Writer, creator and publisher, I share with you the lessons I learned from running an unsuccessful Kickstarter project.
Within one week, I knew that the project was not going make its goal. Yet we did all we normally do to share the project, and many partners and collaborators reached out and shared it in their communities, but it just didn’t seem to get ahead. In the end, we got 81 backers, but at the end of the campaign, the project had raised only 46 % of its funding goal.
I’ve learned a lot from running 8 Kickstarter projects and many other publishing projects. Yes, I learned also from unsuccessful projects for example:
+ Projects have their own timing and schedule, they don’t follow a logical sequence, this is so true for spiritual projects.
When I made the Cosmic Laws oracle deck, I started with 50 copies, 2 years later people started asking for it more and more, and now I have sold hundreds of copies around the world. When I receive a project, I have to trust that it is a “divine inspiration” and push it till the end. Some ideas come before the time and that’s ok! Some projects are quick and that’s ok, others are slow and that’s ok too!
Do you have any projects you want to share?
+ I accept to be different and sovereign
I believe in people’s judgement, and I don’t think I need to “convince” them about a project or an idea, I let them choose because they are sovereign. It is very important to present a project and talk about it, but it is a waste of energy to “try to sell”. I believe in the projects, and I believe in people, all I have to do is to be present and make projects visible and present. I let go of the logic of “selling” because the project sells itself…
How do you share your projects and ideas with the world?
+ Listen to people’s suggestions
I admit, I am stubborn when I believe in something, and it served me for years, yet I try things, I am always in exploration mode and try to ask those who are willing to participate. With the I DON'T CARE, it is not only a collaborative project but a participative project, this means that some contributors have created a card in it, but also have decided to make a full deck instead of 2 separate decks. As a carrier of a project, we have to listen to the participants as important actors of it, the project is FOR them too, yet we have to take into account our inspiration and our capacities, it is all about balance.
How do you balance between inner and outer guidance and suggestions?
+ My projects are for me first!
If I channel them and want to make them, I should honor myself and finish the task by the end! If I am put in the path of someone who wants to create, I will do my best, with no limits on what I can offer because I BELIEVE in what comes my way. When Steph shared with me her project I don’t care, I jumped over the idea and helped by creating it because I knew this deck will help me, it will “educate” me to be more authentic, true to what I feel and say, and I was certain that others will appreciate it too, hundreds and hundreds of people enjoyed using it, and many contacted me to print it again, we decided then to add new inspirations and, till now, I am impatient to have the new copy with 82 cards in my hands! Because it is a deck for THESE times, and I will give it what I can to make it happen.
Do you trust your projects? Do you give them what is needed: time, and effort?
+ Stay optimistic
Even if a project does not work, I always ask myself: what can I improve? How can I make it better? Can I make it better or should I pass it on to someone else? Whom can I ask for help? Even if the project failed, there are still 81 backers and 40 other persons contacting me by email for preorders, this means around 120 persons are supporting and encouraging us to create. Every person is sacred, and important, has a story in her life that made her want this Oracle deck, and I honor each one of them, in this cult of quantity society we live in, I have to remember that every “individual” is sacred, that quality of each person is more important than the number.
How can you keep your enthusiasm for your projects and trust that they come for a reason?
+ Manage your energy
A project needs time and dedication, and with this specific project, I learned how to better manage my energy. A project does not end by “launching it out to the world”, I have to keep a slow and persistent pace in order to make it arrive at people’s doors. I create many things, I teach at the Temple of Roses, and I give more and more sessions, yet I still have 24 hours during the day that needs to be shared efficiently.
What is the priority? This project made me think about what the priority in my work is, and how to better deliver without overworking myself. At the moment I am I will share more about these thoughts in the next article or video, as we will get out the new version of the I DON’T CARE
What do you need to adapt in your practice/project/work to preserve your energy?
+ This is not the end of the world! Do not take it personally
There are many reasons why projects can work or not, some are: Inside and Out
Inside: as creators, we have to be able to make an introspection in order to improve our projects and ask ourselves questions like: maybe we could do a better marketing campaign, maybe not the right time, maybe not the best format, maybe refine the intention, etc…
Outside: Economical situation, planet’s influences, Google’s algorithm, etc.
Among all these factors, I have to take what is mine and leave the rest, I can’t change the world, but I can change MY world and that takes effort, dedication and attention. As I talk about it in the Psychic self-defence kit, we have to protect our energy and our bodies in an uncertain and what seems like a chaotic environment, and focus on our mandates, work on our emotions as we are “water beings”.
What factors are influencing your projects? Inside? Out? What can you do?
+ “Failing” made me a better creator
I used to get emotionally involved in my campaigns, feeling the tension and the stress of every pledge every day, now I feel calmer about the projects I make, and confident in them because I learned that everything happens for a reason, reasons that I might not see at that moment. I know better what I can or can’t do, and I have created and made specific steps like a vision board for each project that allows me to plan if something does not go as “planned”, I stay in tune and connected to the project, to people and myself, and in all this mix, I can find balance.
What did you learn from your “failures”
There are no failures, just experiences and pearls of wisdom…
What’s next?
Well I don’t Care will get printed anyway, we are working on it, whether you want the deck for yourself or wholesale, you can fill out the form here and let us know what option you want: https://forms.gle/5YssBiVGE1ZZUkJLA
Much love,
Issrae Ouassima
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