I help creative entrepreneurs build authentic, fulfilling businesses by forming self-connection and self-trust. Through compassion and creativity, I encourage you to design systems tailored to your uniqueness, avoiding burnout and embracing independence. I also send really good newsletters - maybe you want to read them?
let's make 2025 relaxing
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Hi Reader! Happy New Year π₯³ I hope you had a good holiday season. Much like everyone else I've been reflecting a bit on 2024 and getting excited for 2025. At the start of the year it's really tempting to decide 2024 wasn't "enough", just want to forget it all and rush into the next year. It's easy to become disconnected from ourselves, get stuck in our own heads coming up with lofty goals, plans, ideas... But it's so important to find that connection again. To come back to the present and our physical selves. To appreciate all we've achieved so far. That way we can make smart decisions about what to do next. Decisions based on our own needs, wants, and values. Not based on what we think we "should" be doing. What do you want to do more of? What do you want to do less of? β When I think of how I want 2025 to be, the word that comes to mind is "mindful". I don't want to rush anything anymore. I want to approach everything in a calm and relaxed manner. I want to put my full attention and care into everything I'm doing. That's when I feel my best. This slowness goes directly against the fast pace of the online world... so that will be interesting to navigate. I'm excited to explore mindful ways of being, creating, and selling online. β β January Plans...β Freelance work My next step is to get more freelance writing work with music businesses. (I tried a couple months ago, but life got in the way and I had no energy to "put myself out there" π΅βπ«) I currently have two regular clients. I need to: 1) Gradually add new clients (one at a time sounds sensible) 2) Increase my rates (and therefore choose only "higher up" clients!) I'm planning a new offer where you can join me on this journey to reach full-time income. I'll be sharing everything I do, what's working and what's not working, all in real time. Keep your eyes peeled for it soon π β Social media I'm dreaming of a quiet online life where I don't have to be "consistent" with posting day-to-day. Trying to be consistent on social media is a real rat race. Maybe you feel that way too? It completely distracts me from my work. And takes a lot of energy to interact with people on a daily basis (introvert life π€π») If something is genuinely that difficult and awkard then honestly you shouldn't force it. BUT. We still need a reliable way to reach new people. So it's time to explore alternative approaches. I don't have a plan here, it's all an experiment. It might involve social media, or it might be something different. Either way, I want it to be A) fun and B) something that can be done without rushing. β Leaving the music niche? A while ago I mentioned leaving the music niche and moving to the wider creative world π Honestly it still feels like a great thing to do. I would love to invite other creatives into this community. I often got comments on TikTok like "I'm a [artist/graphic designer/insert creative role here] but this was still so helpful!" Time to buy a new domain name eh? I'll be sticking close by the music niche so I can stay in the loop π (I feel very out of the loop having not been on Instagram for a couple months π ) β β I'm envisioning a joyful and creative year for us. There will be hard times, like there are every year. But we can trust ourselves to handle it. Do you have any January plans? Resolutions for the new year? Reply and let me know what you're up to. β Much love + remember to be proud of yourself, - Damon β π± Stuff I'm Doing Recently π±4th January 2025 (Links with an * are affiliate) β Find me on: Instagram | TikTok β |
Damon Siseman
I help creative entrepreneurs build authentic, fulfilling businesses by forming self-connection and self-trust. Through compassion and creativity, I encourage you to design systems tailored to your uniqueness, avoiding burnout and embracing independence. I also send really good newsletters - maybe you want to read them?
Goooood morning Reader! Lately I've been doing some new things to reconnect with my creativity (it felt extremely lost the past few years π ) I've been spending time outside, touching/smelling/looking at plants and stuff to feel more grounded. I've also been playing with paints, pencils, and oil pastels just for funsies. Being online or working on computers, a lot of us are rarely doing stuff that is... physical. We don't really use our body much. (And I don't mean just in terms of exercise,...
How's it going Reader! I never expected I'd be able to use AI efficiently to help me with stuff. I was convinced that text-based AI like ChatGPT was just for churning out cringey slop. And considering the damage that image-generating AI has done to the digital art industry... I'd rather just avoid the whole lot. Evil stuff. But I definitely see the merit in using AI tools to help with tasks you otherwise struggle with. Especially as most of us are doing our creative work entirely on our own....
Happy Thursday Reader I want to get real technical and nerdy today. π€ Let's talk about the things you actually need when you're in the foundational stage of creative business. The internet loves to tell us that we should be making money immediately from our creative work. And that we're doing it wrong if we can't do that. Hmmm......... this is not reality for the majority of people. The foundational stage of a creative business can last months or even years. (It has indeed been years for me...