The Business of Creativity

Last week I announced that I had resigned my working relationship with Alexis Martin Neely and the Creative Business Lawyer (CBL) program. Immediately, business attorneys from all over the country asked me if I was going to start my own program, because if I did, they wanted to know about it. I was very proud of the work I was doing as part of CBL, but it became apparent that progressing down that path was not a good fit for me. I sincerely wish Alexis and the members of the CBL program the best as they move forward.

While the CBL program was small, I knew the attorneys in the program were on to something powerful. They were on the way to changing how lawyers work with entrepreneurs from the old lose-lose hourly rate model to a model that empowers both the attorney and the client and forms a true “Trusted Advisor” (go read the book) relationship. I couldn’t give that up.

But, I couldn’t just take what I was doing with the CBL program and slap a different name on it. While I could do that legally, it didn’t feel “right.” If I was going to do my own program for small business attorneys, it needed to be the type of program I would build without the influence of someone else’s vision, style, and habits.

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I’ve kept a journal since the day my dad passed on way back on Memorial Day, 1991. My journal entry dated 7/7/09 includes a description of an organization that helps foster the spirit of creative business. I called it “The Space Between Center for Creative Spirit in Business” and I kept coming back to the concept over and over.  It would keep me awake at night.

Last week, I had a choice to make: was it time to bring The Space Between Center to life?

So, I thought about it for a little while.  Then it hit me… I could build my program for small business attorneys as the first initiative of The Space Between Center. It had been waiting for months for the right time for action.

Every day at least a few emails came in from attorneys around the country continuing to encourage me to start my own program. If you’re and entrepreneur, you shouldn’t ignore customer demand.

I formed The Space Between Center LLC last Friday. It felt REALLY GOOD!

Since then, I’ve been defining what my program would look like, how it would operate and what partners I will bring in to make it all come together. The idea is too big for me to implement alone. I found the right partners. They’re on board and almost as excited as I am.

And, inquiries from business lawyers keep coming in…

As of NOW I don’t have to say “wait just a few days.” Now I can say “go to www.spacebetweencenter.com and sign up for a free informational/introductory call on Friday, March 19^th at Noon Eastern.”

There will be other initiatives of The Space Between Center, but for now we’re focused on helping small business attorneys develop win-win relationships with clients. The program based in part on the success I’ve had implementing my flat monthly fee model over the last year. This model changed my life almost overnight.

My clients love it.

The members of the Creative Business Lawyer were having success with it in less than two months.

So, I want to share it.

I’m keeping a few new benefits of the new program secret until the call. These new elements will go beyond just learning the business model and provide some tremendous value to the members.

In case you’re wondering – no, it’s not some kind of “private coaching” scheme.

If you are an attorney and want to know what’s going on, join the call. It’s free, so it won’t hurt you to listen in.  Oh, and my friend, attorney, and marketing consultant Ben Glass will be co-hosting the call.  Ben is NOT associated with the program financially, so you know he’ll keep it real.

If you are an entrepreneur, tell your lawyer about this and ask them to listen in on the call.  If you don’t have an attorney using a flat fee monthly model, then we’ll just have to do something about that soon…

Now back to work.