To-do list for the creative business owner:
Figure out who you are serving and the deeper mission of why you want to start your creative business.
Plan out your very first or next offering keeping your ideal customer in mind.
Once you know what you want to sell, why you want to sell it, and who you're selling it to, it's time to go through the Branding process. I usually recommend people to know these 3 things before moving onto this next step because if you don't have a plan you can get lost in the process.
After you go through the branding process, you can then start creating your first product or service. I have a lot of resources below for how to create digital products and passive income.
Ready to create digital products and passive income?
Episode #005. Should you Teach Your Courses On An Online Marketplace Like Skillshare or Udemy
This episode is all about whether or not you should use a marketplace to sell your courses. So that would be like Skillshare*, Udemy, or something similar. I wanted to talk about whether or not you should teach classes on a marketplace or not. This question came up recently, because I am a teacher on […]
Episode #004. 5 Mindset Shifts When Creating Digital Products
Today, we are going to chat about mindset. About your mindset when you go down this digital product path. So, when you’re creating ebooks, workbooks, courses, anything that is a digital product, even if you’re just in business and you like listening to my voice for some reason, this will help you because your mindset […]
Episode #003. Is Passive Income Just a Pipe Dream?
I’m so excited to bring to you yet another episode about Passive Income. Today, we’re going to talk about whether or not Passive Income is just a pipe dream. You might be wondering if it’s really possible to make income passively, or if it’s still going to take you just as much time or more […]
Episode #002: Passive Income Versus Active Income For Creatives
Today we’re talking all about passive income versus active income, and what that can do for your creative business. Once you see how much time you can get back by creating a little passive income for yourself, you’ll definitely want to start down the road to making passive income from digital products, courses, or by […]
Episode #001: Welcome to the Creative Passivepreneur Show
Welcome to the Creative Passivepreneur Show! This short episode will share with you a little bit about me, your host, as well as what to expect with the show. I hope that you enjoy listening! EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Hello, and welcome to The Creative Passivepreneur Show. I’m Amanda and I’ve been a creative business owner for […]
Four Beliefs That Are Killing Your Passive Income Sales
There are four main mindset limitations that people tend to have when creating new digital products. And these limiting beliefs can absolutely prevent you from moving forward. ( Medium.com describes what happens when we succumb to our limiting beliefs in that we “are dragged down by mindsets defined primarily by limits — how smart [we] […]
10 Fun Ways to Brainstorm Your Next Digital Product
Up to this point in your creative business, you may have served customers through physical products or services only. But you’re probably at the point where you need some time back in your life. Creating digital products—that help your audience to solve some sort of problem and that’s also related to your niche—is a great way […]
5 Reasons to Teach Your Skills Online
As a creative, you’ve likely gained skills throughout your life that other people would also love to learn. These skills can help others to start their own business or pursue artistic endeavors within a shorter time frame than ever. It’s incredibly easy to become an online instructor, nowadays, and teach what you know online. You […]
Become a Teacher On Skillshare
When I initially received an email from Skillshare back in 2017 saying that I would make a good teacher, I was excited and eager to start teaching. But I was also nervous and figured that I wouldn’t be able to bring in much money. So I put off becoming a teacher for an entire year. […]
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Diary of My Branded Photoshoot
If you’re planning a branded photography shoot to capture headshots or photos of you to add to your website, you might be wondering what happens during a photo session like this. Pictures are absolutely necessary for your website, and also a great addition to your social media feeds. They help people to see your […]
Plan the perfect photoshoot to get magical, branded photos of YOU!
It might take a while to save all your hard-earned and shiny pennies to hire a professional photographer for your brand shoot. But it’s possible that right now you’re asking if it’s worth the money. The answer is, “Yes!” It most certainly is worth it. The impression that you make with pro photos on your […]
How To Create a Theme For Instagram
When it comes to Instagram, it can feel like everyone else’s photos and feed are better than your own. You might be looking for that special sauce that it seems that so many others have. But it might feel like it’s always just outside your reach. Today, I’m going to share with you how I […]
Make Your Photos Stand Out: Follow These Tips To Take Better Instagram Photos
Instagram is where a lot of us spend our time when it comes to social media. We love to scroll through the feed, watch the stories, and even post there to promote our businesses. But if you’re not a photographer it might feel intimidating to post photos that you don’t really love. You might scroll […]
Do your Instagram and Brand Photos look like everyone else’s?
My clients and blog readers often ask me about what props they should use in photos for their blog and social media posts. I totally get it! It can be a lot of pressure to come up with creative content all the time. Adding photos to just your Instagram is pretty daunting. You have to […]
5 Photo Editing Apps for Your Mobile Phone
Many of you have asked which apps I use to edit photos I’ve taken with my mobile phone. I personally have an iPhone 6 but these apps may also be available for Android. In the video below, I share which apps I use and go in depth about my two favorites. More about the […]
Ten Holiday Photos To Take For Your Business
Now that the Thanksgiving holiday is over, the Christmas excitement and chaos has begun. Personally, this is my favorite time of year. Even with the chaos. It means decorating my cozy little home and making the most delicious holiday cookies. I’m sure you’re trying to get last minute sales in your Etsy shop to support […]
Get Beautiful Color in Your Photos
Having beautiful color in your photographs not only helps your products sell, but it also helps make you look like the pro we know you are. Recently, one of my clients/friends sent me some of her product photographs asking why the color was off and how she could fix the problem. It’s a question that I […]
Quiz- What Kind of Photographer Are You?
We all love a good old fashioned quiz, right? It’s sort of a hard thing to resist! I remember when I was in college and online quizzes first became a thing. I found every quiz site I could, then proceeded to then take all the quizzes on each of the sites all at once (and […]
20 Must Have Photos For Your Creative Business
Looking at photos on Instagram can fill us all with photo envy. But with a little bit of planning, we can photograph our own lovely things for Instagram, other social networks, as well as for our website. Taking your time and photographing all of these things in one afternoon will help you focus and get more […]
Want to make a Living as an artist online?
The #1 thing you need before creating your website
Each morning, you desire to wake up and put on a pot of yummy coffee, then walk into your home studio with huge bay windows that fill the room up with the most glorious natural light, and you start painting or knitting or creating whatever it is that you love to create. Your fingers are itching to get […]
What do you need for your website redesign?
Designing or redesigning your website is a significant undertaking. Click to Tweet -“Redesigning your website is a HUGE undertaking-here are 16 things you need before you get started.” It requires a lot of work not only from your designer but also from you. Not to mention, you may need to hire out for things like […]
How to create a business website when you’re on a budget
By now, you’re probably aware that it takes money to run a creative business, whether it’s a side-hustle or whether you want to make it your full-time thing. But without a website or customers to buy from you, you might not have a significant budget to get your site up and running. Or to make […]
New year planning tools for creative businesses
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the new year ahead and reflecting on 2017. After having my best year in business, I’m jazzed for what’s to come. So I’m filling out workbooks, writing on post-it notes, and mapping out how to make 2018 an even better year than 2017. Through my planning and preparing, I’ve found […]
Where to find motivation to complete your difficult to finish projects
The universe has bestowed upon you the BEST idea ever. You’re sure of it. You’re excited to get started, and you know that this idea is going to propel your creative business forward. You take out your bullet journal, break the project down into small, actionable steps, and you get to work. At first, everything […]
How to break your goals down into actionable steps
The new year is just around the corner, and you’re revving up to have a fantastic year. You’ve got your teal Inkwell planner and your Prismacolor markers ready to go. You look at the yearly spread inside of your planner and try to figure out how in the world you’re going to reach all of […]
A guide to choosing your next idea & sticking to it
You have a zillion golden ideas. Ideas for DAYS! You’ve written them down in your bullet journal and even jotted them on the backs of napkins from your favorite cafe. Heck, you might even have an idea jar where you store your ideas up for rainy days. Coming up with the ideas, now that always […]
Do you know what your customer really needs? Here’s one easy method to find out today.
Sometimes my mini dachshund, Josie, sits next to me and stares. Minutes will go by, and she’ll continue to point her sweet little eyes in my general direction. I’ll ask her, “What do you want, Jo-Jo?” She, of course, never answers. She just sits and looks at me. She usually wants a bite of my food, or […]
Don’t Wing It With Your Brand. Do This Instead.
My breath came out in short huffs after jumping around the room for fifteen minutes. It was early October of 2014, and I was checking my inbox when I noticed an email pop up from a CreativeLive production coordinator. The email said that I was selected to be one of the studio audience members […]
10 Tools and Resources for New Bloggers
When starting your creative blog, it can be difficult to know exactly what you need and even where to start. You can rack up a pretty large bill, too, if you’re not careful. Sometimes it’s helpful for someone to simply let you know what you need. When I first started my business, I had a […]