Meet Lisa Canning of Entrepreneur The Arts

Meet Lisa Canning; artist, musician, passionate educator and entrepreneur!  I happened upon Lisa via Twitter and began reading her blog Entrepreneur The Arts.  It was like finding a cousin I never knew existed.  After a gaggle of e-mail correspondence, Lisa asked me to tell our story as a guest blogger and I wrote Create The Check Box.  I thought it would be fun to share her story with our readers.

"I started ETA for ALL ARTISTIC disciplines. The focus was on changing a mindset about what it means to be an artist."

"Entrepreneur  comes from 2 french verbs. The first Entre - to Enter and the Second Prendre- to Take.  Enter To Take The Arts (someplace you want them to go) is the intended translation for the name of the site."

That's music to our ears!

"Too often in the arts it is about what WE, as artists, want to accomplish" she says, "and not about what WE CAN DELIVER to our audiences. Entrepreneurship makes this flip possible."

Lisa actually started writing her blog about 4 years ago and the ideas that she expressed eventually grew into a school.  "I just had to link them together" she says.  The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship was born and she hopes to turn the original ETA blog "into a technical services center for arts entrepreneurship with resources for funding.

Lisa has recently been visiting colleges and presenting workshops in and around Chicago with a program called Discover Your Why? Her battle cry "People don't buy WHAT you create, they buy WHY you create it" really strikes a chord with us, and I imagine, with anyone is daring enough to be both creative and entrepreneurial.

The IAE launched 2 years ago and now attracts a wide variety of artists including those in disciplines like film, dance, visual arts, music and more.

"We will officially open in Sept 2011 with our 2 year program. We are running short term classes and events now. Our program will launch in Chicago and North Africa through teleconferencing software. We were selected by The Aspen Institute and The State Department to be part of Partners for A New Beginning. The best part of this is really the international connectivity it will bring for artists building businesses in the arts with us! Very exciting stuff!"

As busy as she has been with her businesses, Lisa remains a passionate musician.  Her musical bio is impressive and quite extensive. I asked her to share with us a little about her background.

"I do still play! Everyday." she says, "I can't imagine life without my baby..." (she is referring to her Buffet clarinet). Through my clarinet shop I sell every clarinet they make, Bb's, A's, Eb's, C's, and Basses. Personally I own a Bb, A, Eb and Bass!"

"My clarinet shop is www.LisasClarinetShop.com and I have been in business for 30 years this coming January. I started when I was 17. The business has supported the development of the IAE school.  I sell ONLY Buffet Clarinets - they have 87% of the entire professional market share!"

 "As far as playing, I attended the Interlochen Arts Academy as a youngster and received a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University in 1981. I kept a robust solo and ensemble performance schedule until recently and remain a member of my local Musicians Union."

We think she is quite an interesting lady.  We'll continue to stay in touch and perhaps bump into each other down the road a piece.  Until then, continued success Lisa... and keep musicking!