When Shane and Summer Salazar opened the Unincorporated Life storefront on the corner of Western and Virginia in Hollywood, some of the only foot traffic they received was from curious passers-by wondering what they were up to. Large windows posing as walls allow people to easily peer into the large, scantily-furnished space, but upon first glance, there is little indication of what actually goes on inside.
It’s hard to explicitly advertise a business that is comprised of so many different components. The Unincorporated Life may be best known for their fashion and branding classes or their more large-scale marketing ventures including photography and video for brands like Nike and Volcom, however these business wunderkinds are really in the game of creative entrepreneurship. They are a jack-of-all-trades type of business run by inventive individuals that learned from an early age that creativity and business go hand-in-hand, rather than one rivaling the progress of the other.
“People often underestimate their power to create,” says Summer Salazar. “We’re trying to teach people how to not only be business savvy, but also be creative. There’s a misconception that if you’re good at one then you’re bad at the other. The fact is you have to be both. Businesses need to find creative approaches to marketing and artists need to be business savvy to make money.”
Unincorporated fosters a creative platform for businesses, artists, adults, and kids to generate and transform fresh ideas about business practices into actionable results that encourage the development of their clients’ passions and help them align their careers with those passions.
Structured business models have gone way of the dinosaur and the Unincorporated brand focuses on flexiblility, enough to move with the currents of the orientation of their clients’ goals. No set rules perhaps, but clear intention to swell peoples’ fervor and ambitions imbues the spirit of creative business. Since the Unincorporated LIfe’s inception it has grown into a collective outlet for friends and a hub for creating business relationships through collaborations and events with other entrepreneurs.