Business failures and new ideas

Fail or win? Aren't both a win, if you learn from them?

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

“I am not a business person.”

This is what I used to say.

And guess what?

I have a business. Since six years already. Do I feel like a business person? Not sure, sometimes.

What do I do?

I sell digital products, more specifically: scientific illustrations.

They are most often for professors or group leaders at universities or research institutes. I also have CEOs of companies, journals, and sometimes PostDocs approaching me.

It’s a super niched topic and business, many people don’t know that scientific illustrators like me exist. We are quite a rare species.

After all, you need to be a Science- and an Art-nerd, a double-nerd basically. Also two seemingly opposite disciplines are merged in my profession.

In these last years, I have noticed that more and more people want to do what I am doing: they want to combine art and science.

I have had many approaching me & asking me for guidance. And I love helping others.

A new business idea

So last year I decided to open a Mentoring Program, I got one mentee! One other was potentially interested, too, but didn’t sign up in the end.

In addition, I got two undergrads in the US as external mentees.

I really enjoy working with others like that.

But I realized, that it seems so, that many could not afford my Mentoring rates. And they are not unreasonably high for what usually is offered in that realm.

That is at least my theory. But who knows?

It was, in a way, a type of failure, just that I do not see it like that. It was an experiment to learn from, that did not bring the outcome I wished for.

Mentees are a very different type of client compared to those I have for scientific illustrations. So it’s a learning curve for me, how to go about that whole thing busisness-wise.

The need for such help did not disappear: people still want to become scientific illustrators, and most of the time, this is freelance work, which means starting your own business.

And here we go with another factor that adds to the double-nerd story I told you before, you need to deal with business stuffs:

Money, taxes, bills, bookkeeping clients, marketing, sales, being a CEO, social media, outreach, client acquisition etc.

So you have: Scientist + Artist + Business person.

I guess if you have lived a while on this earth, you have noticed that scientist are usually not great business people, neither are artists. And when you are both of those: business might be even farther away from you.

This was me.

Add on top of that: I hated money, feared taxes & authorities & bureaucracy, disliked social media heavily & had zero knowledge about business.

And yet, I made it work. In a way, a win. Or: an experiment I tried, that gave the outcome I wished for!

So if I say that anyone can do it if I managed to, I really mean it.

I got myself the right help on the way & made it work… but that’s another story.

Let’s get back to my initial problem:

how else can I help those people who want to become scientific illustrators & always approach me?

I thought about a community that I could build with different resources, 1:1 calls, Q&As, invited speakers, co-working sessions, buddies, etc.

Lots of ideas, I really have no problem with coming up with ideas ;)!

So I let it marinate for a while.

Then it happened so, that I got more in touch with a fellow scientific illustrator I connected on LinkedIN with.

More refined, new business idea

One day it stroke me: I will share my idea & ask him to join forces! Out of nothing. The Universe gave me a little path-opening there!

It felt super crazy, cos we basically didn’t know each other!

I thought: “Well, what is the worst that can happen? He could think I am crazy. Fair enough (I might bee a bit crazy). He could also say “No”. But if I don’t ask, I won’t know!”

So, I formulated an Email, openly sharing the craziness of this idea and asking if he would want to team up…