I have the privilege of working with artists. Whether they are called musicians, authors, or entrepreneurs, they are artists because they present their individual selves to the world. The artist may have a supporting cast, a team or employees, but they are undoubtedly the star. It works from a business perspective because as an artist, their individual contribution reflects reality as they see it. In essence, an artist gives the marketplace a new perspective. When they are successful, they contribute value. Their art sells!

I recently introduced a paradigm to an artist to look at their value contribution in three parts. The metaphor was to express herself in three persons. Each person is unique, but totally interrelated to each other. These persons are the product, the passion, and the personality. They are all distinct, but united in a human and ultimately commercial form.

The artist, as product, is what the marketplace sees and ultimately buys. The musician creates music to be enjoyed in a performance or downloaded. Work goes into the product. Upon acquiring it, the customer can enjoy it. Likewise, work goes into the artist’s passion. Loving is not easy. But when done properly, it is immensely pleasurable. The passion is the reason the artist wakes up to do it again. The personality is the aggregation of all experiences that go into the product and reflects the passion. The personality is the person that the marketplace sees, but can never truly have. It is the input for the individual enterprise.

In short, the marketplace consumes, is satisfied then seeks more of the artist’s work. For the successful artist/ businessperson the work continues to be great when these three persons perform in harmony. The market rewards the harmony because great art whets the appetite and consumers want more. Who would not want a business with customers emotionally connecting to the provider with the full expectation that the customer will return for more? It is good to be an artist who gets its three persons working well together! I get to help them.

By Glenn W Hunter
Principal of Hunter & Beyond