Why money isn't the main motivation anymore

Posted on 15th May 2012 by Katy Cowan in Blog

I'm in the process of reading Scott Goodson's 'How to Build a Brand and Change the World by Sparking Cultural Movements' and it's interesting reading, particularly as its entire theme is about 'movements' and how shared passions, interests and beliefs rise in culture throughout the globe, often by volunteers keen to make a difference.

One of the points it makes is how individuals start their own movements, usually from experiencing a problem or frustration and wanting to address it and change the world. It talks about how these people will work incredibly hard and sacrifice their spare time to start something that will tackle the issues they want to eradicate. But even more surprising is how they'll do it for free, not expecting to make any money.

This lack of motivation to make money is something that's growing, according to Scott. Apparently, money is not as important anymore and our happiness and work satisfaction is increasingly motivated by helping others or making a difference. What a lovely sentiment to consider! And people all over the world are dedicating themselves to a cause and making a real dent in things.

Fuelled by my own restlessness, Creative Boom was born out of a passion to provide free support to the creative industries where others had failed. From the graduate seeking their first step on the career ladder to the creative freelancer just starting out... from the growing creative agency to the large arts organisation, I wanted my online magazine and network to tackle all sorts of problems.

Firstly, I believe everyone deserves the kind of free exposure that gets them noticed, attracts new clients and helps them to become a success. But we often have to pay for exposure these days - especially with dying print circulations and big corporate companies wanting to make a profit after paying for lots of staff. Well, not everyone has big budgets to splash on PR or advertising. Not everyone even knows how to market themselves. This was one issue I wanted to tackle.

But it's not just about making money - there's always been a smell of elitism in the air, i.e. if one isn't considered to be 'big enough' then their story won't get any media coverage. That's fair enough - the training I had during my days as a broadcast journalist still stays strongly with me - but what about all the graduates, small freelancers and businesses who want to raise their profiles? Surely they have interesting stories to tell? This is where I wanted Creative Boom to plug a gap.

And it couldn't have come at a better time - because Creative Boom was launched during the previous recession where funding cuts became inevitable and business funding and support pretty much disappeared overnight. I wanted Creative Boom to step in and offer free advice and support to people who needed our help.

For the past three years, I've run Creative Boom during my spare time. I've got my own family business with husband Tom but whenever we've got a spare minute we both try our best to provide a platform for creative businesses and individuals to benefit from our site. Our key motivation isn't money. This isn't the 'Big Society'. We simply want to make a difference. Whether it has or not, that's for our community to decide.

But I completely agree with Scott Goodson and his viewpoint on today's new motivating factors to start a movement and make a difference. Forgive me for not wanting to turn into a corporate giant. I simply want to offer something that others can't and hopefully, bit by bit, we'll cause a 'Creative Boom' across the UK.

Are you doing anything to make a difference? Have you got a website or scheme that's helping others in some way? Please comment below and share your own experience or thoughts on this subject.