Does your next big idea need a sponsor?
How many times has it happened to you, where a great idea never got off the ground in your business? As an employee, this happens frequently; but did you know that it can occur in your artistic business as well? If you find that your ideas are falling on deaf ears, you may need to recruit a sponsor to help champion them.
A sponsor is a senior person in your business that has some power over decisions, but mainly they bring immense experience to the table. This person can help you present the perfect pitch to outside agencies that your business depends on like banks or the government. They speak the language that provides you access to the services and resources your art business needs. When new ideas are being introduced, help from a well-intended sponsor can also help prevent a workforce from killing ideas permanently.
What kind of traits should you look for in a sponsor?
A sponsor should be selected carefully; this is a person who you need to have a good relationship with. Look for a person who has stood up for ideas, been challenged on that idea, but still carried it through. Their innovative ideas may have ruffled some feathers over their career, but this is not always a negative thing. Innovation is usually at its best when the status quo is upset. Part of the belief that drives this person is a desire to develop as a person, improving always.
When you find and retain your sponsor, meet in spaced out intervals; ask for their guidance on big issues rather than the smaller day to day ones. Think about it, if someone is set to champion your idea through the entire process it is best to avoid over using their time.
Furthermore, the sponsor should have an inner working knowledge of the business. This usually affords a political acuity to sense how things work and how to get things done.
Your idea could seriously benefit from having a sponsor to push through the red tape of new ideas in your artistic business. Make the effort to add one to your operation and you will not likely regret it.
Do you like the idea of having a sponsor on your team?
Leave your thoughts and comments in the section below.
Thanks for reading.
Stephanie