A dear friend of mine recently sent me a link to an inspiring talk about the creator economy, highlighting the significance of creators and communities, the vital role of true fans, and the journey of a creative individual who devoted many years to creating without receiving financial rewards.

My assumption is that the dreams, plans, and goals of every creative person are to create and then to create more, and then even more, and to share our work with the world, and let it live its own life. These are certainly my intentions. And if you live in a world like mine, where rents and invoices are due, you might also hope your creations bring financial rewards, as all work should.

Statistics highlight that mothers spend hundreds of hours working for free without any financial compensation.

I understand the comparison might not seem fair, but for the sake of this metaphor, allow me to draw it. Creative people give birth to creations and ideas, most of which are done for free. Most creatives I know create because they cannot imagine doing anything else. They do it between other jobs that allow them to pay their bills, but if possible, they would spend all their time immersed in the world of creation and creativity. This is where their passion and soul reside, among all the ideas and creations, from one finished project to the next, which in the meantime got distracted and went to bother someone else.

To be clear, I can totally imagine doing other things—I’m sure I will come up with many more ideas for spending my time on Mother Earth, and maybe one day I will totally abandon writing, creating (digital) art, delivering creative strategies, and being a full-time entrepreneur. But, before that happens, expect me to stick around. Because creating, creativity, creative skills, designing and running experiences, writing speeches, delivering them at conferences, and creating digital art collections for these events is where my creative genius resides at the moment. And yes, this might sound boring to some, but for me, my friends, it’s where I thrive.

I bring up this topic because it drives me nuts when people expect me and other creatives I know to work for free (or are unhappy when I ask to be compensated for the above work), and to complete a small or huge project for free because I’m “just a creative” or because it seemingly comes so easily to us. What a twisted narrative we live in!

Now, imagine you go to a dentist and expect them to work for free because, well, it comes so easily to them, or to a private tutor or a teacher (sorry, you anyway don’t earn enough), or an IT developer. They would most likely laugh and ask you to look elsewhere. Of course, this is a generalization, but you see my point. There are surely instances where everyone commits their time and volunteers for necessary causes. But you get my point.

My question to you today is: How do you, as a creative person in any form or shape, navigate this? And how can we all ensure that creative people are properly compensated for their time and work?

#CreatorEconomy #Creativity #Arts #CreativeJourney #Entrepreneurship

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P.S. If you’re in Switzerland, join us for the Creative Business Shower.