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‘Tis the season for taxes. Hannah Cole, artist and owner of Sunlight Tax, was kind enough to come on the podcast and answer some of the most common questions like: How should I file?When should I hire a tax professional?What items can I list as an expense/deduction?Listen to hear answers to these questions and be sure to check out her extremely helpful resources below: The Sunlight Podcast: Clear, actionable tips on how to manage your taxes and money as a self-employed person. Free visual guide to your tax deductions A free one-hour class, Make Taxes Easier and Stash an Extra $130k in Your Savings

This week’s episode features Ukrainian-born, now New Jersey-based, artist Olga Muzician. About halfway through this interview I realized - we have two very different work styles. Olga has the drive and need for perfection in everything she does. Everything is organized, clean, and as efficient as possible. There is no room for spontaneity or winging it in her work life. This interview is a great look at the opposite side of a previous solo episode I did where I confessed that I paint up to the value of my customer’s budget. If the customer is happy, I’m happy. With Olga, if she’s not making her next masterpiece, then she’s not happy. There’s no good enough attitude happening here. Which explains why her project minimum is $3,500. Olga charges her worth and explains what’s included in her process to create a masterpiece every single time. She also put into words the mental creative process that happens inside my head when trying to think up the next big idea (mockup) for a customer. That brain roller coaster that goes on throughout a couple of days or weeks of extracting that one-of-a-kind idea out of my usually stagnant creative brain for my new hopeful customer. I’ll let her do the explaining, so let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Olga Muzician.

This is what the seasons of my business typically look like: Winter: Planning, practicing, resting - Do I want to repeat last year or change some things? How can I make this year more enjoyable? Spring: Experimenting, pitching - Stick to the plan and welcome new, fun opportunities. Summer: Hustling - Let’s go! Fall: Slowing, regrouping - Avoid burnout. Listen to this week’s episode to hear an explanation of each, including the things I’m currently doing in this winter season to prepare for having my most productive/profitable year yet. I also share recommended replacements for all of that negative self-talk new artists often given themselves in the beginning of their art careers. Things like, “I’m not good enough,” or “I’m not where I want to be yet…” Listen to hear how I personally combat the negativity and replace it with hope! The Series Six Challenge starts SOON! Join us: Artist Academy Challenge1

This week’s episode features art marketer Jessica Craddock. Jessica mentors ADHD artists who are tired of marketing strategies that don’t align with their personality to sell 3x more art. I like talking to other business minded creatives and I used this interview to extract some art marketing advice that I don’t regularly teach. Jessica comes from a business background and gives a clear look at her student’s businesses to help them simply describe their art and how to buy it. We chat on subjects like outreach, how to get referrals, and how to start selling canvas art in your local area. Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Jessica Craddock.

This week’s episode of the Artist Academy Podcast features an Atlanta-based multi-passionate artist Elise Garcia. Elise has a positively infectious energy about her that I know will spill onto you to brighten your day. Her outlook on living a fearless life is commendable as she has some hilariously terrible travel incidents to share with us today. On the art side of things, Elise is still very much in the building phase of her business and trying anything and everything she feels called to. One big tip I picked up from this interview is something I will 100% be implementing this year: collaborations. The best way to attract your ideal customer is to go somewhere they are already hanging out… like on another person’s Instagram page. Since everyone is on the social media hampster wheel of creating reels nowadays, my plan is to take some of that work off their to-do list (because I like creating videos) in trade for being seen by their audience. How can you be of value to someone who has what you want? Something to think about this Monday. Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Elise Garcia.

This week’s interview is with a muralist/surfboard artist who is living the RV lifestyle, artist Nicole Miller. Her artwork is solid, and her marketing efforts are on point, so it’s no wonder Nicole is making a great living as an artist even though she’s traveling around every couple of years to a new location. Yep, she’s starting over every time she and her husband (and 2 dogs) change locations, which means her clientele starts over. How does she do it? By going out and meeting people in person through live painting (mostly). She doesn’t stay within the walls of her studio, or in her case an RV or rented storage unit. She goes out into the world and boldly creates in public. How about, instead of creating art in the safety of your art space today, you take it outside? If the weather isn’t cooperating then take it into an indoor public space. Or message an event center about live painting at their next shindig. Or go live online while you paint! Anything to get you out and about, because you have to be creating anyway. Why not create with an audience? Listen to this interview to hear how Nicole is doing it and I bet her results will talk you into it. Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Nicole Miller.

This week’s interview features New York artist Dean Christensen. Right out of school, Dean created a series of paintings then turned around and sold those paintings at an art show. He used that money to buy a one-way bus ticket to New York where he stayed on a friend’s couch for 2 months until he was able to get on his feet financially and kickstart his art career. This interview aims to inspire you to take a risk towards doing the unique thing only you want to do and dig deep to create a style that’s all your own. We chat about the current projects we are working on and how they align with our strange/edgy/fun style. Dean’s journey is very relatable, especially because it’s still fresh. He’s still in the beginning parts of his journey in some ways, but doesn’t let doubt or fear paralyze him into not taking action onto the next thing. He recently started an art gallery with a business partner and talks about the challenges behind that along with the unexpected success of it all so far. This is a wide ranging conversation that spans across painting, NFTs, pop-up galleries, and diving into projects headfirst. Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Dean Christensen.  

Join fellow muralist Samantha Cox and I as we play a different version of the game Never Have I Ever... 🍻 Are you familiar with this game? We will be taking shots of kombucha while reminiscing through the mistakes moments of our mural careers. "Never will I ever do (BLANK) again!" Listen (and probably laugh) through our hard lessons learned. Use the code ANDREA for $30 off at www.MuralCoProducts.com

Before we begin… I just wanted to let you know that TODAY is the start of our 31-Day Challenge aka January Paint Challenge, whatever you wanna call it: 31 paintings and 31 days!You can paint like me, or redirect it to whatever your business needs most. 31 social media posts, 31 drawings, 31 photos/videos… 31 whatever! Sign up: 31-Day Challenge Commit by ANNOUNCING it to your audience today! (There’s no better motivation than other ppl expecting it from you) Post [daily] using #January31DayChallenge Now onto this week’s episode: My strategy to making $200k in 2024 while working only 30 hours per week.  In a nutshell, I’m going to be focusing on: VIDEO- I’ll be setting time aside to get even more creative with video this year by exploring more long form face to camera techniques.  Podcasting- I’ll be pitching to get bigger names on the podcast and promoting it to a wider audience in a variety of ways (more video).  Applying for bigger mural projects that require an RFQ (request for qualifications). Sticking to my higher pricing strategy and not taking any small jobs. Posting to social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) consistently.  Listen to this week’s episode of the Artist Academy Podcast for descriptions and reasons behind why I’m focusing on these things to hit my highest earning income goal yet. This year’s January 31 Day Challenge is sponsored by Mural Co Products. Enter to win the Mural Essentials Kit which includes all the supplies to start a muralist’s journey! Along with having all the essential tools needed to begin, this kit serves as a full cleaning system to extend the life of your materials. This curated product has been created by a muralist, for other muralists with the ultimate goal of saving you money and time. Use code ANDREA for $30 off at www.MuralCoProducts.com Here's the link to How AI is Making My Art Business More Efficient  

I’m in shock that this year ended up being my highest-grossing year ever (by far). On paper, I’ve always made a little more than the year before, so it would make sense that this year would be my best year yet. But number projections don’t account for life happenings. Specifically, being home with a newborn in the first quarter. Then opting for daycare just 2 days per week (because that’s all I could emotionally handle) the second quarter, and slowly working up to now an average of 4 days per week in the fourth quarter. With all of that adding up to the equivalent of working part-time, I still made over $150k this year and I’m so proud of it. I get emotional thinking back because this year has been so tough with sleep exhaustion, breastfeeding for over 8 months, and the overall anxiety that comes with being a new mom needing to keep this little baby alive at all costs. Needless to say, work was not my main priority this year. But the systems I had put in before giving birth, combined with being forced to set very firm scheduling and budget boundaries, made this income goal possible. I hope you like this week’s special Christmas episode where I get very real about what it took to maintain and grow my art business in 2023 as a brand-new mom. Join the January 31 Day Challenge: ​​https://www.artistacademy.co/artist-academy-challenge-1  This year’s January 31 Day Challenge is sponsored by Mural Company Products. Their featured product is the Mural Essentials Kit which includes all the supplies to start a muralist’s journey! Along with having all the essential tools needed to begin, this kit serves as a full cleaning system to extend the life of your materials. This curated product has been created by a muralist, for other muralists with the ultimate goal of saving you money and time. Use code ANDREA for $30 off at www.MuralCoProducts.com 

This week’s interview features a major successful illustrator, author, and podcaster: Andy J Pizza. If you fancy lighthearted creativity mixed with some art business talk and a dash of internal inspiration, then you’ll enjoy this chat with Andy.  He has his hands in a number of things. We talk about where his income is coming from, plus the benefits of diversifying.  This is a friendly reminder to put your own creativity above the rat race of social media and client work. Andy reminds us that having your own unique, high quality, niche product to market to customers is step #1 of the art money making process. Listen to hear his thoughts on how to go about creating your niche area and why it’s so important.  Listen to Andy’s podcast: https://www.creativepeptalk.com  By the way, I’m offering a special holiday promotion to join the Academy FREE for the entire month of December: www.ArtistAcademy.co   Join today and pay nothing to learn the 4th quarter sales strategies to help boost your holiday sales!

This week’s episode features doodler extraordinaire Ian Glaubinger. Ian shares the tough truths of navigating the art world and working with big brands. He’s created product designs for companies such as Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and so many more household names. The guy knows how to negotiate his way through an illustration deal in order to create a great product and experience for both the artist and customer. He’s a no-bullshit kind of guy. We talk about how to determine if you should take a flat fee or percentage deal on a licensing agreement. Just to give it to you straight, we agreed that a flat fee is the better deal UNLESS the customer has the reach to make big quantity sales. We talk about how to determine if you should take a job or pass it up. Although the conversation went a variety of different ways with different circumstances, the consensus seemed to be that if you think the job is worth it (no matter what the pay) then it is. That’s the fun of being your own boss and creating job opportunities that we get to say “yes” or “no” to. We can do whatever we want. Listen to hear how Ian is doing what he wants with his illustration career. By the way, I’m offering a special holiday promotion to join the Academy FREE for the entire month of December: www.ArtistAcademy.coJoin today and pay nothing to learn the 4th quarter sales strategies to help boost your holiday sales!