Rabby
Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
Stick with one main skill long enough to understand what is or is not working. That's how you learn. At the same time, you need to learn and experiment with (actively practice) some kind of sales, marketing, and lead generation. Otherwise, it is hard for people to know about you, even if you're secretly the world's best artist (read up on poor Emily Dickinson). Your marketing can be online, offline, whatever, but it can't be neglected. "Being" on youtube won't be enough; "being" is passive and you need to be active in your marketing.
Also, get enough sleep; you won't learn and improve quickly enough without a good 8 hours. I mention this because too many people try to "find time" when they should be sleeping. You'll develop faster by working 1 hour and sleeping 8, than you will by working 2 hours and sleeping 7. I've made that mistake, and it's not fun.
Ok, so you're doing portraits and speed art videos. No problem. I actually watch speed art sometimes, if I'm illustrating. Almost anything can be successful if:
Another thing to keep in mind. Products and skills are rarely limited to either "fastlane" or "slowlane." In other words, it's not the product or the skill that determines the scale you can reach, it is what you do with them. For example, lots of people describe teaching as "slowlane." However, if you own a school and set it up to teach thousands of students per year, it is hardly slowlane.
Likewise, with art you can take commissions and do one portrait at a time, and there is nothing wrong with that at all... you'll probably have to do that in the beginning. But you have to answer the question, how will you scale it? Guy Harvey paints fish. It doesn't sound scalable until you realize he's built that into a clothing line, a research foundation, a syndicated television show, and a bunch of other stuff. So do the day to day work, but also keep looking for the ways that you can scale that work - free it from your time, one little thing at a time at first, until your work supports you on its own.
Also, get enough sleep; you won't learn and improve quickly enough without a good 8 hours. I mention this because too many people try to "find time" when they should be sleeping. You'll develop faster by working 1 hour and sleeping 8, than you will by working 2 hours and sleeping 7. I've made that mistake, and it's not fun.
Ok, so you're doing portraits and speed art videos. No problem. I actually watch speed art sometimes, if I'm illustrating. Almost anything can be successful if:
- Other people want or need the end product.
- Other people want or need to learn how to do the thing at a more advanced level.
Who is your audience / customer?
What do they need? What are they trying to do?
When are they interested in your product? When they are writing business books, or when they are getting married, or when they are developing their portfolio?
Where are these people? Where do they gather? Online, at conferences, at shows, in the park?
Why do they want what they want? Is it a big problem, a big desire? Can something else do the same thing for them? Why should they pay attention to your solution?
How can what you're doing help them with their problem or desire? This is important.
Another thing to keep in mind. Products and skills are rarely limited to either "fastlane" or "slowlane." In other words, it's not the product or the skill that determines the scale you can reach, it is what you do with them. For example, lots of people describe teaching as "slowlane." However, if you own a school and set it up to teach thousands of students per year, it is hardly slowlane.
Likewise, with art you can take commissions and do one portrait at a time, and there is nothing wrong with that at all... you'll probably have to do that in the beginning. But you have to answer the question, how will you scale it? Guy Harvey paints fish. It doesn't sound scalable until you realize he's built that into a clothing line, a research foundation, a syndicated television show, and a bunch of other stuff. So do the day to day work, but also keep looking for the ways that you can scale that work - free it from your time, one little thing at a time at first, until your work supports you on its own.