To What End?

Why are you in your creative business?  Usually the answer is something more than just making money.  For the vast majority, if it were about the money, you would be better served getting a job.  Regular paycheck, less stress, easier hours.  No, you are in your creative business for something other.  Could be to practice the art you love so much.  Could be the combination of the art you create and the clients you work with.  It could also be to build something from nothing, itself an incredible form of creativity apart from your art.

For many, your business is unsellable, unscalable.  The independent photographer that has no interest in having a staff can only produce as much as the photographer is willing to work.  Literally, there is nothing to sell apart from the photographer.  She stops, the business stops.  Let us call her and the like artisans.  Artisans practice their craft and are, of course, incredibly valuable to their clients and colleagues alike.

Other creative businesses are scalable and sellable.  Photographers that run big staffs with multiple streams of revenue – everything from education to products.  If the lead photographer stopped shooting, the business would carry on.  Let us call these creative businesses creative enterprises.  Creative enterprises are what is valuable to its clients, employees and colleagues alike.  The business beyond the artisan, even though the artisan is surely at the helm.

Whether an artisan or the creative enterprise, the one question that has to be constantly asked is: to what end?  For the artisan, it had better be what matters to the artist first, clients second.  Without the fervent belief that your art and your artistry will enrich all those touched by it, what is the point?  The world does not need another photographer mailing it in to pay the bills.  Once you answer the question, please let it drive your business model.  If it is about capturing the moment for the photographer, then what exactly does that mean and how are you going to go about setting the stage to do just that?  The difference between amateurs and professionals is not success.  A great image can come from anywhere.  No, the difference is in setting the foundation for success.  Professionals know the details, how to prepare, how to behave, how to guide and how to make success inevitable.  Grab a deposit, show up and shoot at your own risk.

For those considering a move from artisan to creative enterprise, why?  If it is about the money, do not.  It has to be about a sense of expansion, a desire to move beyond the limits of your own two hands.  There are huge headaches with managing people and watching your creative business move beyond your ability to comprehend its size and scale.  When you cannot keep it all straight in your head, you will be confronted with how far you are willing to let what you started move past you.  Much much easier said than done.

For creative enterprises, you have to always be asking yourself who would buy your business and why.  As much as the analogy is apt, it ultimately fails.  Your creative business is not your baby.  You may care for it, nurture it, but it is meant to sustain you, not the other way around.  And in the end you are meant to let it go.  The very rare entrepreneur is the one who can both start a business and scale it.  Two incredibly different skill sets.  So if you are not thinking about who might buy your creative enterprise and why, you are holding on to the idea that you are its only steward.  Whether you actually sell or not is an entirely different question.  The analysis, introspection and contemplation of what might come next is what is important.  Have a look at Whitney English’s recent post on why she has decided to sell her Day Designer business, a terrific example of what I am talking about.  Finding what matters always involves letting go, even if there are a million reasons not to.  Have “To What End?” be your guide and see where it takes you.