9780321843104

Living the Dream is a business book for creative people. It provides the insights and action steps they need to confidently put their skills and passions to work, to make the best business decisions possible, all in service of the ultimate goal--to make a living doing what they love. This inter-disciplinary, no-holds barred guidebook is for emerging and established creative small business owners. It delivers management, marketing ideas, and principles that can make independent creative work stress free and financially rewarding. Living the Dream is void of useless references to big companies, celebrity CEOs, or industry inbreeding. Instead, it gives creative people the real goods on proven business-building strategies without all the mumbo jumbo. This powerhouse of a book is focused on how to be successful and creative as a freelancer or small business owner. Through interviews, case studies, and features, the industry pros and subject matter experts provide the wisdom, objectivity, and context that creatives need. It's all about being creative and getting paid.

Corwin Hiebert is a successful small business owner whose boutique firms (Taendem Agency and Creative Speakers Bureau) provide management and marketing services to creative entrepreneurs, educators, and visual artists, including world-renowned photographer and author David duChemin. As the co-founder of both CREATIVEMIX (an ideation community) and Clamorate.com (resources for creative freelancers), Corwin passionately helps creative people turn their dreams into reality one good business decision at a time. He lives the dream with his wife and business partner Eileen Rothe in Vancouver, Canada.

PART 1: MANAGEMENT

1. Establishing Your Creative Capital
• Defining and Refining Your Skills
• Finding Your Creative Mix
• Being Educated and Getting Schooled
• Creative Work Should Be Hard
• Turning Your Assets into Value

2. Planning For Success
• Being in Business With Yourself
• Clarifying Your Business Offering
• Understanding Your Marketplace
• Preparing a Business Plan that Doesn’t Suck

3. Creating a Workflow That Works for You
• Winning the Battle And The War
• Making the Most of Your Home Office
• Build a Schedule that You’ll Love
• Planning a Project Like a Smarty-Pants

4. Making the Most of Your Meetings
• Running a Meeting
• Attending a Meeting
• Selling at a Meeting

5. Getting Clients to Love You
• Understanding Your Clients’ Needs and Wants
• Establish a Scope of Work
• Fitting In and Standing Out

6.Getting the Law on Your Side
• Letting the Legal Beagle Out of the Dog House
• Starting Your Business on the Right Foot
• Doing Deals that Make Sense
• Putting Your Legal Documents into Action

7.Understanding Those Pesky Finances
• Risking It All Without Risking Your Future
• Building a Pricing Strategy
• Asking for Money and More
• Borrowing Money and Making It Count

Part I Summary: Your Management Style

PART II: MARKETING

8. Generating Demand for Your Services
• Eliciting Curiosity
• Developing Auteur-like Attitude
• Creating a Marketable Brand
• Putting Your Brains and Your Brand into Action

9. Building a Marketing Strategy
• Creating a Marketing Plan That Doesn’t Suck
• Preparing a Marketing Mix
• Focusing on Bottom Line ROI
• Assessing Your Marketing Impact
• Planning a Think & Drink

10. Doing Self-Promotion Right
• Adjusting Your Attitude About Selling
• Succeeding Through Subtle Persuasion
• Fostering Real Word of Mouth

11. Making Your Mark Through Collaboration
• The Collaboration Effect
• Finding the Right Collaborators
• Choosing the Right Project
• Making a Collaboration Awesome
• Building a Buzz
• Being a Fan and a Follower

12. Networking in the Real World
• Being the Lone Ranger Not a Loner
• Creating Your Own Sphere of Influence
• Building a Proximity Plan

13. Creating a Web-presence
• Shaking Your Digital Head(space)
• Marketing to Your Social Networks
• Leveraging Your Digital Assets

14. Producing Collateral Not Damage
• Making Your Creative Work Touchable
• Putting Your Business Card in its Place
• Portfolios and All That Jazz

Part II Summary: Your Marketing Style

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

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Living the Dream Putting your creativity to work (and getting paid)

Living the Dream Putting your creativity to work (and getting paid)

032184310X

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

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