3 Proven & Essential Roles To Become A Creative Entrepreneur

[Read Time < 4 Minutes]

There's nothing sweeter as a creator than raising your skill level to the point when you can turn your passion into some profit and, ultimately, a profession.

The climb is not easy, but the view is spectacular when you get there.

I've met with aspiring photographers, artists and entrepreneurs for years, and my core advice has never changed.

To be a successful entrepreneur, you MUST become three things.

1. A Business Person - You want to start a business, right? The first step is to act like someone running one.

Everything is fun and creative when you're creating just for fun, but if you want to take your craft to the next level, take the cool-headed words of Michael Corleone very seriously,

"It's not personal. It's just business."

In this case, it IS business, so it's time to do things differently.

I admit this part is probably the biggest drag, but that doesn't mean you can avoid it.

You have to start "keep the books," track inventory, buy supplies, formalize your communications, send invoices, pay taxes (perhaps NOT like Michael Corleone) and assume the role of someone taking their craft-making seriously.

You can still love the work, but you must treat it with a different level of respect and treat the WAY you do it differently as well...as Michael Corleone would do.

2. A Marketer - You can be the greatest photographer in the world, but if no one knows it, you won't get any business.

Ever wonder where the term "starving artist" comes from?

On the flip side, you can be the worst photographer in the world, BUT a great marketer, and you will get clients.

Of course, the word of your skills will eventually get around, and your chances of getting repeat business will be slim, but you will still get business (btw, please don’t do this).

Great marketing can do that.

The ideal combo is to become excellent at your craft AND become excellent at marketing your service or product.

Now, you can market with BOTH skill and integrity and enjoy a very long and successful career as a creative entrepreneur.

Great marketing can do that, too.

Sadly, this is the hardest part of the trifecta, and it goes far deeper than even becoming a business person.

Marketing is often synonymous with that icky S-word, SELLING and artists never want to sell.

You never have to worry about "selling out" if you think of what you do as something VALUABLE.

For those who sell crap, I see the moral dilemma. But you don't sell crap.

What you sell has value – so much value that people are willing to trade their hard-earned "certificates of appreciation" for your goods or services.

You have a solution to their problem. You have a candle in a tunnel of darkness, and you're willing to show them the way to the sunshine.

I'll say it again (this time in bold) – what you sell has VALUE!

Now, the big question...are you going to hoard that value all to yourself, or are you willing to share that light with others?

Of course, you're going to share it! You owe it to the world to share your light, your art and your valuable craft.

Good! Now that you have your priorities straight, you won't have any problem creating those posts, running those ads and attending those wedding shows.

How else are you going to get the word out to the world that YOU are the Keeper of the Light?

Yes, great marketing can do that, also.

3. A Talented Photographer (or Florist or Musician or Plumber, or whatever your creative interest is).

This is usually the first thing creative people focus on because it's where the passion is...and it's the most fun.

This is completely understandable.

Of course, your road to becoming a successful entrepreneur starts with mastering your craft, but without the other two legs of the stool, you'll find yourself rubbing a bruised backside, wondering what went wrong.

You don't have to be the very best...but you should aspire to be.

I'm a true believer in always learning and always honing your craft. You can never stop getting better!

The Bottom Line

You can be a great photographer, but if you don't know how to market your work or how to be a businessperson, you're not going to last very long.

On that same point, you can be a great businessperson, but if you don't have the skills in the creative area you’re pursuing, you're not going to last very long, either.

You need to be a Business Person, a Marketer and a Skilled Talent.

When there's balance between these three disciplines, you'll find things become "easier" and flow better. That's the point – they all work together.

(I was going to end here, but I remembered a question a student asked me after I told them what I just told you)

"What if I don't want to be a business person or a marketer? What if I just want to do my craft...you know…because I love to do it?"

This was an excellent and honest question.

My equally excellent and honest reply to him was, "Well, you have just described the perfect HOBBY."

Creating a balanced business is one of the little parts of the "inner game of wedding photography." THIS is what I write about each week in this newsletter.

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Questions? Shoot me an email at [email protected]