Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve explored some powerful concepts together. We talked about how your location can become your biggest business advantage, and last week we dove into why setting hugely ambitious goals can actually make things easier. Both episodes came from questions in our current Base Notes community, and today I want to tackle a third topic from that same group: persistence.
This topic only received 12% of the votes when I asked what you’d like to hear about, which genuinely surprised me because from all the messages I receive, this is often what holds people back most. As creatives and empaths, we find persistence particularly challenging. We worry about being pushy, we take silence personally, and we often give up too early on opportunities that could have been genuinely transformative.
This episode grew from a conversation with a member from the online programme The Base Notes, who had sent 20 beautifully crafted cards to potential clients a few years ago. She’d put enormous care into each one, had them professionally printed, and never heard a single response. That silence really dented her confidence, and even years later, she still feels the sting.
I hear this story repeatedly from creative entrepreneurs, and honestly? I’ve felt it myself more times than I care to remember. That crushing feeling when you put yourself out there thoughtfully and carefully, only to be met with what feels like deafening silence.
But what I absolutely know to be true: silence almost never means what you think it means.
The Story Silence Tells Us
When we don’t hear back from someone, our minds immediately jump to rejection. I think this is completely normal.
We tell ourselves: “They didn’t like what I sent.” “I’m not good enough for them.” “They think I’m annoying.” “My work isn’t what they’re looking for.” “I’ve been blacklisted.”
But the reality is almost always much simpler: people are busy.
That beautiful card you sent? It probably arrived during their busiest week of the year. It might be sitting in a pile of things they mean to respond to. It could be pinned to their inspiration board. They might have shown it to three colleagues and said “we should work with them” but haven’t had a moment to follow up.
I know this can be hard to believe when you’re sitting there feeling rejected, but I’ve been on both sides of this. I’ve been the person not responding to beautiful, thoughtful outreach because life got completely overwhelming. And I’ve been the person taking silence as rejection when actually, the timing just wasn’t right.
My Selfridges Story
I’d love to share a story that completely changed how I think about persistence, because it shows just how wrong our assumptions about silence can be.
For over two years, when I had my flower business, I tried to get my flower designs into Selfridges. I sent proposals, made calls, tried to arrange meetings, attended events where I knew their buyers would be. The answer was consistently no, with various polite reasons why my work wasn’t quite right for them.
Then came what felt like the final blow: they told me I “wasn’t fashionable enough.” I was absolutely devastated.
The very next day, instead of giving up, I decided to prove them wrong. I created five bunches of flowers inspired by recent fashion collections, complete with mood boards showing the connection between my floral designs and the runway looks. I turned up at their offices with these arrangements.
The director smiled when he saw what I’d done.
A few months later, I was given the opportunity to stock my collections online. That led to an in-store concession, my products becoming one of Selfridges’ best-selling items, and eventually they asked me to white-label flowers for them directly.
Two years of “no” became the foundation of one of my most important business relationship.
Now, I want to be clear – this wasn’t about ignoring their feedback or being pushy. It was about showing them something new that directly addressed their concern, and persisting with something that genuinely felt aligned. I listened to what they said, and I responded with value, not just repetition.
The Truth About Creative Professionals
There’s something I know to be very true about almost everyone reading this: you’re gentle, considerate, and kind. And whatever you think is “too much” persistence almost certainly isn’t.
Your version of “rude or pushy or annoying” is probably most people’s version of “thoughtfully persistent.”
Creative professionals tend to be naturally empathetic, which means we dramatically underestimate how much follow-up is actually welcome and necessary in business relationships. We worry about being annoying when actually, we’re just being professional.
I’ve had clients tell me they appreciated my persistence because it showed I was genuinely interested in working with them, not just sending out generic pitches. The key is that the persistence felt thoughtful, not desperate.
When Persistence Works and When It Doesn’t
Persistence works when you genuinely believe this is the right opportunity for both parties. When your work aligns with what they’re looking for. When you have new, relevant information or ideas to share. When you’re bringing value, not just asking for something.
Persistence becomes problematic when you’re pushing for something that clearly isn’t aligned. When you’re repeating the same ask without adding new value. When you’re making it about your needs rather than theirs. When the “no” has been explicitly stated and explained.
The key is knowing the difference between “not right now” and “not ever.”
Most of the time, when we think we’re hearing “not ever,” we’re actually hearing “not right now.” People’s circumstances change, their needs evolve, their budgets shift, their priorities rearrange. What wasn’t possible six months ago might be exactly what they need today.
Standing Out for the Right Reasons
Instead of thinking “I’m here again!” I want you to think “I have something interesting to share.”
Let me give you some examples of what this looks like in practice:
Weak follow-up: “Just checking in to see if you’ve had a chance to review my proposal…”
Strong follow-up: “I saw your recent campaign for [specific project] and it reminded me of our conversation about [specific topic]. I’ve attached some thoughts on how I could support your approach to something similar…”
Weak follow-up: “I know you’re busy, but I wanted to follow up on my email from last month…”
Strong follow-up: “I just finished a project that solved exactly the challenge you mentioned when we spoke. Here’s how we approached it…”
The goal is to give them a reason to engage that has nothing to do with your original ask. You’re building a relationship, not just pursuing a transaction.
The Golden Rule of Follow-Up
Before every follow-up, I’d love you to ask yourself:
- What are they dealing with right now?
- What would be genuinely helpful to them?
- How can I add value to their day rather than add to their to-do list?
- What would make them glad they opened my message?
When you approach follow-up from this angle, it stops feeling like pestering and starts feeling like relationship building.
Here are some practical strategies for thoughtful persistence:
The Value-Add Follow-Up: Share something relevant you’ve discovered – an article, an insight, a resource that relates to their business or a conversation you’ve had.
The Progress Update: If you’ve been working on something they might be interested in, share an update on how it’s going or what you’ve learnt.
The Seasonal Relevance: Connect your follow-up to what’s happening in their industry or calendar.
The Genuine Compliment: Reference something specific they’ve done recently that impressed you, then naturally tie it to your previous conversation.
The Collaborative Idea: Propose something that would benefit both of you or their audience, not just you.
The Timeline of Thoughtful Persistence
I’ve created a comprehensive free guide that provides a realistic timeline you can follow – one that respects both your need to follow up and their need for space. It gives you a clear framework starting from your initial contact and taking you through a weekly timescale and then up to several months, with guidance and ideas at each stage.
When you have a framework like this to work with, it helps enormously and stops you from feeling like you’re pestering. Instead, it becomes a clear set of goals that feels much more natural and comfortable.
You can download this guide HERE!
When you work through the timeline, it’s important to remember that business relationships are built over months and years, not days and weeks. The people who become your best clients often take the longest to say yes initially.
Breaking the Silence Cycle
I want you to do something this week that might feel a bit uncomfortable. Once you’ve downloaded the guide, choose one person who didn’t respond to your previous outreach where you still believe there’s genuine alignment. Not someone who explicitly said no, but someone who just went quiet.
Write a follow-up that adds value rather than just asking again. Maybe that’s sharing an article that relates to their current challenges. Congratulating them on a recent achievement and connecting it to your previous conversation. Referencing something new you’ve learnt since you last spoke.
Send it this week, and then follow the timeline in the guide after that.
The Confidence That Comes From Persistence
Every successful creative entrepreneur has stories of persistence paying off. We all have that client who said no multiple times before becoming our biggest advocate. We all have that opportunity that took months or years to materialise.
My Selfridges story is just one of literally hundreds I could share – I’ve had my fair share of silences and rejections! But I’ve also learnt that the businesses that succeed are the ones that understand the difference between persistence and pushiness, and they keep showing up with value until the timing aligns.
Most people aren’t trying to hurt your feelings when they don’t respond. They’re just trying to get through their incredibly busy lives. Your job isn’t to make them feel guilty for not responding – it’s to make it easy and valuable for them to engage when they’re ready.
Moving Forward
Thoughtful persistence isn’t about being pushy or ignoring boundaries. It’s about understanding that business relationships take time to develop, and that silence doesn’t mean rejection – it usually just means “not right now.”
Your gentle, considerate nature isn’t a disadvantage in business – it’s actually a huge strength when you channel it into thoughtful, value-driven follow-up. The creative entrepreneurs who thrive aren’t necessarily the loudest or most aggressive – they’re often the ones who build genuine relationships over time.
Next week, I’m excited to share something completely different – we’ll be exploring a topic that keeps coming up in my conversations with creative entrepreneurs about how to balance authenticity with professionalism in your communications.
If today’s episode gave you the courage to send that follow-up message you’ve been putting off, I’d love to hear about it. Share your experience on Instagram, and remember, thoughtful persistence is a skill that gets easier with practice.
Don’t forget about the FREE GUIDE I’ve created for you. I really enjoyed putting it together and I’d love it to sit with you on your desk or desktop. Because persistence is one of the most important skills you can learn as a creative business owner, and I want to do everything I can to support you.
Once you’ve downloaded the guide, I’m here for any questions you have. You can send me an email to hello@philippacraddock.com or a DM on Instagram.
I’ll leave you with this closing thought: silence doesn’t mean no. It usually just means not yet.
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