“You don’t have to create a masterpiece every day. Some days you just need to paint.” – Jesyca Medellin

“Create! Focus on just getting it out of you: onto the paper, onto the stage, on the recording, onto the canvas, etc. the editing process happens after you’ve gotten it out of you, not before.

Progress isn’t a straight slope, it’s more like a wave pattern— the trajectory isn’t always upward. You don’t have to make your work perfect, or even better than the last thing you did. If you focus on making your work honest then, even when your trajectory isn’t upward, it will always be forward.

Art is meant to be shared, and it’s also meant to be consumed. So, sharing art is kind of like sharing food. Once it is shared, it no longer belongs to you. There’s no way to take back what’s been consumed, and there’s no way to control the digestive process. Don’t try to possess what doesn’t belong to you, and don’t stress over what you can’t control. Some things aren’t right for everyone to eat. A food pleasant to one creature may be toxic to another: one creature may be able to chew the cud but isn’t able to tear the meat from the bone. Create in consideration of the health of the ones you’re meant to feed, not the ones you aren’t.” –Nathaniel Rainey

 “Always stay true to who you are. Finding your ‘creative style’ does not happen overnight. Also, never be afraid of criticism or a challenge from those you look up too. And never stop seeking inspiration.” –Gabriel Garcia

“Force yourself to work. Sometimes as artists we wait for the right “mood” to use our creativity, and sometimes we get to reliant on that mood to be the driving force of our creativity. In order to be a productive, reliable artist, you have to train your creativity as you would a muscle. To take the time out of your day to challenge yourself to create without being in the mood.” – Caleb Gonzales

“Develop relationships with other creatives ….they will help you through the hard times and remind you who you are when the discouragement tries to sell you a lie that you’re less than…Our relationships have catapulted us over some deep discouragements and disappointments.” –Tanya Dillard

“Don’t be afraid to try new things or things that seem difficult. And don’t fear failure. I can honestly say trying something and failing has taught me so much more in life. The next time, you know what not to do. Take every failure as a stepping stone towards your ultimate goal. Learn from your mistakes and keep moving forward. ” – Becky De Leon 

If you are a creative person looking for a community, join the movement by clicking here.

If you would like more info about the RISE Movement, check out our mission presentation by clicking here.

Until next time! Share any advice or encouragement you may have for others on their creative journey, in the comments below.

“And to the man he said, ‘Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grain. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.'”

Before being asked this question, I never really gave that idea much thought. I had to go back and read exactly where God placed the concept of work in the garden of Eden. It didn’t take long to see that God put Adam to work before the penalty for sin. And it sounds like it was pretty hard work too! Genesis 2:15 lets us know that God placed Adam in the garden “to tend and watch over it”. In verse 18, we see that Adam needs a helper so God makes Eve. So yeah, there was a lot of responsibility and work going on. So what’s the difference before the curse and after?

The difference was that, after the curse, the work that they were used to doing wouldn’t result in fruitfulness. They would actually have to work MORE and get LESS in return. As farmers, they would sow into a ground that was fighting against them and refusing to give them what their work was worth. (You know where I’m going with this.) The scripture tells us that mankind would still be able to eat grain from an unwilling ground. That was God’s mercy on display. But when the curse isn’t involved, we have a picture of hard work PLUS an environment that is willing to be a blessing to the sons of God. We see the investments of our work and time ALWAYS resulting in fruitfulness.

The key to fruitfulness is in the gospel. Do we really understand what Jesus did when He conquered sin and invited us to abide in Him? He is not a weak Jesus who sheepishly asks us if we would let him come into our heart. The Word made flesh rose victoriously, called us by name, transformed us, and baptized us into Himself. We are sons and daughters of God and JOINT HEIRS with Christ. This is the same Christ that ran up on a fig tree and was like, “I AM the Life. If you don’t want to be fruitful while I’m around you, then you’re the one cursed and not Me.” He flexed on a tree, y’all! He refused to live under the same curse of an unwilling ground that Adam did because fruitfulness has always been a top priority for God. “Be fruitful and multiply”, remember? And here’s the key: Jesus worked HARD. During one of His claims to be God in John 5:17, he says “My Father is always working and so am I.” But he only invested His time into what His Father told him to do. That’s why He was always producing fruit.

I want to encourage you as an artist. Don’t settle for working hard and barely getting a return. That’s not your portion as a son or daughter of God. And don’t let the world OUTWORK you. In one of her songs, Rihanna says “we sweat for a nickel and a dime, turn it into an empire.” If the world can make careers in music and artistry with limited resources and limited revelation in a world that is hostile to fruitfulness, then the people of God can do so much more. Remember who you are!

#RISE

After 13 years of being married to an artist, I can tell you there are pros and cons. Every marriage takes work, whether you’re an artist or not. But I must say, my marriage has been one of my life’s greatest works. It’s a work I have devoted a lot of time and effort into. My relationship with Jarrell has been the relationship that I have put before all others for the last 15 years. So even though we are sooooooo different from each other, we are still together. Even though we do not initially agree on a lot of approaches to segments of our life, we are still together. Even though he has lots of females around him all the time because he is an artist, I still trust him and we are still together. Despite these things, our partnership grows and expands each year. Even though right now we are in one of the most stretching and scary seasons of our entire marriage…we celebrate 13 years today.  Another year down. We are an anomaly. I want to see all of my married creative friends go beyond celebrating that their marriages have made it another year. Instead, I want to see their union and partnership get better and better as they simultaneously bring their creative visions to life.

3 Keys that I believe has helped our artist marriage thrive over the years:

1. Jarrell has always acknowledged our marriage and family to his fans, in his music, and from the stage- Sometimes we feel like the “odd man out” when we are at large industry events… simply because we are married with a family. Singleness is esteemed in the music industry sometimes. Maybe you’ve seen a few married artists choose not to wear their wedding rings on stage in order to give a “single” look to their fans. It happens, but I don’t know if Jarrell and I would still be together if he felt like he had to pretend like his family didn’t exist in order to “make it” as an artist. All that pretending on stage could definitely tempt an artist to act like it is true, even when the music stops.
2. He has purposely made space for me in his music career- Music isn’t “his thing” it’s OUR thing. I can’t play instruments, sing, rap, or produce music, but WE have music albums. You may ask, “How can you claim his hard work as an artist as your own?” While I haven’t played a creative role in the putting all of the music together, he has allowed me to play major parts behind the scenes of the album’s production. It is 100% a team effort. He has given me the freedom to insert my giftings into what he does. Over the years, I have invested more and more into the creative process as I have realized my talents and his needs. Music can never be “the other woman” if we are doing it together. In fact, every member of #TeamFlowers (our family) has consistently sacrificed to support his creative endeavors.
3. We both have submitted our lives to our Creator- I saved the most important key for last! Because we both strive to please our God, it can help bring closure to the disagreements that could destroy our union. I know that, if Jarrell is really in the wrong and not listening to me, he will listen to his Creator correcting him. That makes all the difference. I don’t have to nag or whine or manipulate to get him to see his errors. I just have to patiently allow the Holy Spirit to change his heart on the matter so that he sees the truth. And this happens vice versa too. Ecclesiastes 4:12 teaches us that one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves, but a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Our Creator is our 3rd strand.

Today Jarrell and I have been married for 13 years. We would love to celebrate marriages with our friends. In the comments, tell us who we are celebrating by telling us your names and how long you have been married.

Bonus: Watch a music video of my family here. If you and your spouse are going through a difficult time let this song encourage you.

1. Work on your business, not just in your business – When you are a creator selling your art, you probably need to work in your business because you are the artist. But working on your creative business and not just in your creative business should be every creator’s goal. For example, an independent music artist should work on the structure that presents your art to fans & patrons instead of solely working on the art itself. Both are equally vital! Build your art business, not just your art collection.
2. Website > Social Network – Both a website and social network presence are needed in this day and age. In the online world, owning a domain where you house your website is like the concept of home ownership. It is to be aspired toward. Having a social network presence is like renting an apartment. It’s a good place to be, but it could be taken away at any time by the owner (the creator of the social network site). So putting all of your eggs in the social network basket, so to speak, is never wise. You must “own” a way to contact and present your art to your tribe beyond social network. Therefore, building an email list of your tribe and housing all of your business and art info on one central website is ideal for longterm communication. You may ask, “Why all the doubt in the life expectancy of huge social networks?” One word…Myspace.
3. Be “3 deep” – I suggest that you are “3 deep” in every outsourced position in your creative business. Do you hire a person to perform a task on a project by project basis for some of your business needs? That is called outsourcing. Some things we personally outsource to freelancers are graphic design, photography, videography, web development, performance musicians, etc…We may have a person that we have worked with in the past that comes to mind every time we are ready to make a new video for example. But what happens if that freelancer is busy or has a family emergency and can not complete our project by our reasonable deadline? Well, if we are “3 deep”, then we have no need to panic. We just contact one of the other videographers that we have enjoyed working with in the past. When we are “3 deep” we are bound to have someone available to meet the deadline for our project.
4. Choosing a tour mate is about more than talent – (This one is more music-specific, but it can apply to the process of finding the right partner in many aspects of your business.) The lifestyle and the personality of your tour mate are oh so important. This is something I have always encouraged my husband to consider when choosing who goes on the road with him. Yes, they need to be super talented, but they also need not annoy or frustrate him with their presence. LOL! You are a unique individual and you may not mix well with every artist you meet…and that’s ok! If you are spending days on the road together, having countless conversations over mealtime, and trying to present chemistry while on stage, then the entire person needs to be considered. Are you (and your family) energized or depleted after being around them? Spend some time with them AND their family (if married) off of the stage and make sure they are a good fit before adding them to the team. If your kids spend every encounter fighting with their kids, your spouses never speak to each other, and you have a completely opposite sense of humor…just keep looking. Even if you love their talent, keep looking. It’s just not worth it!

Creative friends, how will you find the people you need to become “3 deep” or tour with for example? My answer is COMMUNITY. You need community with other creatives in your industry. This is only one of many reasons why my husband and I believe in the RISE movement so much. Click here to join our RISE online community for creatives and join the movement.

What tip from the last two blogs will you apply to your journey? Let me know in the comments below.

Today, I am sharing 3 easy tips that you can implement that would empower you as a creative in business today.

1. Fail often!– Successful creatives that we admire always have an abundance of stories about when things went wrong. Have you ever thought, “How is it that this insanely successful person has had so many things go wrong? Most of the things I decide to do works out pretty well for me.” I believe that they have these kinds of stories because they are constantly taking risks. Brave people who step out and try new things will have more opportunities to fail.  If you aren’t failing, then you’re not trying anything. If you aren’t trying anything, then you have no opportunity to succeed. No Bueno. I’ve learned that taking risks and trying things that could either succeed or fail in front of my peers is a normal occurrence on a successful person’s journey.
2. Always pre-determine the ROI (Return On Investment)– Creative friends, this is so important to think about before considering ANY opportunity. Before accepting a gig from a new promoter. Before signing a contract with an agency. Before collaborating on a project with a new artist friend. Before doing anything new or anything you have done before, determine if there is any return on your investment of time and talent. If there is no return that you can verbalize, then ask yourself why you are drawn to participate. Sometimes, it’s because we don’t think highly about OUR time and talents so we treat them like something of no value. We aren’t treating them like our gift from our Creator. Sometimes, it’s because we sincerely feel like God wants us to do this specific thing. Unfortunately, we may also believe that He doesn’t care about reaping a return or multiplying our efforts. (That could be its own blog in itself. lol)  ROI = multiplication and the parable of the talents from the Bible tells us that is very important to GOD.
3. Under promise and over deliver– If you are a performing creative, this is how you keep your performance calendar filling up for your current project. A lot of places that book you will bring you back over and over for their future events! But they will not be inclined to do so if you or your representative talked you up and inflated you and your skill set just to get in the door. When a promoter or event planner requests a particular service and you show up to exceed their expectations, they WILL want to invite you back. What can you do to exceed expectations? This can be done in MANY different ways. One thing I see that Jarrell does often is that he makes personal connections with the people who brought him in AND with the concert attendees. He doesn’t hide out in the green room after the concert. He is often found talking, encouraging, or praying with staff, volunteers, and concert attendees until he is starving and exhausted. In this example, he may have promised to rap a few songs, but he delivered more than expected.

I hope this helped! I have 4 more tips coming in my next blog. Two weeks from now it can be delivered right to your inbox by simply leaving your email here: Click to Subscribe to Jeneil’s Angle

I would love to hear some of your tips for creatives who are on the journey too. Tell us in the comments below.

During the soundcheck for my concert last weekend, one of the volunteers came up to me and asked me how many people I would be attending the event with me. I started to add everyone up. “Well, I’ve got my family with me so that’s four total. Then I’ve got my drummer and his wife are with me.” My friend (who was also performing) had two people with him as well. The volunteer said to me, “We’re just gonna reserve two rows for all of you. Is that ok?” Two rows equaled about 14 chairs. I told the volunteer that it was great!

After the soundcheck, the service starts. I do my concert portion of the service, and then I go to the green room to cool down. I grabbed some water and headed back out into the service. If you know me, then you know that I don’t really like to draw attention to myself. I try so hard to be unnoticed that it’s to my hurt most of the time. There were over 500 people at this particular event… and here I am in the back of the building walking around in the dark and trying to find a seat in the back so that I wouldn’t bring any attention to me.

I finally found some seats that were blocked off. The event hosts obviously didn’t want anyone to sit there, but I’m one of the guest artists, right? So I snuck into this row that was blocked off and I just sat down. Oh yeah, there was this huge pole that was blocking my line of sight to a part of the stage and I was wayyy in the back. But I was unnoticed so I was good. Then the Holy Spirit whispers to me, “You have reserved seats in the front.” I totally forgot about those!  But the message had already started, and I couldn’t get up and walk to the front. That would bring too much attention to me when people should be listening wholeheartedly to the message. I decided that I was gonna stay right where I was… but that thought wouldn’t go away. I knew that God was actually challenging me to sit in the front. I stood up, walked to the front, and sat in my reserved seats. Something crazy happened when I did.

I didn’t hear anyone complaining about me distracting them as I was walking up to my seat. I didn’t hear anyone say, “Who does that guy think he is sitting in the front row?” I had plenty of room and I could see the stage clearly without a big pole in my way. Then came the lightbulb moment. People weren’t ever gonna be upset or even surprised that I sat in the front. In fact, people EXPECTED me to be in the front. In fact, some people probably thought that it was WEIRD that I WASN’T sitting in the front with the other guests. Then God started speaking to me again.

He told me that He has reserved places for me. These are places of influence. These are places of “more than enough” for me and for those who are with me. He told me that people are actually waiting for me to step into the places that God has reserved for me. Then He told me that I have actually been (1) holding myself back from receiving God’s full favor and (2) robbing others from receiving what God has given me… and I’ve been calling it humility. Ouch! In an attempt to blend in and feel like I’m no better than anyone else, I’ve been sabotaging my own mission. I wasn’t walking in humility as much as I was living by the fear of other people’s opinions and a mentality of lack.

So here I go. I’m embracing everything that God has called me to be. I’m not average. My life is a unique story that God is writing for all of eternity to read. And guess what? Your life is too. It’s time to RISE.

The same week of Jarrell’s last Sunday working at the church, we started touring his music. I call the July travel schedule “touring” because that’s what it felt like to our family, but really it was really what the music industry refers to as “one-off” concerts. The road trips included Mexico, Colorado, Mississippi, and Texas. Doing these trips as a family had its hard moments, but oh it was so worth it. Overall June and July were great!

So far this month, I have given a lot of time to helping Jarrell “write the vision and make it plain” in regards to what we feel called to do for creatives through this RISE movement. That has been interesting because we have not only been writing it down. We’ve been making business proposals in the form of visual presentations. I thought that these kinds of presentations were only done by professionals. You know, the people with masters degrees or something. But we are doing it. LOL! Every moment of planning and presenting the vision (over and over) is worth it when I think of this much-needed movement taking flight for all of my present and future creative friends.

We have also been planning for Jarrell’s next full-length album.  So that means it’s album production season over here. Fortunately, the funds for this next album have already been secured. “Yay!” for investors who know their business is their mission! They are anointed to go AND to send others. We’re seeking The Lord for more business owners with a clear understanding of their mission in regards to the great commission. 

These past 4 days are a good reflection of what life looks like for this artist wifey-manager this new season. We have slept in two different cities, we have done one concert, we have attended a Sunday service at our home church, I received a very needed deep tissue massage, we had two different RISE vision meetings with some successful business friends, and we have hosted one RISE group family dinner with 40 of our creative friends. It’s an interesting season. In one sense, Jarrell is home and we are together as a family more than ever. On the other hand, now that Jarrell doesn’t have a full-time job, we seem busier than ever. LOL!

I have enjoyed writing these weekly Jeneil’s Angle blogs for you this summer. I love giving advice to creatives from my angle as a co-owner of a creative business and wife of an indie artist. So far, my blog has talked about many helpful topics such as:

• The intersection of your greatest talent and your greatest passion
• Who makes up your tribe
• What to do with your pain points
• Do I have a creative hobby or business
• Is my creative ministry a business
• Project planning tips

(If you’ve missed any of my previous blogs, don’t forget that they’re archived for you. Just click HERE.)

I also homeschool my kids. We took a long summer break because we had a full summer which included transitioning Jarrell to work from home and music travel. Well, we’re getting back to our homeschool routine this week. This calls for a new blogging schedule for me. So my next blog will be two weeks from now and I will continue that bi-weekly pattern for the rest of the year. I’m excited to continue to help my creative friends with more tips and wisdom that I’ve obtained over the years.

I’m curious. What would you like for me to write about next in regards to business for creatives? Tell me in the comments below.

Here is some wisdom from our Creator regarding planning:

Habakkuk 2:2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

Luke 14:28-30  ²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

Here are some steps to help you get started on a plan for your next creative project:

1. The Vision– This is the creative idea. It’s the foundation of the entire project. Without a clear vision, the entire work will disintegrate before it manifests. This vision must come out of your creative mind and land on paper so that your support team and tribe can help you bring it to life.
2. The Budget– This is a spending plan as you make the vision materialize. EVERYTHING that will cost you money should be included in the budget. This must be done before a single dime is spent on the new idea! There are many times when the details of an idea will change along this process, and you could spend money in an area that truly wasn’t needed if you spend before completing the budget. The second part of this step (once your realistic budget is on paper) is to determine where the money will come from. There are many ways to obtain money for your new creative project including income from employment, crowdsourcing, fundraisers, investors, your savings accounts, etc…
3. The Timeline– This is for building the system around your calendar for production accountability. Start with the ship date (the day you release your creation to the world) and then work your way back to the present day. It’s important to set your benchmarks in realistic segments of time. You are not one dimensional. You must consider your family calendar and your work calendar simultaneously in order for your benchmarks to be accurate. Also, consider the calendars of services that you choose to outsource. For example, if you have a deadline of March 15th to have your album mixed and mastered by, then you need to ensure that the person providing this service has time to work on it in that time frame. And also that they can have it to you by March 10th. Why? Because life happens, not just for you but everyone you work with. For this purpose alone, their deadline for a finished product must be BEFORE yours. Trust me, you will regret giving them the same deadline as you have on your timeline. Write your timeline down and put in parenthesis under each task what due date you gave the person you outsourced to.
4. The Marketing– This is how you present the vision to the public in a systematic way. If no one knows about your project, then all the planning was in vain. We create projects to serve and help people. One way of serving people is by writing a plan of how and when they will hear about your new project. People need to “hear” about something at least 7 times before they truly have an “aha” moment and buy-in to what you are advertising. Plan for them to hear often without being “spammy”.

If you have a creative idea that you are ready to start on and could use some specific project planning help, shoot me an email at Jeneil@freedommusicgroup.com.

Please share your favorite planning tips for creatives in the comments below!

(If you haven’t read my previous blog on “Who you need in your tribe?”, click here.)

How could your tribe help relieve your pain points, you ask? Here are a few examples:

#1 You want to create something new, but have trouble staying internally motivated to complete your creative work. I would suggest using your fans as external motivation. You could set a deadline to have the project (album, book, apparel, etc…) completed and then tell your fans that this particular project will be out on such-n-such date. Then work backwards from that date and create private deadlines for yourself in order to meet that goal. Sometimes the embarrassment of not keeping your word of accomplishing or having to move the release date over and over will help motivate you to stay on task. Also, talking about that release date publicly will be good marketing for the new creative work you are about to release to your tribe.

#2 You aspire to publish a book that you know will benefit your tribe, but it will cost thousands to publish it and your savings account says, “No go”. Ask your patrons for help. Even if you don’t already have a website set up to take financial contributions, you could set up a Patreon account for FREE. Then ask your patrons to pay you $5 or $10 or $25 for every chapter you write. You will be paid to write and held accountable to accomplish all at the same time.

#3 You are motivated and determined to make your first album and national tour. Yeah! You’re on cloud 9 with excitement until you realize you have never done either before and don’t know where to start. You know there are half a dozen books on how to do it at your local bookstore, but you remember from high school that reading a manual alone never really cut it for your creative mind. You need a coach. A coach can mentor you on how to use your strengths more and to collaborate where you are weak, in order to meet your goal. Your coach can help you make a plan and budget that guides you away from the pitfalls on your journey to reaching your ultimate goal.

Your tribe, no matter how small or large, has everything you need for this leg of the journey. You may be only one degree of separation from who God has here as a solution to your present pain point. So I challenge you to be brave and reach out.

What is your most prominent pain point and how will you reach out to your tribe for help? Let me know in the comment section.

I hope the tips from “Jeneil’s Angle” have helped you. Click here to get more blogs and tips in your inbox weekly.

In the dream, I was in a pretty clean grocery store. It was a pretty well lit facility, and  I found myself stacking boxes with some of the workers. Have you ever had a dream where you knew certain things even though they were never directly communicated to you? In this dream, I knew that the job was super easy for me. I also knew that I was going to be getting a financial raise by choosing to work at this job. My family wasn’t in this part of the dream. It was just me and the workers. I also felt that my life calling wasn’t being fulfilled in the grocery store. I was just going through the motions. Then the scene switched…

My family and I were in the lobby of a business complex. It looked like a real shady place. The room lighting was really dim (like that dim yellowish kind of lighting). Between the lobby and the business area, there was a row of rooms with mattresses in them. I got the sense that, in order for people to get to business area, they had to spend some time in those rooms. My wife was dressed in business clothes and was headed towards the business area. I was sitting in the lobby with my daughters and a few other people. There was a lot of profanity being used in the lobby. I was concerned about the safety and innocence of my girls. Then the dream ended.

I woke up and knew what the dream meant. I would be presented with two options:

1. I could continue doing what I was used to doing (church leadership). It would be a nice and neat job that would come natural to me, but my family wouldn’t be active participants with me. I would get a financial raise.
2. I could go into the business sector. This would be a place that would not come natural for me (represented by the dim lights), and my wife would play a major role in leading this journey. It would be a place where we would encounter a lot of opportunities to compromise. I would have to become more intentional about the discipleship of my wife and kids in order to survive there.

Well, the dream is real. I was soon presented with the choice in real life. I can choose comfort or cultivation.

(click here to read part 2)