Ten Ways to Know If You’re a Creative Entrepreneur
Self Portrait by flapperdoodle. Isn’t she just the epitome of a creative entrepreneur?
You’ve already met Tara Lutman Agacayak back in my second installment of Grown-Up Gigs. She describes it below, so I’m not gonna, but seriously, click on the link & read it if you haven’t already. As you can probably guess, I was thrilled to get Tara’s submission as a guest blogger, & I think her 10 Ways are dead on. They absolutely confirmed for me that I’m a creative entrepreneur. What about you?
In one of her Grown-up Gig posts, Michelle introduced me as “Creative Entrepreneurial Endeavor Developer”. Though that’s a mouthful, I still haven’t decided on the appropriate title for myself. But I do know that I enjoy seeing other people develop viable creative businesses. For this post I thought I’d put together a list of things that I think describe what a creative entrepreneur is since the term can be a bit vague (but creatives are good with vague, aren’t we?). So, without further ado …
You know you are a creative entrepreneur if:
- You are challenged by working for others and you march to the beat of your own drummer.
- You have a job working for someone else but you constantly imagine what you would do if you were self-employed.
- You see the world as a place to experience life, not just make it through another day.
- You have a unique perspective that you manifest and express using your own vocabulary – such as color, texture, shape, harmony, melody, composition, pitch, shade, tone, clarity, ambiguity, to the touch, palette, savory, sweet, light, dark … [add your own vocabulary here]
- You encounter another creative person doing really authentic, honest work, and it makes you light up inside.
- You graciously accept monetary compensation for your hard work and have a real sense of the value of your time and how that translates into what you’ve produced.
- It is difficult for you to separate what you love from what you do.
- You are never satisfied, and continuously yearn for ways to grow and develop yourself through your creative talent.
- You are able to put both your right and left brain to work to produce something that is at once creative and also profitable.
- It kills your spirit to work in any job other than what you feel drawn to creatively.
What do you think? Do you agree? What other things would you add to the list? Feel free to share in the comments section.
Tara Lutman Agacayak is an American ex-pat living in Turkey. She is one of two founding partners at Intarsia Concept where she works to develop creative businesses as well as at Citara’s and Behind the Bazaar.
Related posts:
- Grown-Up Gig: Creative Entrepreneurial Endeavor Developer
- 5 Ways to Trust Yourself/Slay the Disappointment Vampire
- Top 5 Ways You Inspire Me, Mom
Tags: Great Guest Post
November 12th, 2009 at 10:51 am
True, through and through. I’d also add that, while you can get weary at a “mainstream job” you can work and work until the wee hours, every day, at your creative work. It’s plain to see then that you aren’t just worn out from stress or a lack of sleep; your Job isn’t as right for you as your creative pursuits.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
This was a great list. I’d also add a general distaste for all “office politics” and innane reporting (think TPS reports from “Office Space”). That and gray cubicle walls will suck the creativity right out of you…
November 13th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Rockin’ cool list!! Love it!!
November 13th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
I could be Tara’s case study for this list! I would also add you must have a certain amount of energy to see something through; it could be easy to loose steam in the middle of a project (or several if you are juggling a lot), so you need focus to help finish the job and stay motivated even when you hit road blocks or have to deal with the nuts ‘n bolts (i.e. the non-creative stuff).
November 17th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Good point Cat about being able to work tirelessly on creative pursuits! I agree.
No office politics when you work for yourself at home, right Magchunk? Who are you going to get into it with? The wall?
Thanks for the compliment Sandy.
Rose – would you agree with Cat that working on creative projects naturally brings more energy to the table than non-creative ones? Do you want to say more about that?
I’ve really enjoyed this conversation and appreciate your ideas. In fact, I thought I’d delve deeper into creative entrepreneurship with this post in case you’d like to add more to these thoughts. Here’s the shortened link – http://ow.ly/D5lc
Wishing you success in your creative pursuits!
November 18th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
creative entrepreneur, absolutely all of these. I’ve always been one
November 19th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
What a great list! Can I add that when you’re at a job you don’t like you can’t wait to get off but when you are doing what you want you lament when your alloted time (or even your day) is over?
November 20th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I’m definitely drawn to #1. I can’t seem to put a finger on it, and people around me kept asking why I don’t like working for others. I think I don’t really hate working for others – just for those who stifle my creativity and aren’t open to different possibilities, and hated the fact that I kept asking questions.
I think that to be a entrepreneur takes guts, and also a good dose of creativity, no matter what field you’re in.
November 20th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Marisa – You are one of the first people I encountered who actually called herself a creative entrepreneur. I was floored when I saw that on your Twitter bio, and happy to feature you on one of our #FF posts.
Natalyn – Yes. Right on. I agree (as I write this at 1am)
Amy – Isn’t it frustrating to be stifled? I think being open to different possibilities is the key to innovation which is the key to growth. And that is going to be a key skill as we leave the Information Age and move into the Conceptual Age.
Thanks again for all of your contributions!