In Practice 004: DonYé Taylor
Earlier: Lorenzo OG, RJ Powell, Yash Sheth.
The essay that made us reach out to DonYé Taylor was called The Etcetera Creative. It named a whole class of person the internet has trouble with: the one running several practices at once, who refuses to compress them into a lane.
She built the gears framework alongside it. It reframes creative titles as modes: artist, creator, content creator, influencer, all four available to the same person depending on where an idea is in its life. The frame is a gearbox.
It is easier to run three practices than to write clearly about running three practices. DonYé does both. She runs Taylored Consulting, Nüclei, and Mentally I'm Here, and she is fluent enough in what her work is made of to describe it without slipping into the vocabulary that founder essays usually reach for. When she writes about creative burnout, or about starting in fourth gear, she is describing something she has lived and rebuilt her working life around. Some of it reads close to what we have been trying to say.
These are the answers she sent.
n-u: WHERE ARE YOU WRITING THIS FROM, AND WHAT DOES THE ROOM LOOK LIKE?
DonYé: I AM WRITING THIS FROM ATLANTA. IT LOOKS LIKE GOTHAM CITY OUTSIDE. I FELL ASLEEP WITH MY MAKEUP ON AND THERE'S A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION NOISE OUTSIDE THAT WOKE ME UP.
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY TO LA. WHAT DID EACH PLACE GIVE YOU THAT THE OTHER COULDN'T?
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY TAUGHT ME TO NEVER COMPROMISE ON MY TRUTH AND MY REALITY. LA TAUGHT ME THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
WAS THERE SOMEONE EARLY IN YOUR LIFE WHO MADE YOU FEEL THAT YOUR IDEAS WERE WORTH TAKING SERIOUSLY?
THE FIRST TIME I REMEMBER FEELING LIKE I WAS EXCEPTIONAL AT SOMETHING WAS IN 11TH GRADE. I WAS TAKING AP LANGUAGE, AND THAT SAME TEACHER WAS ALSO IN CHARGE OF YEARBOOK, A CLASS I WAS IN. SHE MADE ME THE EDITOR OF THE YEARBOOK, AND ALWAYS TOLD ME HOW GREAT OF A WRITER AND A CREATIVE PERSON I WAS. AS SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE AN OBVIOUS TALENT SUCH AS PAINTING OR DANCING OR PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT, IT DEFINITELY OPENED MY EYES TO MYSELF A LITTLE MORE.
YOU WROTE THE ETCETERA CREATIVE TO NAME A WHOLE CLASS OF PEOPLE. WHO DID YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IN MIND WHEN YOU WERE WRITING IT?
MYSELF. NOT TO SOUND VAIN, BUT EVERYTHING ALWAYS COMES FROM ME. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CREATE FROM ANY OTHER SOURCE.
WHAT IS THE VERSION OF THE "ETCETERA" ANSWER YOU GIVE WHEN SOMEONE ASKS WHAT YOU DO IN PUBLIC?
I MAKE OVERTHINKING FUN.
WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO STOP GIVING THE INTERNET A LANE?
WHEN I REALISED THE WORK I WAS MOST PROUD OF DIDN'T FIT NEATLY UNDER ONE TITLE. I WAS TIRED OF EDITING MYSELF DOWN EVERY TIME SOMEONE ASKED WHAT I DO.
WHEN DID THE GEAR SYSTEM CLICK?
I USED TO WONDER WHICH VERSION OF ME WAS THE REAL ONE: THE ARTIST MAKING THINGS, THE STRATEGIST FINDING A PATTERN, OR THE FOUNDER FIGURING OUT HOW TO BUILD AROUND IT. THE GEAR SYSTEM CLICKED WHEN I REALISED I NEEDED ALL THREE AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN THE SAME IDEA.
YOU WROTE THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT CREATIVE PERIOD IS THE ONE WHERE YOU MAKE SOMETHING WITH ZERO CONTAMINATION FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD. TELL US ABOUT YOUR VERSION OF THAT.
IT'S BASICALLY THIS IDEA THAT WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING, YOU PUT YOURSELF IN THIS MODE WHERE THINGS THAT NORMALLY AFFECT YOU, LIKE TIME, DON'T EXIST.
YOU SAID YOU CAN'T START IN FOURTH GEAR. WHAT DOES STARTING IN FIRST ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE FOR SOMEONE IN THEIR TWENTIES READING THIS?
MAKE SOMETHING BECAUSE YOU'RE CURIOUS. LET YOURSELF BE BAD AT IT, CHANGE YOUR MIND, AND ENJOY IT BEFORE YOU ASK WHAT IT COULD BECOME.
DO YOU SHIFT DOWN ON PURPOSE? DO YOU GO BACK TO FIRST GEAR AS A DISCIPLINE?
YES, ALL THE TIME. MORE TIMES THAN I PROBABLY SHOULD TO BE HONEST. BUT I HAVE TO. I HAVE TO MAKE TIME TO PLAY WITH IDEAS THAT DON'T HAVE A DEADLINE, A CLIENT, OR A PRICE ATTACHED. THAT'S USUALLY WHERE THE BEST WORK BEGINS.
TAKE US INTO NÜCLEI. WHAT IS IT BECOMING?
NÜCLEI IS BECOMING A BRAND BUILT AROUND CREATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS. I STARTED OUT MAKING THINGS THAT CAME FROM MY OWN BRAIN—OBJECTS THAT THOUGHT WERE COOL, BEAUTIFUL, OR FLY ENOUGH TO DESERVE A PLACE IN THE WORLD. AND I STILL TRUST THAT PART OF MYSELF. BUT AS I GROW FROM CREATOR INTO FOUNDER AND CEO, I’M THINKING MORE STRATEGICALLY ABOUT GROWTH AND THE PERSON ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PRODUCT. WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO CARRY, REMEMBER, ORGANIZE, MAKE, OR SIMPLY GET THROUGH? WHERE COULD AN OBJECT MAKE LIFE FEEL A LITTLE EASIER ON THEIR MIND AND THEIR BODY?
THAT’S THE QUESTION SHAPING OUR NEXT CHAPTER. I WANT TO MAKE TOOLS FOR THE WAY PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIVE AND THINK, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHOSE BRAINS HAVE A LOT OF TABS OPEN. THEY SHOULD BE USEFUL, BUT THEY SHOULD ALSO HAVE PERSONALITY. AN ACCOMMODATION DOESN’T HAVE TO LOOK CLINICAL OR BORING. IT CAN BE BEAUTIFUL, A LITTLE CLEVER, AND FEEL SO SPECIFIC THAT YOU’RE LIKE, “WAIT, SOMEBODY MADE THIS FOR MY BRAIN?” THAT’S THE NÜCLEI I’M BUILDING.
WHAT DOES A NORMAL TUESDAY ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU RIGHT NOW?
TUESDAYS ARE MY FREE DAYS. I DON'T HAVE ANY MEETINGS ON THIS DAY SO IT'S LIKE CREATIVE RECESS. I'LL GO INTO MY EMAIL, SEE WHAT'S THERE. THEN I GO TO MY CAMERA AND SEE WHAT PHOTO OR VIDEO I RANDOMLY TOOK THAT INSPIRES ME AND SEE HOW I CAN TURN THAT INTO CONTENT THAT MY AUDIENCE FINDS USEFUL. I WILL PROBABLY BRAIN DUMP TO MY BOYFRIEND OR MY BEST FRIEND NIA WHO'S MY MANAGER AND GET INSPIRED FROM OUR CONVERSATION, AND THEN JUST WRITE THINGS DOWN IN MY NOTEBOOK. I GET THE BEST IDEAS WHEN I HAVE NOTHING TO DO AND I'M JUST EXISTING. I'LL PROBABLY BE IN PAJAMAS ALL DAY UNTIL I ACTUALLY NEED TO LEAVE THE HOUSE. I'M 100% ORDERING SOME THAI FOOD TO THE CRIB. CALLING MY GRANDFATHER, AND MY AUNT. DOOM SCROLLING FOR LIKE AN HOUR OR WHENEVER MY PHONE DIES AND LETTING IT STAY DEAD. PACKING ORDERS, BRAINSTORMING. ETC. YEAH, THAT'S A TYPICAL DAY FOR ME.
RUNNING TAYLORED PLUS NÜCLEI PLUS MENTALLY I'M HERE MEANS SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE. WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO GIVE UP?