What makes a cultural entrepreneur? First, we should clarify the characteristics of entrepreneurship. The popular press and television programmes such as Dragon’s Den usually define it as starting new business ventures. Fillis and Rentschler portray it as “creating value…by bringing together unique combinations of public and private resources to exploit economic, social or cultural opportunities”¹ According to them, the essential capabilities of entrepreneurship are:

• innovation
• risk-taking
• pro-activeness

Cultural entrepreneurs are people who work in the creative and cultural industries and establish an enterprise focusing on media, design, music, film, fashion or other related sectors. But what distinguishes cultural entrepreneurs from the classic entrepreneurial model?

Opportunity Knocks

Fillis and Rentschler define entrepreneurs as opportunistic and calculated risk-takers.² Paul Myers, chief executive of Wippit.com, launched a daily podcast, recruiting broadcaster Danny Baker in order to capitalise on his substantial fan-base. Its popularity led to a fee being introduced, and it was made exclusively available via Wippit. In by-passing the iTunes delivery system, Myers ensured that all subscription rates were paid to his business. Clearly, this suggests opportunism is a trait required in cultural entrepreneurs if they are to succeed financially.

Further traits of entrepreneurship include:

• flexible
• dynamic
• creative
• growth-orientated³

We can use Fillis and Rentschler’s definition above⁴ to suggest additional ideas, including:

• hard-working
• committed
• determined
• competitive
• ambitious
• resilient
• proud
• positive
• confident
• focused

Not all cultural entrepreneurs display all of these characteristics. Many are skilled technical practitioners who have established their own business to enjoy greater creative, personal and financial freedom. These individuals want to retain their independence, using their creative assets for commercial gain⁵. They will also be involved in the distribution process as well as production⁶. Yet cultural entrepreneurs’ foremost motivation is often to produce something of aesthetic quality.

Show Me the Money?

This desire to create cultural value rather than merely economic benefit perhaps shares some similarities with social entrepreneurs. Jason Pegler, New Statesman’s Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005, was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder at the age of 17, but is now CEO of Chipmunka Publishing, which publishes books by people with mental health disorders. Clearly, Pegler overcame his own personal obstacles and identified this business opportunity, and is facilitating cultural value as well as achieving a positive social impact.

A common viewpoint is that entrepreneurs in the creative economy are “more worried if they lose their ability to think than if their company loses money”⁷. This is true of Factory Records, established by Tony Wilson, whose main focus was aesthetics rather than economic viability. The now-demolished Hacienda nightclub is revered for its place at the forefront of British club culture despite perennially making losses, raising questions about whether financial motivations are central to the cultural entrepreneur’s mindset.

Planning Ahead

An entrepreneurial approach helps to generate possibilities and plan accordingly⁸. Some commentators argue that cultural entrepreneurs usually take a project-based outlook⁹, rather than managing a single business. An example of this could be Stef Lewandowksi, managing director of creative agency 3form and Type Records.

Working with clients such as Vivienne Westwood and the V&A museum, his management of numerous projects hints that an entrepreneurial approach is central to planning the growth of a creative business. Consequently, there emerges a need for strategic planning in order for cultural entrepreneurs such as Lewandowski to be able to manage the direction of several business projects.

Creative Solutions

Cultural entrepreneurs exhibit a flair for creative thinking which can be instrumental in solving problems. They may experience difficulties in distributing their product, so will often do this themselves. Sometimes it is necessary for cultural entrepreneurs to diversify into other aspects of their industry, in order to remove obstacles and help their business succeed.

One example concerns Factory Records founder Tony Wilson, who established the legendary Hacienda nightclub because bands such as New Order and the Happy Mondays had nowhere else to perform in Manchester. The cultural value it created arguably outweighed its lack of profitability.

Leaping Into Action

Cultural entrepreneurs are not necessarily equipped with all of the skills required to manage a business, though. Linda Bennett, founder of LK Bennett, has been pragmatic in implementing tasks. An awareness of her own strengths and weaknesses has allowed Bennett to recruit others to fulfil specialist functions, including the sale of her business.

Excelling at design, sales and marketing, Bennett surrounds herself with people to assist in completing tasks such as dealing with the company’s finances. An advantage of this is that she can concentrate on certain tasks and delegate others.

Although cultural entrepreneurs may not be as pragmatic as traditional managers, an entrepreneurial approach in running a creative business is arguably integral to their success. Indeed, this helps to achieve direction and a structured approach ensures that the business can move towards achieving the entrepreneur’s goals.

1. Fillis, I. and Rentschler, R. (2006) Creative Marketing. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p10 [↩]
2. Fillis, I. and Rentschler, R. (2006) Creative Marketing. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p19 [↩]
3. Stevenson, H. and Gumpert, D. (1991) ‘The Heart of Entrepreneurship’ in Sahlman, W. and Stevenson, H. (eds) (1991) The Entrepreneurial Venture. Boston: Harvard Business School Publications. p9 [↩]
4. Fillis, I. and Rentschler, R. (2006) Creative Marketing. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p10 [↩]
5. Leadbeater, C. and Oakley, K. (1999) The Independents: Britain’s New Cultural Entrepreneur, London, Demos. p11 [↩]
6. Bilton, C. (2006) ‘Cultures of Management: Cultural Policy, Cultural Management and Creative Organisations’ in Management of Culture / Culture of Management, 28 June 2006. Coventry: Warwick Business School. [↩]
7. Howkins, J. (2002) The Creative Economy. London: Penguin. p155 [↩]
8. Bessant, J. and Tidd, J. (2007) Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Chichester: John Wiley. p406 [↩]
9. Bilton, C. (2006) ‘Cultures of Management: Cultural Policy, Cultural Management and Creative Organisations’ in Management of Culture / Culture of Management, 28 June 2006. Coventry: Warwick Business School. [↩]