Crafting Your Vision: Defining Your Project’s Purpose and Goals
You need to know what you are doing before you start because today, the industries are extremely versatile and the creative industry is just crazily versatile. The spectrum of the definition of “art”, “photography”, “music”, and “literature” stretches into the endless space and out of the solar system. So, conduct your own little marketing research and just see what people do. Can you do that? What do you like?
If you think you have a unique, completely innovative concept, think again and research a little bit deeper. Probably someone has already done something like that. Have they succeeded? Have they failed? Before you start your journey, you want to know.
Important mindset reminder: you will find tons of competition. You will find tons of successful, famous, seemingly unbeatable competition and will probably drown in self-doubt about whether you should even start if there are so many talented, successful people out there.
So this is a small reassurance for you: the market is never saturated with a good product. A good product is always scarce.
So yes, you should start and try your best.
The versatility of all markets is insane now. If you take any niche you will find tons of competition; if you write books you will find thousands of famous writers; if you make music you will find hundreds of musicians, singers, and DJs; if you play casino games you will find not one $1 deposit casino but dozens of them, and all have their customers!
The funny thing is that you will most likely find your customers. But you need to get to that point by starting.
Warning! If you do not find anything like your own unique concept idea out in the wild, there are two possible scenarios for you. The first one is optimistic: your product or idea is unique and the world will love it because it is so unusual and no one has even been genius enough to do that before.
The second scenario is pessimistic *deleted* realistic: people have already tried that and failed to find their customers because the concept is only good on paper. It means you have to try but you may fail.
In this case, you should not abandon your idea of being self-employed in the creative industry altogether. Instead, you should do like all those people have done: fall, get up, choose a different direction, and start again.
Unique Presence and Planning
Most business guides recommend setting SMART Goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.
It is a piece of good advice if you are ready to face the realistic situation of being unable to achieve them or achieving these goals gives you nothing.
The problem with the creative industry is that you may misinterpret what your goals are, how you are going to achieve them, or how much time you need. For example, if you are a painter, you may set a goal of making five new paintings by the end of the month. Is it a SMART goal? Perhaps but if no one knows about you, you have no social media and no place to show your paintings, why would you waste time painting them in the first place?
The catch here when you try to set your goals is that people tend to set goals they are familiar with, and this is especially true for creative people. For an author, it may be emotionally easier to write a new book than a content plan and posts for their social media. For a painter, it is easier to make a whole new painting than to join a networking event and talk to the representatives of the local galleries, etc.
However, working in the creative industry does not work if you have no audience and no exposure. So whatever you plan and whatever goals you set, seek exposure in the first place, and not creating more and more art no one sees.
Traveling to Different Locations
The project took me to different cities. Funny enough, places with high-end casinos also have a lot of derelict buildings. Detroit, with its iconic abandoned factories, remnants of its industrial past. Las Vegas, the epitome of casino culture, where every building screams opulence. Atlantic City, a mix of both, with its decaying boardwalks and grand casinos. In Detroit, the Packard Plant stood out. Once a symbol of American automotive prowess, now a vast expanse of ruins. It’s been abandoned for decades, a playground for urban explorers. Photographing it was surreal. The vastness, the decay, the graffiti, and each photo seemed to capture a piece of its soul.
Las Vegas was the opposite. The Bellagio, with its dancing fountains and marble floors. The Venetian, with its indoor canals and gondola rides. Yet, behind the glamour, there’s a sense of desperation. People chasing dreams. Capturing this dichotomy was essential. The glittering exterior and the grim reality behind it. Atlantic City offered a mix. The Boardwalk Empire, once thriving, now struggling. Abandoned hotels standing next to bustling casinos. It’s a city caught between decay and renewal. The photos here were the most poignant. A rusting Ferris wheel overlooking a bright, bustling casino floor. It felt like a visual metaphor for the clash between past and present.