If I told you I could make a genie came out of this lamp and grant you three wishes for anything in the world you wanted would you believe it could really happen? How far are you willing to believe in what your imagination can do for you and your future as an artist? The truth of the matter is that...

Not everyone reacts the same and there is no universal fix. Don’t try to use all these fixes at once. Pick out items from this list and try them out until you find the right combination for you. Visualization strategies that can be used anytime Concentrate on how good you are at public speaking. Pretend...

Henry Fogel, the most well known executive director to orchestras and orchestral musicians around the world, gave this speech to The National Association of School Music administrators in November of 2009.  As I read it my heart jumped for joy! It is so deeply satisfying to see someone with so much...

Stephanie Sack changed prices at Vive La Femme from high-end to "cheap and chic," which "completely saved the business," she says. Photo: Erik UngerBy: Christina Le Beau November 09, 2009 Written By: Christina Le Beau  Crain’s Chicago Business, November 09, 2009 The “new...

Happy 10th anniversary SEA! The SEA conference is coming right up and if you have never attended you need to! Come learn more about how to turn your artistic passion into a living from other successful artists. What The Conference Offers In addition to keynote presentations, topic specific sessions...

As our summer programs for The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship™ begin to roll out, I find myself consistently thinking about just how much blue sky and open space there is in the world of entrepreneurship for artists. So many new businesses and new ideas to be implemented that no one else EXCEPT...

“Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is...

Looking to other people for cues as to how you are doing as an artist is a trap. It is a trap for a host of reasons. Here are some: 1.    People are not always honest. 2.    Sometimes people do not have good intentions. 3.    When the praise is good, it is never good enough and when it is bad,...

When you engage in the act of creating something new, if that thing develops roots and begins to take hold, you will find a mix of public reactions. You will likely hear lots of support from friends, family, colleagues, peers, well-wishers and others. Simultaneously, you will likely encounter sour pusses,...

So many artists, following graduation from school, flee to either New York or LA. What a shame. These markets are so oversaturated. Artists have been flocking to these cities for decades and there are, in these cities, tons and tons and tons of under working or non-working artists. Ideally, I believe,...

SPEAKING COACHES HELP ENTREPRENEURS GET THEIR MESSAGE ACROSS - BUSINESS - INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE  By Hillary Chura Published: Thursday, January 11, 2007 NEW YORK — Whether to appear more confident, better organized or to stop the “ums,” entrepreneurs are realizing good voice and...

Bite-Size Arts Ensemble Member, Dharmesh Bhagat, built this blue bike out of balloons for me. Isn’t it cute? What does your blue bike look like? Do you know? And what does it mean to build a blue bike anyway? To me, the journey of learning how to take the pain in your heart and transform it into...

Just got back from a wonderful clarinet-buying trip at Buffet-Crampon, the clarinet manufacturer I represent, who is in Jacksonville, Florida. It was an especially pleasant trip. My flights left and returned relatively on time, I was offered a convertible to drive as my rental car, and the B&B I...

I have read and re-read these two blog posts- one by ultra conservative art critic, Roger Kimball, and the other written by film maker, Patrick Courrielche, about The NEA working closely with the White House. I simply don’t understand what the hoopla is all about? What? Our government IS NOT ALLOWED...

What the world needs more than ever is to discover who we are. Do you know who you are? Still holding your one-way ticket there? Big hearts come from Art. YOUR IMAGINATION won’t dream small. Wear your art on your sleeve with me. Let me see you soar into the person you most want to become. Today...

Are you ready to learn how to dance your way through a land mine field for your best entrepreneurial idea? Or perhaps you need a better one to be willing to try…. Remember my friends from my post An Entrepreneurial Lesson and a Little Bit of Magic? Well, they seem to have fox trotted right past...

Most artists I know are terrified of failure. They beat themselves up for each mistake, and suffer bouts of depression with each rejection. Failure is viewed as the enemy, and one to be avoided at all costs. So they play it safe.  Really safe. But everyone fails. This is a simple fact of life, and there’s...

In September of 2010 The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship will open at 3020 N Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. As an independent but collaborative effort with Jim Hart’s Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts, IAE will be devoted to the development of the artist as entrepreneur. Lead by...

Summertime is the season for lemonade stands, especially when it’s hot outside. In my neighborhood they sprout like pink and yellow flowers, advertise with markers on neon poster-board signs. Lately, they have even been diversifying their offerings. In addition to the usual varieties of lemonade,...

Today I drove into Chicago to meet two women who run and own a two-year-old-child- development center. For the purposes of this post, they and their business will remain nameless, but the jist of their story I will share because it holds a few really important entrepreneurial lessons…. and a little...