I talk about “creative business” a lot here on my blog, in my newsletter, in my services pages and my free offerings. My goal is to address the type of people I most want to help. Some of you may be wondering “Does my business count as creative? How do I know? I’m not an artist, can I still call my biz a creative business? Will someone get offended if I do it?”
- How To Think Like A Creativeeven If You&rsquo Re Not Want
- How To Think Like A Creativeeven If You&rsquo Re Not Take
- How To Think Like A Creativeeven If You&rsquo Re Not Still
- How To Think Like A Creativeeven If You&rsquo Re Not Like
I get where you’re coming from. It’s that old “I’m not really creative” belief that a lot of people struggle with. In this post I’m going to share my definition of creative business, and what this might mean for you.
But I insist you can be and there are some specific things you can do to help yourself in being creative and making teaching, learning, and composing even more fun for yourself and your students. Yes, you can get and stay creative even if you have all kinds of beautiful and precious little distractions running around (as is my case). To think more creatively you need to loosen up a bit and have a little fun. This of course requires tackling every challenge in a lighthearted, playful and imaginative way. Creative ideas will only come to you when you’re enjoying the process of solving your life’s problems.
- You Can Be Creative. Even If You Think You Are Not. On June 6, 2017 June 5, 2017 By Robert Evenhouse In Creative.%d bloggers like this.
- Plus, you'll get better at this the more you do it. You don't have to be a creative thinker to be able to think outside the box, you just need to do more stuff that stimulates creative thinking.
- “I think the best thing to do is make sure you have a cushion and that you can follow up and rebound.” Derek Rodenbeck. Want to know how to stay creative – even when things don’t go to plan? In this week’s podcast, we catch up with illustrator and comic book artist, Derek Rodenbeck.
First, let’s get the basics out of the way
I’m a firm believer that every person is inherently creative.
I also believe that creativity is not a “right-brained” thing. You can still be profoundly creative, even if you’re into numbers, systems and fixing stuff.
The word “creative” has become a buzzword lately, and it looks like everyone defines themselves as a creative-something-or-other to make sure that people understand that yes, we are creative, even if what we do may not be traditionally considered as creative (law, accounting, systems management etc.).
I’m using this word all the time as well, because I want to make sure that my right people, the people whose one of their top personal core values is creativity, are able to find me and recognize me as their right person.
I just want to make one distinction that will make the rest clearer.
Creative person does not a creative business make
Every person is inherently creative, and this can imply that every business is inherently creative. That may be true. However, something being inherently creative and something being practically creative are two different things.
If you don’t express your creative gifts, then you’re unable to build your business around them. In order to build a creative business, you actually need to do the work. This type of creativity is not just airy fairy visions, but turning these visions into a reality other people can experience.
While every person has the potential to be practically creative, and hence have a creative career, not every person chooses to do so – either because they lack the awareness of their gifts, or because of fear of failure.
You have a choice whether you want to have a creative business or not.
It’s not like some people are born into it, and others are not. You get to make whatever you want out of your life, and I believe that talent is just a cop out. (It’s interesting how all the artists I’ve talked to about it agree with me. We’re not special, we just practiced a lot.)
So now we’re back to our original question.
What makes a business “creative”?
Creativity is the ability to form new ideas and craft new artefacts that were never expressed or made beforehand. It means taking all our knowledge, experience, history, influence and inspiration, and compiling it into an original result.
This can take on many forms in business.
Perhaps you invented a new gadget, and now produce it in a factory and sell it all over the world.
Or you paint, draw,sculpt or craft things and sell these in galleries, on a local market, your webshop or Etsy.
Or you write books and publish them, either traditionally or by yourself.
Or maybe you compose music, perform shows and sell your albums.
Or you write software plug-ins and sell them on marketplaces, or your own website.
Or you package your expert knowledge into books, workshops and courses.
Or maybe you use your creativity to make custom things for your clients – like a designer, illustrator, developer, copywriter, seamstress etc.
When we look at these different types of businesses, we have no doubt that their owners are performing creative tasks as a central part of their enterprise. We’ve crafted our own definition of a “creative business” according to them.
But what if your work is none of the above?
What if you sell consulting or coaching? What if you’re a teacher who is more concerned with nurturing her students’ creativity than her own? What if you heal others?
Can you still consider yourself a creative business owner?
On the surface, your business model may be different from the other creatives we mentioned, but if you look a bit deeper, you’re bound to find many ways you use your creativity to do your work.
The most obvious way is your marketing. Every business who wants to compete online needs content marketing to attract new clients. (If you want to identify the best online marketing channels for you, I encourage you to download my free Authentic Promotion Guidebook which leads you through the process of creating your custom content marketing plan.)
This content requires you to pour your expertise, experience and passion into every single text, image, podcast or video you create. You’re making something original, valuable and creative.
So, that was rather easy?
There’s more to it, though.
I’m sure that you’re not approaching your work formulaically. You approach every new person with a curious mind, and are determined to give them exactly the kind of experience they need.
Every new person is a learning opportunity for you, and you take your time to figure out the best solution to their specific problem. Sometimes this solution may be a thing that you often do with people in their situation, but other times the old and tried solutions don’t work for them, and you need to get creative.
After all, if you want to get ahead of your competitors, you’re pressed to find solutions other people haven’t thought of yet, or aren’t presenting them the way you are.
As long as you’re really putting your heart and mind into your work (instead of just regurgitating the things you learned in all those certification courses), and are constantly looking to improve the way you do things, you are a true creative powerhouse.
Can any business be creative?
I think it can. Any job can be creative as well. If the street sweeper finds a new way of holding a broom for better efficiency and speed, that person is an inventor. Let’s not underestimate anyone’s ability to bring creativity into their work.
But are you taking advantage of that?
Are you pushing yourself to use your full potential in your business?
Are you moving past the lessons that your instructors have taught you, and combining it into new, original solutions that are even more effective?
Let me know in the comments – is your venture a creative business?
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“I think the best thing to do is make sure you have a cushion and that you can follow up and rebound.”
~ Derek Rodenbeck
Want to know how to stay creative – even when things don’t go to plan?
In this week’s podcast, we catch up with illustrator and comic book artist, Derek Rodenbeck.
Since the last time we spoke, some of his freelance projects have been going really well. He’s almost finished the comic book he was working on, and he’s even picked up some extra jobs in between.
However, it hasn’t all been plain sailing. The one big project he was working on fell through, meaning Derek has lost out on one of his major income streams for the year ahead.
So what do you do when something like this happens? And how can you stay creative when life throws you a curveball? Read on to find out how Derek is rolling with the punches and adapting to change…
Derek Rodenbeck on how to Stay Creative
As a freelance artist, it’s important to realize that your workflow can often be inconsistent. Sometimes, it seems as if you’ve almost got too much work to handle…and then there’ll be other times when you wonder where the next paid gig is coming from.
Therefore, it’s important to have a ‘Plan B’ in place for when this happens. And, for Derek, that’s exactly where he’s at right now.
So if you want to know how to stay creative when the work dries up, take a leaf out of Derek’s book. Because he’d been there and got the T-shirt!
Currently, his plans include travelling from his native Philadelphia to San Francisco with his wife and faithful hound, Kuma, in tow.
A friend lent Derek a book, Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson, which he’s found really useful, because it shows you exactly how you can adapt to changes in your life and still keep moving in the right direction.
He says: “We’re just going to explore nature and creativity, and I’m planning to film the whole thing!”
As they say, when one door closes, another one opens. We can’t wait to hear about Derek’s adventures on the road – stay tuned for regular updates here on Pencil Kings.
Listen to this week’s podcast interview and learn:
- How to have a cushion in place for when things don’t work out
- How to stay creative in any environment
- Why networking and meeting other people is so important
- How to turn that curveball into a new opportunity
We hope Derek’s story helps you keep going when things don’t work out as you planned.
Have you ever had some of the same experiences as Derek? Let us know how you dealt with them in the comment box below – we’d love to hear your story 🙂
People on this Episode:
Links From This Episode:
How To Think Like A Creativeeven If You&rsquo Re Not Want
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How To Think Like A Creativeeven If You&rsquo Re Not Take
Cheers,
How To Think Like A Creativeeven If You&rsquo Re Not Still
Mitch
How To Think Like A Creativeeven If You&rsquo Re Not Like
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