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Business Class

January 12, 2010

The Artist in Entrepreneurs

JEAN AW

Founder, Editor-In-Chief, NOTCOT INC

Summary

Happy 2010!  Twenty Ten ... sounds like the future, in that sci-fi, flying-car sense of the word, doesn't it? But another thing about 2010 i

Happy 2010!  Twenty Ten … sounds like the future, in that sci-fi, flying-car sense of the word, doesn't it? But another thing about 2010 is that it's the fifth anniversary of NOTCOT. (NOTCOT.com launched in spring 2005!) Every morning I wake up giddy happy and awesomely inspired by my work on NOTCOT and the NOTEmpire (my fun name for my not-an-empire of websites that includes NOTCOT.org, NOTCOT.com, NotCouture and Liqurious). I run a group of sites that distills ideas and inspiration into visual experiences. It feels like an art project to me, an ever-evolving experiment that ignites a passion within me. Creativity, playfulness, art, design and inspiration are my life… and my business. My lines between personal and business are blurry, often non-existent. So I have to admit, I've been in denial about using the words businesswoman, small business and entrepreneur about myself and what I do. I've been making the strategic decisions (and doing the crazy paperwork) it takes to be a small business, but I had a stereotype about what those words meant.

The funny thing is that talking to other entrepreneurs, I see that they have no trouble calling themselves an entrepreneur but often don't recognize the creativity in what they do. Entrepreneurs are passionate believers, working obsessively every waking moment on this thing they've created and love so dearly. The world likes to divide everything into right brain or left brain, analytical or creative. But entrepreneurs don't respect that divide and don't fit into that stereotype. On the same day I'm taking pictures of a colorful army of puma penguins in my living room, jumping on a sales call, unboxing new surprises, dealing with server upgrades and arranging a trip to Salt Lake City to speak at a design conference.

This great insight from Gaping Void opened up my way of thinking about being an entrepreneur:

"...in their own way, all artists are entrepreneurs, and all entrepreneurs are artists.

Though their tools and products may differ, both entrepreneurs and artists are in the same game– the making and selling of work that is personally and emotionally important to them.

Artist. Entrepreneur. They’re just words. What’s far more interesting is not what we create, but how we create it, WHY we create it."

I'm a design + ux + travel + gadget + amusement + inspiration junkie … + an entrepreneur.  There were many moments leading up to me realizing that this creative chaos is entrepreneurship. I found business magazines so relevant to my day-to-day decisions that I started devouring them like crazy. I found myself deciding how to grow on my own terms. I found myself partnering with other businesses. When did you realize that your passion was a business?