{"id":953,"date":"2019-04-29T14:48:09","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T12:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xpand.eu\/sa\/?p=953"},"modified":"2019-04-29T14:48:09","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T12:48:09","slug":"building-a-business-that-flourishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xpand.one\/sa\/building-a-business-that-flourishes\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Business that Flourishes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Building a Business that Flourishes<\/h2>\n

One evening my friend Chris Sommer watched a young artist on TV who performed a song, in the presence of the well-known presenter Humberto Tan and a few other famous Dutch celebrities. The song was sung acapella, without accompaniment, but with fire, emotion and unmistakable talent. The young woman was admired by all – not only by those at the table, but also by Chris himself. What a voice, what an expression and what a bizarrely good presentation. The young woman was admired by all – not only by those at the table, but also by Chris himself. What a voice, what an expression and what a bizarrely good presentation.<\/p>\n

When Christ went through Humberto\u2019s preparations for an exhibition a few weeks later, he spoke to the man about the singer\u2019s striking talent. Humberto nodded and said that she was indeed good, but then asked Chris “and do you know her name?”. No, Chris had to admit. Her name had escaped him. And Chris wasn’t the only one who could not remember the name of the artist. Everyone loved her; everyone had listened intensely during the performance, but no one remembered what the young singer was called. She is very good, but not known.<\/p>\n

There are many such \u2018unknown\u2019 artists in life. These artists likely enjoy their own work; creating is rewarding, even if no one else can enjoy your art as well. And perhaps the anonymous singer was very happy with her unknown status, we cannot know. However, if she were to release a single, Chris likely would have unconsciously missed its release. The lesson being, if you do want to earn a living by practicing your profession, then you will have to make a name for yourself amongst your audience. However, becoming known is not easy. Looking at the history of a number of artists, we see that name recognition is not an indicator of success and that health and financial status is often unstable. While Rembrandt was extremely well-known during his life, he eventually died miserable and poor. Vincent van Gogh was not known, but met the same fate and died in poor circumstances. Marc Chagall was known and was allowed to live until 97 and all that with luck, health and success. Abraham Bloemaert was 87, known, influential, rich and had a good family. The painter’s academy he had set up would leave a mark on Dutch painting for at least 250 years after his death; a sufficient reason to be allowed to die as a rich and happy man. When we turn to the more recent example of Steve Jobs, we also see success, albeit with a somewhat bitter aftertaste. On his deathbed, Jobs said: “Money and success are not the most important thing. Relationships are.”<\/p>\n<\/div>

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In the book \u201cDesign Your Business\u201d we have developed the ‘starter process’, which is described in detail below. Taking a vantage point of yourself as a starting entrepreneur, freelancer, artist, service provider, or craftsman, you can use this process\u2026<\/p>\n