To be quite honest about my life, I never thought I was the type of person that people would say yes to. I always felt like that that girl who was in the group but never actually innnnn the group. When I was young, I was never bullied but ABsolutely never cool or comfortable socially. Except the time I worked at an all-Black camp and was literally locked in my room by my cabin of insane middle school girls. In any case, you get the idea. I was never socially uhhhh in demand 😂. But here’s the thing, things change, people change, and a variety of experiences made me realize that I walked around like no one wanted to be my friend. I’m definitely still introverted and need my alone time and also I know I am 100% capable of being socially comfortable and communicating with people about what matters to me. Here are some reasons why we introverts are actually exxxxxcellent at crowdfunding:
We are excellent observers of people and their behavior. An understanding of people is the basic element of fundraising so you are already a step ahead. We get when people need space because we often do and people appreciate that when you are asking for money. If you get people and what excites them, you are already an excellent crowdfunder.
We think before we speak. Strategic thinking comes in handy when you are conversing with different groups of people and understanding how what you want to create aligns with what they believe in. Not everyone has the gift of thinking before they speak.
We know how to put our heads down and do the work. Because we are fine and often productive when alone, when we are passionate about something we can focus on it and get it done.
We get creative with communication. We can communicate not only by phone or Skype but through text, e-mail, images, music, emoticons – all the things! We know how to express our emotions in a variety of ways – which is critical for crowdfunding!
So go forth, my introvert friend! Just do it.
get a step-by-step guide on how two introverts crowdfunded $18K
To read my beastly step-by-step guide explaining how we crowdfunded $18K with no following or fanbase, click to view this awesomely detailed post I wrote 🙂Â
a little backstory
It was a chilly January 2018 day in the current dimension when 30-year-old unnecessarily educated Justina, queer artist child of black Panamanian immigrants, learned she had three months until her cushy job would let her go. Stunned that her comfortable safety net had broken, she stared at the email for 60 seconds before she resumed binge-watching Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. Two weeks later, she had a nervous break down. BUT. Finally, she will play. She will create. And hopefully never work again. Oh, and now she has a journal. More on her/me here.
my money journal: crowdfunding edition
This, my money journal, is a reflection on my successes & failures to make money doing what I actually love. I want to share it with you cuz… I bet you’re on this journey too. Â In the first series of my money journal, I’m sharing my first big success as an artist. At the end of 2016, I was listening to my boyfriend’s song Black Man in America when a vision for a dance film struck me. Five Black men seated at a white table with guns. Don’t worry. It is nuanced. By January 2017, I was storyboarding. By June, my boyfriend was on board, we determined we needed $16,000 to bring it to life, and we launched our crowdfunding campaign. With no fan base and no real fundraising experience. On August 6th, we filmed. I was freaking out. I had opened a credit card just for this project, was $4,000 in debt and owed our cast and crew $7,000 more. I was all in. By August 20th, 400 backers had given a total of $18,000 for Black Man in America to come to life, exceeding our goal. In this crowdfunding series of my money journal, I’m going to share how we did it, because – imagine what you could do with $5K ,$10K, $20K to bring your visions to life. It’s our tiiiiiiiiime. (Shine bright, shine far…)
