Finding My Way (Back) to Business
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we, as creative people, carry so much more than the work we make.
We juggle inspiration, time, money, materials, doubt, dreams and (often quietly behind the scenes) the business of keeping it all afloat.
For a long time, I kept the “business” part of my creative life at arm’s length. I’ve spent years getting to know my own process as a printmaker, building a workshop program and carving out a life centred on making and teaching. It’s been deeply fulfilling. But I’ve also noticed how often the same questions come up in my classes and conversations with fellow creatives. Questions about websites, selling work, confidence, visibility, pricing, tools and the admin side of being a working artist.
And I realised … I have something useful to share here.
Note: There are no photos in this post – just words. But if you’re a visually-minded creative, I hope you’ll still find value here. Sometimes clarity comes through quietly.
The Work Behind the Work
Before I shifted my focus to full-time printmaking and teaching, I worked for more than three decades in graphic design, advertising and digital marketing. I started out as a graphic artist in Brisbane in the late 1980s – back when artwork was done by hand and pre-press involved paste-up boards and film. Over the years, I moved into studio and operations management in several advertising agencies, then ran my own creative businesses offering design, website development and marketing consultancy to small businesses across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and later Maleny.
This broad experience, spanning both creative execution and business operations, forms the backbone of what I now share with students. I understand the language of creativity and the systems that support it. My approach is practical, no-fuss and built on real-world application. I’ve lived through the shifts in technology, faced the messiness of business ownership and know how valuable it is to find clarity, simplicity and confidence in your own creative path. I’ve managed client accounts, built websites, worked across social media, implemented Quality Assurance systems (eek!!), wrangled bookkeeping, and done all the things many creatives don’t particularly enjoy doing—but often have to.
That part of my life wasn’t separate from my art. Rather, it quietly shaped how I approach my creative practice now.
And it’s something I want to share more of.
Not in a slick, one-size-fits-all “here’s how to do it” kind of way. But in a gentle, honest, demystifying way. I believe in leaving the jargon behind and starting with the basics. Because we don’t need to make things more complicated than they already are.
There’s no quick-fix solution or magic wand. You have to do the work. But you can fast-track your learning by listening to people who’ve gone before you. People who’ve made mistakes and learned lessons, and are happy to share them. The trick is finding someone who resonates. Someone who speaks your language. Who walks a similar path. That’s how I’ve found my own most helpful teachers, and I hope to be that for others.
It is important to be aware of what others are doing … but even more important to run your own race. Your practice is your own. Your rhythm, your values, your way of working. This creative life doesn’t always follow a straight line. Life gets messy. Priorities shift. We get derailed. That’s normal.
So we find our flow again. We honour where we’re at. And we keep investing in ourselves, gently and steadily, to build the kind of life and work that feels real and sustaining.
Building Something New
In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing something new I’ve been working on. It’s for people who are ready to bring more focus, confidence or structure to the business side of their creative life. It’s something I’ve been quietly building for a while, and now feels like the right time to share it.
But for now, I just wanted to say this: if you’ve ever felt like the “business” part of your art life is the bit you’d rather avoid, I see you. I’ve been there too. And I want to help, in a way that feels supportive, practical and true to how creatives actually work.
Pieces That Brought Me Here
If this post resonated with you, you might enjoy these earlier reflections. They trace some of the twists and turns that led me here – from creative burnout to rediscovery, and the slow building of a life shaped by making, teaching and learning along the way.
