YATM | The Creative to Commercial Shift

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Hey there YATMers, I’m Monica Poling, full-time entrepreneur and part-time book artist (I make books, not write them) from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

About two years ago, I took a step back from full-time employment (I’m still friends with my former employer, I’ll be speaking at their conference next month).

Now I do what I love. Helping entrepreneurs envision and build the future of their dreams. It’s a daily adventure, not always fully defined, but I’m loving the journey! The photo is of me and my mermaid BFF, at my sometimes watercolor and office.

I’m currently reading Designing Your Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Written by two Stanford professors, the book is about using Design Thinking to build a better life. It’s the book I wish I had at the beginning of my career AND the book I wish I’d written.

We should connect today.

Here I am on LinkedIn

Where I work, here

When your work is for the long term, your focus shifts from being creative to pursuing more commercial goals.

Today, let's examines the value of side projects, breaking them down into two distinct pillars.

This is a path that has two intentions. First, it aims to fuel your curiosity and provide a platform for creation and sharing. Second, it encourages a business-oriented approach to your work when you have a dedicated audience supporting you.

It’s your creative output that helps fuel your commercial ambition further down the line.

Setting The Scene

I started YATM as a side project, in 2013.

A side project is something that exists apart from your main source of income.

It's independent from your day-to-day work and is most effective when it aligns with your values, beliefs, and complements your main source of income.

My primary creative output was writing and blogging as well as a newsletter. For you, it could be something different. You might want to start a podcast or explore your skills with video.

We all need a reason to start and pursue a topic. I wasn't clear on my reason for creating, but I wanted to find an organic approach where I wasn't overly reliant on any third party or platform to see if I can build an audience this way.

What happens over time, is that if you can stick with something it presents a business opportunity. The first newsletter was sent in October 2013, and the first pound made from YATM was in May 2016.

It took nearly three years from developing my creative idea to having commercial ambition. I earned my main income from other sources, which gave me the freedom to explore without expectations.

It is safe to say here that when you start, a lot of your work is not going to strike a chord with other people.

For this reason, it's more tempting to share casual updates on LinkedIn or create content based on someone else's ideas rather than focusing on your own unique perspective.

Living in the short term at the expense of keeping going with your ongoing perspective can limit your potential. The world doesn’t need more cooks, it needs more chefs prepared to come up with their own recipes.

Your Creative Commitment

When you begin and progress a side project it is more about encouraging your own creativity than it is about commercial development.

It's important for people to feel comfortable with your perspective and feel familiar with you before committing. You still need a source of income to give you peace of mind, especially in the early stages when your side project may not be bringing in much money. The key is to keep practising and improving until others see the value you offer.

The thing that has kept me going, and still does, is my inquisitive nature to see if we can be recognised by others through our own voice and narrative, as well as the spaces we create to bring people together. This is how we stand out.

This is how it shapes when you start, which gives you a grounding to progress:

Creative Commitment (one to two+ years)

✊ Taking that risk

✊ Figuring out a problem you want to solve

✊ Not waiting for the right moment

✊ Inviting people to join you

1) Taking That Risk

When you feel the urge to try something new for your business, but the outcome is uncertain, you’re facing a reasonable risk.

Whether it's a new podcast or starting a newsletter, these are calculated gambles. There’s always a trade-off—more time spent here means less time elsewhere. But the drive to make a difference can outweigh the risks.

Early efforts might not yield immediate results, but they provide clues and paths to follow. What matters is the willingness to take that first step and adapt as you go.

2) Figuring Out an Interesting Problem

Once you take that initial risk, it’s easier to build on a problem you’re curious about solving.

For example, You Are The Media started with content marketing but evolved into a focus on audience growth and community—areas that felt more unique and rewarding.

The key is persistence. As you work towards your goal, you move from zero subscribers to an engaged audience. Each small win fuels your drive to keep going.

3) Never Waiting for the Right Moment

The "right moment" rarely presents itself.

Fear of failure can hold you back, but waiting too long often leads to inaction. What hasn’t worked for me usually just bruised my ego—not my business.

Starting is the hardest part, but repetition is key. Writing a weekly email, for example, helped me improve my skills over time. It’s about showing up consistently and refining your craft.

4) Inviting People to Join You

When you take risks, solve problems, and start without waiting for perfection, people naturally want to join you.

Your work should invite participation, not just broadcast your achievements. If others see value in what you share, they’re more likely to engage.

The more people who join you, the braver you become. Risks feel smaller when others stand beside you.

By nurturing a small, energetic network, you’ll find the support you’ve always needed.

Commercial Ambition (2+ years)

✊ Community As A Focus

✊ Creating Paid Opportunities

✊ Expanding Your Offering

✊ Measure Your Progress

Once your creative commitment gain momentum, the next step is to transition into something commercially viable.

This phase is about turning your side project into a revenue-generating business. Here’s how you can make that shift:

1) Community As A Focus

A mistake that many people make is that they jump into 2 (the commercial ambitions) before they have exercised 1 (a creative commitment). This means that when they step forward, even launch, there aren’t many people with them.

Whether you want to create your first in-person event or deliver anything that brings people to you, you have to focus on the people who resonate with your work. It’s easier for people who are familiar with you to say ‘yes’ than it is to rely on the generosity of strangers.

For YATM, the first events were small, but focusing on the quality of the relationships built, it gradually grew into a loyal audience, that are still here today.

2) Creating Paid Opportunities

Before you start charging a fee for your work, ensure your audience sees genuine value in what you provide. YATM was a free resource for years before any monetisation. Plus it feels awful if you are charging people with the expectation of a buzzy room, but few people attend.

Charging for events not only brings in revenue but also ensures committed participation. Free events come at a risk with a sizeable drop off rate.

Once you've built a community, you can offer exclusive content or experiences through a paid membership. YATM introduced a membership model (in 2023), providing members with additional value such as deeper connections, unique content and support for everyone.

Sponsors and partnerships also provide you with an opportunity to develop your commercial ambition. YATM secures sponsorships by aligning with companies that resonate with the community’s ethos. You choose partners that align with your values to maintain a level of connection from your community.

3) Expanding Your Offering

A side project that began as a newsletter, doesn’t have to always stay as a newsletter, it can branch off into different areas.

Similarly as you develop your commercial muscle, you don’t have to rely on one source of income.

You can diversify by offering a mix of memberships, events, learning and sponsorship. The reason you do this is to mitigate risks and create multiple pathways for growth.

I discovered this back in 2020 during the pandemic when we had to cancel the 2020 YATM Conference. People had already booked, so we took the whole event online and created a Month Of Learning where we could reach out to others from around the world.

4) Measure Your Progress

Making a step from creative to commercial ambitions is a big step, you have to monitor. For instance, you may see one area working better than others.

I realised the success of YATM events is the ability to bring people together (a group delivering to many) and not necessarily in a workshop setting (one person delivering to a few).

Milestones help to give you a sense of progress. It could be hitting a certain revenue target (your first £1,000 return from an event) to increasing event attendance.

You just have to stay flexible and tuned into your audience. For instance, when we introduced our first Creator Day in 2022, people weren’t ready after Covid.

We introduced a concept that didn’t feel familiar with people, at the time. You have to make iterations and changes to what feels right for all.

The journey from creative commitment to commercial ambition is not linear, and being responsive to your audience's needs is integral to your progress.

Four Milestones That Happen

This is how I have seen a path develop. Maybe you are at one of these stages?

Foundations First:

Your creative work is the space where you experiment, refine your voice, and establish trust with your audience.

During this phase, you discover your unique angle, the idea or theme that distinguishes you from others.

This isn't about making money immediately; it's about demonstrating to yourself and your audience that you have something valuable to offer. Without this foundation, any efforts to monetize your work can feel empty or premature.

Timing the Transition:

When you decide to pursue commercial ambitions, the transition should feel like a natural progression rather than a sudden shift.

You are not simply asking people to pay for something; you are offering them a deeper, more enriched version of what they already value. This transition should focus on serving your audience as much as it does on growing your business.

Building for the Long Term:

The journey from being creative to becoming commercially successful involves focusing on sustainable growth.

It's about creating something that can last for a long time, rather than just a quick success.

This requires consistently connecting with your audience, adjusting to their needs, and expanding your products or services in ways that align with your original purpose.

Staying True to Your Vision:

It's important to remember why you started as you grow. Your commercial goals shouldn't overshadow your creative passion; instead, they should enhance it.

When done correctly, your business aspirations will not only provide financial stability, but also support your creative pursuits in ways that may not have been feasible otherwise.

Let’s Round-Up

The transition from being creatively committed to having commercial ambitions is not a quick leap, but a series of intentional steps that require patience, persistence, and adaptability.

It’s about establishing a strong foundation before embarking on something larger. You can’t rush this process or skip steps without risking the integrity of what you’re creating. This is why people often give up too soon.

Aligning your creative passion with your commercial objectives serves both you and your audience, helping you progress from a side project to a viable business. It can be done.

Time Wasting

Can you be certain you look at colours the same way as everyone else? Thanks to Jake Moore for today.

Your Blue, My Blue?

This Week Around The Web

GROWTH, CREATION & YOUR INDEPENDENCE

What's the value of a human welcome? - from Henneke Duistermaat

Celebrate your wins - from Fab Giovanetti

THE COMMUNITY YOU CAN BUILD

The best time to start your email list is... - from Bernie Mitchell

Listening to lurkers (community silence) - from James Lang

GROWING YOUR NEWSLETTER

The best CTAs to grow your newsletter organically - from Mike Romaine

10 easy tweaks to improve your email open rate - from ConvertKit

Being Resourceful

If you take a risk and it works out, you tell everyone.

If you take zero risks, nothing becomes meaningful or noteworthy. We all move on and forget.

When the world around you feels uncertain, is when you do your best work. Being resourceful, rather than being blessed with plentiful resources, pushes you. It’s all you have.