The Business of Being Creative

I wrote this post six years ago this week comparing the arc of a creative business to the growth of an apple tree. The analogy is as good today as it was then.  That is why I have copied the whole post here. A few thoughts that have come since then:

If you do not focus on the shiniest apples you do not understand the power of niche, the power of community.

If you act as if the tree might die, you are, almost by definition, undercutting the essence of who you are. At a certain point, the hustle ends and you do not need to prove yourself as worthy.  Instead, you have to own the power you have earned to be worthy of the shiniest apple.

If you keep acting as if you have something to prove (i.e., the tree might die), you will erode the very trust you are trying to build.

If you are not focused on the shiniest apple, the power of niche and community, likely is that you have the wrong horse on the wrong course.  So employees that were awesome as jack-of-all-trades, get it done whatever it takes wilt when specialty talent is required.  Having the right horse for the right course is what makes champions, today more than ever.  It is why there have only been 13 Triple Crown winners since the Triple Crown started in 1875.

Have these thoughts in mind when you read the post again. Find your shiniest apple and then let it lead you to the next one and the next one.  Ignore the rest.

An Apple Tree

Due respect to Isaac Newton, a very apt analogy came to me last week – your creative business is like an apple tree.

In the beginning, you plant the seed and then work tirelessly on the (blind) hope that the seed will grow.  When the sapling breaks the ground, when you land your first client, you are simultaneously relieved that all your work has not been in vain and fervent in the notion that the sapling will become a tree.

You redouble your efforts to protect and nurture the sapling.  You are tireless with your clients, going far beyond what is asked of you, your art and your creative business.  You are desperate for the sapling to live to be a tree.

Your efforts pay off and the sapling becomes a young tree, still not bearing fruit, but also not all that fragile either.  Your creative business now has employees to help you do what you do.  Clients, vendors and colleagues respect you and you can move through the inevitable FUBAR.  The FUBAR will hurt, but your creative business will not die because of it.  Two FUBARs, however, probably would kill it, just like a strong storm would the young tree.  So you remain ever vigilant and protective.  The tree could still die.

Then the apple tree starts to bear fruit. More apples than can be processed.  At this stage, killing the tree would be hard, much harder than anything necessary to keep it alive.  Reputation, respect, experience, wisdom and depth of relationship means your creative business can survive almost anything.  So the focus shifts (or should) to what to do with all of the apples.  You and all of your friends cannot eat, bake, make applesauce with or freeze dry all of the apples from the tree.  And even if you could use all of them, there will be ever more next year.

This is where the analogy gets really fun.  Most creative business owners get stuck in the idea that their role and that of their employees is to keep the tree alive, far past the time when the tree needs that level of vigilance.   Sure, the tree needs appropriate care, but not hyper-vigilance.  It is a tree after all.  Stuck in vigilance mode, you really do not pay attention to the fruit and what can be done with it.  You might even be incredibly frustrated when a delicious apple rots on the ground.  The new business opportunity, new client, etc. falls away because you just do not have the time.  Arrrggh.  If only you could stop having to do the (you choose the day-to-day task), you could really go after x, y and z.  Hmmm.  Are you sure the tree will not die?  Irony of ironies, the very thing the tree needed to survive in the first place (i.e., hyper-vigilance) is the very thing that could kill it now that the tree is a tree.

Even if the practical is that you have to do the task, attitude is everything.  There is a HUGE difference to believing you have to do it and knowing that the business will survive (thrive?) if you do not.  If you know the tree will not die, you will move on to other things – like seeing what is to be done with all of that fruit.

Now let’s talk about the apples.  If you believe the tree might die, seeing apples on the ground will be terrifying.  So you will over-invest in doing something with all of them, stretch yourself and your staff too thin, work tirelessly on every idea regardless of timing.  Mouse on a wheel.  Move beyond survival and you will know that some apples, even beautiful ones will go unused.  Your focus will be on what you do with the apples you can use.  More importantly, it will be on knowing what to do with the most beautiful apple when it falls from the tree as it inevitably will.

Nobody said it was easy to let go of what got you where you are.  Then again, staying there serves no one, least of all the tree.

Snake Oil Salesman, Charles Ponzi, Bernie Madoff, The 2008 Financial Crisis(just go watch The Big Short) and now Billy McFarland. The story of a grifter, con man/woman able to convince those of the glory around the corner if only they pay up now is old and, although evergreen, not all that interesting. Billy McFarland used social media to create the illusion and preyed on FOMO of the fabulous but that is nothing new, just a new tool.  And, yes, Jerry Mediais totally complicit in the effort in my opinion.  The Netflixand Huludocumentaries are both awesome in the exposure of the fraud for what it was, not so much for those who were paid to be better.

No, the interesting part are those real players who should have known better and/or gave away their integrity for up front money. Mark Musters,Andy Kingand all of the other event and music festival professionals are legitimate and will be forever brushed with their decision to continue down the road with the charade.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20 but when you know what you know, it is your obligation to stand up and say no, we are not doing this and we are going to tell everyone what is off here. The point is is that people got hurt. Yes, ticket buyers lost their money, and in some cases, had to experience a not very fun at all day and night in the Bahamas. Some sympathy for the scammed, but true sympathy and empathy for those that did all they could but did not get paid; those who tried in vain to be stand-up in a sea of moral slime. To those people who are the forgotten (GoFundMecampaigns notwithstanding), that is the tragedy.  And because that tragedy could have been averted had those who knew better stood up and said no, we need to point the spotlight there.

In the Netflix documentary, Mark Musters talks about what it would take to pull off the festival ($35mm) and gives the appearance of confidence. Then, though, there was no statement whether he knew the money was there, whether key ingredients were secured —venue, infrastructure, etc., basic due diligence. The image was that he said what it would take, was given assurance that the money was there and then went down the road, presumably with fee in hand. Andy King comes off as woefully unaware of the size and scale of the disaster he is participating in and clearly out of his depth. Pulling off a great event in NYC for a few hundred people is not the same as doing a music festival for 20,000.  Never once in the documentary does he stop and say that this is just not what he does.  Instead, he plays the martyr, figure it out entrepreneur to the tee.  That is the real con.

Let me be clear, every event has uncertainty and a feeling like it will never happen until it does. The difference here is that real experts have to be able to say what is uncertain versus what is impossible. An elephant will never sleep in a crib no matter how cute that might look.

Greed, both in the delusion of what the Fyre Festival could have been — it was an awesome idea, perfect for a millennial scam — that is what made it so enticing.  Pulling off something so cool would indeed have been an achievement of a lifetime. And the dollars were big given the scale (also perfect for the scam). Process though has to take over. Evaluation of what is possible and what is not has to be placed in the context of those entrusted with their expertise.

What we saw was that creative businesses took a real hit in the Fyre Festival documentaries. Jerry Media for its continuing manipulation of the public and Mark Musters and Andy King for not stopping the whole thing with a voice that said no to what was happening.  You can hold your hat on the idea that these players were victims too (as Jerry Media is trying to prove with its Netflix documentary) and I refuse to go there.  I have been part of events for thousands of people (one done in 72 days start to finish) and in every instance there were experts that said what could be done, how much it would cost and then the money flowed to make it happen. Had the money not flowed when it was supposed to for the mega events I was involved in, they would not have happened.  Period.  When you are talking about millions and millions of dollars, when money does not flow, it is not only a red flag, it is full stop and walk away. Even if your bank account is full.  Such is the responsibility of those in charge of production.

No one of consequence in creative business stood up with Fyre and we as creative business owners will suffer the consequences. When experts belie their expertise it is very hard for the public to value the power and depth of that expertise. What we all do as artists and creative business owners matters.  The lesson of The Fyre Festival is that when you lose your integrity, strength of vision and character as a creative, we all suffer the stain of illegitimacy.  We can do better and we have to, no matter what.

A good friend of mine is one of the founders of WageStream– a new service that lets employees in the UK (who get paid monthly) “borrow” against their future paycheck for little more than an ATM fee. As opposed to payday lenders who create such havoc in peoples’ lives because of how they work and the interest they charge, WageStream is an important tool for employees who are having a tough time managing their money on monthly paychecks. It only takes a government shutdown in the U.S. and a few conversations with teachers in California for me to see what problem WageStream solves.

However, when I first heard the idea, I never thought it would work. If a payroll system could solve the problem by just changing an input to weekly or bi-weekly and employees put enough pressure on the business owners, why wouldn’t the business just acquiesce? I did not fully understand the culture and how businesses have come to operate in the U.K. and many other places over countless generations.  So WageStream solves a real problem. I was wrong and, for my friend, happy to be wrong.

The question is what happens now?  Do I beat myself up for not getting it sooner?  Dig in as to my point of view?  Or do I try to learn more about what I did not know?  Is knowing what I do not know a sign of weakness or courage? How do I truly do better when I know better?

It takes discipline to move forward when your thinking is proven to be off.  Ego has no place here and the conviction of ego is a fool’s paradise.  Easy enough when you are dead wrong, not so much when you are not right enough.  This is the nuance of creative business more than any other kind of business for the simple reason that creative business is subjective and the same message delivered by another artist might soar.  We see it all the time.  For you though, you are wrong or, worse, not right enough.  Instead, what can you learn from the thinking that got you lost?  Not self-flagellation but integrity to come to another way of contemplation.

Inevitably, the question becomes what did you undervalue.  It is too easy to say that you just did not get it.  You likely did, but you mis-weighted what mattered and what did not.  Of course, there has to be agreement as to what you and your client most care about, just not what is behind it. Beauty and craftsmanship can be singular but together can reach the same destination. So it is too easy to say the client, colleague, employee did not care about what you did. That might be true but equally likely is your deafness to why. This is where true empathy can come in. If beauty is all that matters, craftsmanship will fall on deaf ears without relationship to beauty. If you missed the relationship, admitting you are wrong can bring you closer to the relationship and success in the future.  Nuance is everything in creative business.  Who wears it better matters.  A lot.

There is nothing ever wrong with conviction and faith in what you, your art and your creative business is all about.  However, you have to resonate and, to do that, you have to listen and listen with true humility. Your business will teach you a better way if you allow it to.  Or you can blame everyone else for just not getting it. Perhaps this is the sign of the times to blame others instead of looking at what you brought to the party.  It actually does not matter if you believe that or not.  Just know that if your competitor listens and pivots, they will be closer to your clients than you.  For that reason and that reason alone, they will win as they will know not just why your client cares, but why.

So check your ego at the door, admit what you do not or did not know and then do better.

People like us do things like thisis one of Seth Godin’s mantras. But what happens when the people you seek to serve live lives that you cannot begin to comprehend? How then are you to relate your art, your vision to what they seek?  How can it be possible for you to meet them at their level?  Even more important, how do you communicate that you can? Certainly, you cannot drive the same car as they do, wear the same clothes, even eat at the same restaurants.

Such is the challenge of power and ultra luxury. The answer, of course, is that is has nothing to do with the external and everything to do with emotional connection and a singular purpose to what you, your art and your creative business are all about. Of course, the image you wish to portray is for you to decide and that is vitally important. You may not be able to afford what your clients can, but if organization is your thing, having a messy workspace or car is not going to get it done.

Which leads me to the largest point. You are not getting hired to be your clients’ friend, you are their to be their guide. Friends accept you as you are, warts and all.  Clients do not. Clients expect that you have vision, a monomaniacal manner that manifests in your ability to create great art for them. You are there to fill an emotional void and, in so doing, transform their lives. The object of transformation transcends artifice and finds itself squarely in the essence of humanity. Most creative business is the happy business — to create joy for clients so that their lives are ever uplifted by the work.

If you allow yourself to go to the responsibility of creating joy, to transform, you will understand that art transcends its medium always.  It will never be about the thing or how many things each of you can acquire given your station in life. It will be about what you are able to accomplish for your client that they could never do on their own. That said, you have to give them the triggers that let them know you are that very person (or firm). If you consider your work to be global but have not traveled or at least immersed yourself in the culture you seek to interpret, that is a non-starter. Such is the power of niche and the prerequisite of radical authenticity. Would you listen to Rick Baylessif he had never been to Mexico?

Own your purpose so that it becomes immediately apparent not that you are capable of producing great art (that is assumed), but as to what lies underneath.  People like us do things like this means that you can see the human need to be uplifted and you actually know the who, what, where, how and why of how to do just that for your client with your art and your creative business.  It never means to be in service with an overarching desire to supplicate and be invisible. It means to be of service.  You know the way and everyone is better off if they follow you.  This is true empathy — knowing your gift, who will most appreciate it and setting about doing what it takes to share it with those that care.

How many times have you kept your mouth shut because you did not want to piss off the powers that be?  When you know that your insight into their business is spot on but will require change and vision on the part of those you would seek to share your wisdom with?

Still incredibly relevant isZappo’s desire to receive the inputfrom shoe manufacturers and wholesalers to help with the marketing of the shoes they made. This at the time when brick and mortar retailers actively went out of their way to keep as much information as possible from manufacturers and wholesalers, lest the power dynamic shift against the retailer. Of course, Zappo’s customer service is legendary, but the key to their success is the collaboration between them and their manufacturers and wholesalers.

Here we are all these years later and the amount of information that is withheld by those threatened by the new world order is staggering. And the higher you climb the luxury scale the more the disparity exists.

Where is the guide by planners of the strengths and weaknesses of their local venues? Production partners?  Sure you can find wonderful reference sites like Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book, Carats and Cakeand Party Slate, but I am talking real, unbiased evaluations by those in the know for consumers to read and be better informed by. Evaluations by those who really know what the consumer wants and what the particular partner may or may not be able to provide. Better information for those that care to really know provided by those who actually know.

For as much as Houzz provides very useful information for all things interior design and renovation, we are still very much in the wild west of “I’ve got a guy/gal” when it comes to who does what and why.  If you are unwilling to truly own your own niche, you are reluctant to share  who should inhabit that niche with you.  So there are very few who will say that contractor/designer/supplier does this well but not this.

I am not talking about creating the next review or validation site. That is an evergreen business but also one that has been done to death. I am talking about taking the time ala Zappo’s to ask what the actual problem is and what the solution to THAT problem ought to be. We need fresh eyes from those that see constraints to a system that need not be there. Do not just say that a production partner’s customer service is lacking, talk about what is specifically off and what you suggested to fix the problem. Give everyone the chance to see that your voice matters and leave it to the production partner to heed the advice or not. At least then we will get clarity as to where everyone stands especially at the power and ultra luxury level.

The reason information diverges at the luxury level is that the physicality and constraints of budget pale as to the status of the endeavor and/or product.  If you are using the highest end upholsterer in your region, the expectation is that the work will be superior.  The real question is not the craftsmanship it is about the integrity of the craftsmanship and why it matters so much to them and to you. The mastery of intention and vision is what increasingly matters when you climb the luxury scale. Yet, no one talks about that mastery in a specific way that is relevant to those deciding. Of course they are the best, but why? Where do they fall short and what do you say they should be doing to improve?  Is it happening?

Today, there are no absolute gatekeepers. As such, we are all experts on the businesses we partner with.  We have both the responsibility and authority to improve each other.  Keep the platitudes for cocktail parties.  Identify better problems so we can all make better art for our clients. The rest will take care of itself.

I was sitting down to write a year in review and saw that The Business of Home had done a much much better job of summarizing my ideas (from my column that I write for them) than I ever could. Here is the link: BOH Year In Review.  I love writing my column for The Business of Home and will continue to write it as long as they will have me.

What I like most about BOH’s review is that the quotes apply to virtually every creative business I can think of — charge from the top down, no line-item pricing, be the expert, own the one thing that matters, etc.  I do hope you will have the chance to have a look and to take something for your creative business as you head into 2019 and use that thing to evolve both your art and your creative business.

A note on evolution.  I am of the firm belief that incremental change is an oxymoron. Be radically better, radically more authentic in 2019  and beyond. 10x as Seth Godin just so aptly said.  Do not fear the abyss, fear the certainty you hold on to as opportunity moves past.

Now, more than ever, the world needs artists and, by necessity, their creative businesses, to truly step into their own light and for that light to be undimmed by those who might be blinded by its luminescence.

Many many prayers for a joyous holiday and new year.