Physical and Immediate

To get the ball rolling on my new business, I’ve decided to go to one of my most trusted mentors, so I’ll be following some guidelines set forth in my father George’s book Your Band as a Business - Entrepreneurial Vision (available here). I know it may seem a bit odd, but this is my two birds with but one stone move, because I’ve promised him that I would re-work his text into a version for visual artists. So creating my own plan via adapting his book feels authentic AND efficient.

From the introduction:

I sat down thinking I would type my list, but then something inside me pulled me to my journal where I hand-write my thoughts daily. Maybe it was the line above, “Be specific in writing them down.” For brainstorming and dreaming, I wanted the connection between my thoughts and recording them to be physical and immediate.

Here is what I jotted down for Long-term goals:

• Beautify homestead to be able to host workshops/events

• Increase homestead productivity/efficiency while continuing sustainable practices

• Build visitor spaces (cabins/campsites) for overnight stays

• Create open pastures, fence, maintain for grazing/hay

• Create personal artwork to bring this beautiful, meaningful way of life to others’ daily experiences

  • Make available for sale as originals, prints, merch, books, videos

• Create group and individualized experiences to facilitate others’ exploration of their own creativity

  • Workshops

  • Retreats

  • Online consultations

While I was planning to dutifully create a business plan in this post, it morphed into something more meaningful to me personally.

By taking pen to paper, I realized that I don’t just want a sales based business. I want a connection business. I want to create a place here on the homestead (and in the back of my mind I was also considering the homestead in Jaguey down in Perú) where people can reconnect with the natural world and with their own creativity. Technology has enriched our lives, I mean, I’m connecting with you all via technology right here, but it has come with a cost. We have allowed quick, easy dopamine hits to replace the rich, seratonin-generating activities of slow living and hand-making. The feel of a phone or tablet is no substitute for the smooth surface of piano keys and the live vibrations through the air from the strings, the resonance of the instrument. It is no substitute for the smearing of thick impasto paint on canvas or fighting centrifugal force forming clay on wheel. It is no substitute for sunshine on your face, cool grass beneath bare feet, mud between toes, and fingers deep in the soil nestling a seedling into place.

I need to work on planning my business to enable these core ideas, and I’ll need to do some targeted research to see if there are people seeking these types of experiences.

What do you dream about when you think of your ideal business? Your ideal life?

For more on the neuroscience of handwriting vs typing, please check out this study:

“The neural mechanisms underlying handwriting are intricately linked to perceptual, motor, and cognitive functions, providing a rich substrate for the expression of thoughts and emotions.”