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Articles on finishing self-generated work and building expertise-based creative businesses, with the Creative Engine, Ground Truth, and Capacity frameworks.
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Portrait painter doubles her commission income with the right marketing tools
Listen to Sarah’s story in her own words: For several years, Sarah Marie Lacy had run a successful art school, but when the pandemic hit, things changed—in-person classes halted and the building she’d been using was slated to be demolished. Sarah closed the doors to the school. She decided it was finally time to focus on the work she was most interested in, but that has taken a backseat for years. She said, “I’ve been doing portrait painting on the side for 15 years. But it was inconsistent. I’d realized it was something I wanted to dedicate myself to.” Although Sarah’s school had been a success, she found the pivot to portrait painting challenging. It was hard to develop a…
From toxic academia to business as a support system: The power of guardrails to balance client work and studio time
Listen to Samantha’s story in her own words: Samantha Clark is an award-winning visual artist and writer with an active exhibition schedule, who has also been commissioned for major public projects. For nearly 25 years, Samantha built her body of work while supporting herself as a professor of art in higher education. But as time went on, the academic path became increasingly problematic. Less of her time was spent talking with and mentoring students, and more of it was spent caught up in the bureaucracies of higher ed. “The more senior you become, the more of all that stuff you get to deal with,” she said. Samantha knew what she wanted to do—teach and mentor artists and writers directly. “I…
Make More Money With Your Creative Business | Resource Guide
Make more money with your creative business | Resource Guide This one’s for you if you’re self-employed and barely scraping by, or dying to quit a soul-sucking day job and hoping to make more money with your creative business – but can’t imagine how you could make real money without mastering Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, email marketing (and the list goes on…), magically developing the ability to sell to clients, launching several more “income streams”, and giving up on sleep. Whether you are trying to generate some extra income on the side, or supporting a family as a creative is mission-critical, this series of resources is designed to help you understand your choices, and to make better ones, so you can…
Make more money as a creative | Are you underpricing your work?
Here’s the good news: Once you understand the math, you’ve got choices. You can build a creative business that feeds your soul… and also your body. You can take control of your time, charge more for your work, get paid well, and feel like an actual grownup. But none of that happens the way society teaches us. It doesn’t happen because you’re amazing at what you do (even though you are). It doesn’t happen because you followed the rules and got good grades and paid your dues (even though you did). It doesn’t happen because you have passion or you’re willing to put in the hours (even though you do). We all learn, growing up, that if you want to…
From Burnt Out Artist to Joyful Creative Coach: The Power of the “Perfect Fit” Business Model
Listen to Eleanor’s story in her own words: Eleanor Chaney is an artist and educator who has worked as an illustrator, exhibited her prints in shops and galleries, and taught skills-based arts and crafts classes to thousands of people. But as a working artist and teacher, she felt like she had hit an upper limit on how much money she could make. “[During the pandemic] what became really, really apparent was it wasn’t that I wasn’t capable of making a living as an artist. The things I was being paid for weren’t even fulfilling in the way that they had been in the past. Because I had changed. And what I wanted from my work had changed. And I also…
Are you on the hamster wheel of being overworked and underpaid? How one neurodivergent artist created a path to success
Listen to Deirdre’s story in her own words: When people talk about being “stuck” professionally because of constant overwhelm in their life, Deirdre Colgan Jones understands. Deirdre is a professionally trained artist, architect, and teacher who struggled to make a living doing what she loves. “I was caught in this hamster wheel of doing things that I thought would earn me an income, only to come up empty-handed or underpaid.” When Deirdre joined the Autonomous Creative Incubator (ACI) program in January of 2022, her mother and son both had health issues that required constant attention, and her recent diagnosis of adult ADHD made completing tasks even more challenging. “I was struggling with how I could be an artist sustainably. That’s…