The Trust Tank

July 12, 2010

Your primary job as an artist and creative business owner is to build trust with your clients.  Without trust, your path will be difficult, if not impossible.  This much I have said many times.  But knowing it and trying to implement a process behind managing trust is two different things.  So I thought it might [...]

Read the full article →

Austerity?!

July 6, 2010

I was an economics major in college (big surprise).  I love the idea that there are immutable flows and forces, which we impact by our very humanness.  One of my favorite economists to read is New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman.  Forget his crazy resume (i.e., Princeton professor, Nobel Prize winner, etc.), what I like [...]

Read the full article →

Joy

June 29, 2010

Most creative business owners love what they do.  They get to create art and get paid for it.  Then there are those that see it as a job.  Something they do so they can afford to do the art they really love.  You know who you are – fine artists doing graphic design, indie rockers [...]

Read the full article →

Stories

June 25, 2010

We are all a compilation of stories.  Happy, sad, angry, frustrating, life changing, destroying, creating.  Our stories define us, give us comfort in saying “that is who I am”.  As I grow older, I am coming to realize that these stories are also what can freeze us, trap us in a moment and even cripple [...]

Read the full article →

What Makes You Valuable?

June 23, 2010

The value of art is in its creation, not production.  But your art’s legacy depends on its delivery.  I love David Lynch’s take on watching his movies on an IPhone: to paraphrase (and remove the profanity) you have not seen his movie if you watch it on an IPhone.  And this is where you will [...]

Read the full article →

Process

June 15, 2010

Your art is ephemeral, random and of the moment.  Your creative business is not.  In the short term, you might be able to overcome a bad (or non-existent) process with the strength of your art.  Long term, though, there will be a cap on how far you can go.  Without process, you will find yourself [...]

Read the full article →

Thoughts on Engage!10: Cayman Islands

June 14, 2010

Last week, I attended Engage!10, a luxury wedding business summit, in the Cayman Islands.  Run by Rebecca Grinnals and her Director of Amazing, Kathryn Arce, it is far and away the best conference for those in the wedding business.  If you would like to read more about the conference, just take a look at the [...]

Read the full article →

Multiple Business Lines

June 1, 2010

Many creative businesses have more than one business line.  For instance, many interior designers own a retail store; stationers provide graphic design; event designers are also florists; and photographers shoot video.  I wrote last time about making each of these creative businesses very distinct from the other.  In this post, I would like to go [...]

Read the full article →

Have You Journaled?

May 26, 2010

Tomorrow will be ten days since my post on Journaling.  I hope I inspired some of you to start writing and I want to offer to work through your pages with you.   So here’s the deal:
Scan your pages (all of them, as is) and email them to me at sean@thebusinessofbeingcreative.com.  Make sure I have all [...]

Read the full article →

A Single Thought

May 25, 2010

Creative businesses are not department stores.  You do not have something for everybody.  Your clients are only those who place a premium on the value that you offer.  Everybody loves options, but having a smorgasbord of services actually devalues your creative business.  Your clients are not experts in what you provide and therefore have no [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →