How to Build a Passion Project
For anyone debating taking the leap
One of the best parts of a passion project is that you never fully know what you're doing or where it’s going. All you know is that you're following the feeling.
When we started the first iteration of this project back in 2017, the only thing we knew for sure was that we wanted to help share people’s stories, and through all the iterations of this project that has remained true. Every time the two of us chat, the metaphorical fog fades and we get a little bit clearer on what we're doing here.
As we expand As You Are, we’ve realized that the creation of this project is a story in itself. From the ground up, we’ve brought a creative project from ideation to reality, have consistently released work, and have expanded into new mediums. While being in the thick of the work makes some of these accomplishments feel like far-gone memories, the reality is that most of the experience of executing a passion project or entrepreneurial endeavor isn’t in the excitement of getting a new idea or the anticipation of launch day- it’s all of the work in between.
We know there are so many creative people that are at the same point we were a handful of years ago - wanting to release something into the world but looking for inspiration and direction from others who've done it.
So we’re hoping to use our Substack to document more of that in-between place: The idea to launch, the V1 to the final edit, and the “eh” idea that sets you up for your new favorite thing to work on. If you’ve ever launched a creative project or are flirting with the idea, then stick around for more of what it actually takes to build something that’s never existed before.
We’re sharing a glimpse of our:
Meeting notes
Zoom calls
Learnings
Confusing things we still haven’t figured out
Shortcuts and investments
And all of the feelings that can come along with putting an expression of yourself out in the world
It’s fun, fulfilling, and strange. Our hope is to use this exercise to track and acknowledge our own progress in this project and give those of you with an idea some insight into what it takes to build something new. Or at least give you a taste of how we’re doing it. If you’re interested in keeping up with this project, make sure you’re subscribed.
We’d love to learn more about our readers. Are you working on a passion project? Hoping to start one? Share a sentence about it below! We’d love to hear from you.
We hope you’ll enjoy this little behind-the-scenes of As You Are. Like everything we do, we’re still workshopping it, so if you have anything you want to hear more about, send us a message in the chat or leave us a comment. We appreciate you!
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love this idea!! Have been wanting to write something for a while and maybe this is the push I needed!
Love this!!