I would love to see more creative people build businesses.

While noble in its own right, I find it a bit strange when someone announces that they’re moving from a full-time role to freelancing — or even more interestingly, from freelance to working under their own studio name. No matter how you look at it, you’re selling your time for money, full stop. And yet, simply changing the banner of how you work feels different and beneficial.

Of course, I have nothing against creative services (duh, I offer them too!), but now that I’ve tasted and seen the wonders of having a business that makes money while I sleep… my perception of “work” is forever changed. Why make something once and sell it once, when I could instead make something once and sell it a hundred times? It's a night-and-day different kind of reality.

Look, you’re amazing at what you do: Building brands, shaping visuals, composing websites, communicating ideas… why not use those skills to produce something of your own, that will reward you for the effort long after you’ve invested in it?

If you’ve ever had aspirations of “leaving client work behind” for any variety of reasons, I implore you: Bet on yourself and start a venture to create the future you want. Nothing happens overnight, but you have to be willing to start now if you ever want to see it happen.