Do you need an idea, a pattern or an outline for your business?

48 Comments

My four children are all amazing and talented in so many ways, but today…I want to talk about Emily. She reminds me of you. A lot.

Emily is a 14 year old sophomore. She skipped 2nd grade. (she was an achiever and ‘rebel’ early on) She is ranked #4 in her class of 256 graduates. She studies hard. She is very competitive, attractive, funny, stylish and driven. She has been getting ‘the friendliest’ award since pre-K and has a tender heart for the underdog. She is musical, a voracious reader, a class officer and artistic. As an adopted child, she has a precious heart for orphans. She loves to travel, rebels against unfairness and she knows there is ‘something big’ she is called to do.

See what I mean? In many ways, she is like you.

But what does this have to do with business, Carrie??

You want to have a profitable business. Yes?

And so next comes the barrage of questions:

  • What can I do?
  • Is that marketable?
  • How do I start?
  • Who wants what I have?
  • What do I know?
  • Is that too saturated?
  • and on and on and on…

But I think there is an even more important FIRST question!

How do you create?

When Emily created this image below, she was 9. The assignment was to create something from scenery you’d imagined in a book or a song.

Being a Texas gal, I really love this. I’m not sure what the scene was she is trying to create…but the fact is – she was happy with it. It achieved HER objectives.

Maybe you are a ‘creator’ or business owner that likes to focus on ideas. Someone who likes to create from free thought and needs in the market. Something from your imagination, using your own palette, medium, shapes and sizes. You don’t want a pattern or need an outline. Just let me create, you say!

This might be your style of business if:

  • You rebel against ‘how others are doing it’
  • You are wildly passionate about something and cannot rest until it’s done.
  • You see the big picture clearly & don’t want anyone else smudging it.
  • You like to read, listen to ideas, etc and then add your OWN style or spin to it
  • You are not easily frustrated
  • You work really well alone
  • You are okay if it isn’t perfect, it’s is YOURS after all
  • You are comfortable with risk-taking.
  • You are not overly concerned with the opinion of others.
  • Steve Jobs was this kind of creator. These are the innovators.

Doesn’t sound like you yet? Keep reading!

When Emily created this image of Taylor Swift, she was 12. The assignment was to take a ‘pattern’ or a ‘likeness’ and complete it. To mirror it using your skills. She chose Taylor, because her younger sister is a big fan.

Sometimes you need a pattern

She did a great job, right?

Maybe you are a ‘creator’ or business owner that likes to have a pattern. Someone who likes to see other peoples’ businesses and ‘model’ after them, using your own skills, talents and whatever flavor of crayon you prefer.

This probably means:

  • You are an independent learner & worker
  • You can receive an ‘overview’ and run with the idea from there
  • You can connect dots on your own & don’t need hand-holding
  • You see ‘the big picture’ and know what steps it takes for you to fashion it into your own
  • You don’t get frustrated easily
  • You don’t require perfection or over-analysis, but allow yourself some ‘flow’ and expression
  • You like the comfort zone of being able to refer back to the ‘original’ pattern
  • You like puzzles and systems and knowing how things will fit to completion (with some trial & error)
  • Working with a coach or mentor is a good fit for you. You really like a sounding board.
  • You like proven methods, BUT want the freedom to blur the lines a bit.

Any of this resonating with you yet? Keep reading!

As the ‘biggest sister’ with two younger sisters…you can imagine that Emily also spends some time doing ‘art’ with them. Emily created this image of Rapunzel from Disney’s “Tangled” during a Saturday morning pj session. The assignment was to complete the picture by coloring in the lines, Right?

This is still art. This is still her creation. This is still work

Maybe you are a ‘creator’ or business owner that likes to have a proven, turn-key, fill in the lines type business model. Someone who likes to know without a doubt that ‘this will work.’ This business owner likes to step into a system or process and be the ‘agent’ of the business.

This might be your ideal model if:

  • Trial and error make you insane.
  • You have failed before and have fear about ‘creating’ something new
  • You really crave the support system of others just like you
  • You like having a company backing you and doing your marketing
  • Ideas are not your best thing…you just want to ‘do’
  • You have limited time to ‘figure’ something out
  • You want to ‘hit the ground running’ right now

This is all art business. Right?

You are like Emily:

  • Talented
  • Intelligent
  • Driven
  • Creative
  • Knowing you having something ‘big’ in you

But before you grab the brushes, pencils and easel and get ready to prep your business canvas…ask yourself, ‘How do I create?’

Don’t worry about how I create, or she creates or ‘they’ create. How. Do. You. Create?

Please, leave a comment or LIGHT BULB moment below!

I always love to continue our conversation and am honored when you share these posts!

Filed Under: Blog Posts, Goal Setting, Mentoring & Leadership, Motivation & Persistence Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
  • http://twitter.com/lisa_sherrill Lisa Sherrill

    Great post! Your daughter is amazingly talented.
    I am someone who likes to have a pattern! I never thought of it that way before. Thank you.

  • http://easyarticlestarters.com/ Peggy Baron

    I love the way you weave your story, Carrie. And what a talented, special daughter you have. But then, as you say, we all have a specialness to us. :) I love creating and this bullet point really resonates with me…”You like to read, listen to ideas, etc and then add your OWN style or spin to it”

    Thanks for sharing, and I loved the art work.Peggy

  • Dee Dee

    Enjoyed hearing about your daughter, but not getting your point about how it relates to me? sorry…perhaps you could help me on this!

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    everyone tends to choose a business model or style based on how they like to create

    so if you look at the questions under each art – you should be able to pinpoint which business style pertains to you.

    Some do better in a system, like direct sales, MLM or as an ‘agent’ for insurance, mortage or real estate
    Some do better with their innovation and invention, like Steve Jobs Some do better following someone they admire or a business model they can ‘mold’ after their own liking.

  • http://www.paulbevans.com Paul B Evans

    Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We each have talents, abilities and gifts. It’s awesome to see her’s on display!

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    you would be one of those ‘rebels’ I mentioned. LOL

    Lines? What lines? I will not be participating in staying inside any lines! ;)

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    her art teacher said to me once… ‘what she lacks in natural talent, she makes up for in hard work’ – hmmmm sounds like some business owners I know too!

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    I can’t decide if she is going to be thrilled or mortified when she gets home. I’ll risk it ;)

    Thanks for your comment! Me and my stories…I don’t know how else to write ;)

  • http://www.paulbevans.com Paul B Evans

    What?! I am a complete conformist!!!! ;)

  • http://www.innergameprofits.com/ Tanya Smith

    What a talented gal your Emily is (well…all of team Barefoot in fact!). I love the fact that as biz owners – if we allow ourselves – we get to pull on talent from our strengths, which might otherwise be squished into the wrong shaped hole if we worked the 9-5. Some great food for thought in this post Carrie – as always :-)

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    squish hole. I agree! Thanks for stopping in from Wales ;) I always appreciate your insight since you work with business owners as well!

  • http://theworkathomewife.com/ Angie Nelson

    I love this post. In the beginning I think that having these “options” can be a bit intimidating. We are hoping someone will show up and say, “there is only one way to do it and this is it.” Over time I think we come to appreciate that there is so much freedom in how we can “create” our businesses. No two businesses are the same. Even those with turn-key models have plenty of room to make it their own. 

  • http://twitter.com/TeresaShepp Teresa Shepp

    I have been operating as someone with a pattern…but I have been struggling to make it my own.  I think I am going to bust out of my patterned model…and find what my business has been lacking…a point of view.  Maybe we can function in a few of the modes…much like we all have preferred learning styles (but we use all of them).  Love your analogy and I am sure your daughter will be thrilled…your love for her is everywhere in this.  Thanks for this post.

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    You are right! And the options are so overwhelming…I thought it might be helpful to narrow the field a tad ;)

    My husband is a turnkey guy all the way! Works for him!
    I’m more the pattern type ;)

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    Teresa – I agree!

    My prom dress was created by me — I took 3 patterns that I liked and merged them. Mom sewed it.

    I STILL designed it. It was MY dress. I just sampled from a few different patterns and there you go ;)

    I would never have been able to sketch my own, but I also wasn’t ready to wear someone else’s idea of a dress.

    Nothing wrong with it – just not my style ;)

  • http://www.facebook.com/pat.mussieux Pat Fortin Mussieux

    Thanks, Carrie – it’s fabulous to see how, using powerful images as you have, that we really are all different. I, personally, do not like the ‘cookie cutter’ approach ‘in all things’ – I do recognize that some things just work and it’s important to model that – however, we are all unique and can bring that to the table, too. You said it well – thanks!

    Pat

  • Kim

    Carrie – cool post! Thank you! I’m definitely a ‘focus on ideas’ kind of creator. I’ve been a solopreneur for over a year now. My challenge is always getting out of ‘doing’ mode and getting back to idea generation to improve my business. Any suggestions for finding a better balance between the two?

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    My friend Chet Holmes , author of Ultimate Sales Machine and Anthony Robbins business partner, suggests spending an HOUR per week focused on the area of business you want to improve on. I’d start there!

  • http://anniesteam.com/ Rich

    Great Post! “Maybe you are a ‘creator’ or business owner that likes to have a pattern”…. I think I fall mostly into this category-except for the puzzles:) Not reinventing the wheel, but improving on a good idea or concept. There’s never a new ice cream cone just a new way to market it!

  • http://blog.sunwaptasolutions.com/ Doug Wagner

    Love how you wove the personal story of your talented daughter into your business lessons. Hope she was thrilled about that!

    Makes me nostalgic for the days when I had time to paint. Now my creativity is expressed through other channels like the business and the products we are creating, music, etc.

    I think I am the idea type with some pattern tendencies. Biggest challenge is keeping focused on the practical side of customers and profits. Awareness, planning and reflection really help with that. Plus reminding that you get to create MORE if you have more.

  • Scott Ely

    Hi Carrie – your daughter is very talented – it’s wonderful to have a mother who can nurture that talent.  I am an artist at heart and have been since I was a child.  My family was one of those that always hit me over the head with what “I was supposed to do”.  My father and grandfather were both physicians and my mom was a nurse – guess what I was supposed to do?  I struggled with that for years – started and stopped pre-med no less than 3 times in college before finally majoring in business and film – even went back to try pre-med again after I had already graduated!  One of my favorite life quotes is from Henry David Thoreau in “Walden” – he said: “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and die with their song still in them.”  I’m thankful that I was eventually able to follow my own song.  I yearn to be around people who have done the same thing.  I’m definitely a creator and not an administrator.  I’ve always preferred the road less traveled but it is nice to find company along that road from time to time just to help confirm that I’m not really crazy!  I love studying men like Steve Jobs and other “innovators” who had the vision and the passion to see their vision to reality.  I do struggle with letting someone see my work before it is “perfect” and have missed more than one opportunity because of that.  I have always found myself drawn to creative types who had been successful in turning their creativity into a real business and love the opportunity to hear their stories and be encouraged by their success in a world where the majority are comfortable to just do what everyone else is doing.  Thanks for asking these questions!

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    You are welcome!! Thanks for your feedback!

    My kids are all very different and it’s my blessing and privilege to encourage their unique gifts ;)

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    Doug, great thoughts!!

    We’ve discussed music before and I willingly stepped away for a bit to make a bigger impact in other ways.
    I have not regretted it and now I have time to enjoy it intentionally ;)

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    Love it Rich. There is absolutely some overlap for some of us ;)

  • Tara Arnold

    Excellent post Carrie! Your daughter is stunning and your love for her is beautiful. Seriously, that is awesome creativity at work in your post. I would have to say I am a real mix of the ideas creator and the pattern type. 
    I completely relate to what Scott wrote about yearning to be around others who are walking to the beat of their own drum as well. It does help to not feel so alone walking the road less traveled! Great quote from Henry Thoreau also. 
    Thanks again, you are hysterical, I always find myself laughing because I have a similar personality and sense of humor! P.S. Love Paul too!
    Tara 

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    Thank you Tara. Emily just read the post and was a little emotional that I shared her with the world ;) Told her that was mom’s occupational hazard :)
    Don’t encourage Paul here…seriously – he’s incorrigible ;)

    I find that my IDEAS and INNOVATION are more geared to tweaking the pattern I’m on. I have ideas about new ways to MARKET things, not necessarily new things to Market. (if that makes sense ;)

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    thanks Pat!! a big AHA for me was to recognize that we don’t have to ‘create the same way’ to be validated in ‘the creation itself’ — we tend to weigh businesses against each other and the truth is — art is art ;)
    Thanks for chiming in! Always love your feedback!

  • http://coachingreallyworks.com/ Abe Stone

    Well put! I find the analogy very fitting. My eldest daughter is 15 and moving forward with here studies but she has developed very quickly in the area of digital art and has even begun turning a profit with her talent.
    I’m personally developing myself as a business owner, so it’s exciting to do it side by side with my own child, as she develops and finds what she’s passionate about and discovers how she can do what she loves and get paid for it.

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    way to go Dad!

  • http://profiles.google.com/faithandfamilyreviews Robert and Theresa Gould

    I am kind of a mix. I don’t fit one perfectly. Not sure what that means!? ~ Theresa

  • Terrylchandler

    Carrie Wilkerson always encourages and inspires us. Thanks Carrie!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Janika-Skembo/1177116822 Janika Skembo

    This is an excellent outline of business personality styles that really resonates.  I can’t say that I fit into one category, any more than I fit into any other personality profile.  Rather than coloring in the lines, I like mirroring a color-in outline.
    Then I like to add scenery (vision) and detail (systems) to both sides
    of the picture.  But I see it as a group project where other people can
    add their own colors and make it better than it would be without them.

    My toy invention business hit the wall when I got distracted by
    following my real passion. I became a director on the local arts
    council.  I have helped them organize and clarify their fledgling
    structure, and encouraged them to use business and marketing methods you
    teach. 

    Through this experience, I have learned that I
    am not, nor ever will be, a solo entrepreneur.  I like to plug into a team, and help that group explode. Everything in my head is too big for me to do alone.  I avoid overwhelm by working in specific projects with like-minded people.

    I have missed you lately.  I haven’t been reading my business education emails for a while.  I am glad you hooked me with the DIY30 webinar.  Thanks for all you do.

  • jennyflintoft

    Love how you’ve used the story of Emily’s unique gifts, talents and heart to demonstrate where/how we can use ours in our businesses! Fabulous!

    I suspect Emily will be painting her colours on our world for a long time yet, leaving it better for her having been there. She’s amazing :)

  • Kim

    Perfect suggestion! And very doable. Thank you!

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    That means you are human :)

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    Missed you too! That is KEY to recognize if you work best solo or on a team!! Great self awareness!

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    2 weeks and you can hug her yourself in NYC! I am guess she and ‘Aunt Marla’ will take a trek over to MoMA ;)

    Thanks for being YOU!

  • http://www.carolowens.com/ Carol Owens

    Great Post, Carrie. Your daughter is very talented.  I too am a “closet” artist, having majored in art in college. My art is more of the 3d type though (love taking fabric an turning it into a finished project. In fact, I often have a patten to start with but usually change it to fit my final idea.) I have a little of each type of creator in me, but mainly fall into the pattern type creator. I love puzzles and seeing to final results. Thank you for sharing your beautiful daughter and her talents with us.

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    My mom is a fabric artist as well :)

  • Kathy

    Thanks for sharing from ‘HOME” Carrie!  You are teaching me how to let ‘who I am’ show in my business.  That’s really how I want to do business! 
    I love to watch and see what’s working or what’s needed in the world around me (Creative) then I like to find someone who is doing it really well- like you and Paul in DIY30 (pattern), then take my own spin to it (back to Creative in some ways!)

    Thanks for sharing- not only your daughter, but how I can learn from her!

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    Thank you!! I am learning from her every day too!

  • http://www.funent.com/ Ken Abrahams

    Great post as usual. Creativity for me is a learned behavior but one that I very much appreciate and cultivate. It is involved in every aspect of my business even the administrative part. I need to be creative in the way that I deal with problems, motivate and praise staff, utilize resources. It is also what I love most about my client interactions , helping them put on the best events possible.

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    Right! Great point…sometimes the way we create is to renovate or manipulate an existing problem or solution. Like how you are thinking!!

  • http://www.PurpleandSpice.com/ Sharon Fiberesima

    Oh I’m definitely the rebel but I like to mix and match a bit. I rebel against the way a lot or people do things especially when it comes to helping others; at the same time I understudy others to learn how to create what I do better. Like you Carrie, I can’t be a Carrie Wilkerson (because there’s already one yea,) BUT I can study how Carrie is herself so perfectly and learn from her how to be more me. I hope I’m making sense. :)

    I like to do things my way but I don’t intend to reinvent the wheel.

  • Carrie Wilkerson

    Bravo! Well said!

  • http://www.rosemarymanor.co.za/ Gerlinde

    It is SO important to know how you were designed. This does make life in general and business specifically so much more effective. Thanks for  Emily’s beautiful life example. Enjoy your kids. From a business woman, faith coach and mom of 9. 

  • Info

    Love this! I love that you used something of your children to relate this concept! I actually fine some children’s versions of books and such much.more helpful at times! I am a blend of the first 2!

  • Lgjeltema

    Great analogy. On first read, I’m thinking there is a bit of me in all of these. But when I start thinking about what I like best, I jump right to creator! Thanks for the prompt to self insight.