Author: Lisa Canning

I was chatting on line yesterday evening with my new found friend, Gary Beckman, about his new site Arts Entrepreneurship Educator’s Network. Gary is getting his doctorate at University of Texas- Austin and is as devoted as I am to entrepreneurship in the arts. His site is an excellent resource to see where programs and courses are offered on the topic. I highly encourage you to add it to your favorites list and check it out. www.ae2n.net Make sure you get out today and vote!

What is an artistic education worth? To get an undergraduate degree at a university, on average, some being more, some being less, will run you $20,000 a year. $20,000 X 4 years is $80,000. Let’s add another $20,000 for 4 years of living expenses, which is likely too low, but for sake of this discussion lets use it. So at a minimum, your undergraduate degree will cost you $100,000. Assuming you go on to get a masters, which takes usually 2 years, using the same logic, you can add $50,000 to that. And a doctorate, while many are stipend to…

So what is artistic accessibility anyway? Is your art form access-ABLE?  Accessibility is a BIG buzz word these days in the arts. Many artistic organizations are working harder then ever in their published marketing materials and marketing campaigns to express to their potential future supporters how easy they are for their audiences to relate to, how audience friendly their programing is and just how “cool” it is to be involved in their programming and work. The foundations who donate to arts organizations are seeking to fund those organizations that are the leaders in making their art so accessible that they draw a large audience and a solid base of support; ensuring that their…

Do you have an MBO? MBO is an acronym for Motivation By Objective. My father introduced me to it when I was in high school attending Interlochen Arts Academy. My father was a Harvard graduate, a criminal attorney, who turned into an entrepreneur, a business man, because he grew tired of defending criminals–understandably I think. He made a lot of money doing it, but he sure did not feel good about himself getting the bad guy off. I always respected him for that decision. In any event, the purpose behind an MBO is to have an agenda that you are…

I woke up this morning to my usual routine of taking my 2 lovely dogs out for their usual jaunt to find it to be unbelievably cold outside!  I have had an unusual year this year, getting sick with nasty colds more often then I have in the past 15 combined! This past year has been about significant changes in my life and stress that goes along with that. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly, my life has transformed into something quite  remarkably different. I have gone from running a large business with over 50 employees and 4 locations to running a…

My name is Lisa Canning and I am starting this blog to share with you, and anyone you know, life as an artistic entrepreneur. As a professional clarinetist and a serial artistic entrepreneur myself, for over twenty-five years, I have been passionate about helping others to not just survive in the arts but financially thrive. So welcome to the beginning of my blog. I look forward to your comments, questions and posts.