Ness Labs Creative Hour

How do I feel about being a creator? Responsibility

What is the difference between a creator and an artist, a freelancer, an entrepreneur, and an influencer?

I feel like they are different things on the creator scale. I could rank them perhaps? Like an artist has the least concern over money Then the creator and then the freelancer and then the entrepreneur

The influencer doesn’t seem to really fit in this paradigm.

I think of myself as both a creator and an entrepreneur

• The creator side is me
  • It’s my thoughts and my ideas
  • It’s my experiences
  • It’s how I put my own thoughts together in health
  • How I combine everything together
• The entrepreneur side is the business
  • I think right now there is systems that need to get into place
  • Like background stuff to make it cleaner
  • systems and products
  • But it all flows from the creator

The creator has ideas, and combines his experiences in some really interesting ways. and then thinks of things he would like to do make products or help people

The creator used to be a teacher, and that’s why the creator likes to just go and do things

• The entrepreneur is thinking of systems and building things

Why do some people want to become a creator, and not others?

That’s a good question It’s risky

I think there was a financial incentive for sure I wanted the freedom The ability to be with my wife

But when I think about it, it wasn’t so easy because I wasn’t making enough money anyway

So when I reflect on my own experience— it’s because of the pandemic and the freedom that came with that experience that really allowed me to see how nice it is to balance time at home with work and fulfilling projects

This was balance that I’ve never had before.

Maybe some people are already quite comfortable with work and they’ve found the stability- and they’re completely okay with that.

There are other ways to be creative— without being a creator.

I can imagine if you have a stable job, and enough free time, then you can be creative in different ways.

People really do have to express themselves creatively. And there are so many different ways to do that.

For me, because of the nature of my work— it’s not going to be convenient. Or I was not in a position where it would work.

i.e. I don’t have a job where you just clock out.

Even when I was a teacher, it was full time— always thinking about school and work. So it was very creative, but also very demanding.

But once I got married, and my responsibilities changed, I couldn’t devote all my free time to being creative in my work.

I have to also be creative with my marriage, and my future family. So I think that’s what the creator is able to do.

It’s about expression of self

But also being creative

So I think you have to be creative in some way.

• Your creative expression is your profession more explicitly

What are the risks of being a creator? (not just financial, think about your mental health, relationships, etc)

• I think the risk is that there’s a blur.

• A blur between work, and who you are- and how you express yourself online.

• It takes a bit more to clock out and let go

• obviously there’s the financial

• It’s less a risk and more of a trade-off. I really did enjoy being in a physical space and connecting with colleagues, meeting interesting people

It happened differently before. I just had to be in the same place It was passive- and there was a lot of serendipity Now I have to be very intentional about it

What is the most exciting part of being a creator

Bringing different ideas together. Taking my unique experiences And putting them together into my own unique story and bringing things that no one thought could be connected into one another.

This is why I feel like it’s hard to separate the business from the self.

When I’m thinking of it as an entreprenuer, I’m thinking of it in terms of systems Policies, Business principles.

But when I’m thinking as a creator— it’s me and my ideas. My vision of art and health and wellness and How I bring that together uniquely in my person

What advice would you give someone who wants to become a creator?

To take small bets Publish often Embrace the journey Put yourself out there. Meet people and connect with other creators.