Budgeting is often seen as a mundane task, overshadowed by the allure of creativity and the pursuit of artistic passions. However, for creatives, mastering the art of budgeting is essential to ensure financial stability, pursue their artistic endeavors, and ultimately thrive in a world that often values art but doesn't always pay the bills. In this blog, we'll explore the importance of budgeting for creatives, provide practical tips, and reveal how a well-structured budget can be a tool for artistic freedom rather than a constraint.

Woodstock has remained culturally relevant for over 50 years. I have seen the movies and documentaries, read the books and spent time getting to know the wonderful human behind it all. Here are five key lessons I have learned about business and being an entrepreneur from Woodstock and its founder, Michael Lang.

Fear and doubt are what stop most people from becoming an entrepreneur, along with the idea that getting a "safe" job is more practical. The reality is that our fears and doubts are often based in irrational worst-case scenarios and becoming an entrepreneur is not necessarily that impractical.

If happiness is your goal, if thriving on a day-to-day basis is what you desire most, then you must budget for and invest in the following areas.

Your creativity—your original ideas and works of value—is the one thing that only you can bring to this world. Your life purpose, therefore, must be rooted in the expression of your creativity.

Your plan for success requires five key elements: purpose (or goal), capital (or resources), team, structure and process. Where most plans fall short is in understanding your capital. Too often, we confine our understanding of assets to traditional financial capital (i.e., money). While important, and great if you have them, financial resources are the scarcest and make up only a small portion of the assets you have at your disposal.

HBO's original series "Succession" focuses on a dilemma many entrepreneurs face: what happens to the empire they build when they retire or die? This article discusses the complexity of business, wealth and legacy succession planning.

The success of an influencer marketing campaign rises and falls on the authenticity of the creative, their relationship with the sponsored brand and the message being delivered. The problem facing influencer marketing today is that influencers are largely not seen as genuine or authentic at all. If you really want to create authentic content, follow these steps.

Will Smith — the sometimes rapping, oftentimes acting, always captivating kid from Philadelphia — just released his first memoir aptly entitled, Will. The prologue to the book is entitled "The Wall" and it tells the story of how when Smith was 11 years old, his father made him and his younger brother build a large wall in front of his father’s shop. It took nearly a year, but eventually they finished constructing the wall. When it was complete, Smith’s father stood next to his two children looking at their accomplishment and said, “Now, don’t y’all ever tell me there’s something you can’t do.” The most profound lesson, however, did not come out of completing the wall (after all, we have all heard that hard work pays off); rather, it occurred early on in the process.

Creativity is part of human nature. We are all creative in that we possess some form of creative intuition — that inner voice that speaks to us from time to time and seems to spontaneously produce ideas. As a species, we have a conscious awareness of self and, as a result, see and experience the world through our own unique lens. It is our unique lens — our perspective — that gives way to our creative intuition and our ability to produce original ideas of value. Unfortunately, many of us lose touch without our creative intuition over time and either bury it deep down inside so that it is not heard or we simply choose to ignore it. The good news is that it is always there, and there are ways to channel it.

This article discusses four major sources of stress in an entrepreneur's life that can be easily let go, freeing up the time and energy needed to focus on the problems that matter and that they were meant to solve.

I have spent most of my professional career asking the question: What does life purpose mean and how does one find and fulfill it?

If you have been invested in the stock market the past several years, you have probably done pretty well for yourself in terms of your financial return. Still, you have probably overlooked the most important investment you could possibly make with the greatest potential return: relationships. Social capital, or your relationships, is one of four types of capital you have and, for the reasons discussed in this article, is the one with the overall greatest return in your life.

The 2021 NFL Draft came to a close early last month with some 259 young athletes officially beginning their professional football careers. They will enter the NFL believing that this is their life purpose. Well, unfortunately for them, it is not. The reality is that all athlete’s will be unable to physically play their sport for their entire lifetime, with most retiring or having their careers end before they are the age of 30 years old. To the extent that you understand your life to have meaning, purpose and value in this world, surely that does not all end before you turn 30, right? While playing sports may not be the answer itself, understanding why an athlete plays sports may very well be the key.

If you are a creative person, then you know that creativity is not something you choose—it chooses you. Creativity, ideas, are thrust upon us. We are compelled by what feels like a force outside of ourselves, at least outside of our conscious mind, to create. All of a sudden, like lightning reigning down from the gods, we are struck with an idea. We hear a song, or a lyric. We have a vision. A story comes to mind to express an emotion or truth. The solution to a previously unsolvable problem becomes apparent. What once seemed like random events or occurrences suddenly piece together like some divine puzzle. It is instantaneous and feels neither willed by us nor within our control. So, what is it?

Following the passing of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen, another guitar legend—Steve Vai—penned a thoughtful tribute to Eddie’s “genius.” It is a rare opportunity to read one creative genius’s insights about the creativity of another. The result is a short essay about creative intuition that applies to anyone and everyone, not just guitar enthusiasts or musicians. This article discusses three key lessons about creative intuition we all need to know.

The Beach Boys have sold a controlling stake in their intellectual property—including their master recordings, a portion of their publishing, the Beach Boys brand, and their memorabilia—to a new company created by music mogul Irving Azoff called Iconic Artist Group. While a lot of artists, particularly heritage acts like the Beach Boys, are thinking about their estate planning—after all, they have families and complex financial concerns—and they are also thinking about their legacies, but the two are not the same.

The music industry has seen a flurry of music catalogs being sold recently, most notably Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks. Many articles have been written speculating as to why there has been such an increase in activity. While historically high valuations is certainly part of the equation, “estate planning” has also been seen as a motivating factor. According to at least one source, other artists like Dolly Parton may be looking into selling their catalogues for this very reason. But there is a problem: selling your music for “estate planning” purposes is a bad idea.

If you haven’t heard, it’s true—Bob Dylan sold the rights to his music publishing catalog. Why, you ask? The short answer, and the one that has fans and the internet grumbling, is money. The real question, however, is what purpose or goal will the proceeds from the sale of his catalog be used to achieve?

Purpose, your social and cultural impact, is what will undoubtedly fuel our economy in the near future. Purpose, of course, starts with you—the human, the creative mind behind the ideas upon which companies and brands are built. Without you, there is no purpose. The other driving factor behind any successful business is authenticity. So, you cannot launch a business premised on just any old purpose, it must be a purpose authentic to you, one that you genuinely believe in. In other words, it must be your purpose.