“I’ve been involved in numerous successful technology start-ups,” says Dan Swan, who has a PhD in Innovation in the Creative Industries. “I’ve worked in the US, UK and in Australia, and my experience in innovation spans the full project lifecycle which is where I see how I can help people wanting to start a business.”

For Sonia Friedrich, the impetus to work with Swan came from her desire to help entrepreneurs and business owners understand the human behaviour that lies behind business decisions. “I really want people to gain this information before they talk to marketers, advertisers, PR companies and the media because it’s so vital for them know how to present and communicate their ideas to customers and to investors.”

Working specifically on how customers behave towards price, Friedrich, who has a Bachelor of Business in marketing, and has worked for numerous Fortune 500 companies, says that the secret is in understanding what she calls, “behaviour economics. There’s been a lot of research done into the brain and how we (and therefore customers) make judgments and decisions. We understand the biases that are used to support personal beliefs and choices – but what I’ve learned is that we can directly change behaviours.”

Swan, who began StartInno to encourage local businesses through their start-up phase, is a firm believer in the concepts of networking, and co-working. “Byron Bay is a melting pot for new business,” he says. “Outside of the main cities we have the highest density of creative industries anywhere in regional Australia – to me the idea of business start-ups being able to access a community that includes seasoned entrepreneurs as well as fledgling business ideas is a great way to share what’s worked – and why it’s worked. My journey began by just starting, and so what drives me is to help others ‘just start’ as well.”

One of the main topics for the night will be to help participants understand the emotional engagement customers have with price and how to use it to their advantage. Topics will include:

• The path of least effort
• The pain of paying
• Decoys
• The power of free
• Why discounts permanently damage
• and more

Sonia Friedrich, business mentor and consultant

Dan Swan, StartInno founder.

For Friedrich, teaching business owners how damaging it can be to discount their price is something about which she is passionate.  “When I mentor business people on this it’s incredible to see the direct result that occurs from the shift in thinking that prices have to be discounted to never discounting – it’s a very powerful thing to learn,” she says. Until recently Friedrich was mentoring everywhere but Byron Bay, but – a bit like Swan – she too, as a resident of almost 12 years standing – has seen so many creative businesses start up here, that now she has applied her mentoring to herself. “I realised that I’d really rather not get on a plane to Sydney for work if I didn’t need to,” she says. “I’ve also found it’s very rewarding working with business owners in Byron Bay because small business owners are risk-takers. Unlike many multi-national companies where fear of change can set in, or people are worried about introducing something new because they fear they might lose their job, I find principals of smaller companies welcome the change – directors of small to medium size firms can see the advantage of these ideas and actually implement them in a few days or a week.”

To book tickets go to:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/attracting-customers-with-sonia-friedrich-tickets-16854039887?ref=ebtnebtckt

https://www.startinno.com/events/attracting-customers

For more information on Sonia Friedrich go to: www.soniafriedrich.com  For more information on StartInno go to www.startinno.com

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Christina Giorgio braved the erratic Melbourne weather – hot one day, freezing the next – to attend the inaugural Arts Hub conference in Melbourne, to find out more about her favourite subject – the arts as a business. She shares what she found out with Verandah – some good, some not so good, in her opinion…

Before I get into the business side of things, I’d like to share a story about the importance of the arts to a community, which came as a timely reminder during the conference from Steph Walker, Executive Director, Performance Space and former artistic director of the Christchurch Arts Festival.

After the devastating earthquakes hit Christchurch in 2011, the once bustling city centre was left in ruins and people living in the city were without water, electricity, sewerage and other basic services, some of them for up to a year. Amidst the death toll and sheer destruction The Christchurch Arts Festival was scheduled to run. With every single venue destroyed and the organising members themselves living in chaos, a decision was made to go ahead and stage the Festival. From reflective dance performances, wearable arts made from materials found amongst the ruins to celebratory music performances, the festival became the context for catharsis, connection and an opportunity to find joy and release in amongst the darkness. It was an uplifting moment during the sometimes depressing statistics emerging from the conference!

The 2011 Christchurch Arts Festival went ahead despite the earthquakes.

For arts industry professionals Arts Hub has long been the go-to-place for the best arts jobs with an array of professional development articles and resources. This particular conference had caught my eye because of its bent on my pet topic of Arts business models and latest best practice in strengthening the financial status of creatives and the arts in general. It certainly met the brief and I took home a swathe of resources, ideas and information that I’m excited to get blogging on, sharing and teaching with clients. For me three core topics stood out with varying degrees of positivity:

• The opportunity of philanthropy
• The inspiration vs perspiration argument
• The undoubtable power of the arts to inspire and connect communities.

The philanthropy ride started off well with Anna Draffin, Deputy CEO of Philanthropy Australia’s keynote presentation  ‘Make philanthropy work for you’ which had me inspired to consider philanthropy as the next big thing in arts funding. With generous gen Y-ers fronting up as potential lifetime donors and an enthusiasm from impact investors supporting social benefits of the arts as well as strengthening their financial position, it felt like an amazing opportunity for the arts to stabilise and improve its financial position through a diversified funding model that included philanthropists who would not only offer cash investments but share their knowledge, connections and business nous.

Unfortunately my utopian vision of a philanthropic arts industry was soon to be blown to pieces as the rollercoaster ride took a turn for the worse for me by the discussion panel, which left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and an overwhelming desire to quit the arts altogether and jump straight to the after conference drinking. I’m sure the aim was to provide insights and get everyone realistic and savvy in negotiating this new world of opportunities, but for me the discussion made me decidedly uncomfortable.

It seemed to me that the reality of philanthropy was that already overworked artsworkers (busting their arses for pitiful wages) should somehow find additional reserves of energy to pander to rich people’s whims and agendas. Not only should philanthropists be wooed with regular coffee meetings for years at a time with no assurance of a financial return, if they do eventually front with the cash all staff at said organisations should have framed pictures of these esteemed benefactors on their desks to ensure these donating heroes are welcomed by name and open arms. As we should appreciate how hard these philanthropists have worked for their dollar (even though in our poorly paid arts jobs we will be lucky to even own our own homes but work just as hard) we must approach with care and decorum, certain not to offend or misstep with our requests.   The pragmatist in me sees that a corporate schmoozing model can work if built in carefully to organisational funding structures and workplans but the realist and burnt out artsworker in me says unless terms of engagement are vastly overhauled philanthropy will certainly not be the silver bullet for a majority of creative businesses and organisations.

Next thought was based on some Australia Council for the Arts statistics. According to the research data four months after graduating more than half of arts graduates can expect to still be job hunting. According to the ABS the average wage of people in full time employment is $74,724. Arts administrators and managers, who must have university qualifications, can fight it out for full time wages of between $41,000 and $80,000, with the higher end reserved for a select few, usually with decades of experience and postgraduate education.   Staff retention levels are dismal, way worse than even health, possibly due to an unstable and politically driven funding model that sees positions swaying in the breeze of uncertain finances. And for artists living off their creative work the news is (of course) worse, 64% are earning less than $10,000 per year. And did I mention if you’re a woman in the arts, you’ll likely earn less than your male counterparts? So where was the good news in all of this?

From my perspective the positive could be taken from another set of statistics that says talent is only accountable for 11% of the important factors that influence your ability to succeed in the arts. So for creative types disintegrating into a mess of self-defeating, tortured artist angst there is some hope. Tony Stephens, former plumber and now esteemed Director at the very successful Artbank thanked his plumbing past for a connection it gave him to the average Aussie. His observations also echoed the same kind of sentiment that critically acclaimed talent can sometimes be meaningless to the lay person who likes what they like. So with raw, critical “talent” lowered down the ranks there is an opportunity for creatives willing to get their hands dirty.

The rest of the stats distribution sees hard work and persistence at 29%, passion and self-motivation at 27%, support and encouragement at 13%.

Which means get yourself some good work habits, stick at it, surround yourself with positive and supportive people and your passion and drive might get you over the line regardless of an otherwise dismal picture. These factors may even push you into the 10% of artists who make more than $50,000 a year.

It reminded me of a favourite quote of mine by Pablo Picasso: “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”

For practitioners of the arts and those working to support its creation we are in a position to bring healing, celebration and interconnection to our combined life experience and in my book those are great reasons to keep searching for ways to make the industry survive and indeed thrive.

For Northern Rivers artists and creative industry businesses who find them selves overwhelmed by the practicalities of thriving in this tough industry and are in need of some support and encouragement Christina Giorgo offers help. She has been living and breathing the realities of the arts industry for almost 20 years and has turned her attention to helping artists to switch their business minds into gear and supporting them to create action plans aimed to inspire and motivate. She is running a weekend intensive at Brunswick Valley Community Centre on November 15^th and 16^th. The weekend intensive costs $120 for two mornings of guided plotting and planning including morning tea. Email [email protected] for a registration form. Places are strictly limited in order to provide each artist and creative business with a level of tailored support.

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Are you starting a new business or thinking about it?  Or have you even begun a business but are not sure if you’re on the right track?  If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, and you live in the Shire or therabouts, StartInno’s Startup Academy has a seminar for you…

StartInno’s Startup Academy is holding a three hour seminar in Byron Bay where you can hear stories and practical advice from coaches, creators, founders and investors, those who have been there, done it and ‘worn the tee-shirt’. Learn how they got started, what went right and wrong, what surprised them and what happened as their companies grew. Take this opportunity to tap into a little inside knowledge and utilise the Q&A time to ask the questions that need to be asked.

Their  professional panelists are business performance coach Jan Terkelsen; marketing expert Jane Laverty; small business and economic development specialist Andy Crawley,  and  lead generation marketing and innovation management advisor Dan Swan.

Who, what, where and when

Venue: SAE Byron Bay

Friday November 7, 2014 from 2pm – 5pm

$60 per person, includes the networking food and drinks

The event is followed by at networking function hosted by StartInno, Byron Bay’s new startup incubator and co-working space – 4/8 Banksia Avenue, Byron Industrial Estate. https://www.startinno.com

 For further information and quotes please contact Dan Swan – CEO Startinno on 0415 124 475

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Art & Logic: Business planning for creatives with Christina Giorgio.

 Christina Giorgio has been involved in the arts and cultural sector for almost 20 years. She’s worked as a full time community cultural development coordinator and as a strategic planner she’s created numerous arts business plans.  As an event coordinator she’s produced arts events ranging from exhibitions and installations to performances and festivals.  Christina studied film and theatre at university and has a certificate IV in business. These days she’s the owner of Creative Consultancies and from her base near Byron Bay she’s turning her attention to helping the ‘creatives’ of the Northern Rivers understand the importance of a great business plan.

“As a musician, film maker and writer, I get it. For creative types the concept of business planning seems tantamount to extinguishing creative mojo and about as enjoyable as poking yourself in the eye.    But as Thoreau so aptly put it “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

Sure the road to great creative success is often lined by lucky breaks and serendipitous turns of fate, but too often the road is also paved with poverty, depression and mind numbingly banal day jobs. As creatives we have lofty dreams but succumb to inertia when it comes to action, at other times we are a frenzy of production, and sometimes we work so hard that our dogged attempts to carve out a living from our ‘art’ kills the creative passion.

This is where the business plan comes into its own.  Whether you’re a visionary dreamer, prolific creator or master hard worker, all three aspects need to be pumping in unison – and to me there are three core ingredients for achieving your creative goals.  Vision, direction and hard work. They’re all important.  They’re all essential. I think of it as going on a road trip.  You need to work out where you’re going, check your road map and plan out your route and finally jump in the car and drive.

I meet lots of artists and creative people who have one or two of these factors down pat.  They have ideas, drive and passion in spades, but they also have cupboards filled with unsold CDs and spare rooms lined with galleries full of artwork.  Put a plan in place and you can create a framework that supports the areas you struggle with and nurtures the aspects you’ve refined.

If you think some support in creating a workable and visionary plan would help you get on track why not join me and other creative types for a weekend of plotting and planning on November 15 and 16 at the community centre in Brunswick Heads?

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Byron Bay business consultant and mentor Sonia Friedrich looks at the price of living an ‘adapted’ life, and ways to find our way back to our authentic selves.

For most of us our life has become a recipe of other people’s beliefs. From early childhood we are told what we can and can’t do, and we behave accordingly or act out in some manner because of ‘learned response’. We soon learn how to manipulate to get what we want OR we stop asking for what we want because of the consequences.

We adapt to the circumstances around us and this creates reactions that we continue to live. We no longer believe we deserve it, whatever our it is. From something as small as a candy bar when we were a child, to as an adult believing we don’t deserve to have a successful business or relationship.

Our adult life often becomes the consequential adaptation to a series of beliefs and resulting behaviours from everything we’ve absorbed from our family and those in our social environment as the “right way to live”. We mould our world believing we needed the approval of others in the process, and this need for approval is often debilitating to our entire life. Many of us as adults find this hard to admit this or bother to take the time to listen to the words we speak and hear the beliefs they support. Let alone question if they are true for us.

A recent example shows this in action. A few weeks ago the government announced a “be alarmed” campaign about terrorism. I was speaking to a friend who said she was seriously considering not going to the grand final of the football because there might not be enough security. She is a committed fan and two days before she was definitely going to the grand final. And now politicians said something that she heard as ‘it might not be safe for me, I could be killed’. Nothing else in this equation had changed. The media alert was concocted to support going to war. Was there a real threat? In my mind, no. In hers, yes. And YES, she did end up going to the grand final. Did anything happen? No – apart from her team losing. Most of us do this every day. We let external influences dictate and overshadow our life. Most of us are unconscious to the influences that impact and change our thinking and behaviour.

How do we become authentic again?

Having adapted so much it can be difficult to know who we actually are and where our authenticity lies. Most people have never truly listened to the words that come out of their mouth to ask themselves:

• “Where did this answer come from?”
• “Who said it to me?”
• “Who’s voice is it really? Is it mine?”
• “What do I believe?”
• “Is what I am saying to others actually what comes out of my mouth?”

Becoming an observer to our own self provides awareness as to whether we are living an authentic or adapted self. Begin to listen to your own words. Hear how often in a day you say what you don’t believe. Ask the questions above to find out where the answer came from and when the first imprint was made. You may get a rude shock. You may have spent a lifetime supporting beliefs that are not yours. This adaptation of life, to the whims and beliefs of others, is what creates our adapted self. It has been learned, so with consciousness, it can be unlearned.

Find your voice again

In stillness and silence you can find your voice again. Tune back into your heart and re-learn your own opinions and beliefs from the life experiences you have had to date. If you don’t know what you believe, don’t answer. It’s o.k. not to offer an opinion. It is o.k to say: “I don’t know”. Give yourself permission and create the space to hear your inner voice.

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”
~ Carl Jung

 Feel again

Our ability to feel what is true for us as individuals is critical. We have a society that shuns emotion, yet emotion is what keeps us true to our ‘self’. Continuing to suppress emotions causes contraction and keeps us in a state of constant adaptation. Being vulnerable and honest enough to feel will reconnect you with who you are and the authenticity you had as a child. Learning how to cope with our lives we often lose parts of this innocence – until we may reach a place where we have given so much that the core of who we are is lost. We learn how to mask our feelings so we don’t get hurt. Each time we compromise a little piece of ourselves and adapt to a situation, rather than voice and stay with our authentic self, we lose another part of who we are.

We live an authentic life when everything we think, believe, say and do occurs from a place of alignment with our soul. It is complete and true honouring of the self.

Sonia Friedrich is a Mentor and Business Consultant and works with Directors wishing to align their personal and professional life. Call Sonia 0412359424 or visit: soniafriedrichphotography

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