Have you ever walked away from a restaurant or retail store and been so upset about the service you received (or more accurately didn’t receive)? Maybe you’ve been so frustrated with a business that you’ve vowed to never use their services again? It happens to all of us at one point or another in our lives, and it is really frickin’ frustrating! And if you’re anything like us you probably spend a good 2 or 3 minutes yelling – probably to yourself – about it in the car.

But, what if you’re the business that’s giving the poor customer service? Now, before you say, “no, no, no, that could never be me” or lose your mind on us about how unhelpful and unnecessary this post is going to be for you, just think about it….

I’m going to be brutally honest with you: Sometimes, we creatives can be a bit desperate.

When you work in a creative field, you often have to explain to non-creatives what it is that you do and why it’s a real job, and that you deserve to be compensated in real dollars for real work that has real value. It makes you want to barf. But hey, it comes with the territory.

Because of this, a lot of new creatives with new creative businesses immediately start freaking out about gathering clients as quickly as possible. They’re so worried about staying afloat that they take on any and all work that comes their way. I tenderly refer to this panic as “Business-Artist Desperation Syndrome.” It’s B.A.D.S.ville.

I’ve been here before, guys, and I can say with absolute surety that it is not a good look. I want to save you from some of the long-term effects of working with less than ideal people.

We are labeled in all aspects of our lives. Our gender, age, income level, color, job status -  they’re all labels. We often use labels to describe ourselves on both a conscious and subconscious level.

We use labels in business all the time. Sometimes out loud and sometimes subconsciously. We use them to find our tribe and relate to our audiences, to market our services and products, and write blog posts our readers want to read, and to find other business owners with whom to collaborate.

Like many other small business owners, we understand the constant dilemma of NEEDING to sell products or services but also that awful feeling of being an icky sales lady. This business is your livelihood and you have to succeed to support your family. A steady stream of income is necessary to sustain your business and keep paying your bills. But right now, you need to stop what you are doing because selling isn’t going to work for you or your business.

So babe, here’s what you already know:

You’re an awesome creative pre-preneur who’s ready to finally start her own creative business.

You know what you’re good at, and you’re ready to share your products or skills with the world.

Except you also know that there are about a gazillion other creative businesses out there who do exactly what you want to do. And many of them do it so well, you’re already doubting whether you have what it takes to succeed before you’ve even started.