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 create.
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. “Business” had been my career focus for so many years before, and I wanted to disconnect from that. I spent the years that followed getting to know my own process as a printmaker, building a workshop program, and carving out a life centred on making and teaching.
It has been deeply fulfilling.
Over recent years, I’ve come to notice common threads in the questions and conversations that arise during my workshops and chats with fellow creatives. Questions and conversations about websites, selling work, confidence, visibility, pricing, tools and the admin side of being a working artist.
The more I reflected on those conversations, the more I realised I hadn’t left my “business” background behind after all. Instead, it’s been quietly supporting the way I’ve built and sustained my printmaking practice and workshop program.
And with that I realised … I have something useful to share here.
The Work Behind the Work
Before I shifted my focus to full-time printmaking and teaching, I worked for over 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 roles in several advertising agencies. I 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 my arts practice now, as both an artist and an art educator. My creative passion and career background have helped me to understand the language of creativity and the systems that support it.
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 as separate from my art as I thought it was. Rather, it quietly shaped how I approach my creative practice now.
And it’s a skill set that I want to share.
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. With a clear and uncomplicated understanding of the basics, it is easier to take the next steps. None of us needs to make things more complicated than they already are!
There’s no quick-fix solution or magic wand when it comes to getting serious about the business side of your creative practice. You have to do the work. But you can fast-track your learning by listening to and learning from 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 mentors … and I hope to be that for others.
And, while building my own solid foundation, I learned that it’s essential 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 genuine and sustaining.
Building Something New
If you’ve ever felt like the “business” side of your creative practice is the bit you’d rather avoid, I see you. I’ve been there too. That’s why I’ve created something new:
The Confident Creative – Professional Development for Creatives
The Confident Creative is a series of short, practical workshops designed to help you build confidence in the parts of your creative life that often feel murky, overwhelming or too hard. You can attend one, several or all of the sessions. Pick what resonates with you.
These 2.5-hour sessions aren’t about hype or hustle. They’re about clarity, small steps and real-world experience, drawn from my background as both a working artist and a business professional. Whether you’re unsure how to price your work, present yourself online, or even explain what you do, this series is here to help.
You can view the full list of workshops with more information and booking options.
This is something I’ve been quietly building behind the scenes for a while now. I’m very excited to finally share it. If it sounds like something that could support your practice, I’d love to see you at a session. Below are iamge tiles of each of the 6 topics in the program:
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.
