Turning your Child’s Creativity into Entrepreneurship

Now before we get into this topic, here’s a fun fact “What is the difference between EQ, IQ and LQ?” Stay with me till the very end of the podcast to get the answer!

One of the most watched if not THE most watched TED talk with 19M views was given by Sir Ken Robinson 13 years ago — ‘Do schools kill creativity.’ I’m pretty sure you’ve at least heard of this video and the impact it’s had on the dialogue that business has with or about education and vice versa. You see, in this video Sir Ken Robinson says that creativity is just as important as english or maths to which he rightfully receives a standing ovation.

But here’s the problem, that was 13 yr ago and I think you’ll agree that most people still believe that schools kill creativity. Now it’s worth saying that I don’t think this is a problem for Sir Ken Robinson to ‘fix’ , in my view he’s done his job. Many of my very good friends are teachers, as is my wife and the thing that most (not all), but most entrepreneurs don’t realise is, that educators agree with Sir Ken and with the value of entrepreneurship for children.

Even the department for education has invited entrepreneurs into their hallowed domain to discuss the value of entrepreneurial thinking to develop character and more.

So then I hear you ask, what’s the problem. A few days ago I mentored a young budding music entrepreneur. For the sake of this article we’ll call her Sabrina. I mentored Sabrina via our app called AskUltra - yes shameless plug!

Sabrina said that she wants to become a professional singer and make a full time living from it — she’s 14 years old currently. The problem is that she has no one in her social circles who can help her achieve that, her music teacher in school is just that — a teacher, not a business person and so (until she was recommended the app) she was trying to figure it all out herself.

Now I can tell you similar stories of our students wanting to exercise their creative disciplines from fashion, art, writing, dance and acting. The penny has dropped for a growing number of children and young people that they can wrap a business model around their creativity and make money from it.

However, in traditional educational environments, creativity is taught to a syllabus which doesn’t require them to consider the commercial aspect of that creative art. In short, they’re taught the skill but not how to make money from the skill and by the time they are which is usually 16+ let’s be honest, the creative arts aren’t really given the credit they deserve AND the options are usually to get a job and work for someone rather than creating your own employment and setting up a business.

Now I’m sure Sabrina won’t mind me sharing her initial challenge especially because it helps me to address the title of this podcast — turning your child’s creativity into entrepreneurship.

One of reasons why I always say it’s important to do what you love isn’t just because kids get a warm feeling inside it’s because if they don’t love it they probably won’t spend the very long time it will take them to become good at it.

Charlie Demilio — and if you don’t know who that is ask your kids, is the most popular person on TikTok because people love the way she dances. Now everyone dances on TikTok, what makes her so different, well, because now in her teens she’s been dancing since she was a little girl, probably 10 years + , and she just happened to find the platform which rewards her for that specific skill.

Consistency leads to mastery which usually doesn’t happen overnight and is something we need to help kids understand so that they start to have an appreciation for the long term and not the overnight success which they’ve been bombarded with online.

Back to Sabrina, the point here is that I had to separate in her mind the skill she’s developing, her craft if you will, from the mechanics of business which is what will, assuming she’s reached a sufficient skill level, enable her to make money — repeatedly.

She’s already good at singing but isn’t good at business and so needs to accelerate that side of her skill set so that she’s not reliant on a third party to help her monetise her craft. And if she does, she’ll know exactly when and in what measure to onboard that help.

As odd as this might sound I discussed with her the problem she needs to solve. You see with anything creative people are drawn to it for a reason. A reason that solves a problem for them. That reason could be beauty, the way something looks or sounds, inspiration, to make them feel happy, to make them feel sad, to remember or celebrate history, culture, help them work or study or just to add something to their new room or home.

We listen to music, buy art, watch movies and go out to be entertained because we’re solving problems of loneliness, lack of motivation, boredom, upset, need a way to celebrate, buying gifts, nostalgia and so on.

So, Sabrina had to think about the music she’s making and how she wants to make her audience feel and how that would be used commercially. Does she have songs she can sing at a wedding, a business conference, a kids party or to go viral on Youtube.

Or is her audience Gen Z, millennials, what demographic of listeners is she targeting? Now don’t get me wrong, if Sabrina wakes up one morning with a song in her head and records it then that’s the creative process she needs space for.

But unless she knows how to direct that song then the likelihood of it getting a million plays on Soundcloud is low unless she’s lucky. And yes some artists do get lucky but luck isn’t a blueprint to start with and as we teach our young entrepreneurs luck is opportunity meets preparedness. So if you can’t control the opportunity you can at least control the preparation.

I told Sabrina that she needs to think about how her music (and again, this applies to any creative discipline) is packaged because the shopfront today are the online platforms be they Soundcloud or Etsy and the first thing many people will see is a title, short description and thumbnail.

So start experimenting with those elements of the package to see what represents your art but clearly conveys the message you want to send. We discussed where her music will be categorised and given playlists today are the thing, what type or types of playlists did she want to appear on.

Let me pause for a minute and explain more clearly what I’m doing in this process so that you as a parent or teacher can do the same. I’m simply unpacking what’s already out there. Looking at what Sabrina views as a successful outcome, whether it’s a poppin’ Soundcloud page or the profile of a professional singer who’s fully booked and borrowing from those examples — simply highlight the very obvious elements of what makes them successful and as a start — copy it.

Not copy the art but copy the mechanics. What 5 or 10 things have they done that in this case Sabrina, can copy in her own way to start building the packaging around her art?

But then we add a layer of innovation or awareness to the mix. For example, The Microsoft flagship store in London has a DJ playing tunes in front of a massive screen inside the store as soon as you walk in. Why not ask him to play your song or ask the store manager if you can sing live?

And if they’re not sure if you’ll drive people out of the store, maybe prove your worth before the doors open. I went to a conference a few years ago at the British library organised by the association of business mentors founded by Kerrie Dorman. In the drinks reception, I’ll always remember they had a background singer who kept us all entertained in a very high brow, sophisticated way. Both of these examples are ones Sabrina hadn’t thought about but are totally accessible to her.

Now when I talk about packaging it’s really this is another way of saying sales and marketing. The traditional creatives dilemma is usually because they are emotionally attached to the work that they feel (not necessarily believe) that everyone should see what they’re seeing and value it in the same way. But unfortunately, we all see things very differently.

You might have written the most amazing story, but if the book cover isn’t appealing and the marketing blub doesn’t grab me then I’m less likely to buy. But again, this thought process requires the student to view their product in the eyes of someone who doesn’t see it like they do and to an extreme doesn’t care.

But if the creative can package and present in an authentic way why someone should care, with a hook that gets them interested in the first place — then someone like Sabrina can make that dream, that goal, come true. And you can help your child or student do the same.

Now, as promised the answer to the fun fact which was “What is the difference between EQ, IQ and LQ?” Speaking at the OECD conference, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma said students would need three Qs to succeed in the future of work: EQ, IQ and LQ — LQ being the quotient of love. His formula is not to focus on curriculum but on students’ capacity to love.

He says — “If you want to be successful, you should have very high EQ (emotional intelligence), a way to get on with people.” “If you don’t want to lose quickly, you should have a good IQ,” he added. But “if you want to be respected, you should have LQ — the quotient of love,” he concluded. “The brain will be replaced by machines, but machines can never replace your heart.”

Now, thank you for reading until the end of this article! If you’ve enjoyed this piece please share it with a parent or teacher who wants to support the next generation of entrepreneurs. See you next time — ultra and out.

Join this special, one-off online masterclass and learn how you can become a social media influencer! click here to register.