Breaking out of the Business

 (photo borrowed from insighthealthcoaching.com)

As a young professional, you probably spend a lot of time trying to break into the business.  You know, networking, schmoozing, working for free, learning the tricks of the trade, stalking experts in your field...ok maybe not stalking.  While it's extremely important to learn the ins and outs of the theater industry, it's also crucial that you break out of the box every now and again. 

Chat up your friend who's an up and coming investment banker (maybe someday you can hit her up to invest in your show).  Ask her about her business.  Find out what she looks for in a business she recommends to her clients.  Find someone who does pharmacuetical sales at happy hour.  Ask him about his process, how he cultivates his client base.  How many hours a week does he spend learning about his products?  Are you seeing how all this knowledge can help you improve your production? Build your audience? Make your business more profitable?  (Don't forget to share the tricks of your trade!  As a theater professional you hold a lot of insight that other fields can benefit from as well.)

Hit up Barnes and Noble (or if you're cheap like me, the public library) and pick up some books on business, marketing, leadership, education policy, global development, whatever strikes your fancy, and take notes!  Think of ways you can apply all of that magical information to run a more efficient theater, to better choose a show to produce, or to build a stronger audience base.

The current economic situation has forced industries to look outside of their tried and true methods for solutions.  Industry leaders are looking for innovators, and by learning about somebody else's business, you automatically bring an alternative perspective.  Combine all those vantage points with your brilliant mind and you get INNOVATION! So go be a leader in your field, learn something different!