Australian Creative Entrepreneurs Survey | What does success mean to you?

Calling all creative entrepreneurs!

Today, Claire (my most favourite social media guru and small biz coach) and I launched our new research project, and we're looking to you to get involved...

We’re setting out to take the pulse of creative small businesses in Australia and open a dialogue about what it means to be in business today, right here, at the level of the micro-biz, the solo-preneur, and the bespoke artisanal firm.

We all know that this is an exciting time to be a creative business. Around the world, entrepreneurs are embracing the new micro-business model is re-writing the rules of work, defining success in their own terms, and creating a new future. These businesses are characterised less by what they sell than by who they are and how they’re serving. Across diverse industries, this new type of entrepreneur is not just about making a living; we're about making meaning in our own lives and creating value for their customers.

We want to know how this generation of entrepreneurs is taking creative business to the next level in Australia. Based on our belief that collaboration is the lifeblood of creative people, we’ve designed a survey to yield statistics and stories that all of us engaging in this arena can learn from. Specifically we aim to:

• Create a detailed picture of how creative businesses begin, develop, and operate here in Australia;
• Understand how creative entrepreneurs are defining success for themselves;
• Assess the extent to which micro businesses—both bricks-and-mortar and online—are thriving here, and determine how optimistic business owners feel about the future of their industries;
• Gain insight into the particular strategies helping micro-businesses to succeed, as well as collecting stories about best-laid plans that haven’t quite come off.

Claire and I intend to use the survey data to develop educational programs for creative entrepreneurs looking to take their businesses to the next level, as well as for those just starting out on this path.

To everyone who participates we'll send out the PDF package containing the aggregated results and most useful stories shared by creatives from across the country.

We know you’re busy, but we believe that by contributing our experiences to this collective whole we’ll all get to take away valuable insights and lessons that just might make it a little easier next time we feel like we’re out there reinventing the wheel.

SO, how can you get involved?

1. Click < HERE > to complete the survey in as much detail as possible. You’ll need to allow around 30 minutes for completion. Surveys should be submitted by Feb 28th 2015.
2. Forward the link to the survey to entrepreneurs you admire, or currently collaborate with. The more detail we can collect from a diverse range of entrepreneurs, the more beneficial this information will be for all of us.

Can’t wait to share the results!