RealmIQ: SESSIONS with Joel Pilger

  In this episode of the RealmIQ Sessions podcast, Curt Doty interviews Joel Pilger, the founder of Impossible Pictures, a renowned studio he led for 20 years. Post his exit from the studio, Joel created a roadmap to help creative studios thrive, combining vast experience with empathy for the entrepreneurial journey. Joel now leads forums, teaches accelerator courses, advises studios, and hosts the "The Fabulists" podcast.

Curt and Joel discuss the intersection of business and creativity, emphasizing the necessity for creatives to understand business to sell their work effectively. Joel shares his journey of moving from running a studio to helping other studio owners navigate their challenges and grow. They delve into the role of AI in the creative industry, with Joel highlighting AI as a tool that enhances creative processes rather than replacing creatives.  Curt and Joel also explore pricing strategies, advocating for a shift away from billable hours to outcome-based compensation, ensuring that creatives are rewarded for their results rather than their inputs.

The conversation concludes with mutual appreciation for the discussion and an encouragement for listeners to embrace AI as an augmentative tool, integrating it into their workflows to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

List of Topics

1. The importance of understanding business in the creative industry
2. Joel's transition to advising and helping other studio owners
3. The impact of AI on the creative industry
4. The importance of AI as a tool and not a replacement
5. Strategies for maintaining value in creative services
6. The future of AI in the creative industry
7. The concept of ephemeralization and its relevance to AI
8. Pricing strategies and the move away from billable hours
9. Embracing AI as an augmentative tool
10. The importance of creativity and maintaining a unique value proposition

Quotes from Speakers

Curt Doty:

• "Unless you can sell the creative that you're doing, it will never see the light of day."
• "We are in a thaw right now. It's been an iceberg, but it's starting to thaw."
• "We shouldn't be in an AI-first world. AI is the number one topic in the world, but how you infuse that into your services, it should not lead it."

Joel Pilger:

• "Business is this means to an end called, oh, if we want to be successful in the creative career, we have to master so many of these areas in business."
• "AI in its current form will never be the same. A taste maker, it will be in the hands of a taste maker."
• "Yesterday's expertise is rapidly becoming today's service and tomorrow will be a commodity."
• "Ephemeralization is the process by which we can do more and more with less and less until eventually you can do everything with nothing."

Joel’s Links

·       LinkedIn

·       Instagram

·       Website