One Question: What Inspires Your Creativity?

photo by Lara Schmidt

For each of the eight weeks of Lara's piddix internship I have created a list of set tasks. These pretty much always includes a book to read/review, several hours of work for piddix, as well as specific tasks for her own business, fraserhead. Last week I had a bit of an epiphany while I was putting together the intern assignment for the week: I was trying to create a mini-piddix. I had been showing Lara how to run a business in the exact same manner that I had done (too many hours working, too much stress). I had assumed that she, like me, was motivated by impossible goals and deadlines. But it turns out, Lara's goals are much more focused on learning, exploration and creativity (how fun and smart). In order to get a better sense of what motivates her, I asked Lara participate in my "one question" series and answer the following, and I love to hear from others what helps motivate your creativity, too:

Q: What inspires to to be creative?

A: Well, let me start by saying that there are many forms of creation, some of which I am good at, some of which I am not. Cooking and dancing, for example, happen to come very easily to me. I can dance and cook under almost any conditions without thinking twice. Then there are all the other acts of creation: drawing, singing, writing, painting, etc. that have taken on a life of their own and hover over me at night, snickering. To be creative in these ways requires a little bit of witchcraft on my part.

So what inspires me to be creative?

Riding my bicycle at night
The rain
Clean laundry
A beautiful book
Photography
Fresh cut flowers
A big stack of crisp paper
Beautiful patterns
A cute outfit
Talking and eating and drinking with friends
Music
Being alone

Essentially I need to feel at peace to create. But being creative is a bit of a torment for me. I've yet to reconcile the two, which is why I usually end up in the kitchen, cooking and dancing.

Now, which fire was I supposed to put out first?

Back when I was gainfully employed and someone else was paying the bills, my company sent me to one of those "professional development" workshops. It was surprisingly helpful (believe me, if you've been to one of these, you know why it's surprising). One of the main insights I gained that day came in the form of a Punnett-type square that looked a little like this (click to enlarge):

Essentially, the presenter said, when deciding which tasks to do, we often choose ones based on urgency rather than importance. These are the many fires we end up putting out daily--essential or not. And sometimes the most important, but non-urgent, tasks are left undone.

I too often fall into this trap. It's the pressing but not necessarily essential emails and convos that can take up a whole day, while other perhaps more boring but often more important tasks I should be doing (filling out forms, updating item descriptions) get pushed back once again.

This is one of the many reasons it's been both exciting and oh-so-helpful to have an intern, even if it's only a couple of hours per week, to whom I can assign these important tasks that often get left behind. In less than a month Lara has checked a dozen long-languishing tasks off the piddix to-do list including a complete re-design of this blog (isn't it lovely?).

Recently the Oregonian published a six-point test to identify the most "proper" and legal internships (rather than just unpaid work) including:

"2. The internship is offered for the benefit of the student or trainee; the position may actually hamper the business."

It's an important point to make. My Mondays especially are spent in prep work and meetings revolving around the internship and it often feels like I get little "real" work done. But then I look and see what the intern is accomplishing--those thorny essential-but-languishing tasks--and it is so worth it. Thanks Lara!

Finding Your Core

Last summer I spent hours upon hours at my in-laws exploring different ways to expand piddix. I had already analyzed piddix's strengths and weaknesses, but didn't quite know what to do next. Should I make a finished product (cards, jewelry), perhaps start crafts shows again? So to help address my conundrum my brother-in-law suggested reading Profit from the Core and Beyond the Core. The books themselves aren't great and are most-definitely dated. As this review points out, the first editions were written at the height of the dot-com era and use Enron as the example of an amazing company while amazon.com is seen as spreading itself too thin. But the theme of how to stay true to your core products, customers, and strengths is one I revisit every time I think of the best ways to expand piddix. This week intern-extraordinaire Lara has done a great job bringing out the most valuable information in both Core books. My suggestion? Skip the books and use Lara's excellent summary to help identify ways to grow your business while staying true to your strengths. And yes, my brother-in-law does wear a suit.

Profit From The Core, by Chris Zook with James Allen, 186 pages Beyond the Core, by Chris Zook 214 pages

Reviewed by Lara Schmidt of Fraserhead

Upon handing me these books, Corinna said, “These are the books men in suits read on planes.” Meaning these books are serious – in a Harvard Business School kind of way. This was a bit intimidating to me at first, especially since I don't even have business plan yet. The further along you are in your business—meaning, I suppose, the better you understand what you want and where you are going—the more useful this book will be to you. It is full of case studies, diagrams, charts and statistics that illustrate what makes companies succeed and what makes them fail. It will prompt you to take a very analytical look at your business to identify strengths and potential areas of growth. It asks good questions and encourages you to do the same.
Because I am still in the planning phase of my business, I skimmed through this book to find the pieces of information that might help me better understand the concepts and challenges I will face in developing my product and market share. While I still don't quite know what my “core” is yet, I feel better equipped knowing how to make it strong and lasting once I find it. If growing your business is important to you—and I think it certainly should be—this book will teach you where and how to look for new opportunities.

Thesis of Profit from the Core: “The foundation of sustained, profitable growth is a clear definition of a company's core business.” For some of you, defining the “core” of your business may be easy. If you're still wondering, however what a “core” is and where you might find yours, chances are you'll need to follow these steps:

Identifying the Core. Identify:

1. Your most potentially profitable franchise customers
2. Your most differentiated and strategic capabilities
3. Your most critical product offerings
4. Your most important channels
5. Other critical strategic assets that contribute to the above

Taking a broader look at the recipe for success, I found this outline very helpful from a planning perspective:

Three Steps to Success:

1. First, build market power and influence in the core business or in a segment of that business.
2. Having done that, expand into logical and reinforcing adjacencies around the core.
3. Then, shift or redefine the core in response to industry turbulence.

While both books preach that growth comes from the core, they also guide you through the process of identifying potentially successful adjacencies in which to expand.

Successful Adjacencies:

• come from the strongest cores
• have a repeatable characteristic that allows the company to build an adjacency machine that continually creates more growth opportunities of a similar nature
• the best place to look for adjacency opportunities is in the strongest customers, not in the search for the hottest markets
• the best adjacencies are driven by customer feedback

In summary:

1. Find your core and define it as clearly as possible.
2. Make your core your main priority. Build it strong
3. Use customer feedback to identify new products or capabilities for your existing customers.

As a final warning I should tell you that these books are not easy to read. They are full of jargon and sterile business acronyms. That said, they do a good a job of prompting you to take your business seriously. “It is the management team that applies rigor, not a vague sense of creativity or gut instinct, that wins the long-term adjacency game,” they argue. It's easy enough to forget that rigor isn't just for the Harvard Business School, it applies to us creative types, too. Suit and tie, or not.

Two great resources to brush up on your business savvy are:
Harvard Business School's Baker Library and MIT's free online courses from the Sloan School of Management.

If you have any advice about how you defined your core I'd love to hear it. Leave a comment!

Introducing the First-Ever piddix Intern

I'm thrilled to officially introduce you to Lara Schmidt of Fraserhead. Lara is the first-ever piddix intern (unless you count Declan and his help at the post office) and so far she's doing an amazing job. I asked Lara to answer four questions about herself to help you all get to know her a bit better.

1. Please introduce yourself.
My name is Lara Schmidt. I’m not really able to answer the question “What do you do,” and honestly, I hope it stays that way. In brief, I am a dancer, an English and French major, an employee at a really fabulous non-profit, a thrifter, a cook, a writer, a traveler, and of course the list could go on and on. I was raised in Central Washington and moved to Portland with my partner, Joe, 2 years ago. We love it here. I’m sure adventures will take us elsewhere, but for the moment, we enjoy the city, our dog Charlie, and making messes in our small apartment.2. What do you hope to gain from this internship?
I’m hoping to learn a lot by osmosis, but if I have to get specific:

• How to write/conceive a business plan
• Strategies for developing a business, product or service
• Sourcing materials
• Pricing
• Maintaining websites, blogs, and social media in the art/design/craft world
• Investing in your business
• Business accounting -- managing expenses and revenue

3. Why art?
I grew up a very dedicated, classically trained ballet dancer. I was good at dancing. When my career came to a sudden halt, I fell back on the other thing people told me I was good at: Writing. So I became an English Major. Recently, a little voice inside of me as been cheering, “Do something you think you’re bad at,” so here I am. I’ve always been intimidated by art and entrepreneurship. Thus, I figured this was a good place to start.
4. Where do you want your business to be in six months? In three years?
In six months I would like to have a clear view of the next few years, a business plan, a path to follow. I want my business to be earning revenue—preferably enough to pay the bills. Dream big, right? In three years I want my business to support me. Financially and emotionally. I either want to be in a business I love, or I want my business to allow me to do the things I love. Both would be great. We’ll see.

Book Nook: The Four Hour Workweek

I'm quite proud to introduce the first installment in a series of book reviews to be published over the next two months, written by piddix intern-extraordinaire Lara Schmidt of Fraserhead. These will all be the books that I've found helpful when creating and running piddix and will be read and reviewed by Lara. The first is from the first edition of "The Four Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss. I think Lara has definitely found the gems in this one.

The Four Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
Author: Timothy Ferriss
Pages: 308
Reviewed by Lara Schmidt

The mantra of this book is simple: There is no need to wait for the life you want and every reason not to. Its author, Timothy Ferriss, recognizes however that the barriers to personal fulfillment are both real and imagined—ranging from 80-hour work weeks to the undefined fear of not knowing what you want. His goal is two-fold: to help you identify your fears and passions, and to teach you to build efficient, automated businesses that will earn you money while you live the life of your dreams.

While Ferriss’ ego often upstaged his advice, he does have several valuable pieces of wisdom to impart. Here are the concepts I found most helpful:

Lifestyle Design: The art and science of creating luxury lifestyles by using the currencies of time and mobility. I found this definition too abstract but found the term itself immensely inspiring. Whereas the terms ‘life planning’ or ‘goal setting’ may feel obligatory and overwhelming, “lifestyle design” captures the whimsy and the creativity that should be present when imagining your perfect future.

Dreamlining: Applying timelines to what most would consider dreams. The chapter that covers dreamlining was, for me, the most fun but also the most daunting. As Ferriss says, “Dreamlining will be fun, but it will also be hard. The harder it is, the more you need it.” He gets the ball rolling by asking these questions, “ What would you do if there were no way you could fail? If you were 10 times smarter than everyone else?” I think the entire book hinges on these questions alone. He asks you to create two timelines, a six month and a twelve month, where you will list up to five things you dream of having, being, and doing—in that order. He encourages you to be honest. Don’t write, “Solve world hunger,” if “Own a Lamborghini” is actually higher on the list. The rest of the chapter walks you through six steps which involve setting priorities, determining a Target Monthly Income to support your dreams and identifying actionable steps that you can take immediately to get on your way.

The 80/20 Principle: 80% of the outputs result from 20% of the inputs. In other words: 20% of the work we do produces 80% of the desired outcome. Ferriss suggests you apply the 80/20 principle by asking yourself, “What 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness? Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?” You can apply these questions to all areas of your life. What ensues is an elimination of the inessential or aggravating aspects of business and life. Ferriss recommends cleaning house this way as often as you reasonably can.

Parkinson’s Law: A task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion. In other words, if we’re given a week to write a paper, it will take a week. If we’re given a day to write a paper, it will take a day. Parkinson’s Law is the reason we say, “I tend to work better under pressure.” To increase productivity Ferriss says we should: 1) Limit tasks to the important to shorten work time (80/20); 2) Shorten work time to limit tasks to the important (Parkinson’s Law). In this way, 80/20 and Parkinson’s Law work synergistically to help us work better, not more.

In short, this book offers several great pieces of information. The tone, however, felt very much like a late night infomercial, which I didn’t appreciate. My recommendation is to skim through the chapters first to see what grabs you. The activities Ferriss recommends (dreamlining, life design, etc.) are worth far more than the advice. In this case, 80% of the most useful information came from 20% of the content, but at least we know his theories work.

Getting Help

Image from Mary Engelbreit.

Is it just me, or do other small business owners have a hard time delegating, too? For many of the same reasons that I started piddix (I'm a perfectionist; I like to wear many hats), it's difficult to imagine bringing in someone else who would live up to the too-high standards I've set. Besides, it seems I would spend more time explaining to someone how to do a task (sending out orders, for example), than if I just did it myself. And what if they get it wrong? What if one of my customers isn't satisfied?

So if was with a bit of a knowing smirk that I listened to Mary Engelbreight--an artist who has been making a living with her art for 20+ years--talk about her first non-family-member employee:

"Finally I said I think I'm going to have to get some help to get all this done and we hired Stephanie (who is still my art director), and poor Stephanie sat there for three or four months. I wouldn't give her a single thing to do...I had this bizarre idea that I had to do every single bit of it myself. Of course, I got into it and figured out how to delegate and it was amazing."

I've had several people ask if they could intern with me, and it's always seemed a strange notion: why would anyone want to work with me just to learn? And for little (or no) money? What if they took all my secrets and ran? How much would they really help?

So with inspiration from the Engelbreit podcast, I decided to address my fears and hire an intern. I went out to lunch with my top pick, asked her a ton of questions, and came up with a plan and a clear understanding of what we both hope to receive from the internship (which I will put in writing). I'm creating weekly tasks and goals that we'll review during check-ins. I've even asked her to sign a non-compete and non-disclosure agreement, since sharing the secrets of how I track down my images was one of my many concerns about bringing someone in.

I'll be introducing the new intern here soon (stay tuned). And in the mean time, it's quite exciting to be working on a big ol' "hand off" list for the numerous items I need but haven't had a chance to do myself yet. I'll definitely let you know how the internship goes.