How Margo’s Money Troubles Teach Us All About Building a Creative Business by LA Bourgeois

Let’s welcome back LA Bourgeois as she shares with us “How Margo’s Money Troubles Teach Us All About Building a Creative Business.” Enjoy!

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Why This Book Resonates for Creatives

Along with being an utterly entertaining piece of fiction, Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe is a brilliant description of building a creative business.

When I first read this book, my immediate reaction was to send a copy to my best writer friend and say, “THIS! We need to do this!!!”

After all, if you have a goal of making money with your writing, building a creative business is exactly what you are doing.

And the whole cast of characters in Margo’s Got Money Troubles details strategies and tips to overcome obstacles and avoid pitfalls of that process.

A Quick Summary of Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Margo Millet is a young community college student and waitress who had an affair with her English professor, got pregnant and decided to keep the baby.

Once the baby is born, two of the four roommates who share her apartment leave with little notice, she loses her job, and her father, an ex-pro wrestler shows up needing a place to live.

Her response?

Start an OnlyFans.

This hilarious and heartwarming book takes us on the twists and turns of her life following this decision, including betrayal by friends and family, the discovery of an accepting love of a found family, and what it means to take your own power as a woman, a sex worker, and a business owner.

This review does contain spoilers.

You have been warned.

The Dream You Must Pursue

In reading this book, we start off with Margo and her new baby, this precious child that she just couldn’t say no to.

For me, the baby symbolizes that dream that just won’t go away, that one thing that you would throw everything away to do.

And make no mistake, Margo does throw everything away to have this baby.

In a conversation before the child is born, Margo asks her mother, Shyanne, if the baby will wreck her life and she replies, “Yes, Noodle, it will ruin your life, for sure. But sometimes ruining your life is the only thing you want.”

Our need to express our creativity can sometimes take hold in a way that is impossible to say no to.

I know that’s true for me.

At multiple times along this path of entrepreneurship I’ve thought (and even said out loud), “Oh my GOD, what was I thinking?”

“I have ruined our lives and wasted our savings building a dream world!”

I mean, who among us hasn’t thought of a version of this?

But the follow-up expressed by Shyanne saying, “You ruined my life so pretty, Noodle,” is also true.

Following our dreams, pursuing a goal that demanded our attention, the chance to ruin your life for that beautiful thing?

It’s a very pretty way to ruin your life.

And the truth is, you have to be willing to ruin your life on this because this goal or dream must be persistent enough to demand your dedication to it.

Otherwise, the resilience needed to make the dream or goal a reality just doesn’t appear.

It’s easy to go back to the waitressing job if it feels like a lateral move.

But once you see the possibility of advancement, of making your life better in whatever way that means, then you will echo Margo’s thoughts when she says that lateral movement “makes it feel like trying to run when you’re facing a wall.”

Selling Your Writing

Now, a big part of what Margo has to deal with is the world’s view of her job as she decides to follow the OnlyFans path and becomes a sex worker.

Maybe this is part of your path. 

No shame if that’s the case.

I’m sex-positive.

Regardless of your position on sex workers, here’s how I interpret this as a metaphor for everyone else.

First, let’s confront the idea of being a “slut.”

Just like knowing that you are showing your body and that people are willing to pay to look at your body makes someone a slut, a lot of artists feel like charging money for their art turns them into a whore.

So how do you approach that idea?

Suzie, Margo’s one roommate who stayed, and Margo highlight this conundrum during a conversation about what makes a slut a “slut.”

Margo ponders, “She’d had a similar thought before, which was that if sex wasn’t shameful and being paid wasn’t shameful, then why was it shameful to have sex for money? Or sell pictures of your boobs or whatever? Where was the shame coming from?”

The same can be said for writing. 

If writing isn’t shameful and being paid isn’t shameful, why is it shameful to sell your writing?

It’s worth asking the question since there are many folks who really do believe this is true.

The truth is that it’s as okay to sell your writing as it is to give it away.

It’s your choice.

And if you choose to sell your writing, then the only obstacle is in getting over what other people may call you or think about you.

After all, when Suzie finds out how much money Margo is making from her OnlyFans, she exclaims, “Holy shit, then who cares if you’re a slut? …I mean you get to stay home with the baby, you’re safe, you’re not having contact with these people. Four grand a month?! F***ing slut it up!”

Knowing How to Run a Business

If you are making money with your writing, you have to listen to Margo’s dad, Jinx, the ex-pro wrestler, when he talks about setting up the business and making sure that you’re doing it right.

He’s the one who helps her get all set to go with a business structure, quarterly tax payments and a banking set-up that works for Margo.

And he’s the one who helps her find the right lawyer when that time comes.

If you have someone in your life who can help with this, FABULOUS!

If not, you can do your own research to a point and when you hit the end of your resources, you’ll want to engage someone to help you figure out the right path.

This could be an accountant or a lawyer, but purchasing an hour of their time often can save you money in the long run.

Buddies & A Persona

Throughout the whole time, Margo continues to figure out this new business.

What does it take to break through?

How can she get the attention that she needs?

She needs buddies!

Again, Jinx spouts the wisdom of the wrestling ring and declares that Margo needs buddies.

Finding allies to help you get more attention by elevating your profile, by collaborating on projects, by sharing their wisdom so you can avoid breaking the unwritten rules that others have discovered before you.

Margo’s allies aggravate her and push her to create work that takes new bigger leaps.

They help her gain thousands of followers and share wisdom like “no nudity on TikTok.”

While there are points when you wish they would shut up and take responsibility for themselves, you can’t deny that their almost-constructive criticism pushes Margo to create work that pushes her boundaries.

Plus, creating an online persona feels very relevant to the current conversations.

Described in the book as “turning yourself into a cartoon,” creating this persona who is you but is not you, a choreographed version of yourself, a performance that is authentic but also fake.

This becomes something necessary to protect yourself (as the character is you but not you as well), and to give people a solid version of who you are.

This isn’t to say you can’t change, but it’s important to know how people see you so you know what they are seeing.

This is another place where your allies help.

For instance, in the scene where Jinx, Suzie, and Margo discuss her qualities, Margo discovers that, while she thinks of herself as goofy, Suzie actually sees her as a little scary.

That helps Margo further develop her OnlyFans character to become more of a scary character.

People know who you are to them.

To create the cartoon, consider getting others opinions and figure out how that can work in your favor.

Buddies who collaborate also help sell this new version of you by being your opposite.

“Are you the heel or the face?” as Jinx continues to say, the good guy or the bad guy.

There’s no moral stance here as you consider this.

“A face needs a heel and a heel needs a face,” as Margo remarks.

When Margo writes her new scary description, these words encapsulate the character that she’s creating.

By choosing to be a heel, she’s creating something unique and new, an alien that inhabits her body when she’s on the screen.

“The moment I turned Ghost heel, I had almost fifteen ideas in less than twenty-four hours,” says Margo.

Consider, when you write out your description or bio, what character are you taking on?

What persona do you want to put forward?

How can choosing something that seems negative or the opposite of you actually open the floodgates of your creativity?

Final Thoughts and Invitation

As you read the book, what strategies or inspirations resonated with you?

Do tell! Leave a comment and let’s chat about it! 

If you haven’t read Margo’s Got Money Troubles, pick up a copy at your favorite online platform, local indie bookshop, or at the library and join us in the conversation!

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Next Month’s Read: The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard

Our next Book for Thriving Creatives is The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard: 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration, Fourth Edition by Jill Badonsky.

This book introduces you to ten powerful creativity principles in the guise of wise and witty Muses.

Designed to bust through blocks that stand in the way of creative fulfillment in all aspects of your life, these playful guides help you move through procrastination, overwhelm, perfectionism, self-sabotage, and lack of focus to the joy of the creative process and its validation of your unique spirit.

Plus, this is the style of creativity coaching I practice so it’s a great way to test the waters!

Grab a copy at your local bookshop, at the library, or online and join us to read The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard!

Are you enjoying the Books for Thriving Creatives series? 

• Yes & I’ve read at least one of the books
• Yes, but I just read the reviews
• Nope!

Please respond in the comments.

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ABOUT LA BOURGEOIS

LA (as in tra-la-la) Bourgeois is a Kaizen-Muse Certified Creativity Coach and author who helps clients embrace the joy of their creative work and thrive while doing it.

Get more of her creativity ideas and techniques by subscribing to her newsletter at https://subscribepage.io/unlockyourcreativity.