| | |  | Career Books | Home » » The Creative Entrepreneur: A DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real | | | | | | | Description: | | The Creative Entrepreneur was voted Winner, in two categories—Craft and Business, of the 2009 IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) Benjamin Franklin Award which recognizes excellence in publishing. This book is for the large audience of artists, crafters, and creative individuals from all walks of life who desire to make a livelihood from their creative work, or who possibly have achieved some success, but don’t know how to replicate it or move to another level of accomplishment. These crafty DIY artists are everywhere--they are holding alternative craft fairs, they advertise in the pages of Bust and ReadyMade and Craft, they are selling online by the thousands at Etsy.com, and are blogging at Typepad, LiveJournal, and Whipup.com. But many of them do not have the skills needed to take their business ideas to the next level. The Creative Entrepreneur takes readers on an inner journey of creative exploration to discover how to make their dreams of creative livelihood real, as they craft their own Artist’s Business Journal. The Artist’s Business Journal is a visual, project-oriented, step-by-step approach to business development for artists from all walks of life who are mystified and possibly frustrated by how to make a business out of their creative work.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Lisa Sonora Beam | | Paperback:
| 128 pages | | Publisher:
| Quarry Books | | Publication Date:
| November 01, 2008 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1592534597 | | Product Length:
| 9.78 inches | | Product Width:
| 8.62 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.56 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.18 pounds | | Package Length:
| 10.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 8.35 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.55 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.15 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 25 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 25 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 35 found the following review helpful:
 Rainbow Express Through Business & ArtDec 07, 2008
By Ellen M. Gibb
I found this book to be a thorough delight! It's packed full of wonderful tips for your creative business, no matter what it is. Business concepts and process is presented in such a way that all right-brain folks (like me) will feel coddled, looked after, and safe. If only I had had this book 25 years ago when I tried to start a weaving business! The author makes it fun (amazing, no?) to make business plans and imagine ways to
materialize your artful dreams. Also, as a serious art journaling person, I loved the layout of the book, which contains wonderful examples on almost every page of brilliant journal layouts and compositions. All are in sun-drenched, glorious color!! This book is so delicious to read that I had to ration myself to a chapter a day. Otherwise, I would have devoured it in one sitting and missed many valuable sections. I purchase a LOT of art books--a LOT--and this is one of the best this year--definitely five stars.
27 of 27 found the following review helpful:
 Common sense that pops!Oct 28, 2008
By David Harris
I was skeptical. But, then I found that this book is a real motivator. Fun to read, fun to look at, but with a serious mission: how can business owners like me blend creativity and business success? The book goes on to answer that question.
Our small web company deals with the un-bending requirements of accounting/distribution systems with the softer, yet stronger, notions of creative presentation of products and company image. I am constantly looking for new inspiration, and this book has it.
I have already started my journal, and I have gleaned a couple of new ideas that I will use. I found it delightful to browse or to read chunks at one sitting, and it helped me look at my situation with a fresh point of view. I highly recommend it. I got a copy of the book for my son too.
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Highly recommendedMay 05, 2009
By Zebracorn
Although I already have a boring all text and statistics yawn fest business plan, I find that I seldom refer to it. I need something else to help move me forward and get me unstuck. I need something to get me excited about strategic planning. This book does it.
I, like many artists have shelves full of books on the business of art, creativity, marketing and the like. They bore me to tears. This, on the other hand, is a great motivational tool.
Rather than have me fill notebooks with dry lists, this book instructs me to create mandalas, vision boards and visual journals. I have created these before but not as a business tool. This book takes me step by step through the process of figuring out what I want and need, and gives me all sorts of insights to keep moving me towards my goal.
This is the best book of its kind that I have seen. It's probably the only book of its kind that I have seen. It's art with a purpose, which appeals to me.
There are many books on making visual journals but this book in my opinion is the one you need if you are seriously thinking of your art as a business. I have already told many of my artist friends about it.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
A creative's business companionDec 11, 2009
By Jaymi Elford
"innowen"
Books on helping creatives grow their own business are hard to find. I've read and reviewed Craft, Inc. and it was a good resource for starting a creative business. However, while it covered many aspects of running a business, I found that it wasn't good for actually teaching you how to set-up and create your own business from conception to reality. Enter Lisa Sonora Beam and The Creative Entrepreneur. Billed as a "DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real", this book not only teaches readers the fundamentals of building a business to match their creative dream, but it presents the core business concepts in a way that makes them easy for creative personalities to understand.
The Creative Entrepreneur developed out of workshops that Beam created and offered "creatives" who wanted to take their craft and turn them into viable business opportunities. She does not believe that artists need to starve in order to succeed. This book is her legacy; it shows artists that they, too, can grasp business concepts that turn their artistic visions into concrete and functioning business plans--no matter what they are. At first glance, this book looks more like an art technique book than a business fundamentals primer. Don't let the shiny fool you; this book packs an informative punch. Beam introduces the book by explaining how the visual journalling process aides in the process of business creation. She encourages readers to follow along with the exercises in this book, just as if they were sitting in on one of her workshops.
The rest of the book explains and shows examples for various business concepts that are key to uncovering exactly what form your artsy business will become. Beam helps you explore your strengths, develop a vision and goals plan, and set SMART goals for yourself. She also helps you overcome your fears. By exposing them, Beam helps you to minimize and remedy them so they don't distract you from attaining your successful goals. At every step of the way she presents the information in easy-to-digest bites that also include plenty of fun exercises, journalling prompts, and examples from people who have already gone through her process.
The Creative Entrepreneur helps you lay the foundation for your business. But that's about as far as the material in the book goes. Beam quickly glosses over the idea of promotional materials that could help your business expand and get noticed, but she doesn't cover how to obtain licenses, or networking with other entrepreneurs and suppliers. Therefore, I wouldn't consider this book as the "all inclusive" text for creatives looking to go into business for themselves. Instead, I see this as a companion to Craft, Inc. which delves into the daily business running aspects in greater detail.
I loved this book. There's so much good information in it that I think it's valuable for anyone to read through. I especially loved her breakdown on the left brain/right brain and the information on SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). While I'm not ready to create a business out of my bookbinding just yet, I know that the information and exercises are things I can use to help propel and transform my writing life into something more. I recommend this book to any writer, artist, or crafter who desires to do more with their art, or just become more attuned to what you can offer the rest of the world. Even if you're not interested in operating your own business, this book gives you a lot to think about on assessing your creative strengths and weaknesses.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Not only for right-brained creativesMay 22, 2009
By joy
I'm not a right-brain creative, though I would love to be. I was drawn to this book for the subtitle: A DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real. I'm familiar with business plan structures, but was compelled to take closer look because of the idea of using a visual journal to coax ideas onto the page. Essentially, I'm a left-brained person wanting to use right-brain techniques! I like what Lisa has done here: step-by-step instructions to guide you through assessing your skills and values, to think like a CEO re: your business purpose, to establishing objectives and tactics to get it done. She also includes photos of how others have approached their journals so you can develop your own way of expressing your ideas.
This is not supposed to be art, it's a business plan! That said, the bonus is that this is a gorgeous book to browse through for inspiration. It's not the usual art journal--it's a working, purposeful journal that just happens to be fun to create! Both left- and right-brained folks could benefit from reading this wonderful book.
See all 25 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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