Entrepreneur Owner-Managers Are Creatives

This is Pete Worrell from Bigelow, and I'm happy to bring you another episode of the Positive Enterprise Value Podcast. Today my interview guest is Flora Bowley. Flora is a world-known artist, entrepreneur, teacher, and retreat center owner, who makes her principal headquarters on the west coast. She's an example of an entrepreneur as a creative, and if you've listened to Positive Enterprise Value or read our blog posts at Bigelow, we believe that entrepreneurs are creatives and Flora's just a great example of that.

Today she candidly and generously shares with us the evolution of her professional and personal goals over her lifetime, a little bit about some of the chapters she's been through, the overarching journey, what was in her head growing up, and how she extracts the juice of the creative process, which then becomes her original artwork. Over time in her life, and this applies to all of us entrepreneurs, Flora really started out first as a practitioner, as an artist with brush on canvas, if you will, which she still does, but she's evolved her role to also be a teacher, a writer, and now a retreat center owner as well.

She tells us a little bit about keeping herself alive as a young entrepreneur by working in grocery stores to earn a living while pursuing her art, and how she's really taken her approach to a whole different medium, including as an author, chatting a little bit about her new book called The Art of Aliveness: A Creative Return to What Matters Most.

Flora goes on to share a little bit about her new retreat called Nest. She tells us about some of her online courses, her FREE FLO community on Mighty Networks, and some of what she's got in store for the future. Flora is a massively talented, charismatic artist who has a lot to say and a lot to teach us about being a successful creative as an entrepreneur. You can find more about Flora at florabowley.com. Without further delay, here's my interview with Flora Bowley.

You can also watch a video of Flora free painting a piece titled “Night Flight.” Which we commissioned as a gift for our clients, Barbara & Ed Wilson, the Founders of Wilson Language Training Corporation. Watch here.

Listen below or on Soundcloud here.

What I am Reading / Listening to

The Creative Act: A Way of Being (2023)
By Rick Rubin

It is nothing less than a privilege to read (or in my case, read and listen to Rick on audible.com) Rick Rubin’s new work called The Creative Act: A Way of Being.

“I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be,” writes Rubin. I found it especially enlightening because it told me something I desperately wanted to hear: creativity isn’t strictly limited to any profession.”

As the producer for acts as spectacularly different from each other as the Beastie Boys, Tom Petty, Queen, Slayer, Johnny Cash, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Geto Boys, Jay Z, Neil Young, and on and on. Rubin has had the chance to observe (as a bystander), and even participate in the creation of great music for over forty years. He has been living in the creativity zone for a long time.

The Book is long (several hundred pages), thoughtfully created, and beautifully bound. The chapters are short, as are most of the sentences. It’s like Rick dictated this book much in the same way that he would close his eyes at a microphone and talk about the music he is hearing or the sculpture he is seeing, or the wave on the Pacific.

I found this book to be provocative, authentic, and thoughtful. Its theme sticks with you, long after you put it down. I am usually an avid reader and keep my listening mostly to podcasts unless the author reads her own work. Rick reads this one and getting his tone and emphasis from reading the book was incredibly valuable.

Energy Creation

Contributed by Mari Lister

Last February I joined Vistage Worldwide as a member of one of their Executive Key Groups. Vistage describes itself as, “The world’s largest executive coaching organization for small and midsize businesses. For more than 65 years we’ve been helping CEOs, business owners and key executives solve their toughest challenges through a comprehensive approach to success. At the heart of our proven formula is confidential peer advisory groups and executive coaching sessions.”

I had been very familiar with Vistage from knowing many of our past clients / friends who had been members and had touted its value and experience. Pete, our Co-CEO and Managing Partner has also been a certified speaker with Vistage for several years, so I thought my exposure had been fairly vast. But as they say, until you try it, you don’t really know. And wow, to say I have been blown away, might be an understatement. By the end of my first meeting last February, I knew I would be joining. From that first session the value and words of wisdom I received were immediately applicable – whether professionally or personally. You see, that is one of the things that I think is most special about Vistage – it does not focus solely on the professional aspect but also the personal. For many of us, there really is not a distinction between the two and finding another group of like-minded individuals, from various professional backgrounds and stages in life, was so refreshing. The fact that this peer to peer group is not industry specific but based by region (my group has members from MA, NH and ME) allows me to learn from all different sectors and business models, bringing a fresh set of eyes to issues I had only been seeing through one lens. So incredibly valuable!

All I can say is, if you have been considering joining a peer to peer group or some other network of professionals, consider Vistage. It is unique in its structure and as a result I believe that is why it attracts the caliber of professionals it does. I don’t know how long I will remain a member of my Key Group, but regardless, I can say that I have made a whole new group of friends for life, that I know I will be able to call on, whether professionally or personally.

What I am Reading / Listening to

Entrepreneur Owner-Manager Quote

Energy Creation

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