Entrepreneurial Ideas For Artists - Ideas from two MOOC courses and "One Simple Idea" ( a book by Stephen Key)
ideas reviewed by "Surfer" Chris Garrah
Creativity and Business Ideas For Artists - Free Courses and A Library Book That Could Help You
If you are an artist you definitely want to tap into your creative spirit. In the MOOC course Learning How to Learn ( I took the free version of the course) the professors relate how Thomas Edison would hold ball bearings in his hand and when he was half asleep the ball bearings would drop from his hand . In that state he would be able to jot down ideas that occurred to him. Salvador Dali used a similar method. (also described in the course)
Businesses , successful ones - paint a visual representation of a business - perfect for an artist with nine blocks (perfect for coloring different colors.!) In the free MOOC course I studied Innovation for Entrepreneurs the professors describe a business model canvas ( artists like canvas!). Really the course outlines all nine factors . One factor - revenue streams - will be of interest to starving artists or those who want to add streams. The course stresses that the business canvas is a living canvas so that once you become familiar with the canvas as it represents YOUR business model you can change it as new ideas come to you - or you think of your business in new ways. But to really find new ways to make you different from all other artists study the video Blue Ocean Strategies - ways to make you completely different from other artists or other businesses! Remember you can be completely unique!
So the above two courses are great courses for artists The third idea I want to introduce are ideas from the book ."A Simple Idea" authored by Stephen Key
. I highly recommend artists to skim through the chapters to get an idea about licensing. In this book Stephen Key outlines all the steps needed to look at the marketplace , come up with a simple idea and sell the idea to businesses. Why would you be interested as an artist? Well the idea that resonated for me that might appeal to some artists is that he licensed an indoor basketball net with a backboard. Stephen Key licensed the idea of putting Michael Jordan's image on it. Yeah!. So creative ways to put art or an image on something , a great technique. This book by Stephen Key stresses balance in your life - so you should nott put all your energy into selling your ideas to businesses at the expense of creating art. If you ever watch the show Dragon's Den they talk about licensing. But they don't describe the process of licensing. But this book describes the process ... so here is something you will not see on Dragon's Den - something that in theory can tirn YOU into a Dragon. Licensing is a low cost alternative to a full patent. The book outlines an optimum time to file a provisional patent for a few hundred dollars and then license it. This can be another tool in the artist's toolbox.
Wrapping It all Up
Well fellow artists, I pointed you in the direction of tuning up your business acumen and your creativity. So if you want to fine tune your business model or the creativity of your art check out the book and courses . And of course if you are not pursuing your art at all and you want to check out a solution for procrastination in Learning How to Learn - a course from Coursera.org. I recommend taking the free version of the course only because I like free things! Sharpening creativity, creating art without procrastinating and sharpening your art business by using a living changing business model canvas. These are the key ideas here.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) One Simple Idea - Turn Your Dreams into a Licensing Goldmine While Letting Others Do the Work - a book by author Stephen Key.Look at author Stephen Key's profile on Twitter
2) Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects A MOOC course from Coursera.org with Dr. Barbara Oakley & Dr. Terrence Stejnowski
3). Innovation for Entrepreneurs: From Idea to Marketplace ............A MOOC course also from Coursera.org
