The creative industries are currently at the forefront of British government policy. With the sector contributing greatly to the economy, emphasis has been placed upon its regenerative capabilities (visit www.culture.gov.uk). The sector relies heavily upon small medium enterprises (SME’s) which are usually created, developed and managed by an emerging breed of cultural entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs are at the forefront of the sector and are setting a new standard for creative working.
As a director of a creative start up company, I see myself as a cultural entrepreneur. At present my enterprise is not making large amounts of money and people may say that this means I am not yet an entrepreneur. However, whether a person can be classified as an entrepreneur solely on whether they make money or not is debatable. Kirby (2003) provides the following definition for an entrepreneur; “An entrepreneur is an individual who establishes and manages a business for the principle purposes of profit and growth. The entrepreneur is characterised principally by innovative behaviour and will employ strategic management practices in the business.” I feel that although I do not fulfil the first element of this definition, I fulfil the latter part. The financial element is purely a factor of time and will hopefully be accomplished. However, my sole objective is not financial gain. I feel this is an additional contributing factor of what makes me a cultural entrepreneur rather than just an entrepreneur.
The Cultural Entrepreneur
There is no specific agreed definition for the term “cultural entrepreneur” however for the sake of this discussion my definition is as follows: An entrepreneur who turns a cultural product/service etc, into a commercially lucrative enterprise. So what is the difference between a cultural producer e.g. artist and a cultural entrepreneur? An artist merely produces cultural items; they can only be classified as a cultural entrepreneur if they distribute their work for commercial gain e.g. an artist opens an art shop to sell their artwork.
Cultural entrepreneurs are typically consumers as well as producers in their chosen areas. This is advantageous to the development of the entrepreneurs’ creativity. As a consumer of cultural products relevant to their own, cultural entrepreneurs are able to keep up to date with trends and develop upon and/or reinvent existing creative ideas/products. To produce music without being an avid consumer of music would prove quite difficult for an artist; however, for a musical entrepreneur it would be detrimental to their success. To produce music which is of commercial value, a cultural entrepreneur in the music industry must consume music to keep abreast of styles and trends.
Additionally, having a passion within their chosen field means that a cultural entrepreneur will not only work in their chosen area but may see it as part of their life crossing into out of hours spare time. This can aid in idea generations. So is there a difference between a cultural entrepreneur and a regular entrepreneur? Cultural entrepreneurs have unique attributes which are not as prevalent amongst regular entrepreneurs. These characteristics are further examples of what differentiates the two entrepreneurial types. Unlike an entrepreneur, a cultural entrepreneur is not solely fuelled by commercial gain and opportunity but also by “non-commercial artistic, social and personal priorities” (Bilton: 2007). As a cultural entrepreneur is also a cultural producer this can cause a conflict of interest. Commercial objectives can sometimes undermine artistic creativity which can create problems for cultural entrepreneurs. Heartfield (2005) states that “you cannot force creativity.” If a cultural entrepreneur has an objective to make money, their creativity may become stifled. It is here where cultural entrepreneurs need to maintain a balance which can prove difficult. “Successful entrepreneurs are especially skilled at using their time to develop relationships with people who are crucial to the success of their new venture” (Byers, Kist & Sutton: 1997). The cultural entrepreneur takes this to a new level through collaborative work methods. Within the creative sector working in collaboration with other organisations is common practice. Rather than seeing competitors solely as a threat, creative entrepreneurs recognise the benefits of working together. This helps to create a “wider creative community” (Wilson & Stoke: 2002). I myself regularly work with other organisations or individuals who are my direct or indirect competitors. Although it is difficult to trust these individuals, without them I would not be able to achieve many of my objectives. Particularly when undertaking specific projects where my skill base may not cover all areas it is helpful to work with other individuals who understand the field and have my missing skill. This working method could be effective in other sectors.
Independence is a further key characteristic of the cultural entrepreneur “employment is rarely a stepping stone to employment in a larger organisation. Most people who are self employed in the cultural sector want to stay that way.” (Leadbeater & Oakley (1999:22) Where an entrepreneur may see enterprise as a method of gaining experience in an autonomous environment before moving onto a larger organisation or expanding, the cultural entrepreneur has no such desires. Additionally “cultural entrepreneurs opt for independence because it allows them to work in a way which they would find hard to justify within a larger organisation” (Leadbeater & Oakley 1999:22) I myself have always hated working for other people due to the constraints I have always felt employment places on individuals. Subsequently, I always vowed to become self employed. It is this inner belief and hatred of constriction that inspired me to start my own business as I felt this was the only way to be in total control of how I work. “’A third of people working in the sector are under the age of 34” (Leadbeater & Oakley 1999: 21), which may be due to the freedom the sector offers in terms of independence.
Although cultural entrepreneurs have a variety of strengths there are of course areas where they are typically lacking compared to regular entrepreneurs. Business and management skills are major factors affecting creative entrepreneurs; “There is a lack of appropriate management education, poor access to business information, and generally weak networks by means of which management information can be shared and best practice identified. These issues limit competitiveness by stunting the development and growth potential of creative SMEs” (CEP Website). Leadbeater and Oakley (18: 2007) also indicate business skills as a key area which many cultural entrepreneurs are lacking in. They attribute this to educational establishment’s inflexibility at providing the right training at the appropriate time. They advise that government policy needs to reflect this. I personally have found that having a creative idea does not necessarily mean you can run a business. Entrepreneurs tend to have keen business skills through formal education or training as there ambitions are generally solely business based. For creative’s business skills tend to come secondary to their creative ambitions.
Cultural entrepreneurs have different working methods and characteristics when compared with a regular entrepreneur. In order for the sector to continue to grow and for these individual entrepreneurs to develop and grow their SME’s government policy needs to address the shortfalls of these individuals whilst aiding in their success. Access to finance is notoriously difficult for cultural entrepreneurs who for varying reasons (including artistic integrity and independence) do not feel comfortable seeking commercial investment. This needs to be recognised and overcome.
February 29th, 2008 at 8:51pm
I agree with you Danielle about the freedom of being your own boss, it definitely makes working on anything that much more rewarding.