Enterprise Development

There is little doubt that branching out has identified the need for greater hands on support for artists and arts organisations. The result of a little bit of expertise aimed in the right direction has enabled our two pilot groups to achieve some of their goals. But how do we support this work, how do we fund it and how do we do it?
In late 2009 I was drawn to Ripples on the Zambezi, a book written by Ernesto Sirolli that illustrates the damage that individuals can do when not invited by communities.
In partnership with Tasmanian Council of Social Services, we brought Ernesto to Tasmania in August last year to speak at the Regional Arts Australia Conference. Anyone who has heard him knows what a passionate, straight shooting speaker he is. His model of working with entrepreneurs resonates with me as I continue to hear stories of disillusionment, frustration and despair from artists, writers, performances and creative thinkers who are trying to do it all.

Within Branching out we could see this assumption was unreasonable, we made up a position of Community Business Facilitator, employed Warren Butler and together worked with the pilot groups to move ideas forward.
Sirolli's model supports a similar approach, but I think has greater capacity to be sustainable. He has 25 years studying those entrepreneurial individuals who we see on the front covers of magazines. He assumed like the rest of us that these powerful individuals were solely responsible for the success of their business. But this was incorrect.
The Trinity of Management training that I was lucky enough to be part of, along with 13 others, provided us with the principles and approach to work differently with those wishing to start an enterprise or project. Invigorating and validating, this workshop certainly backs up the findings of Branching Out and we hope is just the beginning of work with the Sirolli Institute and Enterprise Facilitation in Tasmania.