How many times have you been told you’re so good at something, you should take it up as a career? If you are a talented and dedicated artist who takes their work seriously, you would prize the sheer pleasure of immersing yourself in your art. However, chances are you also want to channelize your passion into a money-making business. A creative entrepreneur faces the challenge of going about converting your passion into an income-generating business, encountering questions such as what is more important, money or creativity? If you have wondered about these questions at some point of time, this article will help you balance creativity and entrepreneurship.
Table of Contents
Who Is A Creative Entrepreneur
A creative entrepreneur uses their talent, ie, their intellectual/creative knowledge to come up with products and services that benefit people and businesses. The creative economy is made up of a host of professional services such as writing, fashion, decor, photography, music, graphic design, video, filmmaking, visual art, tailoring, stand-up comedy, dance, etc. It could be in the form of full-time careers and businesses run by creative entrepreneurs, or in the form of gigs. Performing artists such as stand-up comedians, musicians and dancers mostly act as creative freelancers.
A Sustainable Career
It is vital as a creative entrepreneur that you constantly seek ways to bring in stable income through your career. Unless there is financial security, you cannot sustain yourself, even if you think your art can sustain itself. To make the best of your creative business, you must integrate creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. This lets you provide unique solutions and services. If you are convinced there is little chance for financial success in your chosen field and you do not want to give it up, you may want to have a side hustle to supplement your income.
The Importance Of Visibility
Today, the creative economy holds a sizable sway on social media. Visual artists, fashionistas, sculptors, makeup artists, photographers, and filmmakers enjoy a huge following on Instagram and YouTube. Among the various kinds of content, visual content is followed and consumed fastest. The premise of creativity is the appreciation an artist gets from their audience. This is achieved only when you have promoted your work and gained maximum visibility.
Is visibility a challenge for some creative entrepreneurs?
For a fashion artist or a boutique tailor, visibility is not a challenge. It is easy for their talent to be exhibited directly on different platforms and convert to leads.
Consider the visual appeal that most food channels in social media focus on these days. Food photography ensures that your talent is appreciated even more by viewers the world over, to such an extent that the absence of tasting, the basic underlying factor in food, is not even a constraint anymore.
However for certain kinds of creative entrepreneurs such as writers, visibility has to be acquired in different ways. Consider a screenshot comparison of website visitors, or blog page comments, or number of sign ups, for writers in marketing. For other writers, consider sharing awards or appreciation that you have received for your writing. You may also want to share excerpts of your writing, or post witty written content on your social media handles to showcase your ability.
After all, creative writing is very much in demand for businesses of various kinds. As a creative entrepreneur, you will face numerous challenges as you set up your business. However, one of your strongholds is the fact that you’re passionate about your work. This adds to your conviction in your business, and drives your authenticity.
Ever thought about changing your career path to pursue your passion? Read our article on successful career transition.
Acing It As A Creative Entrepreneur
Succeeding as a creative entrepreneur could be more challenging in many ways than running a regular business. However, creative entrepreneurs should never assume they are only cut out for a small or medium-scale business. Consider the success scaled by Walt Disney, or the fame of Indian fashion designers such as Sabyasachi. Musicians and artists constitute half the top 50 global influencers across social media, in a study by Visual Capitalist.
The success a creative entrepreneur enjoys is dependent upon several factors. Here are 5 ways that will help your creative business thrive:
- Identifying And Gathering Your Target Market
- A Unique Proposition
- Collaboration
- Promoting your brand
- Protecting Intellectual Property
Identifying And Gathering Your Target Market
It begins with a SWOT analysis that lets you demarcate what you can and cannot offer. This helps you identify a niche market. For a lot of creative entrepreneurs, half the game is won when you identify your market. This lets you understand the problems you can solve with your creative work, or the transformation you can effect with your service.
Focus on a specific group of customers to target them, and create a buyer persona. Reach out to them with your offering and be persistent in communicating to them.
Want to hear Rishi Piparaiya talk about the realities of being a part-time author?
A Unique Proposition
There are a ton of creative artists out there who can do the work you are doing. How are you different?Offering a unique proposition targeting specific needs and pain points marks you out. If you cater to these, you are not just another creative entrepreneur, you are also a solution provider, or a result enhancer.
The most talented artists don’t necessarily become the most successful creative entrepreneurs. The best entrepreneurship goes a long way in establishing a successful creative business.
Collaboration
Being able to scale up by onboarding more creative talent or tying up with other creative entrepreneurs allows for a greater volume of creative ideas. This allows for scaling and making oneself a stronger brand.
Promoting your brand
Once your brand enjoys a fair amount of visibility and awareness, it is great to have in place brand guidelines and a consistent stylesheet to promote your brand’s unique voice so it is more identifiable. Good brand visuals including logo, font, etc. are a great way to promote your creative brand.
Protecting Intellectual Property
Your designs, writing, and other creative assets need to be protected against being stolen and passed off as another’s. It is always a good idea to arm yourself with a copyright or trademark so that it enables you to take legal action against the defaulter.
With a clear career plan, there is a greater chance for you to succeed at your creative venture and make it thrive the way you wanted it to. Have any more ideas for your creative business? Do let us know in the comments below! Have any more ideas for your creative business? Do let us know in the comments below!
