Although I am a businessman, I have always considered myself an artist - a creator. I know this is a paradox but an entrepreneur creates organizations. Some artists work with a medium where they reach a completed stage, when everything is done and their work acquires permanence. On the other hand, everything an entrepreneur works with is dynamic; people, products and the economy change all the time. In addition we face competition, people who try to undo what we create. Imagine painting while someone rips your canvas or splatters paint on your work. That is what we business creators face and probably it is why we love the challenge.

When the economy goes into collective paranoia like we live right now, there is a phase of fear that induces paralysis. Many people stay paralyzed for a long time. The creators are the first ones to take the initiative and move on. If necessity is the mother of invention, we are about to see a number of initiatives by creators that will again transform the world like it was changed after each recession of the last century. The wonderful thing for artists is that for them necessity - the need to create - is fueled internally rather than by external events like a recession. Creators were conceiving and creating before the recession started. They will continue to create as the economy recovers and they will keep changing our lives for the better. They will simply be ahead of the pack.

A recession creates a vacuum that gives space for new ideas to blossom as obsolete and no longer useful ideas or businesses disappear. For example, Apple just killed Digital Rights Management for the music it sells. DRM has failed to add value to musicians and consumers alike and deserves to disappear. We believe that what is happening in the music industry is a predictor of the future of the "publishing" industry. New media require new ideas and new business models. We believe that an innovative publishing model like Sharing-Books combining social initiatives with new revenue streams for book creators is an idea whose time has come.

Every day I receive phone calls or emails from children books creators who are in the action mode, writing and illustrating new books. Their initiatives are an expression of hope that is much healthier and promising than the fear that grips the economy. We are very proud to be associated with hopeful people who put effort behind their ideas. These colleagues inspire us to do our best to provide a valuable outlet for their creative efforts to be welcome, published, read and rewarded.

Labels: children books, creators, entrepreneurs, publishing, recession