The Business of Being Creative

Sell Who and What You Are

I speak with a lot of artists about their businesses (hopefully, with many more to come).  Too often, the stories are the same.  That is until they break out with "When I toured with "Wicked" last Summer..."!  Or that they have a Masters in Speech Pathology, a PhD in Neuropsychology, are a graduate of The Culinary Institute, have an MFA, MBA, MD, JD, etc.  When I ask why something so interesting and singular is not front and center, the response I so often get is that it really has nothing to do with their creative business.

Your clients are buying art, yes, but they are also buying the artist behind it.  The sum of your life experience bears on everything that you do.  To divorce those experiences from your business because you think they have no place robs your business of texture and context.

Vicente Wolf tells an amazing story of a time when he was in Ethiopia and saw a tribeswoman wearing an unbelievable necklace that had in it bottle caps, pen caps, pieces of discarded metal and other miscellanous items someone would find along a road.  There is a picture of her in his book, Crossing Boundaries, (which any one who considers themselves a designer should own).  Needless to say, when he offered to buy the necklace, she thought he was nuts.  It was just something she made and she liked, but valuable?  No way.  Of course, he bought the necklace and incorporated it into one of his designs where it looks like the art that it is.

What you hold yourself out to be may not be what your potential client sees (and loves).  If you think literal experience is all that matters, you belie the humanity behind your art.  Clients enjoy doing business with terrific brands whose businesses are run well.  However, in the vast majority of cases (and for ALL creative businesses), people do business with people.  The best businesses I know of make a connection on a human level first, brand level second.

"Package" Does Not Equal Custom

I Twittered a few days ago that I am on a mission to wipe the word "Package" from the vocabulary of every creative business.  Add to that list "Inventory", "Offerings" or any other descriptor that denotes a standard grouping or bundle of services.

I understand the impulse and desire to create an easily identifiable structure for clients.  I am sure your thinking goes that if they know what you offer, then the better chance you will land the right client.  Couldn't be further from the truth.

At Engage '09, Carly Roney, Editor-in-Chief of The Knot, Inc., discussed The Knot's study on wedding industry trends during the economic downturn and which vendor group was hardest hit as wedding budgets shrank.  Wedding planners were far and away the worst off category.  Carley did not go into detail as to why, but did say that brides felt the planner was most dispensible (as opposed to photographers who they felt were not).  In seeing so many planners sites with similarly bundled services (i.e., day-of, middle-tier and full-service), I understood what the statistics bore out -- the sea of sameness reduced THE most subjective, high touch creative business out there to a function of price.  All else being equal, who the client goes with is who will give them the best deal.

Just so sad to me.  In America, we do not have royalty and, therefore, no ultimate standard to which we can aspire.  Major life events, weddings in particular, are meant to set our own standard for our lives.  Essentially, those in the wedding business are tasked with making that vision a reality, hopefully BEYOND the couple's own vision for themselves.  When you talk about what you do in terms of "Packages", "Services", etc., you debase the connection you as an artist need to establish with your client and make it all about your ability to accomplish tasks.

Will it take more work to explain all that you do to every potential client?  Yes.  But the point is to communicate directly with them and establish a connection.  Will you waste a lot of breath on the wrong clients?  That is up to you.  If you don't define who you are and what your art is truly about, then yes.  Go all the way there, without apology or concern for your competition, then no.  Be an Eventiste.

Industry standard offerings belong where the underlying product and/or service is the same: your cable TV provider, utility or cell phone service. They have no place in creative businesses.

Own Your Brand

The endlessly fascinating part about creative businesses is just that -- their creativity.  And, at the end of the day, your version of what it is to be creative is what you are selling.  So many of you have incredible websites, blogs, marketing collateral, etc.  You are constantly investing time and money to keep it all up to date and relevant to your potential (and existing) clients.  Yet, when I look a little deeper, I see that very few of you actually own your brand.  By that I mean you are borrowing images and statements of your work from other people in order to tell your story.  The best example is of an interior designer or event designer using the images from a photographer not hired by them (i.e., the commercial photographer or wedding photographer) to display their work to the public.  Most often these photographers are friends or even vendors and there is little or no financial cost.

However, there is a huge cost to your brand.  First, you don't own the images and your use of them is subject to the photographer's discretion (or largess).  More importantly, you do not control the ultimate statement that is being made by the image.  By definition, it is a derivative use and most likely will not have the same point of view the next time.  For instance, if you are an event planner, one client might want a photojournalist style, while another a more formal staged look.

Your brand is your story and you should be the one telling it.  That means paying for someone to document your art as you want the world to see it.  And the more you document, the more stories you can tell.  Yes, this will cost you money.  However, if you are serious about building a leveragable brand, then it is an investment you really ought to make.  The larger your portfolio of images, video, renderings and other representations of your art, the easier it will be for you to move beyond your core, because of how compelling and consistent your story will be.

On a technical note, you need to own the images of your work and have the right to use them as you please.  If those images get commercialized, you can agree to compensate the producer of the image at that time.  However, you need to make sure that the producer can not ever stop you from using the images and that they can not ever use them without your permission.

Commissions, Referral Fees and Markups

At Engage '09, during her speech Marcy Blum took the bull by the horns and said that she is a "reformed commission taker".  She said that she does not approve of the practice unless it is plainly available for the client to see.  There were a lot of nodding heads in the audience, but one person who argued the other way and said that those who refer business should receive compensation from the vendor receiving the referral.  I had to literally sit on my hands not to steal Marcy's thunder.

Commissions, referral fees and hidden markups (where your invoice is marked up by the planner or other vendor on their letterhead) are not in and of themselves evil.  They just have no place in today's market.  Without efficient access to information (i.e., without the Internet), customers are subject to the power of those who control the information.  So if a customer has no good way to find a reputable vendor and no way to discover what people really think about the vendor's work, the only real source of information is from a referral.  In this kind of market, a commission or referral fee is far more powerful and valuable to less-established players in the market.  However, with the Internet and the amount of information about ANY artist literally available at a potential client's fingertips, the closed system is now blown wide open.  Simply, there is virtually no value in a stand-alone referral from a vested source any more -- a potential client may take the recommendation but will research the creative business prior to choosing to do business with it.

I abhor the lack of transparency in any business, creative or not.  Unless you are willing to pay the commission or referral fee out of your own pocket, your client has the right to know what they are paying for.  I might be puritanical about things, but failure to disclose a commission to your client is this close to fraud.  It might not be illegal, but it certainly stinks to high heaven.

The biggest point though is not the ethics of the practice, but the impact it WILL have on your business.  The goal of your business is to deliver your art at a price point you consider to be fair value.  If what you are delivering is at an inflated price because you have to "bury" the commission, do less to be able to afford the commission or because someone else is marking up your invoice, your brand will suffer.  Clients know when they don't get what they pay for and they are not shy about saying so to you or everyone on the planet via the Internet.  And make no mistake, you are the one who will be singled out.  After all, it is your business that delivered an inferior product relative to price not the vendor receiving the commission.

Should you be grateful for a referral?  Of course.  But show your gratitude by going above and beyond for both your client and the vendor.  Overpromise and overdeliver.  In the medium and long run, the value generated by your actions will far outweigh any commission you might have to pay.

And to the person at Engage '09 who questioned why a florist shouldn't pay a vendor who sent her many, many referrals a referral fee, I respond with this:  why do you think the vendor was referring the florist in the first place?  Because she is a GREAT florist and she makes the vendor LOOK GOOD.  Your art needs to stand on its own.

The Value of Boundaries

No doubt about it, great customer service is wonderfully subtle -- the little things that add up to everything -- like a rep from Zappos.com sending flowers to a customer who didn't return a pair of shoes she got for her mother because her mother had died.  But dig a little deeper and you will see that the subtlety of great customer service is a subset of well-defined boundaries and expectations.

There is a basic trade happening for all creative businesses:  your customer is paying you to create art for them.  Implicit in the trade is the customer's obligation to tell you what kind of art they want and your obligation to deliver it when and where they want it and to tell them what they need to know along the way.  Easy enough -- if you lay it all out before you get started.  Recipe for A LOT of stress if you don't.

We have all heard of clients calling at 2:00 in the morning, demanding five presentations, not paying their bills on time, skipping appointments, etc.  Too often, I hear a sense of pride (or resignation) in being willing to accept all of this behavior in the name of great customer service.  Just not the case.  And not because of the need to sometimes speak to your client at 2:00 a.m., provide five presentations, accept a skipped appointment or be flexible in payment, but because, if you haven't set the boundaries in the first place, you get no VALUE out of your willingness to break them.

By setting and communicating your boundaries and expectations to your client, you create a much more inclusive as opposed to intrusive environment.  If clients don't know where they stand with you, then the natural feeling is to think that somehow they are intruding on you and your business.  This then makes them MORE demanding of you (they are paying you after all).  Ironic to me -- by not communicating and setting boundaries at the start (i.e., doing nothing), you wind of doing and giving so much more than if you had.

If clients feel included in the process, they will be invested in your success and you will have the freedom to do your best work for them, even if there are snafus along the way.

Know How Your Customer Finds You

I love the Internet and its power to connect us all.  A creative business' ability to show off itself and reach a vast audience is unprecedented.  Easy to make the leap that you have to have a website, blog, be on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, take out Google Adwords, advertise on the various design/wedding sites, etc. for your customers to find you and to be competitive.  Not so fast. 

If you are a business like ABCD Design or Weddings Costa Rica, sure.  Take a look at all that Amy does to stay connected.  I get tired just reading it.  But her blog/site is how she tells the world about herself and her business and how she finds her clients.  Same for Larissa.  Do you think the same holds true for a local wedding planner, designer, florist, or any artist focused on a local market?  While the information has to be there for the potential client to see what the business is all about, using the web (and doing all the work Amy, Larissa and the rest of the technorati do) as the primary way to generate business is a colossal waste of time and money.

For those of you focused on your community (which most of you are), it is far more important to HAVE a drink with those that matter than to blog about which one they should be drinking.  Not everybody needs to go global, especially those that can do quite well in their backyard.  Take a look at Bentley Meeker.  If you don't know who Bentley is, his website is certainly not going to make your heart skip a beat.  But that's the point -- everyone in the NYC event business or connected to it (no matter how remotely) KNOWS Bentley.  For him, personally touching vendors and potential clients is what counts.  As much as he is selling his art, he is selling himself and the fact that you can rely on him and his business to deliver.

Vendors and venues are fantastic building blocks, but expand your universe by cross-marketing with creative businesses in other fields (event designers with interior designers, stationers with florists, graphic designers with architects/interior designers, bakers with potters, etc.).  Unexpected alliances breed opportunity.  Grow those that can know you and talk about you.  Some clients need the global rock star, most really want the local star that is a rock.

Brand Essence and Its Expression

Preston Bailey -- one of the finest event designers in the world, master of transformation on a grand scale, creator of majestic visual theater.  Vicente Wolf -- one of the finest interior designers in the world, whose work crosses boundaries of time and culture to create singular spaces unique to Vicente's modern vision.  Sylvia Weinstock -- wedding cake master -- the first and best baker to take a traditional wedding cake and turn it into high floral art.

Every creative business and artist has to have a sound bite -- a sentence that defines who you are and what you do.  I call it your Core Value Proposition (CVP) because it should tell the listener all that they need to understand the essence and expression of your art and your brand.  The essence of a brand is the universal truth which you and your business embody and to which you want your clients to embrace.  Many businesses, creative and not, will have the same essence to their brands.  Take Oprah, Martha, Rachel Ray, Suze Orman, Tony Robbins, and The Biggest Loser -- the essence of each of these brands is to "live your best life".  The expression of a brand is what the business offers that both captures and legitimizes its essence.  For Sylvia and Preston, their essence is the joy of celebration.  For Vicente, the creation of home.  The better the CVP, the easier its listener will be able to decide whether they are your customer or not and, if they are, why they NEED to be working with you.

Words like "finest", "best", "master" are subjective to the listener, but should be pre-requisites for you.  You have to believe you are the best at what you do.  First of all, why would anyone want to do business with you if you didn't think that of yourself and your art?  Second, your goal as a creative business is to inspire your clients with what you provide them.  Hard to do if you don't believe what you offer isn't all they seek.  Have the courage to put yourself all the way out there.

If what you do is make blue dolphin ice cubes, make sure your listener knows THAT and not just that you make ice cubes.  If you won't distinguish your art and what it embodies, you open the door to those who will.

Seize The Moment

The relevance of any business is wholly dependent on its moment in time.  The confluence of technology, social trends and government determine whether your business will succeed in the long term.  You can have the best sales, marketing, and social media strategy in the world, but if what you do is not relevant (or will not be relevant soon) your business will fail if you do not evolve.

For creative businesses, your art is timeless, your medium is not.  Digital photography, AutoCad, color printers, and global delivery systems anyone?  And as your medium shifts, so too must your focus on who the BEST (as opposed to current) consumer of your art is and will be.  The evolution of your art and business will not necessarily be best received by your current customer base.  Your paradox will be to decide when, if ever, to let the former go altogether and embrace the new.  Think about the leather seat supplier for horse buggies.  When did he move to the automobile and how?

For those of you who don't think we are at another horse buggy/automobile level shift in time, you are wrong.  The availability, immediacy and supply of your art in the global marketplace is only going to grow exponentially as technology continues to improve our connectivity.  While this will certainly necessitate huge change and put huge pressure on you, it will also create immense opportunity to operate your business (and create your art) on a much larger stage.

Ultimately, there is convergence to a trend, meaning all horse buggy owners will become car owners.  All of you, I am sure, have a firm grasp on the trend in your business (and art).  Knowing which clients will go with the trend first is not the goal.  What you should be thinking about today is knowing when MOST (and new) clients will make the shift and what THEY will want.  You can then shift your current strategy to speak through your existing clients to reach those you want in the future.

Timing Is Everything

Most creative businesses capture clients at a moment in time -- wedding planner when the bride gets engaged, an interior designer when a home is bought, a graphic designer when the corporation needs some sort of branding work done.  Some of you have done a wonderful job of building your name and brand beyond your business so that your clients are literally waiting for the moment they can use you.  So it goes with the Prestons, Colins, Davids, Vicentes, Mindys and Sylvias of the world.  And as it may well go for you in your regional market.  Of course, earning your rock star status takes time, money and the right clients.  Very hard to get the last two without investing a whole lot in the first.  Each one of the people I cited have been in the business for more than 20 years.

Most clients are not groupies though and what they are really doing is just trying to fill their immediate need.  No doubt, you want your marketing strategy to be able to showcase who you are and what you do when the client's need arises.  However, please be aware that ALL of your competitors are doing the same thing at the same time.  The question you should all be asking yourselves is how you can capture the client BEFORE their need arises.  It can be something so simple as focusing your blog on something other than your core business.  A great example is what Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo is doing with her blog at ABCD Design.  Amy writes about all things design, of which her invitation business is just a part.  She is young and relevant enough to capture anyone interested in design (of which there are many)-- whether they are getting married or not.  When her brides get engaged, there is a fair chance they already know her from her design blog and think of her for invitation and paper accessories.

Morphing your art to serve other markets is the subject of another post.  My point here is that it is very hard to be heard when you are speaking when everyone else is.  If you can figure out how to talk to your clients when they don't NEED to listen to you, yours will be the only voice they will want to hear when they do.

Who Are You Talking To?

The person paying (or responsible for paying) the bill for your work is likely not the same person who wants and will enjoy it.  All over-generalizations, but for those in the wedding industry, bride vs. father-of-the-bride, even planner vs. bride.  For interior designers, husbands vs. wives and creative directors vs. construction managers.  For graphic designers, marketing vs. finance.

The value of what you do is appreciated by those that want to use you.  The mistake is in having these people sell your value to the person paying for your work.  Two reasons, emotion and language-barrier.  Your client (i.e., the one NOT paying the bill) hopefully has an emotional tie to your work that will probably not be shared (or wholly shared) by the person paying.  Because of the emotional tie, your client will probably not be able to explain why what you are providing is so valuable (i.e., worth what you are charging).

As a practical matter, your presentation of your business proposal should be as thorough as your product/service presentation.  It should be IN PERSON and directed squarely to those making the financial decision.  Make sure you understand and can speak their language.  If it is a corporate setting, think of ROI, initial and ongoing capital expense, longevity of the work, etc.  If it is a social setting, be prepared to defend your margins and to reconstruct your proposal (as opposed to lowering your prices) to fit a budget.  Show your proposal as base cost with additions.  Give choices with each outcome being a terrific result, but with choosing everything being the best.  Optimally, there is someone other than you performing this function for your business.  If it is you, then presume that the person paying the bill cares not about your art, but rather what it will do for them. 

I am a broken record -- people pay for what they value.  Your job is to explain and defend that value.  The person paying the bill may not realize that you understand and respect their position.  When you speak their language, you will be able to go so much further than if you had left it to your client to do the job.  In the end, it is the difference between an artist plying her craft and a business supplying the art of the artist.