I had a conversation with one of my Brand Photography Academy students a few months ago, and she said something that stuck with me- she was talking about how she loved that BPA teaches you how to shoot brand photos, but that a constant thread throughout the course is teaching you how to be a better business owner. She said she felt like she had a better grip on how to run the business side of things, not just the photography side… and it made me realize that I LOVE teaching artists how to think like CEOs. 

Because I struggled at the beginning of my business. I willingly ignored the numbers because I’d rather focus on the creative side. I clung to my title of “artist” and used that as an excuse as to why I shouldn’t HAVE to focus as much on marketing or admin. And then because I wasn’t running my business like a CEO, in the words of one of my listeners “I was drowning, wondering how to tame this beast I created.”

There’s a quote that’s been attributed to Jim Kwik- If you fight for your limitations, you get to keep them. 

I could sit there and make excuses all day as to why business wasn’t growing the way I wanted it, and how it wasn’t my fault that I had to work so much.  

But at the end of my whine sessions, I was still in the same place- overworked and disorganized, tired and overwhelmed. I wanted to grow and scale and reach the people I was dying to reach, I had to put my big girl pants on and stop acting like I was just a creative- I’m also the CEO of my business. 

You can be both. You don’t have to choose between the two.

It’s up to you to decide- do you want to be a starving artist? Or would you rather be a creative business owner who decides when and how much they work, who they work with, and how much they’re paid for their time? 

Introducing The Artisan CEO podcast- where the art of photography meets the business of profit.

This podcast is an exploration of what it takes to run your creative business like a well-oiled machine, instead of allowing it to run you. I’ve been SO ENCOURAGED by the overwhelming number of reviews, DMs, and feedback I’ve received from listeners!

We launched with four episodes and have continued adding a new one each week- I’m behind on blogging (playing catch-up over the next few weeks!), so the first season actually wraps up with Episode 12, coming next Monday. 

So the good new is, you can go binge [almost the entire] first season right now :).

Join me on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you prefer to listen– I’ll see you inside Episode 1!