The simple answer to this question is yes. If musicians, stylists, filmmakers, designers, and content creators use their formal business education the right way, it can amplify their creativity. It won’t replace taste, time, or talent but will help them learn how to monetize that creativity, scale their production and maintain control of their work when money and teams come into play. Here are some tips for creatives to determine if a business degree is worth it.
Talent Opens the Door, Business Keeps It Open
Usually, creatives do not lack ability. They just have a hard time getting past the ceiling of money, contracts and growth. A business administration degree does not take away from creativity nor does it mean an end to creative pursuits. Instead, it helps creatives move from surviving project to project to building something that lasts.
Thinking Beyond Work
Business education teaches you to think outside the box. Instead of just thinking about the product that you are developing, you will learn to strategically position yourself, consider your target audience and establish long-term value.
Whether you are a musician, stylist, or content creator, learning to think in that way will help you in making much better decisions regarding which platforms you use, which collaborators you work with, and what opportunities you pursue.
Data Provides Direction and Clarity
Making creative decisions depends on guesswork and instinct, which don’t always work. Learning analytics in your business education exposes you to using data as a creative partner rather than something that restricts your creativity.
Understanding how your performance as a creative person is reflected in the revenue you generate, along with your audience’s behavior and trends, allows you to plan your growth success instead of following every new trend or difference in an algorithm. This is the difference between reacting to your circumstances and taking charge of your career.
Systems Make Growth Sustainable
As your income grows, so does the complexity of your business. The need for contracts, invoicing, scheduling, assistants and vendors can become very overwhelming for even the most talented creative
A strong foundation of business basics will give you the tools to put in place systems that are scalable, and will allow your success to be orderly rather than chaotic. If the systems in your operations are solid, your creative capacity will remain protected.
Leadership Is a Creative Component of Your Job
As soon as you start collaborating with editors, assistants, managers or representatives of other brands, you must lead in your creativity. The different skills you learn in business are the frameworks that will give you the ability to communicate effectively, negotiate, and hold yourself accountable. The skills learned in your business education will directly impact collaboration efforts and how seriously you are taken in a professional environment.
Does Having a Degree Really Matter in Creative Industries?
In addition to being one of the most important aspects of the creative industry, having a degree can be a sign of credibility for creative professionals especially in agency models, brand partnerships and as leaders. It establishes you as a thought leader and demonstrates your commitment to the craft.
A business degree will enable you to develop and understand marketing, management, accounting, and strategy, and therefore give you a stronger knowledge base to feel more confident about sitting at a table with decision makers.
Degrees vs. Self-Education vs. Accelerators
In addition to obtaining your degree from a college or university, there are several other options to help you gain knowledge about the creative industries.
Creative professionals can enhance their skills according to their specific goals through self-study or accelerated training. Eventually, either of these options will give you structure, depth and flexibility in your creative career as you take what you have learned from your chosen path and apply it to your creative career.
When Should You Pursue a Degree in Business?
A business degree is most beneficial for creative professionals that are not just seeking visibility. If you want to build a business, manage other creative professionals, own the intellectual property you create or have multiple income streams within your creative career, formal training will provide you with a competitive advantage and clarity.
If you are not sure if you want to pursue a business degree, but rather are experimenting with projects, pursuing self-education or accelerated training may be the best option.
Business Skills Turn Talent Into Longevity
A business degree does not increase your creative ability, but can help make your creative abilities last over time, grow, and be commercially viable. In industries with a high availability of talented people but few people who have long-term careers, business knowledge can give you a competitive advantage that may not always be visible. With the right intent, business knowledge is not a distraction to creativity, but the vehicle that supports it.
