Building A Creative Ecosystem To Fuel A Thriving One-Person Creative Business

The Soulpreneur Series Free Issue No. 30

A big problem with common advice for creators?

• Focussing on speed, not longevity.

• Chasing trends, not sustainability.

I’m over two years into building my creative one-person business (forecast to generate over $200K in revenue this fiscal).

And I’m confident in saying:

You don’t need more followers or more viral posts.

Instead, focus on building creative infrastructure to support a creative ecosystem.

• Scaling too fast is how creatives burn out, and creativity-based businesses fizzle.

Building creative infrastructure first is how Creatives and Creators thrive (over the long term)

A creative one-person business is not simply a scaled-down version of a larger enterprise. It’s a living, dynamic system.

Some things live and grow, while some things die and decompose (which support the living)

👉 A creative ecosystem, I’ve started calling it.

But ecosystems don’t simply emerge out of nothing fully formed. They need a foundation—creative infrastructure—to support growth, sustainability, and longevity.

As well as let things die and return to where they came from. This will inevitably happen to all of us, too.

This issue highlights 10 Bigger Mistakes I see people making (and I have made). And 6 things I’ve learned (and continue to learn) from these mistakes.

All on the continued journey of building a thriving Soulpreneur creative enterprise.

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Building Creative Infrastructure to Support Your Creative Ecosystem

For the past two years, I’ve been building the creative infrastructure for generating and refining ideas, publishing across multiple platforms, and experimenting with ways to engage and grow sustainably.

Persistently. (NOT, consistently)

Part of my infrastructure (and mindset) is that I call social media posting my Creative Voice Lab, my personal R&D department. It’s where I test ideas, iterate, and refine.

And… I let shit die and decompose.

I build my creative infrastructure by writing and posting across multiple platforms (e.g. LinkedIn, X, Medium, Substack, etc.). I also post in niche groups within different platforms (e.g. LinkedIn, X, and a bit more recently on Facebook)

This approach runs counter to much of the advice you’ll find online.

You’ve likely seen posts like:

• “Focus on your niche and stick to it.”

• “Focus and post on one platform first.”

• “Optimize for engagement metrics to grow fast!”

• “Find what works and double down immediately.”

And, how can we forget… “monetize, monetize, monetize…”

These sound appealing—simple even—but they often prioritize visibility over sustainability.

Prioritize fast growth over steady foundation-building, learning, and sustainable levelling up, and maybe even mastery.

Building and sustaining a one-person business isn’t about scaling like a startup or chasing “growth hacks.”

In my two-plus years — since walking away from the corporate sector — I’ve taken a much different approach.

It’s been about crafting and creating systems reflecting my values, protecting my energy, and aligning with my realistic goals.

NOT the goals of an employer, an educational institution, or the flimsy goals that ‘societal pressures’ can promote.

I’ve made mistakes along the way and seen many fizzle out and disappear. Yet, My mistakes have been crucial stepping stones to building systems that work.

I’ve failed over and over — on purpose.

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Biggest Mistakes in Creative Enterprises?

In early 2022 when I set out on this path of being CEO of my own time and energy — of having a ‘living in the making’ as opposed to ‘making a living’ — I read some great advice from up-and-coming Creative-types.

Nicolas Cole

and

Dickie Bush

suggest finding someone about two years ahead of where you’re currently at and studying what they’ve done.

It’s darn good advice.

Here I am, a little over two years from my starting point. I’ve watched, studied and learned from many successful creative-types. (I’ve also seen many fizzle and disappear).

Here are some common mistakes I see (or have made myself):

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1. Chasing Metrics Instead of Mastery

Focusing on likes, views, and followers rather than depth and meaningful engagement. Metrics are surface-level indicators, not the foundation of a business.

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2. Trying to Scale Before Building Foundations

Trying to do too much, too fast—adding platforms, offers, and content—without clear foundations and systems. Instead, start small. Build your infrastructure first. Be persistent (not simply ‘consistent’).

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3. Ignoring Energy and Time Management

Treating yourself as an infinite resource, without boundaries or systems for recovery. Burnout will collapse even the best-laid plans.

For example, I’ve made daily walks and exercise a non-negotiable part of my system. In the spring, summer and fall, I’m an active cyclist. I design my systems, goals and boundaries to support this.

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4. Assuming an Audience Exists and Must “Be Known”…

Believing your audience is “out there” rather than recognizing it must be discovered and built over time.

The common “know your audience” advice is a relic of university marketing classes and bygone analog eras. It’s intended for much larger companies and organizations.

It’s also intended for a time when sending and distributing ‘print’ media was the main gig — and expensive. That was not a time when an individual (or a company) could post and iterate multiple times per day on multiple platforms.

The early stages of a creative business-of-one start with an audience of one — You. From there, ‘audiences’ get built soul by soul.

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5. Treating Work as Transactional, Not as Strategic Systems

Viewing each post or article as a one-off task instead of part of a larger ecosystem. This will lead to frustration and burn-out FAST.

Instead, look to connect your work in webs and build momentum — not exist in isolation or rush blindly into something you regret later.

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6. Copying Without Context

Mimicking successful creators without understanding their strategies and alignment with your goals, values, and stages of growth. For example, I watch, study and learn from many Creative-types who are half my age or close to it.

I’ve grown to appreciate the successful digital creators who are transparent about how many years it takes to get to where they are. (It’s often more than five years).

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7. Focusing on Short-Term Gains Over Longevity

Chasing quick wins and monetization at the expense of building trust, reputation, and sustainable systems.

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8. Underestimating Educational Content

Dismissing the potential of guides, courses, or workshops to build authority and create lasting value. Educational assets can be a critical part of your infrastructure.

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9. Neglecting Your Creative Infrastructure

Focusing on client work while ignoring your own systems—or vice versa. Both must grow in tandem.

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10. Thinking Small and Short-term Instead of Larger, Strategic, and Long-term

Viewing work as disconnected tasks instead of fluid, adaptable systems for long-term growth and longevity.

Unfortunately, in the two-plus years I have spent building my creative one-person business, I have seen far more aspiring creators fizzle and disappear than maneuver into success and sustainability.

I see many pivot, pivot, pivot. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, sometimes patience and persistence, as well as a clear mindset with realistic expectations, support longevity.

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What I’ve Learned From these Mistakes

1. Understand How an Ecosystem Works (and Implement)

An ecosystem is not just a collection of parts—it’s the relationship between them.

For a creative business, this includes:

• Your ideas

• An audience

• Your platforms

• Your energy and time

Each piece depends on the others.

For example, writing endlessly without clear strategies will drain your energy and diminish the impact of your messages. (I’ve hit those edges)

To generate revenues from your creative enterprises, you must have an audience (e.g., folks interested in buying what you create). The audience doesn’t have to be large, but it does need to be engaged (somehow).

The first step is seeing your business as a system—not a series of disconnected tasks. And, as a system connected across timescales.

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2. Build Creative Infrastructure

We see words on the surface: posts, newsletters, articles, etc. This is especially the case with successful and prolific creators.

Underneath the surface lies their creative infrastructure—the foundation enabling consistency, persistency, flow, and sustainability. This includes:

• Clear strategies for how and where they intend to publish.

• Systems for generating, refining, and organizing ideas (often built through trial and error, over time)

• Tools to build and maintain consistency and persistency without hitting burnout.

For instance, I use a ‘Learning Journals’ systems to track ideas across platforms. This system combines old-school pen and paper with digital tools like Notion and ChatGPT.

A short-form thought posted on X, may evolve into a longer LinkedIn post, which might then evolve into a Medium article or a Box Cutter Co. issue. Similarly, I engage Substack Notes. I also post meme images on Instagram.

I promote my writing by sharing links for Medium articles and Box Cutter Co. issues across all platforms I’m active on.

Creative infrastructure doesn’t just keep you organized—it ensures your ecosystem stays connected, fed and cohesive — over time.

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3. My Creative Ecosystem: A Living Example

Box Cutter Co., this Substack publication, is near the centre of my ecosystem.

It’s where I explore ideas about one-person businesses, creative thinking, and non-obvious strategies and thinking. It’s where I share what I’m learning.

From here, I also play with connected thoughts and ideas in a web (on the web) across platforms. None of these platforms exist in silos. Each can feed and link with the others.

For example, a post on LinkedIn might inspire a deeper investigation on Medium, which could evolve into a Box Cutter Co. issue. And vice versa.

Other times, the topics I explore may be distinct across each platform. For example, I recently shared a LinkedIn post on the ‘death of strategic planning.’

It got under 100 impressions in my general feed (and one reaction) but blew up in a private group focussed on ‘strategic planning in non-profits.’

This adaptive system keeps me creative, feeling connected, and ensures ideas are flowing across platforms.

This element of being my creative self prevents burnout and stagnation.

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4. The Role of Educational Content

Courses, guides, and frameworks are more than just products—they’re tools for building authority and connection.

For example:

• A five-day email course can introduce your audience to your philosophy and approach

• A guide can position you as an expert

• A workshop can turn ideas into action for your audience.

Educational content strengthens your infrastructure and adds longevity to your ecosystem. The added benefit is the amount you can learn from building and publishing these.

I have built and launched over 10 Free educational email courses. I’ve learned an immense amount from this process (and built a good size email list)

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5. Protect Your Energy

Your energy is the ecosystem’s lifeblood. Without it, nothing survives.

To protect it:

• Set boundaries around work, rest, recuperation, and activity

• Define “enough” and stick to it—endless growth is not the goal.

For example, I was recently encouraged to submit a proposal for an evaluation project. While it could generate more revenue, it would also require time, energy, and commitment, taking away from my current systems, projects, and plans.

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6. Build an Evolving and Adapting System

Your creative ecosystem should grow with you. It should adapt to new opportunities, challenges, and insights.

As well as to mistakes, failures and learning

Ask yourself regularly:

• What’s working?

• What’s draining my energy?

• What makes the most sense next?

Flexibility is the hallmark of most sustainable systems.

For example, many have suggested I launch a coaching service.

• Or, scale up my ghostwriting.

• Or launch more paid products.

• Or do more to promote paid subscriptions.

• Or engage in far more cold outreach to secure more Ghostwriting clients

Sometimes, I’ve been tempted to dive into these — but then step back and re-evaluate my goals, principles, and plans. My intentions.

I don’t call myself CEO of my time and energy to give that away to a jam-packed calendar and other people’s schedules and demands.

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A Creative Ecosystem Built for Longevity

Sustainability isn’t about doing more, or scaling endlessly, or blindly following expert advice or suggestions.

It’s about building systems supporting your values, grow with your vision, and feel alive. (I often write about my ‘living in the making’ as opposed to the common ‘making a living’)

• Start small.

• Build intentionally.

Let your creative infrastructure evolve into a sustainable ecosystem (full of ideas, energy, and connections)

• What might change if you saw your business not as tasks to complete but as a living system?

• Or, maybe you are actively building a sustainable creative system. What are you learning? What have you learned?

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