Making Your Own Luck
- Brianna Reagan
- Feb 11
- 3 min read
One of my goals this year is simple, but not easy: put myself out there more.
Actually, my entire plan for the year is to do this across all my pillars of focus, seeking and developing relationships and collaborations across licensing, wholesale, and design.
Over the years, I’ve learned that the kind of opportunities you want don’t usually fall into your lap. You have to go after them.
But it’s easier to think you’re just unlucky. It’s easier to compare yourself to other creatives who are doing the projects you can only dream of.
Rewind to 2011. I was working at a clinic that was in the middle of a major remodel for a new pediatric suite. I remember thinking the space should include something fun, colorful, and creative for the kids.
That was the moment I decided to make a case for it. I spent days creating an illustration based on the dimensions of the large waiting room wall, then wrote a proposal outlining the idea and the value of incorporating art into public spaces.
I assembled nearly twenty proposal packets, mailed them to the physicians and board members… and waited.
And then I received a letter approving the project. I had just gotten a yes to paint my very first large-scale mural.
Looking back, it wasn’t luck. It was the willingness to create the opportunity that didn’t exist yet. And it was the realization that the worst that could happen was they decline the project. The worst that could happen is that I didn't paint a mural.
Fast forward to the present, and I’m still mailing out packets and sending emails. Packets with my wholesale catalog, being sent to gift shops across Alaska. Packets with my logo Look Book, being sent to small business I would love to work with. And emails with a digital packet of patterns and illustrations, being sent to companies I would love to collaborate with.
In January alone:
I sent 6–7 licensing and collaboration pitches via email or submission forms
I mailed 13 wholesale catalogs to Alaska gift shops and businesses
I sent 7 follow up emails to businesses I had handed catalogs to at the Wholesale show
I sent my last two Look Books to dream clients and Alaska-based businesses I’d love to work with
I mailed 10 postcards to dream clients I had already sent a Look Book to previously.
(Yes, I have a spreadsheet – okay three spreadsheets -- to track all this).
As of right now? I haven’t received a single “yes” on the licensing side yet. But I DO have a “maybe,” with a conversation in the inbox.
I haven’t gotten any wholesale orders from the mailed catalogs, but I HAVE received a substantial order from one that I sent a follow up email to.
And to date, out of 25 Look Books I have sent out over the past 3 years, only ONE design client has come directly from sending this mailer.
On paper, that can feel discouraging. Especially when you factor in the cost, the time, the printing, the postage, the emotional energy of hitting “send” and waiting.
But…
That one Look Book client turned into a long-term relationship. One that’s spanned multiple projects and years, and has become a meaningful, high-impact part of my business.
The wholesale catalogs cost me $20 to print and $5 to mail. But if just two or three of those turn into wholesale accounts with minimum orders of $200, it more than maths out.
If you’re willing to play the long game,
the money and the effort you put in both come back to you.
Putting yourself out there often looks like more silence than replies, and more effort than reward. But a majority of opportunities don’t arrive because you’re “discovered.” They happen because you showed up consistently, made the ask, and were willing to be seen. Even when it felt vulnerable.
You have to send the email. Mail the catalog. Submit the pitch. Share the work.
Not because you’re guaranteed a yes, but because you can’t get one if you don’t try.
Make your own luck. Go after the thing you want. Be willing to hear no, or nothing at all. That’s not failure. That’s part of the process. And it won’t hurt you. But not doing it sure will.
Check out this win from Tamara Martz Designs, who learned not to be afraid of asking…
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