Creativity And Entrepreneurship (Coursera)

The course approaches entrepreneurship as a creative process, a fundamental human instinct that we all possess and can unlock. Creativity & Entrepreneurship applies concepts from the creative and musical creation process, such as observing, prototyping, iterating and embracing failure, as a means of guiding you through the concept of thinking like a startup. You will develop the basic mindset, knowledge, and insights required to pursue an entrepreneurial career, whether as the steward of your own career or as the founder of a new business in any field.

Creativity & Entrepreneurship is about the side of entrepreneurship you won’t learn at a business school but, instead, in the music studio.

What you'll learn:

- How to approach your career or startup as if learning a musical instrument

- Why entrepreneurship, like creativity, is something we all possess

- How to apply “the musician mindset” as means to collaboration and creative problem solving

- Why songwriting is a perfect parallel to career and product development

- Why there’s more to entrepreneurship than business plans and spreadsheets much like there’s more to music than scales and lead sheets

This course is part of the Music Business Specialization.

What You Will Learn

- Discuss the importance of observation and the impact it has on your work as an entrepreneur

- Discuss the importance of editing and be able to simply complex problems down to their core issues

- Define what makes a strong brand and brainstorm ideas of how to establish your brand

- Identify the various kinds of people you need to have in your network to help you succeed

Syllabus

Welcome!

Module 1

Welcome to the course! Here we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.

Inspiration: The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Module 2

In this first lesson, we'll discuss what "entrepreneurship" actually means. We'll take a look at the process of innovation and identify common traits that all successful innovators have. We'll also discuss commonalities between musicians and entrepreneurs and why musicians are excellent entrepreneurs. Finally, we'll end the lesson by learning how to observe the world around you with an entrepreneurial mindset.

Creation: Product Development

Module 3

This week is all about falling in love with a problem, and NOT the solution. You'll work to identify a problem you'd like to solve and develop prototypes to solve that problem. We'll take a look at rapid prototyping as well as iterating on your prototype to develop the most effective and elegant solution possible.

Collaboration and Presentation

Module 4

This week, we'll discuss building a strong team and establishing a culture at your "start up." You'll work to identify the types of people you want on your team and why you need them. We'll also discuss how to develop not only your product, but the brand that stands for that product. Finally, we'll work on your presenting, selling, and marketing skills to help you establish the brand you envision.

The Art of Relationship Building

Module 5

This week, we'll discuss how to network and build relationships. We will also learn about dealing with a very common experience: failure.