However, at some point, I lost my motivation for creating. I think it's because I started to think that its purpose was to create and sustain a business. Therefore, the primary motivating factor became money. I forgot what I had learned many years ago in architecture school - that an idea and, consequently, the design are solutions to a problem not a means to an end. Besides problem-solving, intentionally generating ideas has other benefits, as well. It re-connects you to one of humanity's greatest and most powerful gifts - imagination. And if it's true that we are all a piece of our Creator, then we are all creators as well.

The idea of "ideas" is something that has been showing up with quite some frequency lately. The recent mid-term elections are proof positive that ideas are powerful. Let's face it - there are policies and rhetoric, but we vote on the basis of ideas (both ours and those put forth by others.) That's quite a case for ideas. Where good ideas come from is also the topic of Steven Johnson's book. And, of course, "ideas" took center stage at the IDEA Conference.

But now what? How do you begin this process of generating ideas? Do you do it alone or with others? There are arguments for both. What's most important is to understand that the idea is the beginning of a solution to a problem or challenge. I've stopped sending out postcards to producers. I've stopped handing out business cards. And I even wiped out my entire newsletter database of agents, producers, and casting directors (and started over with a 100% opt-in list. Hi, Mom!) The ideas behind those approaches to marketing no longer solve a problem, because the problem itself has changed (and will most likely continue to change.) Unless you sit down and take into account what today's challenges are, you will never gain any ground using yesterday's ideas.

I used to brainstorm on a blank sheet of paper or send myself emails whenever an idea came to mind, but recently I've started to use Accidental Creative's Personal Idea Pad. Some people, like Steve Rubel, use mindmaps. Others use an almost physical form of a collaborative mindmap, if you will, in the form of an unconference. I personally like the idea of writing on paper because, to me, it's the beginning of physical manifestation. Use whatever approach feels best to you, but pick one and get started.

I've said it before, ideas are currency; but couple that with Ernest Chu's philosophy that your soul is currency too, and as long as you truly love generating ideas, you're building wealth (and are a step ahead of your competition.)

-Anthony

I recently listened to an interview with riCardo Crespo and it made me think about whether or not I've clearly communicated my goals to my marketing department. riCardo is an advocate for having internal creative directors in order to better communicate with an ad agency. It makes complete sense as creative directors speak the same "language" and therefore begin the relationship with several commonalities. The challenge, as a freelancer, then becomes, "Who composes your marketing department and how often do you communicate your goals with them?"

In my case, as a lone freelance voice-over artist (cue Lone Ranger theme,) my marketing department would ideally be my representation. But the reality is that all of my agents and manager are my national sales department. My marketing department is actually composed of none other than me, myself, and I. So, the second part of the question would naturally mean that I need to schedule meetings with this singular trinity.

Once this creative meeting is scheduled, the next step would be to create an agenda with input from the rest of me... uh... the company. This agenda will consist of objectives. The intention is that during this meeting, I... sorry... we will come up with creative ways to meet these objectives (otherwise known as goals. "Goal," by the way is not a four-letter word. "Resolution" is - especially that of the New Year variety.) The goals should be simple and straightforward, because we don't want there to be any miscommunication. One final and crucial note; This meeting is closed to your accounting department.

I can't allow my accountant (my left brain) to hinder the no-limit thinking of my creative (my right brain) during this time of important ideation; Hence, the closed meeting. Don't worry, there will be plenty of time for both your right and left brain to work together during a future strategic meeting or, even better, a year-end review (another four-letter word depending on the context.)

The problem that many freelancers face is that their accountant is allowed into way too many meetings. If coming up with an agenda is an issue, then steal your accountants agenda and re-write it (then kick him out and lock the door.) Instead of thinking about how much money you need to generate, write down how many bookings you would love to have (daily, weekly or monthly.) Instead of thinking about how to increase revenue, think about how to shift your work to more passive income or, in my business, residual generating voice-overs (commercials) or recurring voice-overs (signature work, launch campaigns, radio imaging.)

This isn't meant to be a how-to article on generating ideas. My goal is to share a way to shift your consciousness in order to allow your artist to play. In turn, it will flourish in this no-limit environment - the accountant-less marketing meeting of the mind. Who knows, you might even have fun! Don't forget the entertainment in entertainment business. Schedule that meeting.

Here's a meeting I just had yesterday with my marketing department:
Agenda:
Increase engagement on my voice-over site by shifting the visitor's experience from an auditory one to a visual one. (i.e., Videos with audio will take center stage and replace audio-only)

Here's a meeting I had with my accountant department:
Response:
Adding more video would increase bandwidth and risk being shutdown or, worse, getting hit with exorbitant hosting fees.

Here's a subsequent meeting (after thought... emphasis on after) I had with my IT department:
Challenge:
There's more latency with video and therefore a higher risk of increased bounce rate.

Now, there's no question that the marketing department's creative idea was going to be implemented. I never judged it during ideation. After the meeting, I presented it to accounting in a separate session. The accounting department raised some fiscal challenges that might present themselves down the road. At the same time, I had a discussion with my IT department. The IT department raised concerns that were later taken into consideration. 

The solution, was Amazon's CloudFront service. Which I'll be talking to you more about tomorrow and, hopefully, showing you a quick tutorial on how I set it up. Presently, all of the media (audio, video, and images) on my AnthonyVO.com site are stored on my Amazon S3 account and distributed via their CloudFront service. My webhost only serves up the HTML/CSS text files (i.e., small files when compared to media.) What's the cool part about it? The specific server that presents the media is dependent upon the visitor's location - it automatically chooses the closest server - thereby minimizing latency. Very technical, but overall still very creative (and super affordable - just in case your accountant was wondering)!

With CloudFront, I've addressed marketing (allowing more media,) IT (reducing latency and therefore bounce rate,) and accounting (minimizing bandwidth costs.) Before you think I've gone schizophrenic, I'm merely suggesting you compartmentalize your multiple roles in order to create more effectively. 

Does your number crunching get in the way of your creativity?

-Anthony