I’ve been in discussions with quite a few people about the business model for Nutintuit Studio. Let me first say that much of my inspiration for Nutintuit comes from a little outfit called CommonCraft. Lee and Sachi at CommonCraft have set a great example, and I plan to add my own special nutty flavor to the field of “edu-tainment.” They have an excellent product and a philosophy I identify with. In a nutshell, it’s keep it small, give it away, and stay true to yourself.

With that in mind, here are my top five goals:

1. Do something I love. Over the past two months I have learned so much; new motion graphics software, drawing techniques, and a new web development platform (to name just a few). I have worked very hard, but it hasn’t felt like work at all because I am constantly engaged and excited about each day’s challenge. I crave new forms of expression and new challenges. I have to keep feeding those urges.

2. Keep it small. I’ve worked at big companies, and at small ones that wanted to be big. For me, bigness does not equal success. Fulfillment does. While I learned a lot working at a big company, it was often difficult to get things done, thanks to meetings, bureaucracy, performance reviews, and all the other facets of a corporate existence that can be so hard for creative professionals. On the other hand, at the small company I was part owner of, the drive to get bigger meant a drive to become a manager instead of a maker of more valuable, more interesting products. That drive removed me from the creative impulses that got the company off the ground in the first place. In that scenario, I traded making things for monitoring the performance of others.

I really believe, as Lee Lefever of CommonCraft once said, that small is beautiful. It’s possible to be successful without the scale of operations that many think is necessary. And that leads me to number three…

3. Things are changing, be a part of it. I know it sounds trite or self-evident, but the Internet is still changing the game big time. Social networking; streaming video; and online marketing, advertising, and blogging — just to name a few — are moving power and control away from traditional media outlets. This decentralization is opening up new opportunities, opportunities for distribution and exposure that weren’t possible for solo creative types just a few years ago. With enough hard work, I think it’s possible to scale a small, one- or two-person operation using these new tools. A small operation can now reach a whole lot of people. Of course, it doesn’t mean that your work doesn’t have to be good, or that you don’t have to work hard.

4. Give it away for free and collaborate with others who do the same. No matter how good your product is it should be free. Why fight copying, piracy, and all the other words we use for the sharing of ideas? It’s a losing battle. If someone wants to hire me to build a Nutshell for their product, service, or idea, that’s a conversation I certainly welcome. But my product, the Nutintuit Show, will always be free. I’m also eager to collaborate with other folks who believe that the future depends on sharing our work, as well as our methods and techniques. And thanks to the same technology that enables new distribution models, finding other passionate people to work with has never been easier.

5. Keep getting better. I do not come to this knowing everything or everyone that is crucial for my success. Being open to getting better, and embracing the process of learning new things is vital. Take every bit of criticism, every constructive comment, every idea, process, product or venture that others undertake and learn from it. My home-based business is an ego-free zone. And I love that I get to keep it that way.