Are makers just un(der)employed or unemployable people?
I recently launched my Patreon.com/yosun, and received a lot of… misunderstanding?
Makers are indie. Because it is easier to make stuff than to worry about the complexities of funding a big team to - as some critics would say to me - "do it right."
Primarily, there seems to be the misunderstanding that people are a "maker" when they are in between jobs - ie, unemployed. Or, as a side thing, when their job allows (underemployed).
I often joke that I'm unemployable (though sometimes this becomes a real fear) because I have too many ideas and like to just build it. (And then I don't market it. And then no one knows about it. But I keep making stuff.) To me, it seems that to be employed is to limit what you are able to do - "my job is __" when, as a maker, it could be a bunch of other things you are actually good at and can do in parallel.
Okay, so my discussion question to the group is: what's the best way to reply to people who feel sorry for you for being a maker?
I've never came across people who are criticizing me to the point where they're low-key aggressive about it, but I can tell when people have the "well, good luck with that" attitude. I'd probably treat people the same way if they'd say "do it right", which would be to just ignore them.
I'm not a big talker, I often let my work do the talk, and that's what I'll keep doing.
And don't get me wrong, I love driving people crazy with witty replies, but people who don't understand that you can be "different" are not even worth the time of me replying back 😇
I think it's a natural reaction to entrepreneurship. People are naturally doubtful of risk - hence the saying "they'll dismiss you until you're successful".
Hi there Yosun! Big fan of yours.
The way I look at it is that people are trying to fit makers into a box, but the thing is that innovation doesn't fit in a box nor is it just a recipe to follow.
Makers undergo a very creative and free flowing process and that scares people who do not understand and normally are very used to a very concise structure and limited environment.
All in one, they probably have never met anyone like you and that's okay. You keep doing you!
This is quite a well timed discussion. Anne published an article on maker mag recently about the different income of makers: https://makermag.com/2019/02/25/indie-makers-money/
i think that it lacks another axis of data, such as what they make, the scarcity of skill, level of experience vs maker's money.
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