Free Essay Sample: Challenges of Creative Entrepreneurs

Over the years, the mention of the term 'creativity' has been associated with positive advantage for those who have creative abilities. Most people want to be creative due to the economic advantages that people with creative abilities have been seen to enjoy over the years (Bujor & Avasilcai, 2016). Due to this focus on the business potentials of creativity, there has been a change in basic assumptions where most business owners are moving towards investing in creative industries. However, this move is considered a new era phenomenon because creative industries and, or entrepreneurs have been around even before the industrialization era but were given little attention by economists until recently. Creative industries or creative entrepreneurs are people who generate income from talent or creative abilities (Bujor & Avasilcai, 2016). Creative entrepreneurship has been defined to include all the people who toil with creative minds to produce pieces of work that generate income. Due to the growing importance of creative industries among economists, there has been a need to research on the challenges faced by creative minds on the journey to succeed in their endeavors.

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As such, the contents of this paper chose to evaluate the challenges faced by those who invest in the creative industries by drawing data from several secondary papers and focusing on four main areas. These are mastering their craft, mastering the business environment of their craft, managing themselves, and managing themselves in groups as people working in media, music, fashion, and other creative industries. This approach was chosen because the four subtopics will address personal, professional, industry, and group related challenges faced by creative minds, thus providing a holistic perspective.

Mastering Their Craft

Currently, creative industries are a driving force of many economies despite little research carried out to understand the dynamics of creative industries (Henry & De Bruin, 2011). According to the United Nations (2010), creative industries have played a major role in economic development by increasing employment opportunities, social inclusion, and diversifying regional economies. Amidst the growing contribution and importance of creative industries, few studies have channeled their efforts towards understanding entrepreneurship in this sector (Chaston & Sadler-Smith, 2012).

As one of the key areas to be investigated in this paper, creative minds understanding of their craft has been found to play a central role in success achievement. The mastery of one's craft involves the process of understanding talent and taking the right steps to monetize it. Conferring to Robert (2012), every person can be the next Einstein or Newton, but it takes hard work and dedication for one to be an expert in any craft. While most of the people think that creativity comes naturally as a fruit of talent or chance, there is more to developing and maintaining and understanding of one's craft. More importantly, the understanding of how to develop one's craft to gain revenue is of greater significance to the growth of creative industries. When it comes to creative industries, the ability to stay motivated and cultivate the growth of talent is hindered by uncertainty, boredom, lack of motivation, and fear, which are the key inhibitors of mastery. All these factors pose a challenge for those working in the creative industries. Without proficiency in craft, there are higher chances of failure.

By agreeing with Robert (2012), the first step for those working in the creative industries is to reconnect with the first instinct that drew them to their craft. For most people, their interest in any craft is always discovered during childhood and can either be cultivated by parents or shuttered by society's expectations. Getting to understand the inner force that draws individuals towards their interests is the key to mastering a craft and finding happiness in practicing it (Chaston & SadlerSmith, 2012). It is suggested that listening to the inner voice and focusing on one's interest play a pivotal role in the failure or success of managing one's craft for the better. For most people in the creative industries, interest in a craft is always developed during childhood. To master a craft, entrepreneurs in the industry must always thrive to develop and connect with their initial attraction due to the insight it gives to the creative process. This is always difficult due to the little economic attention that is given to these industries, making most people who have talent lack the motivation to economically pursue a career related to their innate interests or talents. The second step in reconnecting with the roots of creative talent is defining one's niche in the creative industries. Working in a field that complements a creative mind's talent goes a long way in improving proficiency regarding skills because of the constant exposure to practice and new experiences. As to do this, there should be a dedication to interests rather than monetary gains. Most of the successful talents in the music industry face this obstacle. When rap music came into existence, there was too much negativity related to it. Their focus on their interest characterizes most of the people who have made it in this industry despite having the potential to follow other career paths. Reconnecting with one's innate interest has been related to artistic success in the creative industry,y especially with those working with music and performing arts.

For a person to be a successful lawyer or doctor, it takes the continuous practice of the profession to achieve recognition. Experience is one of the key element that defines successful managers and other practitioners in the traditional economy. In the same way, creative entrepreneurs need to create a knowledge base for their careers and investments to be successful. Robert (2012) continues to advise that it is important first to master one skill then use it as a foundation to develop other skills. Most people fail because they want to master several skills at once. Once a creative entrepreneur has identified his/her craft, he/she must focus on its development by collecting as many skills that appertain to the craft as a means of enriching it, as well as building experience and understanding of the practice. As to build a craft, a craftsman must evolve the skill by practicing with different 'recipes' in a bid to find a comfortable way of working. In most cases, the previous lack of quality remuneration in the creative industries has led many to place their talent-oriented professions as a secondary source of income, limiting their ability to develop and live off their talents fully.

Mastering the Business of Their Craft

Until recently, creative industries were not considered in the same way as other business organizations operating in the traditional economy. The UK, however, after realizing the potential of these enterprises in the growth of its economy, it has placed more resources to aid in the growth and development of creative industries. For the creative minds, on the other hand, they face more challenges when to it comes to understanding the business of their craft. Unlike traditional business, creative enterprises face different challenges that are unique to them. Due to the exclusive nature of products in this industry, there are several challenges that those working in this field face, they are as discussed below.

One of the main challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the creative industry is the uncertainty of returns on the products or investment (Richard, 2000). When creative entrepreneurs create a piece of work, they must struggle with the uncertainty of the reception their products will receive in the market. Unlike other businesses where the prototype may be placed in the market for evaluation to gauge the amount of reception it will receive in the market, those working in creative industries do not have that luxury. The prototype might be the final product, thus depriving the producer returns on costs that have already been incurred. Such challenges in most cases prevent those working in this industry from heavily investing due to the fear of running loses in the long run. For example, in the film industry, one cannot be able to determine the final income of a movie before it is released because the value of the film is determined by several factors, ranging from the choice of the actor to the relevance of the topic to the chosen target audience. Additionally, the challenge of unknown returns has proven to play a major role in determining the level of creativity in the creative process, making some stakeholders hold back in applying their full potential while creating pieces of work due the to lack of monetary motivation. An understanding of the fact that their business environment is uncertain will go a long way in making the player find ways of defining or approximating return on investment like other industries do.

Over the years, the spontaneous development of ideas has characterized the creative industry. The creative nature of this industry causes fast and spontaneous changes. In most cases, when an idea is fully developed, the industry will move on to other trending ideas, thereby leaving behind those who do not have the creative ability to integrate their works into new perspectives with limited options. An entrepreneur in this field must understand the concept of the industry to be able to reinvent himself/herself enough to stay relevant amidst changing times. It is due to these changes that creative industries are constantly shifting their forms of employment and remuneration for products or services rendered. Investors who understand this must be able to be flexible enough to fit into the new system. This is a major challenge for most who work in the creative sector because in most cases, the changes require variations in production and thus restricting the amount of money creative entrepreneurs invest in their work.

Another main challenge faced by creative entrepreneurs is the imbalance between a creator's effort and amount of resources that are placed in the marketing of the products. Most of the people working in creative industries, especially actors and musicians, spend a lot of time in the creation of their product but then are faced with the difficulty of finding enough avenues to reach out to potential clients. It is due to the lack of enough people and institutions to market and ensures that their products receive the recognition they deserve. This phenomenon is further fueled by the lack of information and research in the dynamics of creative industries, making it difficult for entrepreneurs to evaluate the market or understand it. For one to master the working of such business, he/she must have enough information about the trade to be able to maneuver and strategize effectively. Creative entrepreneurs, on the other hand, face the challenge of little or no information at all about their respective crafts. The lack of information is because there are a few institutions and scholars dedicated to the development and generation of knowledge vital to the industry. In a report by the European Commission (2010), it was agreed that there is a need for material research in the creative industries. The report further added that there is a great problem in the access of information by players in the market, which reduces their access to financing (European Commission, 2010). These challenges in access to information hinder many potential creative investors from setting up new businesses for fear of losses.