Welcome to From Creative Passion to Profit. It's the

podcast where creativity walks arm in arm with

business. My aim is to help you build a thriving

creative career. And today I'm going to be tackling a topic that is

very common amongst creatives and artists, and

that's not thinking like a business.

Now, I'm not saying you sacrifice your artistic soul, I'm not saying

you sacrifice your artistic DNA, but you need to embrace

the world of business and adapt it to your creative

practice if you want to build a prosperous creative

career. I know what you're thinking. We're not in the business of

making money. It's our artistic impact we're concerned with. And

surely that business stuff, that's for the suits, that's for corporates,

that's for spreadsheets and the like, not for us. But

hear me out. The moment you actually reform, re,

energize and reframe your thinking and see your creative work as

a professional service and not just a mere humble passion

project is the moment your creative practice accelerates and

takes off. Now, let's throw in an example. There's Serena,

an amazing artist. Every evening, every weekend, she's

sketching away. She publishes her work online, but she feels in a

bit of a rut, a bit of a quagmire. She does sell the occasional

piece, but she feels guilty for asking for more money,

in her mind is artwork. Nobody appreciates the work. It's

just a hobby, she says, and she has no way of moving forward

with this. Does that sound familiar to you? This is not a talent issue, but

this is a business and a reframing issue. And without planning,

without thinking forward, you're going to be in a constant cycle of

undercharging and overworking. And the truth is, if you're

really serious about your craft, if you really are serious about

showcasing your talent to the wider world and doing it as a full time

activity or perhaps a profitable part time activity, then you

need to start thinking as a business. And whatever anybody says to

you, don't accept their stobbery. Being a creative, being an artist is

a business. Now, in this episode, I'm going to be covering three

key mindset shifts to help you get there. Number

one, putting value on your work. Number two,

appreciating that profit is not a bad thing. Profit

is the thing that powers your creative practice, sustains your creative

practice and makes sure that you're here next year. Provides a

decent income for yourself, and. It helps you deliver your why to your

audience appreciation. The costs of your Creativity. And yes,

there are costs concerned. And as a bougie bonus, setting

boundaries that protect you and your creative practice.

Start with the idea of putting value on your work. Now, creative

people often struggle to put. A price on their talent. The

appreciation, the love of doing the work, the inability to

embrace the idea of charging gets in the way.

That thought might be floating through your mind is, can I really charge

people for what I'm doing? My short answer is

absolutely, you can and absolutely you should. Your work has

value because it's unique. It's. It's unique to the person who's looking at

it. It's unique to the person who's viewing it. It's unique to the person who's

experiencing it. Think about it. You pay a plumber to fix your sink.

Wouldn't you? If you wouldn't, they're not going to fix your sink for you. They've

got skills and experiences just like you. So here's your first

mindset shift. Stop seeing payment as a favor. Somebody

is helping you out. It's a reflection of the value you bring.

It's an exchange. You're bringing joy, you're bringing impact.

And monetary exchange seems a bargain. The next thing is

the idea of. Profitability and making profits. Now, many

artists that I know and work with, from comedians,

musicians, actors, performers. Will tell me

initially that they're not in it for the money, they're not in it for making

profits. And that's a fair observation, a fair comment for them to

make. However, every type of business,

whatever space. You inhabit, if you do not look to making a profit

to recoup your costs and make something on top of. It, you never build

up a fighting fund, you never build up reserves, you never reward

yourself fairly. You'll be unable to invest in the

future, you'll be unable to operate, and. You'Ll just

introduce stress and anxiety into your life when it shouldn't be there.

There's nothing wrong with making profit how you make it,

what you do with. That profit is a secondary conversation. But

absolutely, profit is a necessity. Let's also talk

about costs. Now, you might be charging, for arguments sake, £200. So

think about Serena in our earlier example. But what about the time and

the materials and all the overheads, the expenses

required to make that piece of work? Now, if she's spending

£100 on supplies. And another 20 hours drawing, the

£200. She'S charging starts to look pretty miserable

and pretty thin. To run your sustainable creative business,

you need to factor in all of the costs. Now, the obvious ones

like materials and studio space, but also things like travel,

time, traveling to see a client, traveling to do the piece of work,

marketing, promotion. All of those have a cost attached to

it. Now it was a straightforward, easy way to start. Make a

note of the costs involved in your creative process. Now, whether you do

it online, digitally, or whether you do it on a piece of paper matters

not. But write down the costs involved in your creative process.

You'll be surprised of how much slips under the radar. Now

let's talk boundaries. As a creative, it's tempting to say yes to

every opportunity. Been there, seen it, worn the T shirt,

free gigs, exposure, deals. Yep, do this for nothing and

you'll get wide known underpricing your commissions just to get a piece of

work. Understandable. But it adds up to burnout. And it adds

up to reinforcing the low value you might put in yourself.

Now try this. For the next few weeks, practice saying

no to offers that don't match your worth. Or pause before

you say yes. For example, if somebody asks for a discount, reframe

that. Perhaps try something like I'd love to help, but my rate

reflects the time and materials needed to deliver quality. One that I

share with my clients is to say, I'd love to, but my accountant

would have a go at me. It's not fair on my current clients there. But

don't immediately say yes to an offer. Value

your work and value yourself. Understand and appreciate your costs

and set those boundaries. Not only will you earn more, but. You

will also protect your passion from burnout. Now let me know

what you think folks. Does it resonate with what your thoughts are? Do you think

like a business owner? Or do you think just like an artist and ignore

the business disciplines required until next time.