Inc. contributor Christina DesMarais asked a group of super successful people, including Jim, to share one book they would recommend to help arts entrepreneurs get ahead in business and life. Jim's pick may surprise you: Simple Pictures Are Best by Nancy Willard"Ambitious and creative entrepreneurs and managers have plenty of ideas. In this little book, a shoemaker and his wife are getting a picture made to celebrate their anniversary. It starts with just the two of them, posed elegantly in front...

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What are you doing this summer? Wait. Before you answer that, watch these talks. Turns out, what you do in the summer could actually have a much bigger impact on you year-round.For example, we loved this talk by TEDxBroadway 2016 alum, Wesley Whatley:He took us down to the campfire, where he strums the guitar and invites us to sing along. Whatley is part of the team that produces America's largest Independence Day celebration -- Macy's 4th of July Fireworks....

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What does it mean to go fast? To get things done quickly? To be productive with time?Does it mean moving through your tasks with Benny Hill-like speed?Does it mean, for example, moving your toothbrush up and down faster? Or, perhaps it means brushing for a fraction of the time you usually do?In the context of a business project with a projected length of weeks or months, it shouldn’t mean these things, but I think that sometimes people get confused....

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Ever get stuck trying to write arts copy? Daisy Hartwell recently shared an infographic with us highlighting 15 amazing ways to write faster. Some of the tips include: Do a 5-minute workout and use a 30-minute timer, which is something Jim touched on in his post, Seven-Minute Egg Timer Method: "I set aside the seven minutes and just wrote my thoughts on my whiteboard as they came to me. I alternated between seven minutes of intense focus and note taking...

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I have a friend who is a very successful live entertainment producer. He’s a creative genius, not as an artist, but as a business person and an impresario. He sees more ways of getting people excited to be in the same building with a bunch of other people to see a show and pay big money for the privilege than most people — hell, almost anybody — sees. A short while back, he had a new production, and unlike most...

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Blogger and branding expert Bernadette Jiwa shared an interesting idea over on her blog, The Story of Telling: "In the 1950s and 60s when my parents were entering the workforce they created value by working with their hands in an Industrial Economy. Workers manufactured and moved things that would be consumed. In the era of the Information Economy, we began using our heads to produce value. We learned to use computers to design, code and connect. Today we’re seeing a...

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Would you build a pipeline for beer so your patrons don't have to wait an extra second for their pint?It may sound crazy, but The Local reports that a heavy metal festival in Germany is doing just that. "In anticipation of all the beer to be drunk, the fest is building its first ever beer pipeline to transport the average 400,000 litres of brew consumed each year to the concert grounds. And the pipeline system will be speedy enough for...

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We've been writing over here on Selling Out for a few years now and have covered a lot of topics: from pricing and marketing to social media and SEO. But we also know there's still plenty more to talk about.So we thought it would be fun to ask you to weigh in: What are the topics you're most interested in? What are the questions you'd love the answers to? What roadblocks are keeping you from selling more tickets?Email us (Sarah...

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Recently, we stumbled across this article that reminded us of Greg Sandow's column and ongoing mission to improve the future of classical music.PSFK reported on inventor Jai Wu's work creating kits that allow students to turn vegetables into musical instruments. Wu was inspired by her friend, a music teacher, and her struggles with getting kids interested in learning to play an instrument."Originally designed with plastic bottles, Wu’s breakthrough occurred when she tried fruit, which she found was easier for children to visualize...

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Happy (Almost) Thanksgiving! Before you go dive headfirst into a giant plate of mashed potatoes and stuffing (my plan for tomorrow), take a moment and join Goldstar in helping feed the hungry this Thanksgiving.You can find a food bank or homeless organization in your area here and quickly and easily donate money to help feed anywhere from 10 to 110 people this Thanksgiving. And if you have another minute, please spread the word to your friends and family -- the...

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