[ 71 of 250 ] Creativity IS business
... even though everyone thinks it isn't.
Arts and Business are widely held to be poles apart, when in fact they’re two sides of the same coin.
They work together extremely well, and both require the same kinds of creativity.
That creativity just happens to be employed in different ways.
I got to thinking about this after catching up with an entrepreneurial dancer who is relatively new to rAdelaide. She is Brazilian by origin, and spent many years in the UK.
Now, in the UK there is something brilliant about arts grants. That is: They require you to give back to the community in some way. This is why every dance company - especially the large ones - has a public dance school that that they take very seriously. It’s why grants for major projects often see grant-winners pairing performances with public workshops.
And it’s why this particular dancer is a lot more entrepreneurial than your average Aussie artist.
There are so many opportunities for cash that arts organisations leave on the table.
Take for example the drive that many companies and entrepreneurs have for social good:
Partnering with artists is one way to deliver brilliant programs to communities and societies with particular needs, as well as to fulfil your corporate social responsibility requirements.
Take the dance question, for example. Dance is magnificent for neuroplasticity, creativity, physical improvement, spatial awareness, teamwork, stroke recovery, and much much more. So if your organisation wanted to be active in bringing benefits to communities that fit those buckets, partnering with a dance artist (or collective) could deliver some serious three-sided wins: You win, the dancers win, the community wins.
Yet, creativity feels so foreign to business owners that they are often in awe of people who make the time to be creative.
Take my Wednesdays off, for example.
Over the past couple of months, I've spent an hour every Wednesday to connect via Zoom with other business folk. Every time I'm asked by the host to talk about my Wednesdays Off, the room is filled with Love Eyes.
They ask questions like, 'how do you fit it into your schedule?'
Of course, it doesn’t. I build my schedule around my life.
Do any of them choose to follow? No, not generally.
Somehow, and I say this as a company owner and director, the idea of creativity is one of "fitting it in". Arts and business are viewed as being poles apart, when in fact the opposite is true.
If any business is going to innovate (it's ok to go vomit at the Jargon Word Of The Decade), it requires Ideas.
Ideas require creativity.
Creativity requires space.
That Space is mental and physical. If you don’t have enough of it, you will never be creative enough to adapt to whatever comes your way.
As I face down my maternity leave, which is beginning at 4 pm this Friday - so literally 48 hours away! - I’m finding that the Space is generating Ideas at a rate of knots.
Is it any wonder that I’m excited?
Now you might be wondering what’s going to happen to this publication when I’m ensconced in a Baby Bubble. So here’s what’s going to happen:
When bubs makes an appearance, you’ll hear nothing from me for at least 40 days.
But these posts aren’t going away.
In fact, the past week has seen a real evolution in my sales process, and I have a new product - focused on a NEW content excellence framework - that’s due to hit Beta testers in early 2021, so I’ll still be Doing Stuff.
Just not Client Stuff.
Which reminds me. If you want in on the Beta test, add yourself to this list so you get first dibs. Beta testers will get access for life, for free, in exchange for doing & testifying. Are you in?
‘til next week, may all your wins be glorious.
~ Leticia