329 20 plus Lessons Learned from 20 Years in Business

Do you relate? One of the biggest challenges Creatives have is having the TIME to make their Art.   So if we say we want to find the time, and making Art is incredibly important to us then why does it feel so hard to fit it in, to sit down, get out our Art supplies, and start creating? - not just once but regularly.   In this episode, I'm exploring the answer to this question, and talking about what's kept me from making Art along with what I've discovered to help me prioritize what matters most in my life, especially when it comes to my creativity.   I'm sharing 3 tips to help you not only make time for your Art but KEEP making time for your Art.   And if you want to get started with a renewed commitment to your consistent practice, join us for the first official Daily Painting Week, and together we'll focus on making our Art all week.   Register for FREE for this workshop at https://dailypaintingweek.com/   You can find all things Marisa and Creative Thursday creativethursday.com and on instagram and facebook @creativethursday

Big changes underway!   Tune into this episode to get all of the latest happening behind the scenes of Creative Thursday.   A "Direct Pep Talk", this is a transparent share on what it takes to build a Creative Business online today, and have lasting success as a Professional Artist how to choose the right support to grow your business from courses, to memberships to coaches plus I step you through how I prioritize and make big decisions about the direction we're taking after 20 years in business   This is also a time-sensitive invite ending TONIGHT @ 11:59 pm PDT, the last + only chance to get Creative Business Coaching + Consulting support from me this year before the baby comes!   Join us in The Red Dot Society https://thereddotsociety.com/   You can find all things Marisa and Creative Thursday creativethursday.com and on instagram and facebook @creativethursday

Want the secret to my success as a Professional Artist?   Yes! Great, because this is the episode that breaks down the strategy that grew my business from 1 card sale during an entire holiday season to a 6 figure business with multiple revenue streams.   Simple, not easy or more Artists would find the success they're wanting.   In this episode I share 3 ways my favorite strategy helped me grow as an Artist the ONE key to making this strategy work for you an invitation + all the details on you can join me in implementing the strategy I'm sharing with you   Join me for the Summer of Fun! from a Daily Painting Challenge to following along with my own Art creation as I share new work!   Join us in the Daily Painters by jumping on the Wait List opening June 10 https://creativethursday.myflodesk.com/dailypainters   Click the link below to join the Art "Postcard" list for the Summer of Fun by getting the first peek at 12 new originals over 30 days   https://creativethursday.myflodesk.com/summeroffun     You can find all things Marisa and Creative Thursday creativethursday.com and on instagram and facebook @creativethursday

Welcome to another edition of Artist Success Stories! In this episode I'm joined by three of our Artful Selling Alumni; Lisa Kurt, Jessica Tepora, and Dionna Vereen sharing how they transformed self doubt and feeling scared into turning points in their creative business fear may be a clue to what's actually calling you making what you love affects your sales following your dream impacts the people in your life, especially your children it's never too late to come back to your dream developing your muscle for planning also develops so many invaluable life skills making Art helped heal during tragedy practicing 2 specific qualites can make all the difference in how you sell your Art     Doors to Artful Selling are OPEN for a special summer session starting now through Wednesday, May 29 @ 11:59 pm PDT Join us! https://artfulselling.com/ 🎨 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?   You can find all things  Lisa Kurt @lisakurt Jessica Tepora @jessteporaart Dionna Vereen @dionnarama   Marisa Cummings @creativethursday

You know the feeling you get when a dream that's been in the works for a while becomes a reality?   That's the unbridled enthusiasm you're hearing in my voice for this episode.   I'm thrilled to announce that the first official Shiny Squirrel Summit for Visual Artists looking to create multiple revenue streams is happening, and kicking off this Sunday, April 28 @ 1 pm PDT!   And you're invited to this free event. Just head over to https://shinysquirrelsummit.com/ to get your free ticket.   This vision inspired the first Shiny Squirrel podcast episode #271 is bigger than me.   The event includes hearing from 11 additional Creative Expert Speakers on a variety of topics that are all ways you can create more income in your Art business, so you can avoid burnout and have more time to do what you best, make the Art you love making most.   In this episode, I introduce you to all 12 speakers, myself included, and the topics that we'll be covering so you can start thinking about ideas and possibilities to incorporate new revenue streams into your Creative business.   It's going to be a fantastic week!   See you there!   If you're listening after the event happened, and are interested in getting access to the replays please reach out to us at [email protected]   Click here to join the Shiny Squirrel Summit   Click here to download the 20 Ways + Product Ideas to Make Income with Your Art   Listen to the Shiny Squirrel Podcast episode #271   Say hello and follow all the speakers on their Instagram below Joy Cho @ohjoy Bonny Snowdon @bonnysnowdonacademy Josie Lewis @josielewisart Heidi Easley @texasartandsoul_ Kristine Richer @kristinerosephotography Dylan Mierzwinski @bydylanm Mim Jenkinson @mimjenkinson Karen Abend @karenabend Michelle Lloyd @unitedartspace Alex Cole @alexcolestudio Alyssa Van Guilder @apothecaflowers   You can find all things Marisa and Creative Thursday creativethursday.com and on instagram and facebook @creativethursday

What qualities do Creatives have in common that make adding a membership model to their business a perfect fit?   We'll tell you! In today's episode I'm joined by my friend and Mentor of 5 years and Membership Expert Stu McLaren to talk about the wild success Artists are seeing in the membership space.   And by success we mean, growing 7 figure memberships in just a few years, while inspiring art and creativity, and creative business skills for thousands of people across the globe.   It's inspiring, to say the least, to see this rapid growth of PROSPERITY and THRIVING in an industry that was once known for its starving, struggling mentality.   Days of the Starving Artist are gone as Creative Business owners today, myself included are changing the narrative forever more.   It turns out there is one single quality many of us share that makes Artists especially successful at starting, building, and running memberships.   In today's episode, we share what that one quality is among others that makes Artists perfectly suited to add a membership to their revenue streams how many different kinds of creative memberships there are with very specific skills being taught how to know if starting a membership might be something you want to do what owning a membership, not 1 but now 2! has done for me both personally and professionally   If this episode has thinking about what it might be like to start a membership or you have one going already but don't know how to grow it effectively, you're in luck because Stu's free workshop is happening now: How to Turn What You Already Know, Love, and Do into a Profitable Business Just click here to join the workshop for free   You can find all things Marisa and Creative Thursday creativethursday.com and on instagram and facebook @creativethursday

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   You can find all things Marisa and Creative Thursday creativethursday.com and on instagram and facebook @creativethursday

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   You can find all things Marisa and Creative Thursday creativethursday.com and on instagram and facebook @creativethursday  

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   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  

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   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