Creative Thursday

20 plus Lessons Learned from 20 Years in Business

20 plus Lessons Learned from 20 Years in Business

If I could go back and mentor my younger business self, the one who said yes to her dream of becoming a Professional Artist, the lessons learned that I share in this episode is what I would say.

 

Today, March 7 marks a celebration of not only 17 years of making a consistent living with my Creative Business but this February 2024 I celebrated 20 years since the very first Creativethursday.com site went live, featuring my Art work.

 

Back then I was so busy trying to make it all a go, that I didn't even know (or think I had the time) to intentionally hold a vision and actually plan out where I wanted to be 20 years ahead. For the longest time I was living in a pinch me state, wondering if what I was building wasn't just a temporary dream.

 

Turns out it wasn't a temporary dream, but one that would grow to help and support you in your Creative dreams too.

 

What would it have been like if I had the insight I have now when I first started?

 

That's the wish right, and yet it's the 20 years of lived experience starting, building, and growing my own business that was the ONLY way to gain this insight.

 

And now I get to share this wisdom with you, while also applying it to my vision for the next 20 years.

 

So, let's go! Together

 

In this episode I share 20 plus lessons I learned in 20 years of building Creative Thursday, covering a variety of topics from

  • the power of intention
  • keys to Creative Business Success
  • how to navigate your business boundaries
  • why knowing and tracking your numbers is essential
  • what I wish I had known sooner

 

Gift for you! Download the 20 ways to make income as a Visual Artist

Click here to Download

 

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Artist Success Stories from Courage to Consistency with Heather Harrington, Joanna Smith and Marissa Parsons

Artist Success Stories from Courage to Consistency with Heather Harrington, Joanna Smith and Marissa Parsons

Get excited! welcome to another favorite edition of Artist Success Stories.

 

In this episode I'm joined by three of our Alumni; Heather Harrington, Joanna Smith, and Marissa Parsons sharing

  • how they first decided to follow their passion
  • what's helped them find and keep the courage to pursue the professional Artist life
  • how they show up with consistency
  • the value of self-discovery + authenticity in the art-selling process
  • the benefits of personalized mentorship
  • the significance of community and support in building an art business
  • why it's so important to celebrate accomplishments and stay grateful for the process
  • and the transformative effects of choosing to join us in Artful Selling

 

Hip Hip Hooray! It's here! Only Open Once a Year!

Doors to Artful Selling are OPEN starting now through Tuesday, January 23 @ 11:59 pm PST

 

🎨 Transform Your Art Business:

Craft your Art Sales + Marketing Plan for 2024 and beyond. Make more art, sell more art, and turn your dreams into reality.

 

💡 Get Clarity and Achieve Your Dreams:

This time, it's about follow-through! Having a Sales and Marketing Plan is the most effective way to confidently and consistently sell to your Ideal Collectors online. Let's build a thriving business that supports a life you love.

 

📆 Your 12-Month Product Launch Plan:

Know what you're creating, when you're launching it, and how to price it for PROFIT.

 

📱 Create Your Social Media Plan:

Unlock the secrets to impactful social media strategies.

 

📧 Create Your Email Marketing Plan:

Learn the art of email marketing for successful art promotion.

 

🌟 Ready to Make Selling Your Art Easy?

 

We can't wait to welcome you!

 

Join us!

https://artfulselling.com/

 

You can find all things

Heather Harrington @lifeandwhim on instagram

Joanna Smith @joanna.smith.5876 on facebook

Marissa Parsons @marissaparsonsstudio on instagram

 

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Favorite Organization Tools for Social Media Planning + Project Management

Favorite Organization Tools for Social Media Planning + Project Management

Spontaneous creation or being prepared ahead of time with your content? which do you prefer?

 

Continuing on with our series, part 3, of answering your Time Management questions; I'm opening this episode with a few more social media creation tips, specifically for video, while also sharing more tools to help you get and stay organized with your assets, marketing plan and project management.

 

  • what and when I record behind the scenes to use in my social media marketing
  • app recommendations for video editing
  • my favorite project management tools and how I use them specifically for my social media planning

 

 

Yay! it's almost go time!

We start Monday, January 15

Join the Profitable Artist Planning Challenge + Coaching Week

 

Join the Artful Selling Waitlist

 

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Best Practices + Tips for Organizing your Social Media Imagery

Best Practices + Tips for Organizing your Social Media Imagery

Be honest: how's your 2024 Social Media plan looking?

 

Are you feeling ready with a big picture strategy in place, or are you reading this thinking, Marisa what are you talking about "ready", I barely know what to post tomorrow let alone the rest of 2024

 

Would you like to feel more prepared when it comes to your marketing?

 

What if this is the year you could change the hamster wheel approach of: overwhelm + procrastinate = now I feel behind so why bother with any sort of plan at all ~

to breathing easier because you feel clear and excited about what you're creating and sharing with the wonderful people who can't wait to see (and collect) what you're working on.

 

On this first Creative Thursday of the new year, the energy of clarity that comes with a clean slate is on your side which is why I'm excited to welcome you to part 2 of the Time Management series where I'm continuing to answer your questions and sharing tips on how to organize your social media content so that you're not constantly trying to figure out "what to post" and wondering whether what you post will actually help you reach your people and grow your Art business.

 

When I find myself getting overloaded by a long list of to dos, a simple practice of physical and/or digital organization is the best place to start to catch my breath and clear my head.

 

With that approach in mind let's get into some practical tips to help you get organized.

 

In this episode, I share:

  • what tools and apps I use to organize and back-up my assets
  • how I organize my photos and social media images so that they're easy to find
  • what apps I use to enhance and elevate my photography

 

It's getting close now...let's kick off the new year, with an inspiring planning session together.

We start Monday, January 15

Join the Profitable Artist Planning Challenge + Coaching Week

 

Join the Artful Selling Waitlist

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How to Plan Your Social Media Creation + Posting

How to Plan Your Social Media Creation + Posting

First ~ thank you for your kind messages about our recent loss.

 

Holiday time, depending upon how you like to approach this season, can be filled with long to-do lists, countless visits, parties, and celebrations, or if you're like me, a perfect time for a peaceful reset.

 

Very intentional about how we choose to spend Christmas, Sean and I often opt for a quiet celebration which leads to a perfect opening to dream, plan, and prepare for what's next.

 

Over the past few years of a rapidly growing business, this has been the best time to get caught up and reset, from organizing to planning along with getting a head start on upcoming projects, especially those happening at the start of the new year (get excited and save the date! the Profitable Artist Planning Challenge and Coaching week starts Monday, January 15)

 

On the last episode I invited you to send me your questions about time management, and this is the first in a series of 3 answering what you asked about the most with today's part 1 focusing on a very popular topic: Social Media, specifically how I plan my Social Media from content creation to posting.

 

In this episode, I share with you:

  • the BIG mistake I see many Artists making when it comes to how and when they post to their Social Media
  • what you must have clarity on FIRST to effectively post to your Social Media
  • why it's important to understand your relationship with selling and being sold to
  • how I like to plan my Social Media shares
  • my best practices for planning and posting your Social Media content

 

 

See you January 15 for an inspiring + fun 2024 Planning session!

 

Join the Profitable Artist Planning Challenge + Coaching Week

we start Monday, January 15

 

Join the Artful Selling Waitlist

 

To get the latest updates, click here to join the Creative Thursday List

 

You can find all things Marisa and Creative Thursday

creativethursday.com

and on instagram and facebook

@creativethursday

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How I Structure my Day to Achieve My Goals

How I Structure my Day to Achieve My Goals

What does your ideal work day look like?

 

A question I'm often is what does my the structure of my day looks like and how do I schedule it to support my goals.

 

Do you know your energy levels throughout the days of a week, at particular times of day?

 

When it comes to planning your ideal schedule where does your productivity excel?

 

All important questions to help you be efficient with your time and effective with your focus. But not more important than the one question I come back to asking every time you ask me about how I plan.

 

In this episode I remind you of that single most important question that you want an answer to that will help you all the rest of your plans fall into place.

 

I also share with you the full list of responsibilities I have in the business today while stepping you through exactly how my days and week look based upon my answer to the questions above.

 

In a nutshell, this is how I get things done in my business.

 

Part 1 of a series on Time Management. Send me your DM's on Instagram @ creativethursday with any time management suggestions and questions you'd like me to answer and I'll include them in the podcast.

 

And stay tuned for the Profitable Artist Planning Challenge, starting January 8, so we can do some planning together!

 

If you tuned into the episode on this Thursday the episode dropped, super secret invite you can join us for the last time this year as a Founding Monthly or Annual Member in the brand new Daily Painters Membership where we'll be making Art together all year long!

https://cart.creativethursday.com/daily-painters-founding-member/

 

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Did You Hear the News?

Did You Hear the News?

Did you hear the news? Not only am I now a happily married Mrs!

 

During my time away from the podcast I had an epiphany, a realization about what's been missing, what can no longer take a back seat, and the dreams I'm fulfilling in 2024.

 

I've got a lot to fill you in on and I'm starting by sharing the story of the Cranky Bunny, and the inspiration behind a brand new idea and Artist community I just opened that I've been thinking about since 2006.

 

I'm also excited to invite you to come have some holiday fun, creative painting time with me starting Monday!

 

Join me for the Ornament Painting Workshop starting Monday, December 11

https://ornamentpainting.shinepages.com/

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Artist Success Stories featuring Molly Ovenden and Leah Selk

Artist Success Stories featuring Molly Ovenden and Leah Selk

Welcome to another installment of Artist Success Stories.

 

This episode highlights 2 of our Expansive Artist Members sharing stories about how they came to follow their passion and experience breakthroughs with their Art + Creative Businesses.

 

Artists; Molly Ovenden, Leah Selk join me for this episode where we talk about:

  • Molly, a full-time multi-disciplinary Artist, shares how she lets one art from influence another, and how adopting the practice of planning and embracing a business owner mindset, has transformed her creative practice and how she runs her business today with the ability to think long term
  • Leah, a watercolor Artist who wasn't sure if being an Artist was meant for her (even after she graduated Art School) shares how she went from wondering if she could actually make sales to people who aren't her friends to knowing she CAN do this, growing in confidence to raise her prices and selling $6K at her first local gallery show which is leading to even more opportunities in her local community

 

Perfect timing to join our inspiring community of Expansive Artists! Doors are OPEN for the last time to the public this year starting today through next Tuesday, October 3 @ 11:59 pm PDT

 

Get ready to experience your next Creative + Art Business breakthrough with plenty of support, accountability, and encouragement along the way.

 

We can't wait to welcome you!

 

Come join us!

https://theexpansiveartists.com/

 

You can find all things

Molly Ovenden

Mollyovenden.com

@Mollyovendencreativity on Instagram

 

Leah Selk

Leahselk.ca

@leahselkart on Instagram

  

To get the latest updates, click here to join the Creative Thursday List

 

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What keeps you from selling work?

What keeps you from selling work?
What do you do when you feel resistance to the very thing you say you want, like growing your Art business.

 

Specifically, what keeps you from putting your work out in the world for sale?

Is it:

  • that it's hard for you to part with your originals?
  • you're afraid of the response how it will be received?
  • you're concerned it might not sell?

 

And what does it mean if your work doesn't sell?

 

Welcome to another session of Creative Business Coaching over coffee where Artist Una Marz courageously, and vulnerably answers the questions above when she asked for coaching help to understand her fears around releasing her original works.

 

Una and I talk through her fears after I share several announcements from

  • Sell A Piece of Art Challenge starting this Monday! to
  • Opening registration to my first in-person painting workshop in Los Angeles this November
  • To the story of how the opportunity to design my first box of cards for Papyrus came to be.

 

Join us for Sell A Piece of Art this Week

 

sellmyartthisweek.com

 

Join me, with my dear friend and award-winning floral designer Alyssa Van Guilder of Apotheca Flowers for our in-person floral design + painting event and creative business brunch.

Save your spot for 1, 2, or 3 days

 

Floral Design + Painting Workshop

 

You can find all things Una Marz at @una.marz

 Card box featured above Creative Thursday by Marisa for Papyrus cards.

 

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How to Get (the Right) Support as a Creative

How to Get (the Right) Support as a Creative

Hi! It's me Marisa, your Creative Biz Bestie sharing the scoop on

  • why
  • how and
  • when to get support as a Creative especially if you're pursuing Creativity as your career.

 

I break down the possibilities for learning in my multi-layer cake approach to education, along with

  • the choices you'll make when it comes to investing in your education
  • how to be discerning when getting support from experienced Mentors
  • and how to know if they are right for you
  • how to determine your budget for investing in your support

 

I also talk about the importance of when and how to choose a Mentor who has Coaching expertise,

  • the skills that make a good Coach
  • the training needed
  • to practical and intuitive guidance

 

 

And in response to an Expansive Artist member request for more Mindset recommendations from podcasts to books I share some of my favorites with you.

 

Join us for Sell A Piece of Art this Week Challenge + Coaching

https://sellmyartthisweek.com/

 

Want to know when spots open up for 1:1 Coaching again

email us at support@creativethursday.com

 

See you over on Instagram for some Creative Business Coaching @creativethursday

 

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