person to show the way.

Do we lack the courage and conviction to follow through with our ideas?

To create is not a whimsical philosophy. It takes courage, as Beth shared in this post, and as I will talk more about next week. It also requires inspiration.

Mother Nature is a constant reminder of what can be created and achieved, ‘life’ being the greatest example. Birds taking flight long before Bernoulli translated it into a mathematical formula. Nests, warrens and dams providing evidence of sustainable construction. It is all around us. We just need to look.

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Thought for the week (29): It’s time to be brave with your creativity

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Julia Cameron quote

Being creative in your work, and in your life, takes guts. Being creative means doing things differently, and thinking differently. It means challenging the accepted norms, coming at things from different angles, and sometimes taking giant leaps of faith.

Putting your creative work out in the world also takes guts. Whether for you that means reading someone a story you wrote, exhibiting a painting you created, even just voicing your ideas in a brainstorm, there is always that fear that it will be knocked back, criticized, laughed at, rejected. But think of the flipside. What if Monet, Roald Dahl and Steve Jobs had never been brave with their creativity? What if they had let the fear of what others thought stand in the way of sharing their ideas and their magic with all of us? The world would be a poorer place for sure.