In March 2011 I joined David duChemin for an 11-day stint on his epic road trip and I brought along a DSLR camera – I had never used a camera like this before. When using a camera I am normally unfocused, flippant, and uninspired. So, on this road trip I decided to explore my creativity from behind the lens; I wanted to practice the art of making photographs. The wrestling match that ensued between my muse and a piece of digital equipment was a wildly tormenting experience but I loved every minute of it—or should I say, I embraced it with a moderate amount of maturity. Here’s an ugly picture I took of the Rio Grande, New Mexico; to see David’s picture of the same place at the same time, visit PixelatedImage.com/blog.

Careful, I’m about to rant!

For the love of Zeus! Don’t forget to explore new creative territory. Creative small business operators, in the name of landing the next contract, project, or sale erroneously focus 100% of their energy and resources on producing excellence but they ignore the investment that got them started in the first place: their creative capital. I think it’s vital to a creatives’ business to dedicate a little time to producing F***king Ugly crap!

Everyone wants to have the best equipment, software, tools, and resources on-hand and learn all the latests techniques and tricks so they can bring the ‘WOW’ every time. But when we fail to explore our own creativity, or different kinds of creative processes, or expose ourselves to divergent ideas we miss out on the excitement that comes from venturing down the path of discovery. By growing your skills, passions, and insights into other forms of creativity you’re adding to your creativity capital.

At the 2010 CREATIVEMIX Ideation Conference in Vancouver I met Kim Werker—a beautiful person who loves to help people make ugly things. Her project is called Mighty Ugly and through it she helps turn the pressure of being creative on its head. Instead of demanding attractiveness, beauty, and function, Mighty Ugly demands hideousness. If creativity is a part of your daily life, taking the challenge may feel threatening, but it’s great for combating creative block. If you walk through life feeling like you’re untalented and uncreative, the “make ugly” challenge is your ticket to creative freedom.

Dave Delnea, who is a close friend and a much more creative person than me, will be doing a keynote presentation at the 2011 CREATIVEMIX conference here in Vancouver titled: Flail and Fail: Finding Success through Creative Exploration and Ad-hoc Collaboration – and I believe whole-heartedly in his viewpoint of exploring new creative inputs and processes with other likeminded people. I’m really looking forward to his talk. Check-out his OnGray collaboration.

Be awesome at what you do, but give yourself a break once and awhile and make something ugly, really ugly.

*** = Freaking

Corwin Hiebert is a management and marketing consultant to creative entrepreneurs (like world-renowned photographer and author David duChemin). He’s the co-publisher of Clamorate, and is the co-producer of CREATIVEMIX (Vancouver’s Ideation Conference). As an educator, speaker, and author, Corwin is an avid supporter of creative risk-takers. Corwin is passionate about helping creative people take action towards their goals and their dreams. You can learn more about working with Corwin on his blog or you can follow him on Twitter. He lives in Vancouver, Canada and drinks very unhealthy amounts of expensive coffee.

Steve Jobs defined ‘innovation.’ An entrepreneur, leader, and undoubtedly one of the coolest ‘nerds’ on the planet, Steve leaves us with a legacy of inspiration that will forever change the way we run our creative businesses, and live our lives. From movies to music, business to creativity, and arts to technology, Steve Jobs and Apple have played a pivotal role in helping us to realize our creative potential, providing so many of us with the tools to bring our creative visions to life and shape our world as we know it.

At his Stanford University commencement speech, Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple and Pixar, urges us to pursue our dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks — including death itself.

I’ve been inspired by the work that Steve Jobs has done for years now; at Apple Computer, Pixar, and back to Apple again. Having chosen the path of entrepreneurship (not to mention being a very proud ‘nerd’ myself), Steve Jobs most definitely played a part in shaping my business-vision. In fact, most of my waking moments are spent sitting behind the machines that he pioneered. What exactly have I learned from Steve Jobs?

• Creativity and the human potential are limitless
• Innovate, don’t imitate
• Always exceed expectations
• Stay hungry, stay foolish
• Your only competition is yourself

Even as the CEO of the world’s largest corporation, Steve Jobs preached important lessons that carry forth to the self-employed. Perhaps the most important of all – Love what you do, and surround yourself with good people.

Steve Jobs’ advice to entrepreneurs

We are forever inspired by Steve’s passion for innovation – he taught us to “Think Different” – a mantra that every creative professional will live by. Thank you Steve, for showing us that there need be no boundaries, nor limitations – and that inspired people truly can change the world.

Dave Seeram is the Editor in Chief and Publisher of the PhotographyBB Magazine and the new clamorate! Magazine. He started PhotographyBB back in 2006 as an online environment for digital photography and image processing enthusiasts. Dave is also the owner/founder of PhotographyBB’s parent organization, PowerButton Media. Prior to that, Dave came from an extensive working background in retail management, and educational studies in applied mathematics at Simon Fraser University followed by graphic design at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). Dave’s passion for entrepreneurship coupled with design, drives him to assist other creative individuals who seek out the life of the self-employed.

I see it all the time at conferences and arts events — creative people tend to flock to their own kind and it’s starting to really bug me. I’d like to offer up a few notes about growing your connections beyond “the usual suspects”:

1. The like-like issue: When we surround ourselves with our peers we are potentially exposing ourselves to “industry-itus.” It’s a horrible condition that produces unsightly competition, bad-mouthing, and limited creative vision. For example, be cautious of industry events—they’re great from an education or supplier/resource perspective but not much else. Keep your marketing expectations low when attending an industry gathering, as it’s not the best place to grow your business, much less search out opportunities to collaborate.
2. When you surround yourself with like-minded people, you don’t have to worry about competition. Creative people are always looking to stand out in the crowd, but that’s the wrong perspective to take. Instead, look for a community, organization, or event that is a good fit for you by the sheer fact that it ensures you’re one of a few from your respective creative industry.
3. Build a new sphere around your creative effort. Want to take it to the next level? When trying to revive your creative business stop going back to the dry well. Sometimes exposing yourself to a new crowd of people, though difficult and awkward at first, can bring you a new source of energy, passions, feelings, and attitudes to issues and ideas.

Basically, I’m challenging you to consider the time and energy you spend focusing on successful people (and companies) from within your creative field. Learn what you can from them, draw some inspiration for sure, but let there be a bit more tension in your creative realm—spend time with other kinds of creative people.

This blog post is an excerpt from Corwin Hiebert’s latest ebook YOUR CREATIVE MIX: GROWING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS THROUGH CREATIVITY AND COLLABORATION. Learn more at CraftandVision.com.