The Itty Bitty Values of Incubator

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The "Itty Bitty" Values of Incubator

Incubator’s President, Nate Sakany, is renown for the expression “doing small in a big way.” It’s the small things that make a big difference in the success of a music ministry or business. Combine this philosophy with Incubator’s “…hatching good stuff” motto and you get the “Itty Bitty Stuff” of Incubator. In specific, you have the following 14 guiding values that drive Incubator.

All of us spend a lot of time with decisions… making them, worrying about them, analyzing them, researching them, talking to others about them, etc. However, we generally spend very little time thinking about and articulating our underlying values. But it is our values that ultimately force our decisions, whether we are aware of it or not. We think it’s important for you to know the values that shape the operations of Incubator. So, we present for your consideration, the “Itty Bitty Stuff” of Incubator… (more...)

Accountability & Connectivity

#1. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Accountabil–ITY. Incubator believes in accountability. Whether it’s the practical spiritual accountability of being plugged into a local church, or the harsh-but-loving ‘iron sharpens iron’ interaction style of Incubator, accountability is a thread woven throughout the fabric of the company’s philosophy and operations. What does accountability mean to an Incubator artist? It brings a relentless partner that keeps you busy doing the things that will bring about positive growth for your music ministry. It gives you a connection point to something bigger than yourself. It gives you a professional partner committed to your goal of being faithful with the vision God has placed in you for music ministry.

#2. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Connectiv–ITY. One of the frustrations of emerging artists is the ability to connect with professional assistance and pertinent and targeted information that will help on practical levels. In order to grow, you need to have reliable and reachable sources of assistance for the tough questions and issues that come up. Through its various divisions, Incubator provides specialized and quality help that is applied with wisdom and insight gained from more than 100 years of combined leadership and management experience and a 20 year history of focused work with emerging artists. Artists have a solid resource to avoid the risks of a solely independent approach to ministry and operate instead as an informed interdependent artist. (more...)

Objectivity & Teachability

#3. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Objectiv–ITY. Some artists know just enough about things to be dangerous. Often, one of the greatest needs is to be saved from yourself! Incubator brings a professional objectivity to its artists that provides insightful perspective, challenges existing premises, disrupts bad habits, sees the big picture, and asks smart questions. Incubator’s professional relationship with its roster clients holds in check two of the major causes of shipwreck in emerging artist’s ministry development: blindness and near-sightedness.

#4. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Teachabil–ITY. A primary qualification for working with Incubator is a teachable attitude. We love learning and we love working with learners! Artists who qualify to be a part of the Incubator roster understand their need to grow on multiple levels. If you want to keep having what you have, just keep doing what you’re doing. To change your results, you need to learn, grow and do things differently. Incubator is all about transformation and growth. (more...)

Sustainability and Obscurity

#5. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Sustainabil–ITY. Proverbs 24:3-4 says, “Any enterprise is built upon wise planning, becomes strong through commonsense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.” (Living). Incubator takes an ‘annuity’ approach to building a music ministry… making today’s investment of time, energy and money expand into the future. We are not interested in quick results that only last a short time – we want sustainable ministries. A well constructed music ministry can not only provide financial stability but can also give an artist deep satisfaction and an ongoing place in their lives to celebrate good things in an otherwise depressing world.

#6. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Obscur–ITY. The music industry is about hype and glamour – about promoting an artist as a celebrity – as a ‘somebody’. Incubator is about celebrating and supporting nobodies – artist who are content to enjoy the satisfaction of in-person heart-to-heart ministry instead of the glamour of notoriety. Choosing the path of obscurity over notoriety, Incubator artists are committed to doing small in a big way. Artfully combining spiritual honesty and business integrity, roster artists are ‘okay’ with being a nobody. They don’t see ministry in the local church marketplace as just a stepping-stone to something more valid down the road. They are grounded with a good sense of their place in the overall scheme of God’s plan. After all, they’re followers of a King from an obscure village who was born in a barn. (more...)

Responsibility & Integrity

#7. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Responsibil–ITY. One of the hardest lessons of adulthood is responsibility. There is no shortage of ways to creatively avoid, shift, or dilute responsibility – but it must be intentionally embraced in order to move a music ministry forward. Responsibility is both a requirement for faithful stewardship of the vision entrusted to you and a tool for accomplishing that vision. The Incubator model appeals to those artists who are willing to apply a solid work ethic to a logical plan that is laid out for them.

#8. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Integr-ITY. The quality of being the same on the outside and the inside is the essence of integrity. True integrity can only be experienced by being truly known, truly accepted, and truly loved. Incubator’s nurturing environment fosters a deep level of knowing, encourages a sincere level of honesty, and offers acceptance and a challenge to an ongoing lifestyle of integrity (a crucial element for success in the local church marketplace). Like Margery Williams tale of the Velveteen Rabbit, Incubator artists are learning that ‘realness’ comes from having ‘all the fur rubbed off’. (more...)

Vulnerability and Sobriety

#9. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Vulnerabil–ITY. In many ways, Christian subculture has institutionalized superficiality. In order to reach deeply into the local church marketplace, an artist must artfully use personal vulnerability and effective communication tools. Incubator artists represent artistic testimonies of brokenness gone good: struggles away from sexual abuse, depression, hypocrisy, suicide, people pleasing, religious blindness, and a host of other ‘don’t talk about it’ subjects. They are caring artists, sharing honest stories and music on the no-hype platform of the local churches across the world.

#10. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Sobri–ETY. There is no shortage of addictive lifestyles that insulate us from true relationship with God and others (and they’re certainly not limited to obvious things like drugs and alcohol). Christian subculture is full of its own unique blend of physical, emotional and spiritual addictions. Incubator encourages living an honest, conscious, and present life – seeking a release from fixations on the past or worries about the future. Incubator effectively utilizes many principles of spiritual recovery without being caught up in the jargon, patterns, and polarization of the recovery movement. It brings to light a simple and useable approach to accepting the human condition, understanding the simple truths of the gospel message, and daily relying on the grace of God – and all with a temperance and wisdom that allows artist’s ministries to be palatable and effective across denominational boundaries in the local church marketplace. (more...)

Ingenuity and Eternity

#11. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Ingenu–ITY. Incubator is committed to creativity that extends beyond just the artistic expressions of music to every facet of the operation of a music ministry. As a company, Incubator constantly applies itself to innovation through unconventional and creative methods of operation. And, it models and encourages that innovation in the ministries of its roster artists. Incubator systems are the result of studying countless music ministries for a search of what works and what doesn’t. That research is blended with a real-world understanding of the local church marketplace and constant innovative problem solving. From booking, to marketing, to platform performance, Incubator is committed to the process of excellence through innovation and ingenuity.

#12. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Etern-ITY. Incubator is committed to the Biblical concept that God has planted a piece of eternity and a unique purpose into the heart of the Christian artist (Eccl 3:11). Some call it ‘ an anointing’ or a ‘calling’ or ‘a plan for your life’ or a simply a unique sense of mission. Whatever you call it, the bottom line is the same. You have an indescribable urge and passion to respond to the piece of eternity that God has planted in you. The ‘incubator’ is designed to nurture and release that unique vision for music ministry. By tapping into that special piece of eternity, an artist practically taps into the power and force of God to bring it about. Incubator artists long to live a life of significance – to avoid at all costs going to their grave with their dream still inside thereby leaving the world a poorer place. (more...)

Productivity and Speciality

#13. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Productiv–ITY. The concept of productivity is foundational to Incubator. Aside from the faithfulness of God, the primary determiner of success in any endeavor is your ability to produce results. Incubator’s system creates an environment where goals are clear and strategies are attainable and rewards those who produce results. Incubator levels the playing field for you as an emerging artist. Rather than the typical industry foundations of ‘talent and notoriety’ and ‘product and luck’, Incubator rewards consistent and solid work ethic that produces results. The harder you work with Incubator, the luckier you get!

#14. The Incubator Itty Bitty Value of Special-ITY. The arrival of the Internet age is waking up the world and shaking up the music industry. It has also opened tremendous doors of opportunity in niche marketing carving out new possibilities for the emerging Christian artist. Where the mainstream of the music industry requires a ‘wide’ distribution basis to function, an artist who specializes and serves a niche market can create a ‘deep’ foundation that is both financially stable and loyal. In the 21st century, success will be determined more by the depth and strength of your grip than the width of your reach. Most of the advice dispensed to emerging artists about developing a music career is based upon the ‘wide’ precepts of the music industry. Incubator stands in stark contrast by advising and promoting ‘deep’ principles of building a marketplace that provides a stable and sustainable interdependent music ministry. You really can ‘do small’ in a big way!