The Unreasonable Advantage of Creative Entrepreneurs
In the past ten years, I’ve worked with myriad types of clients, from industrial rubber belt manufacturers to human rights activists. But it wasn’t until I walked down the beach of Donegal, Ireland, with big wave surfer Easkey Britton, that it struck me that actually, entrepreneurs really only come in two flavors. And once you know which type you are, you can make it your Unreasonable Advantage.
The first type of entrepreneur draws inspiration from the market and sees an opportunity where an unmet need exists. I call them the Analytical Entrepreneurs. These are usually the business-savvy guys & girls who live to build new ventures, conquer markets, increase margins, and dream to scale to global domination. They are focussed on one thing and sleep underneath their desk if that is what it takes to be first to market.
The second type of entrepreneur is focused inward, combining a personal passion with professional expertise. This entrepreneur has to hope that eventually there will be a market that values what they do, or they will have to work really hard to make that market themselves.
Don’t get me wrong: the Analytical Entrepreneur needs quite a bit of creativity to get an original insight, and to deal with unexpected setbacks. And the Creative Entrepreneur will need a lot of analysis and rational thinking to make their plans reality. But indulge me for a moment.
Of the category Creative Entrepreneurs, Dr. Easkey Britton is a formidable example. Britton is an accomplished athlete, holds a PhD in marine science, and is an advocate for social change. This combination of talents seems irreconcilable. And for many years, people have been telling Britton to make a choice: it’s either surfing or science, it is either activism or research.
Easkey Britton’s three main roles: activist, surfer, and scientist. At the intersection of her interests lies the unreasonable advantage.
I’m very happy to have arrived at Britton’s doorstep this November to be able to listen to her story, and tell her, Easkey, please don’t ever change.
The trouble with the Creative Entrepreneur is that he/she is on a personal journey, one that is very hard for others to understand. This category of entrepreneurs is creating something that is the combination of talents and interests that were sometimes planted in them as early as childhood.
They are not satisfied by traditional mechanics (find the biggest audience) or rewards (find the biggest financial gain).
From the outside, these people are searching, and they could seem lost. Once the outside world finally gets it though, things could move very fast.
Why? Your unique combination of professional expertise and personal passion is where your unreasonable advantage lies.
Your combination of talents is so unique, that you can carve out an entirely new niche for yourself.
Think of people like Daan Roosegaarde (tech artist who calls himself a hippy with a business plan), Emer Beamer (educating children to design better futures using new technologies) or Nalden (online lifestyle curator who becomes global creative tech entrepreneur). These talents combine very different fields of interest into an entirely new product or service. When the world recognizes this, it falls in love.
Easkey mapping her audiences using my Brand Strategy Canvas Part 2
But let’s be honest: these success stories are few and far between. Just because you want to combine your passion for eradicating poverty with your expertise as a horse trainer doesn’t mean that you can build a successful venture on that combination. And the plain truth is that people need to be able to understand what you are about in order to support you. And that is difficult in a culture that is hard-wired to box people in using roles or job titles: for the average audience, a doctorate title clashes with that of a professional surfer. And we might want to judge such shortsightedness, but it is human nature.
So what is the answer to a stronger positioning when you don’t want to make a choice in your activities?
You could create an artificial focus: choose what is most valuable for you, communicate that well, and do all the other stuff underneath the radar. But that rarely is the right path.
It’s much more interesting to really dig down deep into what the common theme underneath your combination of activities is.
Often, there is a greater vision you are working towards: you know what you would like the world to look like. Often, you are on a mission that transcends your job title or activity. Once you find your essence, you can really start to power forward.
In her cottage in Donegal, Britton and I spent two days by the fire, digging through all her roles, activities, future projects, and dreams. And arrived at an essence that blew our minds with the possibilities that would flow from it. New project ideas emerged, and a whole new market emerged from between our post-its.
Transforming the cottage to a Brand Thinking workshop space using the glass doors and window markers as our blackboard
For anyone following this process, the next step will be hard. Check your activities: what will help you to realize your vision, and what does not? My position on your unreasonable advantage does not imply one can go through life without making any choices. If you are serious about making your vision a reality, stop doing what detracts from it, and start doing what adds to it. With a clear mission woven through everything you do, and communicating well about it, people will take notice.
Of course, I would love to see a world where great ideas will spread purely based on their own merit. But until that perfect world arrives, I want to make sure changemakers like Easkey Britton gets the tribe of followers they deserve. I can’t wait to see what will happen when she introduces the world to the surfers' way to social change. One thing I know for sure: the world will take notice.