Lisa Sonora Beam - The Creative Entrepreneur

Carol C. Parks

THE Creative ENTREPRENEUR

A DIY Visual Guidebook
for Making Business Ideas Real

Lisa Sonora Beam

BEVERLY MASSACHUSETTS

2008 by Quarry Books

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owners. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by the producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.

First published in the United States of America by
Quarry Books, a member of
Quayside Publishing Group
100 Cummings Center
Suite 406-L
Beverly, Massachusetts 01915-6101
Telephone: (978) 282-9590
Fax: (978) 283-2742
www.quarrybooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Beam, Lisa Sonora.
The creative entrepreneur : a DIY visual guidebook for making business ideas real /
Lisa Sonora Beam.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-59253-459-3
1. Creative ability in business. 2. Entrepreneurship. 3. Small businessManagement. 4.
Artisans. I. Title.
HD53.B426 2008
658.1'1dc22 2008015681

ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-459-3
ISBN-10: 1-59253-459-7

Digital edition: 978-1-61673-548-7
Hardcover edition: 978-1-5925-3459-3

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Design: Laura H. Couallier, Laura Herrmann Design
Cover Artwork: Lisa Sonora Beam

Printed in China
Printed in Singapore

Andrew Borloz

Carol C. Parks

CHAPTER 2: Empowered to Flower:
The Creative Entrepreneur Mandala

CHAPTER 3: Soul Proprietor:
Building with Creative Blocks

CHAPTER 4: The Art of Strategy:
Thinking Like a CEO

CHAPTER 5: Communicating Value:
Essentials of Promotion

Lisa Sonora Beam

A Disclaimer:

Throughout this book, I use the term creative to describe the person inclined to do work that is their own expression. I believe everyone has creative gifts, but what I mean here is the creatively oriented personality.

The Creative Entrepreneur
is based on workshops designed to meet the challenges creative people have with the business side of their work. These are the people who experience a kind of mythic divide between their creative work and the necessary evil of business must-dos. This split can create tension and even trauma for the creative soul who is blessed with passion and purpose yet cursed by the seemingly mysterious realm of strategies and skills that are necessary to make an idea real.

For those who have achieved success in one area, it may seem like luck or good timing. What they did before may or may not work this time, not because of their effort but because of the changing, dynamic nature of the marketplace.

What is lacking is an approach to thinking about (and acting on) business ideas that considers how creative types think, feel, and work. Most other books on developing a successful business focus on a selection of tactics that addresses outer solutions (such as setting goals, writing a business planugh!setting aside time for marketing, and hiring a rep). But without addressing the underlying issues that cause creatives to remain business-challenged, no amount of goal setting or knowledge of savvy business tactics will help. The Creative Entrepreneur addresses the three main issues that can result in creative business failure: emotional and psychological blockages, faulty thinking about the creative process, and a lack of practical business knowledge.

Creatives tend to be visual, action-oriented learners. We respond to visual stimuli. We also need to be engaged in a personal, meaningful way with the material. We dont learn well through abstractions. For the past twenty years, I have taught visual journaling as a powerful way to develop problem-solving abilities and gain insights in ways that linear, nonvisual approaches to thinking and learning dont access. Visual journaling helps us go beyond what we know in our rational mind, so we can access other ways of knowingthe kind of knowing that results in truly original thinking, ideas, and creative breakthroughs.

This book is neither a touchy-feely self-help guide nor a technical dump of business concepts. Each topic is presented to engage both the heart and mind while teaching practical action steps that can be taken now, whatever your level of experience.

This book is designed as a do-it-yourself reference guide and toolbox meant to be used in an ongoing and as-needed way. Youll find powerful business and leadership tools (some little known or used except by the most skilled managers) that can be put to use at once, whether the problem is a result of an inner creative block or a simple lack of technical knowledge.

The processes shared in The Creative Entrepreneur can be accessed by all, but the specifics of each are as unique as the individual. Thats why a cookie-cutter approach to succeeding in business so rarely works. The beauty of the process described here is that you are using proven tools to create your very own road map for getting from where you are right now to where you want to be. Where and how you travel will look very different from other peoples paths.

I look forward to guiding you step by step through what I consider one of lifes most courageous and meaningful endeavors: manifesting the creative work only you can do.

LISA SONORA BEAM

Thriving, Not Surviving

My creative dream has always been to be a thriving artist doing meaningful work that makes a difference. Realizing that dream involved a lot of trial and error. What kept me going (aside from sheer stubbornness) were two drivers: 1. not wanting to be a starving artist; and 2. being able to do meaningful work that fully utilized my creative abilities in ways that also empowered others. The work presented in The Creative Entrepreneur has its roots in seemingly divergent areas of my work and life: psychotherapy, business, spiritual practice, creativity consulting, teaching, and being a lifelong artist in several media including music, visual art, and writing. The illustrations in the book come from participants who have done the exercises in The Creative Entrepreneur workshops. These workshops came about simply because others kept asking me to show them what I knew about creativity and business. I love teaching as much as I do making art and pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors, so I dove in and began road testing and refining the material. If I were to encapsulate my mission, it would be: No more starving artists! My wish for you is that you take this material and use it, and that it helps you thrive beyond your wildest imaginings.