The peaks and valleys of being a freelance creative pro are not just economic. You also have to consider the emotional highs and steep descents. For me, navigating that comes with asking a simple question. Do I want to be a vendor or do I want to be a creative partner?
Ultimately, you will be both depending on the makeup of your client list. Being a vendor can be cut and dry, you “make the logo bigger,” and you just move on. Being a creative partner can lead to a kind of emotional pride over what you’re making. You develop not just a business relationship, but a trusted partnership with someone as you soak up their enthusiasm and bask in the trust of helping them succeed.
But like any relationship, you have to deal with the fact that it may end, one way or another, and one day you might find yourself “a vendor” when you used to be a lot more. And that just plain sucks. It’s happened to me a couple of times now and it’s exactly like someone telling you that you’re raising your kids wrong.
So what do you do? The obvious answer is honest communication to reassess where everyone is at. You’ll feel change in your gut, don’t ignore that, if you let it stay there it will always become something worse. Then there’s a hard truth that what you created might not need you anymore, or the client’s taste has changed, or the brand’s audience has evolved. Feeling all of that means you’re immediately back in elementary school getting picked last but you’re also now in your forties and you have to act like a professional damn’t. Easier said than done.
Deciding if you want to be a vendor or a creative partner makes it easier to stay or decide it’s time to get out of the way and move on. Ask yourself what the emotional value of the work is and you can start making the right decisions for you and your business.
I’m going to go ask my toddler for a hug now.
- T.C.