Before Apple introduced the IPhone, nobody could conceive of all you could do on a cell phone. 45 million phones, over 140,000 apps, 2 billion downloads later and we have just scratched the surface. There may some day be a competitor that overtakes Apple, but it will never happen if they try to play the same game. You need only look at Palm to see the futility of that plan. In one master stroke, Apple turned a one-time sale into a growing annuity. Amazing.
I hear all the time how fiercely competitive creative business has become. Real Simple Weddings recommends brides find photographers on Craigslist to save money. Wedding planners express frustration at all of the new very low cost entrants into the field with their willingness to do “day of” planning for next to nothing. All designers complain about how aggregation sites like elance.com and ifreelance.com turn every project into a bidding war, yet feel compelled to participate.
That the competition exists doesn’t actually bother me. Darwin’s law is what it is. Nature is cruel, but fair. Adapt and evolve or become extinct. What bothers me the most is the response that so many creative businesses have to competition. First, you focus on marketing what you do louder than the other guy with all of the tools in your social media arsenal – website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, UStream, etc.. As if screaming louder in a crowded room full of screaming people will make you stand out. And, second, you try to make sure you look good relative to the planner/designer/photographer next door by making what you offer easily comparable to what he is offering. I am sure the thought goes, if a client understands that you provide a better value than the competition (i.e., you are cheaper or will do more for the price), they will go with you instead.
Makes me shake my head in frustration. The point of all creative business is to create a platform that best supports the art behind it. The artist you are has to have a deep desire to be iconic or else you would not be doing what you do for a living. Your creative business is no different. Your goal should be to be LESS comparable to the competition, not more. To talk to potential clients in a way that NO ONE else is talking to them. You can and should build a better mousetrap that provides clients with only what is most valuable about you and your art and forgets about the rest.
All that being said, there are many artists seizing the opportunity to change the game – in the wedding world, Style Me Pretty, WeddingBee, Two Bright Lights and LiveBooks come to mind. And there are start-ups like my Kate Parker Wedding and even the yet to launch NewlyWish Registry. For interior designers, you only need to look at what Michael Bruno has done with 1st Dibs to see the possibilities that exist for you.
These businesses offer opportunities to help you do what you do better, yes, but what they really offer is insight into how you can adapt, evolve and, ultimately, redefine your creative business.
{ 22 comments }
Sean
Right on target ! (as usual).
Great minds think alike… my take was from a different direction, but a few months back I posted a blog along the same vein, http://mccallumsolutions.com/change-the-game/ , written as part of a series inspired by the first time I saw the “Joy” campaign by BMW…. to me, a game-changer, reflecting truly innovative thinking.. rare, in the automotive marketing business !
“Adapt and evolve or become extinct”. Awesome stuff! Who doesn’t get a little bogged down by the competition? I mean really! The trick is to learn from, get better at your craft and move on and not let competition consume you to the point of self destruction. I like that line about becoming Iconic
This was utterly fabulous.
This paragraph especially:
“The point of all creative business is to create a platform that best supports the art behind it. The artist you are has to have a deep desire to be iconic ….. provides clients with only what is most valuable about you and your art and forgets about the rest.”
Honestly, if I could find some way to absorb that into my soul and create my business with only that in mind, I think I couldn’t help being a roaring success. I think my problem comes in when I try to wrap my brain around how logistically to take that from concept to reality.
Thank you for setting my brain in motion today.
You are so on point today, well every day, but I appreciate you continuing to press the point – what is competition? If only we’d take time to apply these principles that we read about our creative businesses would be just that…creative! Thanks Sean.
Such a good reminder at a very perfect time. Thank you Sean, as usual, you are the yoda of creative business 🙂
Wonderful written and so sadly true… Come on people keep it creative, keep it fresh, keep it unique !
Andrinique
you just released me from a yell. maybe not a scream but a yell. thank you for validating the need to compete but reiterating how un-necessary it is and what we as creative business’s need to keep our focus in check to survive! great examples of those doing so.
Thank you for such an insightful post. Sometimes one needs a blinking light on the horizon to keep on track. Thanks for being that light.
I think your use of the word “iconic” and all it implies in relationship to our creative businesses is the key to your message here. Thank you Sean for making me think more about this word and what it means for my business.
“The point of all creative business is to create a platform that best supports the art behind it.”
There are so many workshops and seminars offering their take on how to run a business. However, like the “There is No Spoon” analogy, we are shaping our reality. A business’s brand, strategy, and ethics should reflect the type of art they create and not be molded by someone else. Thank you for your insight Sean.
THANK YOU SEAN!!!! Wow, that’s just what I needed this morning! Hope you and your family are doing well. Peace.
I am absolutely loving your quote today “The artist you are has to have a deep desire to be iconic or else you would not be doing what you do for a living. ”
Thanks to Sasha Souza’s teaching, I no longer call my colleagues, “the competition.” I call them my peers. I piggyback your post on “Change the Game” to that thought. It’s a new day, it’s a new Game! Thanks Sean.
I’m loving your blog, Sean. So glad I heard about you through Weddings 360.
This line really stood out to me: “That the competition exists doesn’t actually bother me. Darwin’s law is what it is. Nature is cruel, but fair. Adapt and evolve or become extinct. ”
There is a segment of wedding vendors who’ve been in business a very long time who are struggling with new technology and fear being left behind. Who, in fact, are being left behind, because they can’t keep up with new pricing and service models and new modes of communication.
It’s so important that they find the time and resources to look at how they can adapt their business to the way brides want to be dealt with these days.
I do agree, though, that they have to make sure that the ways they choose to adapt need to be true to their art. Otherwise, you’re just screaming in a loud room.
sean, your insight never ceases to surprise me — you are on the money every time. and this post is no different. it reminds me of the hard choices that often must be made, and redoubles my determination to market to a SPECIFIC audience, with an INDIVIDUAL specialty, and not attempt to appeal to an impossibly too-broad market.
nature is cruel, but if you play along with her and change as she does, you can stay alive — and still really enjoy yourself. :o)
Excellent post Sean! Once again, I can’t agree with you more on differentiating your business. We must as you said, “seize the opportunity to change the game.” Thank you for such inspiring posts!
This post couldn’t have come at a more perfect time, so thank you for being a voice of reason and reassurance in the creative industry. It can be easy to get wrapped up in competition, protecting individuality, but the truth of the matter is, people will always copy, there will be those who don’t get it or appreciate the creative value, and there is always going to be a struggle for all truly creative businesses to be recognized in a sea of “similars.” It’s more about being true the the art, being smart in business, and focusing on how to better myself as an artist, individual and business owner. Thanks Sean!
Great post and some really good points to think about–especially: “As if screaming louder in a crowded room full of screaming people will make you stand out.”
Love the blog….just a question– ultimately I thought the purpose of a business was to turn a profit? For me it’s while doing something artistic. Without a profit, it’s just a hobby, no?
Definitely. No expensive hobbies. My point is that HOW you make money needs to change. The way you make money today will probably not work fo much longer.
The last couple of comments remind me of what I had seen on Twitter during Wedding360 (and something Siri and I have chatted about at lengths before) “this is a BUSINESS, not an expensive hobby” http://twitter.com/belladesign/statuses/10533725955.
so affirming and encouraging, sean. i tend to let my art win the art v. business battle but as i am in the process of bolstering the business side of things, it’s encouraging to hear that it can work out when you let the art and desire lead the business. thanks!
and i’m sad i missed you when you were back in Atlanta!
Thoughtful and inspiring as always, Sean. Especially to me as I am speaking to the wedding community in a very different and new way, asking creative types to trust that the uniqueness of their art means they can give up the scarcity mentality and collaborate more. I agree that competition is meaningless when you know your soul, your style, your eye can never be copied.
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