Challenges of art as business : qualitative study of young Finnish creative entrepreneurs

Abstract

Creative entrepreneurship is a relatively new field of study and shows increasing interest. With the rising interest of entrepreneurship in young Finnish people, the challenges of entrepreneurs need to be studied. Combining the complex nature of creative industry with entrepreneurship opens an area that shows diverse attitudes in dealing with tensions, such as the tension of art and business. Challenges of creative entrepreneurs have been covered in some studies with different focuses, leaving room for more exploration.

Creative entrepreneurship is addressed in the light of motives, challenges, tensions, and practices found in the existing literature. Motives of creative entrepreneurs are intrinsic, unlike the motives of entrepreneurs in general. Some challenges of creative entrepreneurs are connected to the paradox of art and business, which is a commonly studied topic of creative entrepreneurship. Other challenges revolve around financial issues and the instability of creative industries. The relation of art and business is discussed, and whether it is seen as interplay or paradox.

This study aims to find the challenges of young Finnish creative entrepreneurs that they face on an individual level. Exploring entrepreneurship in Finland allows us to reflect the creative entrepreneurs’ challenges to the context they operate in. Entrepreneurship is explored in the light of support, ecosystem, culture, and challenges.

The study was conducted as a qualitative study with semi-structured, open-ended interviews with a sample of 5 creative entrepreneurs ranging from visual arts to music, and using the theoretical framework as a base for questions. The data was analysed using abductive reasoning. The study finds eight lines of challenge; pricing challenges due to lack of transparency, time management challenges in marketing and business facilitation, compromising artistic vision for business, loneliness, challenges of work-life balance and well-being, challenges in pitching the expertise, inability to scale business and other financial issues, and imposter syndrome. These are discussed in reflection of literature of creative entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in Finland.

This thesis contributes to the creative entrepreneurs and the environment they operate in, including government and other institutions, by naming the main challenges these creative entrepreneurs are facing, and reflecting those to the existing literature. Naming the challenges can help further explore the deeper reasons for the uncertainty and volatility of creative industry.