Blindspots + Business For Dummies
Newsletter + On This Day
Confession: I know a lot about a few things, a little about many things, and almost nothing about more things than I’d like to admit.
I’m a (mostly) self-taught creative who has learned far more from books and YouTube videos than I ever did in a traditional classroom.
While “talking shop” with a dear friend recently about our interests and passions, we both came to a similar conclusion: Clint may know lots of stuff, but he also can haz many, many blindspots.
To be fair, my blindspots aren’t just blind—they’re practically black holes.
Here are the (relevant) areas I think I know about and a few of the areas I’m pretty sure I know very, very little:
I (THINK I) KNOW A LOT ABOUT…
ART + DESIGN
The world of making art and design is where I feel most at home. Color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value are my happy places. I can stare at a work of art for hours. When it comes to design, I love seeing how people interact with things I make, whether it's a photo, a logo, or an elaborate montage of creative snapshots.PHOTOS + VIDEOS
Cameras, lenses, editing software? Yes, please. I’m more than happy to spend countless hours doing photo research and making videos, tweaking edits until everything feels right.
I (THINK I) KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT…
ENTERTAINMENT + POP CULTURE
I can hold my own in a conversation about celebrity gossip, movies, TV series, and music—especially if we’re talking about queer icons, cult classics, or Irene Cara’s “Fame.” (That song? It’s gonna live forever.) But ask me to name a current artist or chart-topper and I’ll probably hit you with a blank stare.MARKETING + WEBSITES
I’ve picked up enough marketing know-how to create and promote my own Shop, Substack, and YouTube channel, but am decidedly DIY about things. I’ve learned a lot of the marketing jargon and lingo in the process, but don’t ask me to explain the concepts in detail. Half the time, I feel like I’m just throwing things at the wall and hoping the algorithm gods will be forever in my favor.
I (THINK I) KNOW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT…
BUSINESS + FINANCE
This is where my creative brain shuts down. Business plans? Budgeting? Profit margins? My internal dialogue usually goes something like this: “Oh yeah…I’ll figure that out later.” Spoiler Alert: I rarely figure it out later. Even after years of freelancing and working for big-name companies, I’m still scratching my head at the mysteries of dollars and cents. I like spreadsheets, but use them mostly like an artist: to lay out and visualize information I don’t fully understand.
This is where things get really frustrating. The business world—especially in venture capital-driven media and print-on-demand industries—seems designed to devalue creativity at every turn. To business-first folks, artists and designers are nothing more than “content machines,” expected to churn out work for as little pay as possible. And here’s the kicker: creatives (myself included) tend to buy into these devaluations. We end up doubting our talent and worth and failing to price our work accordingly.
Take my experience with online shops, for instance. I started on (and quickly left) nearly a dozen print-on-demand “partners” before settling on my current mix of Fourthwall and Threadless.
I quit the other platforms after realizing they were charging me more and more to do less and less. Creatives on print-on-demand platforms do most of the heavy lifting—designing, promoting, building an audience—while companies like Redbubble and Society6 continue to take bigger and bigger slices of the pie. Or try to. Not from me.
Venture capitalists hover like vultures, armed with “creative” financing schemes that have little to do with fostering actual creativity. Their priority isn’t nurturing the artistic process; it’s squeezing every last dollar from it. To them, it’s all about numbers. As for artists? We’re just seen as another (unnecessary) expense on their balance sheets.
SO, WHAT’S THE POINT?
While I may have blind spots—especially when it comes to business—thanks to Substack, I’m now officially a "bestseller."
What’s a “Substack Bestseller”? Basically, it means over 100 people have decided to support me and my work through the platform. Substack not only helps creators create, they help us make a living too…without charging an arm and a leg for the privilege of using their platform.
Substack is one of the few online refuges where creators are able to survive and thrive—without the predatory tactics most media and print-on-demand platforms employ to devalue the very work audiences and customers visit their sites for.
And as for my blind spots? Yes, they still include some of the basic business skills I need to succeed as an independent creator. But this old dog ain’t done learning new tricks. Not by a long shot.
Business may not come naturally to me, but I’m figuring it out—slowly and surely.
Thanks for reading!
Clint
NEWS + VIEWS
INSIDE THE PRINT-ON DEMAND INDUSTRY (Sean Broihier)
ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 17
BIRTHDAYS
1914 = Jerry Siegel = American author and illustrator
1915 = Arthur Miller = American playwright and screenwriter
1918 = Rita Hayworth = American actor, singer and dancer
1920 = Montgomery Clift = American actor
1926 = Beverly Garland = American actor and hotelier
1938 = Evel Knievel = American motorcycle rider and stuntman
1948 = Margot Kidder = Canadian-American actor
1958 = Alan Jackson = American singer-songwriter
1960 = Rob Marshall = American director, producer, and choreographer
1962 = Mike Judge = American animator, director, and screenwriter
1968 = Ziggy Marley = Jamaican singer-songwriter
1972 = Eminem = American rapper, producer, and actor
1974 = Matthew Macfadyen = English actor
EVENTS
1907 = Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service.
1931 = Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion.
1939 = Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is released.
1963 = The Beatles record "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at EMI Studios in London.
1965 = The 1964–65 New York World's Fair closes after two years and more than 51 million attendees.
1978 = The Village People release “YMCA.”
1995 = For the first time in its history, the United Nations considers lesbian and gay rights abuses at its International Tribunal on Human Rights Violations Against Sexual Minorities. Following testimony from a number of women and men who have suffered abuse ranging from torture to forced institutionalization, the tribunal recommends that the UN document sexual orientation and gender identity issues around the world and integrate them into the organization’s human rights agenda.
PHOTO + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“IF PEOPLE TAKE ANYTHING FROM MY MUSIC, IT SHOULD BE MOTIVATION TO KNOW THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE AS LONG AS YOU KEEP WORKING AT IT AND DON'T BACK DOWN.”
EMINEM (AKA MARSHALL MATHERS)
NEW + FEATURED
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I know there are a lot of good people in all situations. But someone I respect called our (the general public's) situation in terms of those who run things a "lenocracy." Meaning a government of thieves. A permit here, another charge there, new services that never existed and you don't want but have to pay for (and that still don't exist but maybe they will someday). Everywhere you go a hand out waiting for you to put money in it, but very few out to help or even do what they say they're there for. Yes. The view of creatives you describe is exactly right.
First, let me thank you for reading your newsletter. I don't have any trouble with it (yet), but it makes me feel more of "a part of" your community when I hear your voice -- I pay better attention, too.
I don't think there's a lot that's particularly new in the Creators vs. The Money Men these days. Americans have ALWAYS focused primarily on the dollar side of things. Some of our Creators' best work has resulted, from Tom Paine's pamphlets to "Death of a Salesman," but it seemed to me that there used to exist " a bridge too far" as far as monetizing certain things that we at least gave lip service to. We didn't USED to make money from the pain of others so blatantly (yes, except the American Original Sin). We USED to pretend we cared for our fellow citizens; to give long leashes to creators in art, drama, & music (we might not understand what one's getting at, but we're willing to listen to explanations); and to recognize charity & empathy as noble goals.
It's not just the gathering darkness of the political realm, the speed of communication coupled with its worldwide reach means that maintaining originality is extraordinarily difficult, while finding an audience of the like-minded folks appears easier.
But wasn't a goal of Creators back then to educate to inform & to both teach & learn? We NEED to get as many thought-provoking posts to as many as we can -- not just to "normalize," but to change minds.
This is the primary reason it's so critical for as many of us as possible to KNOW our History. It drives home the lesson that we were always here & that we always will be.
That's the great value in your work. The fact there are "extra" incentives is simply icing on the cake.
I see I've rambled on a bit -- sorry. I feel so strongly that it was a GOOD thing we didn't use certain words in conversation; didn't publicly ridicule those not like us; & actively sought to "do better." GenZ gives me hope that they'll find the answer & deliver a brighter future. What you do in videos & newsletters is part of that. Thanks.