Name: Sara Ortiz
Business: Sara Ortiz Workshops
Website: www.saraortizworkshops.com
Blog: creativityonamission.blogspot.com
Twitter: twitter.com/Cre8onaMission

A note from Jenn: You’re going to love this interview with Sara Ortiz of Sara Ortiz Workshops.  I bet you’ll relate to some of her challenges and that you’ll be inspired by her creative process. Just look at her fabulous three-dimensional and interactive take on the Right-Brain Business Plan.  It makes me think of pieces of a puzzle or colorful gems tumbling out of a treasure chest. Her fun-loving energy can’t help but burst through!

What makes your business unique?

I give creativity workshops and design creative products to not only help people find their creativity but use their creative ability to better themselves and their world. My approach is unique because I am going through some of the same issues that most people go through when trying to work with their creativity. Every time I come across a roadblock and am able to find a solution, I work that solution into my workshops and products. Many people feel that creativity is just playing around and isn’t practical. I teach people how creativity can be a practical, fun, and often times, a silly part of their lives.

How has the Right-Brain Business Plan helped you?

I am a very organized person but by no means am I a business oriented person. Starting a business traditionally needs left brain functions like accounting, managing and sales. So when I first started out I was overwhelmed and scared to the point where I was doing nothing. I realized I was only working on the “safe” things and not doing the down and dirty things that I needed to do to get my business going. The Right-Brain Business Plan helped me realize that the right brain has the ability to work through left-brain type functions, it just works on them in its own way. And because of this I was able to move forward and improve my business.

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your business?

Setting the foundation and finally feeling like I’m on to the next step. For a while I was caught in a loop of researching, reading and planning. I felt for a while that I was in a perpetual state of start-up and I never made it to the actual launch of my business. Some planning for starting a business is needed but many times we get caught up in getting everything perfect (left-brain) that we don’t move on and listen to our gut (right-brain). I am happy to say I just recently had a Mini-Launch of my new and improved website and am working on a free creativity workbook/teleseminar and my first creative product, The Creative Soul Kit!

How do you use your creative intuition in your work?

Now that I’ve gotten pass the left-brain hell I was in I can’t stop relying on my creative intuition every day. Sometimes the doubts and frustrations rear their nay-saying heads and my left-brain butts in to try to make things “right” but instead of bending to its whim and listening to the negatives I stop what I’m doing and crochet or draw or color in my Anti-Coloring Book. It takes a while for the negative feelings to go away but after they do I feel much better and can get back to my business.

What’s your vision for your business?

I believe that creativity can help find a solution to any problem and can also help people or groups who are in opposition work together to find a solution that benefits them both. So my vision is to infiltrate the government and infect our leaders with creativity in order to stop all this bickering and nonsense so we can find real, effective and most importantly, efficient solutions. Mwah Ha Ha Ha!

On Sunday a fabulous group of creative women entrepreneurs gathered for my Right-Brain Business Plan workshop in Oakland.  We had a fun day full of visioning, play, movement, collaging, sharing, planning and learning.

I was so inspired by all of the participant’s creative visions for their business.  Most were expanding an existing business and finding ways to integrate their many passions and interests.  And some were looking for ways to transition into their idea full time.

The Right-Brain Business Plan puts just as much importance on the “how” as the “what.”  So when we started to dive into some of the left-brain details, we took a right-brain approach with visual Post-it Notes.  It made the planning much more accessible!

Unfortunately, one of the participants ended up getting sick and couldn’t attend at the last minute.  Not wanting to miss out on the fun, though, she e-mailed to let me know that she had her Right-Brain Business Plan, stickers, magazines and glue nearby for some bedside-business planning :).

I love knowing that the this creative approach makes the planning process more fun.  And it’s such a treat to see when people are so passionately connected with their work.  I look forward to seeing how each of these creative women’s business vision unfolds.

Oh and, check out Muse Cube creator Gretchen Wegner’s post about the workshop.  Thanks, Gretchen for leading us in some energizing movement exercises and for the much needed Muse Cube breaks.

Every so often I’ll be sharing some of the cool, right-brain resources I’ve come across. May these creative gems inspire and support you in your business (and your life!).

7th grade leadership curriculum from Flickr

1. I wish I had the above leadership curriculum in the seventh grade (heck even now, for that matter!). I love that this teacher’s brainstorm starts with “Creativity as Practice” followed by “Visual Thinking.”
2. In the article Reinventing the MBA: 4 Reasons to Mix Business With Design Thinking, discusses head of The Rotman School of Management Roger Martin’s concept of “design thinking,” the intersection of analytical thinking and intuitive thinking, and how it can create better business leaders. Includes a video of him being interviewed and a cool graphic recording of his talk.
3. Your left brain is vital to your business planning process. The trouble happens, however, when the overly logical and judging mind in comes in too early and rains on your creative brainstorming parade. Ever catch yourself being hijacked by your left brain and saying any of these all-too-familiar 50 phrases that kill creativity? That’s a cue to invite your right brain back to the party!
4. Could simple eye exercises boost your creativity? A new study in the scientific journal Brain & Cognition says so.

Name: Danielle Grinnen
Business: Deliante Designs LLC
Website: http://www.deliantedesigns.com
Twitter:@deliantedesigns

A note from Jenn: I had the pleasure of meeting Danielle Grinnen in person the other week while I was in D.C.  Danielle participated in my Right-Brain Business Plan telecourse earlier this year and created the beautiful Right-Brain Business Plan featured in the photos below.  Read on to learn more about Danielle and her inspiring business.

What makes your business unique?

Direct communication with the artist, me, who is custom designing each rug. Each rug is made to order to the specifications of the customer — color, size, material; along with the opportunity of a completely custom rug designed like a commissioned piece of art. The carpets are hand knotted by expert adult weavers of luxurious materials such as Tibetan wool, hemp, linen, nettle, silk…etc. The carpets are certified with the GoodWeave label which allows me to partner with the rug mill in Nepal to end child labor in the carpet industry while a part of the proceeds of each rug goes to starting schools in Nepal.

• Artist designed
• Custom carpets
• Expertly hand knotted by adult artisans
• Luxurious sustainable materials

How has the Right-Brain Business Plan helped you?

Deliante Designs LLC started about 4 years ago, I had taken classes and completed a successful left-brain business plan that I presented to the bank and others who needed to see my intentions. Over the last few years, my life and business has continued on a fun journey that rendered my first business plan presentable but totally uninteresting and unworkable for me. I needed a fresh breath of air for my business. I desired to look at all aspects of Deliante Designs from my strengths — intuition and creativity. The Right-Brain Business Plan was exactly the direction and medium that I needed to allow myself the freedom to dream. The process of creating my book directed me to my true vision for the business and the steps and goals to help me carry it forward.

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your business?

Each time a new carpet comes in that I have designed; I feel so proud and excited. I look forward to seeing the rug in the space that it was designed for. It really is a high.

How do you use your creative intuition in your work?

Creative intuition is essential to each aspect of my work- speaking with customers, designing each rug, choosing colors, choosing fibers, communicating with the wonderful weavers in Nepal, etc. When I find myself not working from that place of creative intuition then its time to take a few moments to get centered.

What’s your vision for your business?

I want everything to come from these three intentions; which are each followed by something tangible then more of a feeling word that represents each intention for me.

• Be Present- Sun- Warmth
• Live Intentionally- Waves- Rhythm
• Be in Community- Food- Relationship

Here I am with the lovely Danielle at the Dream Box workshop in D.C. the other week.

Every so often I’ll be sharing some of the cool, right-brain resources I’ve come across.  May these creative gems inspire and support you in your business (and your life!).

1. If you love the Right-Brain Business Plan, you’ll love Julie Stuart’s graphical Roadmap to Inspiration.
2. At the Creativity in Business Conference, I attended Michael Margolis‘ session on using storytelling to build your brand and business.  Michael generously offers an excerpt of his book Believe Me: A Storytelling Manifesto for Change-Makers and Innovators.  Download the PDF here.
3. On Twitter, I recently met Sheila McCann. She sent me a link to one of her Fishegg cartons which simply and humorously illustrates the difference between the left and right brain.
4. Artist and coach Michelle Rumney put together this brief and informative slideshow on Visual Tools for Coaches.

The Creativity in Business Conference in D.C. this past weekend rocked!  What an incredible experience connecting with so many creative visionaries and forward-thinking people.  From improv games to on-the-spot tweets, from informative presentations to experiential, expressive exercises,  I learned so much from everyone I got to play with.

Photo by ShinyHeartVentures via Flickr

Thanks to conference founder, Michelle James, for bringing together such an amazing community and for giving us a fun and engaging forum to explore navigating the new work paradigm.  I had a blast leading the breakout session on the Right-Brain Business Plan and was inspired listening to the new insights that participants gained from accessing their creative intuition.  I also enjoyed sitting in on the other breakout sessions.

Here were some of my take-aways:

Social Media Creativity and Innovation Panel with Jennifer Abernethy, Frank Gruber, Sam Rosen and Jesse Thomas, moderated by Jen Consalvo

The expert panelists provided some great insights and tips:

• The improv principles of “Yes, AND” and “make everyone else look good” also apply to building relationships in social media.  They help us co-create a conversation that adds value and we help promote the good work of other people.
• Using hashtags helps you connect with others who have similar interests.  I loved being able to find fellow conference goers on Twitter in real-time by searching for the hashtag #bizcreativityconf.
• While it’s great to meet people online, it’s even more impactful when you can build those relationships off-line.  I couldn’t agree more!  The past several months I’ve had the pleasure of getting to meet some of my online friends in-person in the Bay Area and in Boston and D.C.
• Grow awareness by tagging people who are in your photos and posts on Facebook so that it will show up on their news feeds.
• I learned about the cool new online gratitude journal thankfulfor.com that was started by panelists Frank and Jen.
• Graphic recorder Diane Cline did awesome job illustrating notes of some of the sessions.  The visual map above documents the Social Media panel (you can click on the image to see a larger version and more tips).

Brand Story Mojo to Increase your Brand Value with Michael Margolis

Michael shared his framework for storytelling:

• Believe in yourself first and why you’re communicating what you’re communicating.  Authenticity is key.
• Successful leaders are ones who can tell a story.
• We are always telling stories (most of them in our heads).  Facebook and social media are a way for us to externalize our stories and co-create them with others.
• Entrepreneurship is about making something better and getting others to care.  Stories help get others to care.
• People need to identify themselves in your story and then it will become their story.  It’s a way to engage people.

Improv Principles and Practices in Business for Breakthrough Performance with Mike Bonifer

Mike gave some great examples of companies who use improv principles to enhance their business success and facilitated exercises to help us embody the learning:

• Companies tend to focus on the successful outcome.  They try to re-create the next innovative product/outcome but fail because they really should’ve tried to institutionalize the successful process.  The game is the process.
• Mike defines games as engines for exploring the theme of your narrative.  They help create focus and discipline and they energize and invite team members to perform. Good games attract the good players.
• He had us play with the improv principles directly by inviting us to co-create a message around a random thing.  It was amazing to see what our group came up with to market cookware.  It was even more fun to get up in front of the room and “perform” it!
• Improv asks us to be very present with each other and to look for what we can build on.  What a great way to leverage creativity in the workplace.

For more session notes, please check out Ana Ottman‘s great write-up about the sessions she attended (including mine!).

I was thrilled to connect with Sam Horn, author of one of my favorite books POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd.  I’m grateful for the insights and advice she generously offered.  And in our improv session we learned we both don’t like to cook ;)!

During the evening festivities, “quantum comedian” Vanda Mikoloski had me in stitches with her irreverent enlightened humor that pokes intelligent fun at spirituality and personal growth.  She also did a great job of reminding all of us that we’re doing important work in helping to shift the consciousness of the planet and that’s nothing to laugh at!

To top it off, I had the good fortune of catching a ride to the airport with Jeff Klein, author of Making Good: Making a Difference While Making a Living.  I enjoyed learning more about the inspiring work he’s doing with conscious capitalism.

I look forward to staying connected online with all the great people I met and continuing to learn from their creative genius.