10 Questions to Get Paid to Create Work You Love
Get Paid to Play Series
We’re back with a 5-part FREE training series designed to help you become a professional who gets paid to play.
This will be an ongoing theme each week where you can take what you’ve learned to the next level in the upcoming 3-Week Group Coaching Boot Camp which opens for enrollment Wednesday, August 9th, 12 PM CST. 🗓
In 21 days, you’ll learn how to curate, execute, and leverage the intentional work you love to create.
Note: Click the image to watch the replay. Continue below to read the blog.
Click to watch the Instagram Live Training Replay
GET PAID TO CREATE WHAT YOU LOVE
The creative dream is to get paid well to make shit you love, right?
You don't want to be broke getting paid in pennies.
However, obsessing over the money before you've tapped into your style, voice, and foundation is a recipe for disaster.
It's like trying to fly a plane when you have zero training as a pilot.
That's why in last week's first training, I focused heavily on Purposeful Play which you can read/watch here to catch up!
THE SKINNY ON PURPOSEFUL PLAY
The goal of Purposeful Play is to:
Find + operate within your Sweet Spot (overlap of a great strength + passion).
Tap into what you'd create if money wasn't a concern and social media didn't exist.
Create work you enjoy that works toward a specific, measurable result.
The timeline for this phase varies individually based on one's experiences, progress, skills, etc.
My job is to coach students through this, helping them "Find their Secret Sauce" while creating "Intentional Personal Projects" to gain traction and clarity.
My biggest opportunities stemmed from creating personal projects for myself—blogging, personal art leading to products and clients, podcasting, etc.
Not to mention so many heavy-hitter creatives in this industry I know/have interviewed caught their big breaks from personal projects.
This stuff works if you’re willing to be patient and learn how to play the game.
Let's go one step further and leverage Purposeful Play in order to get paid like a pro.
GETTING PAID TO PLAY LIKE A PRO
At this point of the game, you have a basic foundation set (mindset, systems, habits) along with a pulse of a creative direction you're interested in.
Here are some practical questions I'd ask students on Discovery calls so I can better assist them in setting + reaching targets.
QUESTION 1
What’s the end goal result you desire with your work?
Do you want to get hired by someone or within a specific market?
Do you want to attract a new specific follower, reader, listener, watcher, etc?
Do you want to generate a sale?
With this in mind, we can make sure our short-term actions + intentional work aligns with our targets.
This will help you reduce guesswork, sidestep distractions, and keep you focused on a specific path.
QUESTION 2
If you were your own dream client, what would your dream project be?
Now put your art director cap on and have some fun scheming up an intentional project that puts you on the path to inch closer to that desired result.
Example 1: Want to slay it in the wine and spirits label industry?
Create intentional work/campaigns around fake and/or well-known brands in the market that allow you to showcase your talents, thought process, and execution.
Example 2: Want to give keynotes on big stages?
It’s important to start building authority with your work and message. You can easily do this through consistent blogging, podcasting, or creating videos on a topic you want to be known for.
And then work your way up getting experience via speaking to local schools, AIGA chapters, etc.
Example 3: Want to become a successful Web 3 artist + storyteller?
Consider making a personal series that shares elements of your story in a visual way. This allows you to find your voice, your style, and your communication skills all while connecting with other creators and collectors.
You'd continue to build and expand on this foundation series carrying your skills and relationships to the next project...
Like maybe create a self-illustrated book backed + fully funded by NFTs?🤔 (My friend Laura El did this with her book 'The Lurkers' and crushed it!)
NOTE: Whatever you want to accomplish, consider what could be the smallest and most manageable starting point you can pursue and slowly scale from.
This is a long-term game and it’s about putting yourself on the trajectory to inch toward what you want.
QUESTIONS 3-10
How would you build a creative brief for yourself?
(Consider this a rhetorical question that we’ll dive deeper into with the main questions below.)
The worst thing a client can do is not know what they want and give you any direction…
So why do that to yourself?
Let’s create some criteria for you to operate within because constraints breed creativity.
If you have a lot of ideas you want to pursue, create and curate campaigns, series, or sprints of intentional work.
This will help you gain experience, gauge interest, build + leverage your portfolio, and build productive habits, systems, and routines.
Let’s end this with the final 8 questions to help you start this brief:
What’s the project?
What’s the goal you want to accomplish/what purpose does it serve?
How long will it take to complete?
How many pieces will be a part of this campaign, series, or sprint?
When will it start and when will it end?
What main platform(s) are you sharing this work on?
How frequently are you sharing this work?
What’s next—can you scale this or plan to pivot?
The more you put in the practice to build dream projects for yourself…
The better your odds will be at creating and attracting work that allows you to get paid to play!
ACTION ITEMS
Spend 15-30 minutes to create a rough first draft answering everything within the 3 sections of questions I asked above.
It doesn't have to be perfect—bonus points if you email scotty@perspective-collective.com your answers with me!
Let’s Work Together 🤝
Looking for some extra guidance and accountability on how to get paid to play like a professional?
If so, you'll love the upcoming 3-Week Boot Camp that focuses on Purposeful Play (8/21 - 9/10).
In 21 days, you’ll learn how to curate, execute, and leverage the intentional work you love to create.
Consider learning more below about how to join an upcoming 3-Week Boot Camp. 👇🏻
JOIN THE BOOT CAMP WAITLIST
The Side Hustler's Boot Camps are quarterly 3-Week Group Coaching Workshops to help grow your creative biz + brand.
Soak up a year’s worth of measurable growth, support, and accountability, or take one-off sessions to tackle your current biggest struggle.
Expect challenging exercises, a private community, 3 weekly live calls, and more.
Join the Waitlist for updates + 1st dibs at enrollment.
