Asking the right questions is like putting the pieces of a puzzle together to create a clear image. Since clarity is a coveted prize among the most successful CEOs and famous entrepreneurs, asking basic questions about creative entrepreneurship seemed like a good place to start.
I wasn’t sure what I would find when I began researching – I wasn’t even sure people consider creative entrepreneurship a real thing. I was delighted to find a wealth of books, articles and blogs exploring the subject going back to 2000, with Harvard professor Richard Caves’ 788-page deep-dive of a book called, “Creative Industries: Contracts Between Art and Commerce.” Creative entrepreneurship even has its own Wikipedia page! I downloaded samples of works written by celebrated thought leaders on the topic and sifted through a treasure chest of insights.
So what is creativity?
I combined the definitions of creativity from the dictionary app and Wikipedia: “Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas to form something new and valuable.”
To engage creativity, you need curiosity, imagination and innovation. I believe these concepts are not limited to fine arts. In a larger sense, they are the fuel driving human civilization since its beginning. Vital technologies, such as airplanes, telephones and computers, began as ideas people imagined as a result of being curious about their world and asking the right questions, which inspired them to innovate and create unique, valuable solutions.
What is creative entrepreneurship?
I define creative entrepreneurship as the ability to make money selling what you create or help others create. John Howkins provided a much more inspiring definition in his book, The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas.
“Entrepreneurs in the creative economy use creativity to unlock the wealth that lies within themselves,” Howkins wrote.
The Wikipedia definition echoes that thought: “Essentially, creative entrepreneurs are investors in talent – their own or other people’s.”
I believe we all have wealth inside us waiting to be unlocked. Imagine if everyone made the most of that wealth and invested it into the world to create a better and more beautiful experience for all. I felt a sudden sadness thinking how many people let that investment go to waste because others have convinced them that it will never pay off. Which leads me to…
Why is interest in creative careers seemingly disparaged in modern society?
I typed this question into Google and was startled to find that the top search result was written by two high school students!
Cole Drozdek and Ruby Link wrote an essay, “Why Does Society Have a Problem with Creatives?” for The Owl, a school newsletter, in 2020 while they were students at Boulder High School in Colorado. (https://bhsowl.org/5328/opinion/why-does-society-have-a-problem-with-creatives/). The pair examined the widespread assumption that creative professions don’t offer decent financial opportunities. The article provides solid evidence that this conception is a myth.
“Seventy-four percent of those studied to be designers and artists found a job relating to their studies in some capacity, while biology, accounting and mechanical engineers fall below 60 percent,” Drozdek and Link wrote. “Those in more creative careers are routinely able to secure a spot in the job market that pertains to their studies and long-lived passions.”
They noted that, at the time, nearly 75 percent of professional artists were designated self-employed.
“They make their own hours, earn off their personal profits and are content with their work life’s flexibility,” Drozdek and Link wrote. “Many parents worry about this being a trait of instability; however, an artist’s happiness proves much more consistent than in any other profession.”
I read the word “happiness” and had a flashback to when I was a new college graduate with a writing degree but no job. I remember viscerally how my stomach turned queasy when my dad said he was going to take me to visit major corporations in downtown Pittsburgh so I could get a “real job.” I was so brainwashed to focus on financial security that I don’t think I ever considered my happiness in that process.
I’m not the only one who has suffered the fallout from this faulty stereotype. In his book, The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida quotes a young woman with a similar experience.
“’We were conditioned to play the roles we were dealt,’” she said. “’We were not encouraged to create and build our visions, but rather to fit into the visions of a select few.’”
Florida also referenced Margaret Boden, in her book, The Creative Mind, who emphasized the courage it takes to stride against the headwinds of conformity when choosing a vocation.
“A person needs a healthy self-respect to pursue novel ideas and make mistakes, despite criticism from others,” Boden wrote. “Breaking generally accepted rules, or even stretching them, takes confidence. Continuing to do so in the face of skepticism and scorn takes even more.”
Let’s explore what those bold enough to take the road less traveled can expect…
How does creative entrepreneurship differ from conventional businesses?
The first word that came to my mind was “personal.” Those who create seem incredibly invested and fulfilled in their work. It is unique and meaningful. It can embody a person’s history, ethnicity, culture, experiences and emotions. It’s not just another widget that fits neatly into a traditional business model.
Caves highlights more differences in “Creative Industries”:
· Lack of standardization – Creative items and ideas are inherently unique and may be difficult to replicate.
· Uncertainty of market acceptance – Will people buy or invest in this new thing you’ve put out into the world?
· Reliance on aesthetic or subjective inputs – Who decides whether your product is beautiful, worthy, etc.?
· Collaborative nature of creative work – This can come from working with other creators or simply taking inspiration from what has been created in the past.
· Copyright issues – Who owns the intellectual property and how do you protect it against theft?
What do leaders in the creative entrepreneurship space say about the role of creative individuals in today’s marketplace and their ability to thrive?
Howkins took note that the rise of the internet and smartphones has facilitated the spread of creative ideas and entrepreneurship in today’s society.
“Digital technologies have created new opportunities for content, a new universe of online networks, user-generated content and interactive media hungry for information, images and stories,” he said. “The low costs of digital technology allow people to make, distribute and exchange their own material alongside, and increasingly, inside corporate markets.”
Creative entrepreneur Chris Do cited author Daniel Pink in a recent LinkedIn post. He said Pink claims in his book, A Whole New Mind, that “right-brainers (ie. creative individuals) will rule the 21st century.” I read a portion of the book to learn more.
Pink envisions a near future he calls the “Conceptual Age,” fueled by the digital revolution Howkins referenced. In this future, these technological innovations will “automate knowledge work,” taking over many left-brained, analytical tasks so we can focus more on right-brained, creative tasks. Work that will be most prized will be “hard to outsource, hard to automate and that delivers significance along with utility.”
“The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers,” Pink writes. “These people – artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, counselors, big-picture thinkers – will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.”
That’s the world I want to live in.
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