If you’re struggling to get work and clients for your illustration business, it can be easy to think that the magic bullet lies in securing an agent.
After all, imagine having someone work on behalf of your business to actually bring you work on an ongoing basis, leaving you to focus purely on the bit you love…illustration!
But there are a number of reasons that going it alone can be the best approach in the long term…
No-one Is More Invested Than You
No-one is more passionate about what you do than…you! No-one is (or should be) more invested in your success than you.
No-one is going to be as thorough, as passionate, as dedicated to your success as you are…
But if fear and self doubt are holding you back, you must find a way to get through this because if you don’t believe in yourself, why should anyone else?
And if it’s lack of skills, know-how or someone to get answers from, we can help you with that too Image may be NSFW.
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Your Vested Interests Are Your Own
When you take control to run and market your own business, the only vested interests you have to worry about are your own.
There are no shareholders, partners or directors for you (or your agent) to keep happy, no irrelevant-to-you sales targets to hit, your interests are purely your own.
You do not have to do things a certain way just to keep X, Y or Z happy, you can do things the way you want to – you are your own boss, your vested interests are quite rightly in your own success.
You Can Stay Agile, Flexible and Adaptable
The nature of work is changing fast, and it’s only going to get faster.
As an illustrator – especially if you work in the digital medium – you now have all sorts of global opportunities open to you, no longer restricted by regional (or any other) borders.
The key – and challenge – of course is to find a way to identify and then take advantage of them – that’s what skilling up and self empowerment is all about.
And as soon as you do skill up, you can leverage these online tools, platforms and networks to reach people, clients and projects you’d never have been able to reach on your own before.
Not only can you reach them, they’re actively out there looking for (illustrators like) you.
Self Empowerment Above All Else
When you empower yourself with the skills you need – the marketing, the business building, the creative skills and more – no-one can take this away from you.
Becoming reliant on someone else for your success – an agent, a single client or even an employer – can erode your confidence, your self belief and your own ability to take control of your future and opportunities.
It can erode your belief in the fact that You. Are. (Good) Enough.
Empowering yourself – and arming yourself with the tools, resources, networks and contacts – to make a success of your illustration business and career, is life affirming.
You are the best agent you’ll ever have. Believe it.