Keep being creative – Think outside the box
For many creative people doing what they love doing, following their dream while earning a living is what life is all about. Finally free to be who they are, being as creative as possible, having escaped the boring aspects of the business world, that were perhaps the reasons for going it alone in the first place.
But as rewarding as working for yourself can be, there is also the danger that creativity could well be sidelined by having to do the business side of the company. Daily tasks like making other companies aware of your services and then dealing with clients once they are clients. Not to mention the accounting aspects and acting as your own IT department. All of this can be a daunting task for those mostly familiar with the creative side of the business. Especially if your used to having other departments to assist you in these other areas.
Most creative people don’t mind working endless hours on the particular area of their skill set, after all that is the part of the business they love. But often in the early days finances might well be committed to fitting out a premises, and purchasing marketing material, developing a brand, acquiring technology and finding some form of transport, which could force many to earn less than the minimum wage. Then there is meeting with clients and dealing with administrative tasks, all taking up a considerable amount of a day, not forgetting further time spent in following up leads for work, along with attracting new business while doing the work you have just brought in and getting paid. Well it’s never easy, and not always the part of the creative business everyone enjoys doing.
This is all challenging enough at the best of times, but now everyone has started to notice the current economic situation isn’t making life any easier for creatives, and for small businesses in general. But the great thing about creative people is that you can be creative, and its this thinking outside the box that will be effective in helping to not only survive, but to thrive in this climate.
As many of the subscribers here at Left Over GREY MATTER will already know EO Creative was created in response to many of the above concerns. Creative people such as copywriters, designers, developers, illustrators and animators are brilliant at what they do, producing outstanding creative work, after all for many they have spent their lives training to do just that. But there is often things that most agencies don’t prepare creative people to handle such as:
- Dealing with criticism
- Encouraging personal development
- Better work/life balance
- Creating comfortable environments
- Greater communication
- Embracing new markets and technologies
When EO Creative was set up it was the idea that creative people are different and therefore should be able to work different. After all with the available technologies why can’t we make the business work for us, and still give our clients outstanding work?
Communication and collaboration has been discussed here before and we have been featured in the Business Eye Magazine, Enterprise Nation, iGEN and in various other media about this subject. Why, because that is the secret – no one is an island and managing business relationships is critical to our success. It should be critical to all businesses and organisations a like.
At EO Creative I have developed a network of creative associates, some self employed, some not, other freelancing and others are full time or small business owners. But all strategic business partners and valued as such. We collaborate skills, present ourselves as one brand, selling ourselves, our work, all while managing clients expectations and dealing with any difficulties before they are a problem.
Because each person at EO Creative is working in the area they are best suited and yet also where they want to be. There is no waste of resources or time. Technology is at the forefront of how we work together and communicate, with many people in various locations. We like to borrow the term ‘Micro-Environments’, although this is a marketing term we view ourselves in our micro-environments as one organisation or more like an organism. Something that is alive and breathing, with new and fresh ideas exploding all the time, without the barrier of geography nor time zone restrictions
Our reputation online has been growing rapidly as we make use of the various avenues of communication available on the internet. We dare to dream up new ways of working with what is available, promoting what we do best without any hard selling.
‘Social Media ‘is a term banded about, but if social media is used properly it is the crucial answer to 21st century business success. If your reading this post and you are still working alone. Don’t let the challenges dampen your enthusiasm. Instead communicate with others and find ways to collaborate. We are living in a brave new world and anything is possible. There is room for everyone to do what they do best.
If you want to get in touch you are always welcome to contact me or become a part of our collaboration, and bring what you do to the virtual table at EO Creative.
At The Party
Category Branding, Marketing, Technology, social networking
Ok, I love using Twitter, as my last post Twittersphere and beyond would testify.
In my opinion this is one of the best social media tools you could spend valuable time getting to understand. Sure there is a learning curve compared to other offerings like Bebo or Facebook, but its a completely different beast. With Facebook for example its about communicating with the people you already know, in most cases Twitter is about the people you don’t yet know.
Today I was dipping in and out of Twitter using my current favourite client Tweetie and noticed a tweet by @artbiz2day whom I’ve recently started following.
After reading this very interesting post at ArtBiz2day’s Blog entitled simply ‘Twitter Thoughts’. I was left thinking that perhaps many people are finding twitter a little frustrating, especially if they’re hearing all this buzz about using it as a marketing tool. Perhaps some are getting frustrated with having to put in so much time and not seeing much return financially for their time invested.
Well it does not surprise me that tweeters might feel this way if they opened accounts only with the intention of marketing their product, service or brand. In the world of Twitter the usual marketing methods will not work, people on Twitter don’t want to be a target audience. Normally everywhere we go in life it has been boxed up, packaged and marketed to us. But Twitter is not controlled by the marketing departments of the corporation or at least not yet.
Let me give you an example of how to view Twitter and how it can work for generating business for you.
Visualise Twitter as a party. Like any party you might attend, its about relationships. Some you already might have and others you might need to build. Like any event you attend, commerce or other wise, if your in business you will be keen to network and establish new contacts, but would you go to an event in the real life and walk around telling everyone what you do for a living? I don’t believe anyone in business would consider this a good networking strategy. Sure you would introduce yourself and at some point there will be an opportunity to mention what you do, but no one goes to a party or business event and talks only about what they have to offer.
So like in the real world Twitter is like being at an event and you simply interact with people there. Some share your interests, while many will not. But what you can be certain of is that each person has friends and family who respect their opinion and recommendations. If you make a good impression even on people who do not have a requirement for what you do, they may well have a need to avail of your product or service at some point later, or have no hesitation recommending you and your business to their followers.
What every business or brand must not do on Twitter, is stand in the Twitter room and hand out business cards or give a presentation. Like the real world, nothing will quickly put people off more than selling directly at a social event, and that is no different on Twitter.
The key is found in the word social. That is the clue to making a success of the twitter experience and bringing eyes onto you and your life. More eyes means more opportunities to collaborate, share what you do and eventually lead to more real interaction and possible business in the real world.
If your only looking to only sell on Twitter, then it’s not likely to work the way you might expect. Most success will be found in sharing information, providing assistance and spending time interacting, collaborating with other twitter users and creating good will. Like anything people want a relationship with you before they are going to avail of anything you might be trying to market no matter how good it might be.
I hope this short post will be of use and perhaps help people to realise that good business on twitter is not about making loads of followers, but rather creating a good reputation and connections.
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