We all want to take short cuts. Sometimes those shortcuts are actually really helpful and make our lives better. Most often though, shortcuts excuse the hard work and let us be the “regular kind” as Seth Godin is fond of talking about. Except.
If you are truly in the business of being creative, by definition, you do not want to be the regular kind. You seek to create that which did not exist before you created it, even if you have done something similar to this creation a thousand times before. So when your business itself says, “don’t worry, we are the regular kind” you are in a fight with yourself. In that fight you lose day by day by day. You lose because you did not take the time to care about the journey, only the destination. I hear it all the time, “I explained what I do when we first met, my focus is on the sale and once that is done the rest will take care of itself.” Yeah, no.
I have talked over and over about the importance of the journey over the destination and I will keep at it until I cannot talk anymore. However, today we are reaching a critical point in most creative business industries. There has been massive investment in diminishing the journey because those that can deliver a significant version of the destination at a fraction of the cost are winning. Houzz, Wayfair, Homepolish and Modsy (and many others) for interior design and coming stronger every day, The Knot/Wedding Wire (and many others) for weddings. Don’t judge. These businesses are seizing the opportunity to elevate access and take over the regular kind because, ahem, they can. If all eyes are on the destination, easy to minimize the value of the journey, or, better said, the value of creativity in and of itself.
Your creative business has to be your kind because that is the only kind that matters to you, your clients, your employees and colleagues alike. I had the opportunity to do another Next Level podcast for Andy Kushner’s The Wedding Biz talking about David Stark’s second podcast with him. First, David’s interview is awesome and all creatives should have a listen, whether you are in the event business or not. What I talked about with Andy, among other things, is that the real value David places on his creativity. Yes, he makes money retailing products and services, but he gets paid to create and because he does he pushes ever deeper into the story of that creation. So while everyone else is focused on the sale, David is focused on being ever more creative and developing tools for him to display that creativity because it alone is valuable.
A few thoughts that I hope will hit you hard if you continue to mail it in with the regular kind when it comes to your creative business. Think about rental companies today, even furniture makers. Today, they need massive amounts of warehouse space to produce, store and ship their goods. For certain items, storage makes sense. For rental companies, tables and chairs that are not that special but get used over and over and over —low margin, high volume stuff. However, what if higher margin, special items could be 3D printed, and then recycled and turned into something other using the same material. What happens when the cost of 3D printing reaches the point when just about anyone can print a couch, design the fabric to cover it and have a freelancer assemble it all for them? Don’t think this is coming? Then you aren’t paying attention. What it means is that the value of being able to source the fabulous couch is going to pale to being able to design the couch in the very near future. Still do not want to figure out how to get paid for design? Of course, I love eco-friendly companies like Repeat Roses that recycle flowers and reduce the waste caused, but what happens if we can reuse what exists by simply melting it down and starting again? What would be the reduced footprint then? What if warehouses were a third the size they are now? Hmmm. For those of you who have had a crown put on one of your teeth, they print those in your dentist’s office now. Oh wait, that happened five years ago. Just saying.
Too far out for you? What about the DJ industry that prides itself on having a collection of music that can be used to entertain guests at an event? If it is about the playlist, think about the amount of information digital music businesses — Spotify, Pandora, etc. — have about the musical preferences of your client and every single one of their guests. There is no doubt that these digital music businesses can put on better, more relevant music than a DJ ever could. What they cannot do is read the room (yet) and create wonderful, if imperfect, art. However, look at how most DJs sell today and it is all about the playlist and the amount of time they will be there. The regular kind.
It is very simple. If you as an artist and creative business owner cannot tell me what I will get along the way to the destination and why I should care MORE about these deliverable(s) than the actual destination, you are in a fight you cannot win. The regular kind is taken up more and more by those who are smarter, bigger and hungrier for your clients than you will ever be. Instead, go the other way, value the biggest asset you have — what is between your ears — and do the hard work of getting paid just for that. The reason that is matters so much is because, once you do, it is yours forever, your kind.
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Sean, Absolutely brilliant blog! You are hitting on a sensitive topic that every event professional should read and keep in front of them. I appreciate the shout-out but thank you for once again helping to put a major aspect, of what we creatives often struggle with, in perspective.