It’s easy to accept what skills we don’t possess. For instance, many creative people don’t tend to think of themselves as being particularly adept at accounting. It’s not that we’re not good at it… it’s just that we usually choose to spend our time daydreaming about the next revenue stream than sitting at a spreadsheet crunching numbers.
Unfortunately, many creative freelancers might downplay their creative skills when it comes to business. Some might even see their creativity as a hindrance to growing a successful solo business.
In fact, creative freelancers like us have a “secret weapon”… they just don’t all realize it… or realize that creative thinking is even important to growing their business.
In the following post, I’ll give you ten reasons why creative thinking skills can give you an unfair advantage over your competitors, no matter what marketplace you’re in.
How “Unfair” Can Work In Your Favor
I learned pretty quickly how life can be unfair.
I was a skinny, uncoordinated kid growing up. That meant I was usually near the last to be picked in the dog-eat-dog arena of spontaneous childhood playground sports.
There I was, gazing at the two faster, bigger, future pro superstars who held my future in their hands. (Well, the near future anyway… but isn’t that all that mattered back then?) I would just hope that I wasn’t picked last… and I’d breath a sign of relief when there were kids in the talent pool who I had estimated were even worse at sports than I was.
Why did I even subject myself to such torture? I wanted so badly to be good at sports… I had a drive to prove myself in this area, even though I didn’t have the ability. You could say the vast difference between where I wanted to be and where I was to be unfair. How is it fair that so many other kids were more genetically blessed than I was?
The truth is, life is indeed unfair. It’s an important lesson to learn. But to say it’s unfair is not really correct. It attributes a personality to circumstances, as if “life” is out to get us. It’s us playing the victim. What we call “unfair” is really just an inevitable byproduct of the fact that we all were born with different talents, interests, and capabilities.
I didn’t learn until much later that I could make the unfair principle work for me… not in sports, but in art.
Because I was far better at drawing and painting than anybody else in my class.
While the sports superstars of the third grade had found their talent years earlier, I had finally found my unfair advantage.
We Live In An Arena of Ideas
Creative thinkers have the unfair advantage in today’s business world.
The high-speed world of commerce today rewards innovation at the speed of thought. Not just any innovation, but thoughtful, bite-sized ideas that are immediately tested and refined.
It also rewards sensitivity, empathy, and spontaneous sharing. It disfavors glacial business models and favors hybrid approaches that put people first.
The age of two-year long development cycles before a product even sees the light of day is over. Now we have focus group testing, lean principles, and preorders.
This modern gladiatorial arena of ever-changing ideas is the playground of creative thinkers.
The Rise Of The Creative Class
If you’re not using your natural creative thinking skills, you may be holding your team back from their fullest potential.
In today’s employee, we often see a hybrid creature who is both an artist and a businessperson. He or she is just as comfortable in a corporate meeting room as they are in an art studio. They wield either pen or paintbrush with equal skill. This person is a creative entrepreneur.
In his book Rise Of The Creative Class, author and economic researcher Richard Florida writes about these highly effective human beings, which he says make up about 30% of today’s workforce.
“If you are a scientist or engineer, an architect or designer, a writer, artist, or musician, or if your creativity is a key factor in your work in business, education, health care, law, or some other profession, you are a member.”
He goes so far as to state that attracting and retaining these members of the “creative class” can mean the difference between success and failure:
More and more businesses understand that ethos and are making the adaptations necessary to attract and retain creative class employees—everything from relaxed dress codes, flexible schedules, and new work rules in the office to hiring recruiters who throw Frisbees. Most civic leaders, however, have failed to understand that what is true for corporations is also true for cities and regions: Places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative class people prosper; those that fail don’t.
What’s Different About The New Generation Of “Knowledge Worker”?
People’s minds today (especially the younger generations) are wired differently. It wouldn’t have made them very obedient factory workers during the last century, but in today’s “knowledge economy” they’re finding themselves right at home.
Some people used to say creative people couldn’t be worked with. Parents used to say they didn’t play well with others. Teachers chided them for that very annoying habit of gazing out of the window for a very long time. Managers said they were too “unmanageable.”
But somewhere in the years between human assembly lines and robotic ones, things changed: many of the creative “nerds” who seemed not to listen in class have become billionaires.
But the same type of alternative thinking can help the average business owner, too.
If we’re willing to put in some hard work and to learn some creative and innovative skills that will help us in the business world, we will find ourselves at an advantage.
And in the quickly changing information age we find ourselves in, a modern entrepreneur’s killer combo of creative skill with business savvy can quickly become their unfair advantage.
Bendin’ It Like Gretzky
What do I mean by unfair advantage?
I imagine what the opponents of Wayne Gretzky, arguably the best hockey player to have ever lived, must have thought as they tried to play against him.
One of his best quotes says it all:
“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has already been.”
The guys going up against Gretzky must have scratched their heads as they thought, “how the heck do we play against a guy who can practically tell the future?”
That’s what I imagine uncreative people must think when they come up against a truly capable creative entrepreneur:
“They always seem to know what works and what will be successful. They always seem to know what would look good. How the heck do we beat that?”
It’s with that frame of mind that I want to talk about the characteristics of these hybrid creatures, these creative entrepreneurs who are able to mix art and business.
My hope is that if you are a creative freelance business owner, it will embolden you to take whatever steps you need to get to the next level in your business. I aim to help you realize that you’re not really as far away from success as you thought you were. And to give the “creative you” the self respect it deserves.
The Unfair Advantages Of Creative Business Owners
Unfair Advantage #1: Creative Thinkers’ Minds Are Always At Work.
The creative mind works overtime to process information, assess the big picture of a situation, and synthesize different ideas. This happens subconsciously and so it’s happening all the time: while on a walk, while driving, while in the shower, even while sleeping.
For the creative person, this is totally natural, and so it doesn’t feel like work. In fact, it often feels a lot more like play. It should be mentioned though – that for some creative people (or for some creative projects) it’s quite the opposite, more like a pitched battle or a painful surgery.
Either way, the creative mind does not obey a “9 to 5” schedule – it’s always working. And who can compete with the brain that works while sleeping?
Unfair Advantage #2: Creative Thinkers Make Value Out Of Thin Air.
If more creative people realized something about themselves that their bosses already know, they’d ask for a lot more money. That thing is this: creatives are the closest thing to the fabled Golden Goose there is.
Even with modest resources and time, a creative worker can produce many times more value than the original investment. Whether it’s a digital product such as a training course, or intellectual property such as a story or song, creative products yield a tremendous return on investment (ROI) when used properly.
I once visited the British Museum in London. Amidst the vast collection of artifacts from every age and location on earth, something in a quiet little corner of the museum affected me more than any other. There in a glass case lay a rumpled piece of paper with hasty words scrawled on it. Some lines of text were crossed out and others squeezed in haphazardly. There was nothing artistically relevant or inherently valuable about the piece of paper itself. Its immense value was in the idea the words represented. The idea conveyed by these scribbled symbols was a song – and that song was Yesterday by the Beatles.
Paul McCartney (Lennon is also credited) wrote that song in 1964-65. The face value of a crumpled scrap of paper: practically zero. The value of that song today? According to the BBC, in 2012 it has amassed royalties of 19.5 million pounds, making it the fourth most successful song of all time in terms of royalties.
Money may not grow on trees, but it can definitely be cultivated in the fertile gray matter of the brain.
Unfair Advantage #3: Creative Thinkers Are Expert Curators.
In our information-rich society, the creative thinker’s ability to synthesize different bits of data into a relevant (and attractive) whole that can be consumed is an increasingly prized skill to have. This is called curation.
When we curate, we do more than just collect bits of random stuff and mash them together… we combine them in a highly purposeful way. The resulting collage is something that is much more than the sum of its individual parts. The way they are combined in itself becomes an artistic statement.
Experienced curators use a set of highly developed filters. These internal filters collate and sort information using their acute sense of style and experience. This happens constantly. You know when it looks like a creative thinker is staring off into space, appearing to “zone out?” We’re usually processing information and sorting it through our filters. This filter becomes one of your most prized business assets.
People will pay a premium to experienced creatives who can make relevant decisions based on their finely honed “filters”. They need the valuable information that you spend years thinking about, and the skill that you have to go with it that pairs the information they need with the service you provide.
Unfair Advantage #4: Creative Thinkers Are Highly Self-Motivated.
People who create normally enjoy making things. As creative workers, as long as we’re given clear direction and enough autonomy to work, as well as the necessary tools that we need to do our job, we’re highly effective and require minimum direction. This makes us extremely valuable to any client, customer, or company.
As entrepreneurs (who work ON the business) or as intrapreneurs (who work IN the business), being self motivated is a critical characteristic to have. It ensures that they get up each morning to work and use their time productively. And properly led creative thinkers require less hand-holding and “management” to get the job done.
Being highly self-motivated can also yield an insane amount of productivity. When creative thinkers combine their twin superpowers of motivation and creative inspiration, watch out! They can achieve a “flow state” where time stands still and it’s just them and their work… hours tick by as they continually create value.
Unfair Advantage #5: Creative Thinkers Are Natural Marketers.
Marketing is a frequently misunderstood field. Many people think it’s all about hype and overselling. But just because some marketing-types act this way, it doesn’t mean all marketing (or truly effective marketing) is this way.
The core effectiveness of good marketing is simply communication. It’s telling the story of a brand in an attractive way that (ideally) is authentic enough to portray it’s values accurately. This matches customers with companies in a harmonious relationship.
Creative thinkers are naturals at this … who can tell a story better than a novelist? Who can make a logo better than a graphic designer? Who can shoot and edit a sales video better than a filmmaker? For this reason, many creative thinkers do find a rewarding career in a marketing field. They know how to rouse interest and maintain a customer’s attention.
Unfair Advantage #6: Creative Thinkers Are Relentless Problem Solvers.
If there is a flaw in a business, or something that could be tweaked to work better, a creative thinker will usually find it. We will also give you a lot of suggestions on how to fix it. (Whether or not we’re asked to!)
If a creative worker is asked, “how can we make this better?” They will probably become excited at the challenge and go to work on it. The proposed solution may not be what you expect, and it may even result in some ridiculous ideas that you’ll want to quickly dismiss. But somewhere in there is a workable and unique approach that you may have never have thought of.
To outsiders their methods may seem confusing and haphazard – but stick around long enough, and you’ll find those seemingly disjointed ideas coalesce into solid ideas with possibility.
Unfair Advantage #7: Creative Thinkers Are Fun And / Or Interesting To Be Around.
Creative thinkers tend to make business – and life – more fun, pleasing, and beautiful.
They strive for the unpredictable, the new and original. They tend to be colorful characters and bring flavor to any atmosphere.
Unfair Advantage #8: Creative Thinkers Understand Culture.
Non-creative thinkers are culture chasers. Creative thinkers, on the other hand, are culture makers.
We intuitively understand people and think deeply about what makes them tick. We “get” offbeat humor. With our ability to empathize we can imagine what people will feel like. We understand symbolism and can create products that are rich with significance and meaning for any audience.
While we get and understand culture, we’re also processing it and then influencing culture with what we make and share.
Why is this important? Because one of the cornerstone principles of business is understanding your target market. Creative thinking can give you an insightful understanding of the groups of people that make up that target market. Not only that, but it can formulate the proper message to that market.
Unfair Advantage #9: Creative Thinkers Have Vision.
Vision, in the entrepreneurial sense, is the ability to form a mental image of something that hasn’t happened or been created yet.
This “image” is not necessarily just a visual picture – it can also be a song, result, condition, organization, or event. It can be a concrete thing or an abstract concept.
Creative thinkers use our imaginations to do this, but we may also employ things like sketches or models of that visualized result to help flesh it out and share it. A vision can be sharply defined with a lot of detail. But it can also be very malleable, able to be shaped as needed, like a piece of wet clay.
As you can imagine, this ability comes in very handy when venturing into new markets, developing untested products, or any other foray into unknown business territory.
Unfair Advantage #10: Creative Thinkers Make An Impact.
Creative thinkers tend to make a dent in culture. Because they think and do things differently than the status quo, they stand out.
This carries with it a power to influence that many of us don’t realize.
We also know how to use the tools that help us with our craft. And as these tools are ever-changing, we know all about the process of learning how to use and adapt these new tools to give us a competitive edge.
Are You A Creative Thinker? Press Your Advantage!
- Do you consider yourself a creative thinker, or not?
- Have you been undervaluing your natural ability to think creatively?
- Have you been holding back from doing something new in your business for fear of the unknown?
- Do you feel that a lack of creative thinking skills are putting you at a disadvantage?
Depending on your answers to the above questions, you may consider an upgrade to your mental “software” to add some more creative thinking tools.
These very important skills could form the bedrock of a thriving renaissance in your business!
To summarize, here are the unfair advantages creative thinkers have:
- Creative Thinkers’ Minds Are Always At Work.
- Creative Thinkers Make Value Out Of Thin Air.
- Creative Thinkers Are Expert Curators.
- Creative Thinkers Are Highly Self-Motivated.
- Creative Thinkers Are Natural Marketers.
- Creative Thinkers Are Relentless Problem Solvers.
- Creative Thinkers Are Fun And / Or Interesting To Be Around.
- Creative Thinkers Understand Culture.
- Creative Thinkers Have Vision.
- Creative Thinkers Make An Impact.
Think about each of those advantages in turn. Which ones resonate the most with you?
How has creative thinking put you ahead of the pack or gotten you extra attention?
Do you consider yourself a creative entrepreneur? What beneficial creative skills can you add to your arsenal to make you an unstoppable entrepreneurial force?
What about your team? How has their creative thinking skills (or the lack thereof) affected your bottom line?
As a creative problem solver and thought leader, you have something special and unique that stands out in the world. Don’t forget to use it to your advantage!