Join Sarah Watts and I as we have a conversation around art and marketing. As artists, we solve problems and bring joy to the world and to people’s homes. We’re in the business of doing legacy work. Listen in to see how we can change the world, one design at a time.  📒 Episode Notes, Links, & Resources 📒 https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/29   📝 Read the Transcript 📝 Connect with Bonnie: ▸ ONLINE | http://bonniechristine.com ▸ INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/bonniechristine ▸ 60x60 | 60 WAYS TO CREATE INCOME FROM YOUR ART | https://www.bonniechristine.com/income ▸ FREE SURFACE DESIGN GUIDE | https://www.bonniechristine.com/guide Meet Sarah Watts Sarah is an illustrator and business owner based in Atlanta, GA. She graduated from Ringling College in 2008 with a BFA in Illustration. She landed her first job at Carter's/OshKosh, and then went on to design for International Greetings. In 2011, Sarah left the corporate world to pursue her work in art licensing and book illustration. She was always passionate about working for herself and running her own business. She spent several years illustrating kids books for various publishers through Red Fox Literary such as Penguin Books and Random House. She also licensed art to gift and stationery companies like Hallmark, Piccolina Kids and American Greetings who sell goods internationally. Sarah co-owns the company Craftedmoon with her husband Scott, specializing in eco-friendly stationery and gifts for the crafty homebody. They have more recently launched a school division of the brand called School for Misfit Makers. Sarah specializes in teaching Adobe Photoshop, ink techniques and Procreate. With teaching, Sarah loves to empower people to see their potential in working in the arts and how they can make a living doing what they love. When she is not teaching, Sarah designs fabric for the prestigious new brand called Ruby Star Society, who is a division of Moda Fabrics. Designing fabric is Sarah's biggest licensing passion. Sarah is a new mother to two bright young women, Willow and Violet. She and her husband enjoy Halloween and love dressing up as a family with the kids. Sarah loves animals, black coffee and making people laugh.  

When Amy Porterfield and I started out on our respective entrepreneurial journeys, we didn’t have a framework or path to follow—so we created it for ourselves. In this episode, I’m joined by Amy Porterfield to talk about her new book Two Weeks Notice. Amy is on a mission to guide new entrepreneurs and walk them step by step through building a business, and her new book is required reading to help you do just that. Listen as we discuss how Amy left the corporate world behind, what she’s learned along the way, and some of the key steps from her journey you can start applying to your own business today. 📒 Episode Notes, Links, & Resources 📒 https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/28 📝 Read the Transcript 📝

In this episode, I'm sharing a simple hack that helped me make the transition from dreaming to doing. If you have a big (maybe scary) dream or goal, this is for you. I share my personal journey from going from being a dreamer to a doer. I talk about my background growing up in a creative house, my passion for entrepreneurship, and how I eventually found my calling in the creative industry as a surface designer. 

No matter what you create, the art of gathering inspiration is a key skill that will set you and your work apart. Not only can our inspirations help us develop our signature style, but it can also contribute to how we feel as artists. Inspiration is truly everywhere, and in this episode we’ll be diving deep into the art of gathering inspiration for anything you create as an artist and creative entrepreneur. When you actively look for inspiration, even ordinary things become infused with possibility and potential. So put your inspiration goggles on, and let’s dive in!   📒 Episode Notes, Links & Resources 📒 https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/26   📝 Read the Transcript 📝

We all have struggles and obstacles that hold us back in our creative careers. But what if we looked at those struggles as weeds, and the solutions as seeds? In this episode, we discuss eight common weeds that creatives face, and the seeds we can plant in their place. 📒 Episode Notes, Links, & Resources 📒 https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/25 📝 Read the Transcript 📝 Connect with Bonnie: ▸ ONLINE | http://bonniechristine.com ▸ INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/bonniechristine ▸ 60x60 | 60 WAYS TO CREATE INCOME FROM YOUR ART | https://www.bonniechristine.com/income ▸ FREE SURFACE DESIGN GUIDE | https://www.bonniechristine.com/guide

When you’re first starting out as a creative entrepreneur, you might feel frustrated that you’re behind. In this episode, I’m sharing 10 lessons learned during the year I spent doing nothing but creating patterns, and the lasting impact on making the most of the beginning stages of your business. Get the shownotes: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/24  

Investing in yourself as a creative entrepreneur and business owner can have a significant impact on your ability to learn and grow consistently. In this episode, I’m sharing three different areas you can invest in for more productivity, higher levels of success, and, an increased quality of life. Get the shownotes: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/23 Watch 60x60: Where 60 successful artists, illustrators and surface designers share how they create income from their artwork in just 60 seconds: https://www.bonniechristine.com/income  

In this episode, I’m sharing 15 different ways that I've used my creativity to create income over the last decade—and I hope that it inspires you and brings you clarity around creating a career with your art or creativity. Get the shownotes and learn more about 60x60: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/22  

In a world where meetings are mundane and never anything anyone looks forward to, I set out about a year ago to create a format for a weekly meeting that would be fun and exciting for our creative team, but also really help us get the momentum that we needed to enter the week and know exactly what we were doing and what we were working on. In this episode, I’m sharing a peek behind the scenes of how we structure our weekly team Momentum Meeting. Get the shownotes and free meeting outline: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/21  

When we’re creative entrepreneurs, we often need to show up live in a variety of ways, and it can be uncomfortable—but when you run a business online, going live is the fastest way to connect with your audience. In this episode, I’m sharing 20 tips for going live and LOVING it, and how I plan for a successful live event that engages my audience. Get the shownotes and free live call planner: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/20  

5 Ways Taking 10 Seconds of Courage Has Impacted My Career | Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you—and following a creative dream takes a lot of it! When we go after our dreams, it’s SCARY. As professional creatives and entrepreneurs, we have so many unanswered questions, but what we really need is the courage in order to get started. In this episode, I’m sharing five ways taking ten seconds of courage has helped me gain momentum in my career as a creative entrepreneur. View shownotes & transcript: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/19  

Are you ready to start the year off right? For this episode, we’re joined again by Lisa Jacobs, author of Your Best Year, to walk you through annual planning for your creative business. Lisa and Bonnie both share their favorite way to dream big when planning out the year ahead, along with the most important elements to consider and include. We often hear that to build your business you have to understand yourself—but you need an annual plan to weather the high and low seasons of your business. Read the shownotes and download your free Year at a Glance PDF: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/18

As we start a new year, it’s the perfect time to focus on strategic planning in your business—which will go hand-in-hand with our next episode 18 on annual planning. In this episode, I’ll take you through how we do strategic planning in our company, along with 5 things that worked for us and 5 things that didn’t in 2022. Shownotes: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/17  

In this episode we’ll be discussing signature style: what it is, why it’s important, and five ways you can further develop it. Be sure to download the freebie included with this episode in the show notes: One Year of Daily Art Prompts.  Download the prompts and view shownotes: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/16  

In this episode, I’ll be sharing some trends I’ve observed in creative entrepreneurship in 2022, and things we’re leaning into in my business as we head into 2023. I hope you'll be inspired to look ahead and make some positive changes in your business in the coming year as well! View the shownotes: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/15

A Simple Method for Managing Your To-Do List and Creative Energy with Lisa Jacobs In this episode, we’re welcoming back our Integrator, Lisa Jacobs as she shares a method from her Fast Track Toolkit. We all wear many hats and it’s easy to get stuck in the daily scramble. As an entrepreneur, you have to create, innovate, connect, promote, learn, take on multiple roles, and ensure your business profits. Most people do ONE job—you do it all.  The method Lisa shares in this episode is the solution your business needs to organize the vast amount of projects, issues, and responsibilities pulling your attention in every direction! The OCN Method stands for Open, Closed, and New Business and Lisa will go over it in detail so you can manage your to-do list and creative energy to free up luxurious downtime. Get the shownotes: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/14

Though we might not have had a name for it, we’ve all felt the daily scramble in our lives and businesses—frantically filling our time, figuring out what to do next. In this episode, you’ll meet the Integrator for Team Bonnie, Lisa Jacobs. In this episode, she’ll explain two key concepts that will help you change the way you work: the daily scramble and the exploding star. Join us for a conversation as we explore the impact of circling and the importance of setting a landmark to avoid the daily scramble. Download today's organizational chart here: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/13

Meet the Mark Makers Mastermind: our biggest takeaways for 2022. In this episode, you’ll hear from some of the most incredible and big-hearted entrepreneurs I have ever met—the members of my Mark Maker’s Mastermind. During our recent intensive, I asked: What was one of the best habits in 2022 that has attributed to your success? What was time very well spent for you this year? What activity has given you the best return on your investment (ROI)?  Listen along as the Mark Makers share their biggest takeaways of the year, and download the free “Meet the Mark Makers” PDF to get to know them more in depth and read their biggest takeaways. Shownotes: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/12

Behind the Scenes: Why I Started a Podcast. This episode brings you a very in-the-moment behind the scenes of creating this very podcast! If you’re hoping to one day host your own podcast, I’m sharing what it took for me to get this out into the world and the steps I took to get the podcast launched. And even if you don’t aspire to have your own podcast, this episode will still give you insight into attacking a big goal and getting it off the ground.  Shownotes: https://bonniechristine.com/blog/11

Today's show notes + guide: https://professionalcreative.com/blog/10 We just wrapped up our fifth annual Immersion Live conference, and while it's all really fresh in our minds, I wanted to package it up for you and let you know all the different things that we did to make this event come alive. In this episode, I’ll be diving into all the logistics that go into producing our annual online conference—from what it looked like in the beginning to what it looks like today, five years later. I’ll take you through what goes into running a conference like this and even share the revenue and expenses for this year’s conference so you can understand what all goes into running an event like this. Though an event like this can have many moving parts, it can actually be quite simple if you want it to be. 

How to hack your willpower for greater creativity and productivity. In this episode, we’re going to talk about willpower and how it can affect our creativity. I also share how to take advantage of your willpower when it’s at its highest, plus the eight ways I hack my own willpower to set myself up for success. Shownotes: https://professionalcreative.com/blog/9

Meet Team Bonnie! I’m excited to introduce my team at Bonnie Christine! Though I spent about ten years as a solo-preneur, we are now a team of eight (myself included). In this episode, you’re invited to come behind the scenes for a glimpse at our annual team retreat. We work together with YOU at the forefront of everything we do. Get today's show notes at https://professionalcreative.com/blog/8

 The Power of Creative Truths Get today's FREEBIE, the Creative Truths Menu at https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/7 In Episode 6, I shared a few affirmations I live by as an artist and educator, and in this episode, we’re going to do a deeper dive into 25 affirmations I read to myself every day. While some of these practices can be difficult, the creative truths shared in this episode are ones I have come back to again and again.

In this episode of the Professional Creative podcast, we're talking about being a creative vs. being an educator, and why you don't have to choose between the two. Teaching can help you increase your performance and your purpose! From there I’ll share my own path to education and how you can embark on your own with questions and the next steps for you to get started.

Do you ever wish that you could just delete doubt? I certainly do. Doubt comes up a lot in the creative industry. As a creative entrepreneur, you will experience doubt too—because being a means that our success is directly related to how good of an idea we have. But doubt can’t stop us. In this episode, we’ll talk about how you push through doubt and fear to the other side—success. "Of course, we're going to doubt ourselves, we're going to doubt our ability, we're going to doubt our expertise. We're going to doubt every little part of it. But does that mean that we stop? No."

Today's FREEBIE: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/4 Are you ready to map out your path to success? If you are listening to this episode, you are likely an achiever. But maybe you struggle with the right things to get done. If we’re able to choose the right things, we can make considerable progress on our goals. Successful people practice deep thinking to find clarity and purpose. In this episode, you’re invited to come alongside me as I map out the story of my own success and invite you to map your own. We’ll talk about how to schedule vision-storming sessions for deep thinking and all the key components for mapping your own unique success path including our big goals and the milestones, rewards, and even setbacks to plan for along the way. "Everyone has these loops, but oftentimes people fall off at the loop—They fall off at the failure—and their self story is that they tried and failed. But not you. You are not going to fall off at the loop. You are going to keep going." This episode includes a printable map to success for you to download and complete. Download it here and follow along!

In Episode 1 I vulnerably shared my business revenue from the last 13 years. But many people ask how much I make from art licensing alone. I will never forget the moment that I learned what surface pattern design is and that it was actually an incredible career opportunity. I mean—doodle and draw for a living? Yes, please. Many of you also want to know if you can only design and make a living from it. In this episode, I’m going to be completely transparent about my overall licensing income alone—but you also need to know that I haven’t pursued licensing my own work in the last few years, though I’m working on a new portfolio right now. In this episode, we’ll discuss what art licensing is, how licensing builds over time, and playing the long game. You’ll hear my personal story, but I hope you’ll also learn what’s possible for you.

Today's FREEBIE: https://www.professionalcreative.com/blog/2 7 Ways To Encourage The Support Of Others As creative entrepreneurs, while we may often feel alone, the truth is we struggle with many of the same things. How do you handle feeling alone without a lot of support in your life for what you want to do? In this episode, we’ll talk about seven ways you can find support in your journey as a creative entrepreneur, even if you feel like no one in your life really gets it right now. These things are really hard, and having a big dream or goal is scary. It’s intimidating to talk about because the fear of failure sets in. When you think sharing your dream might not be met with the support you need, it can make it feel even more vulnerable. “We are capable of empowering those around us to support us better and encourage us.”