Perfectionism lives within so many artists. Cliches abound: “Perfect is the enemy of good”, “Be the best”, “Profit and perfect are mutually incompatible.” Really it is a conversation about Creation versus Craft. Enter Jiro Loves Sushi.  Original Episode Number: 50 | Original Air Date: 5/4/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean’s tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show’s...

Creative business is built on the microscopic. For so many creative businesses, the very idea of serving more than 500 customers in a year is silly. Most are built on less than 50. And yet we speak in platitudes and generalities not radical authenticity. We do it because we have framed the conversation in terms of fear and rejection. How about we consider being grateful as we shun the non-believers. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 26 | Original Air Date: 11/3/2020 Links &...

Emotional resonance is what separates you, the artist, from the rest of us.  While you have a gift at your craft, that is not why you are paid.  You are paid to be professional, to make us feel and to feel while not getting lost in the emotion of the moment.  Simultaneously, engaged and removed from the situation. Enter stillness, a flashlight and generosity. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 8 | Original Air Date: 6/30/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of...

As we come to Fall, so many creative businesses are confronted with the challenge of whether it is worth it to keep going. There are no easy answers but there is a framework to think it all through. No story today, just straight talk. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 18 | Original Air Date: 9/8/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Talk Back Voicemail Guest: Margarita Oudalova of Oudalova Events & Design Link: Join Sean's Collective of...

Transparency is not Saran Wrap. It is being secure in what you charge and then knowing how you are going to earn it. As clients get smarter, value is not about being relative to competition, it is about knowing what you earn and when. Let’s talk bananas. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 34 | Original Air Date: 1/12/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Talk Back Voicemail Guest: Carl Clemetson from Hometown Elegance Event Catering And...

I am going to talk about a story that is near and dear to me. I have told this story and its importance to creative business many times. I have even told it at a college commencement speech I was so honored to give a few years ago. It is the story of Dick Fosbury and his path to winning the gold medal for the high jump in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. You might say, huh? What does this have to do with my business? Well, close your eyes, jump over the bar backwards and lets find out...

Most creative businesses are caught in the new client trap. They take on a project and then use the success of that project to get another (and another). Very little is ever offered to the great client to treat them better. It does not have to be this way. Let’s talk about Soul Cycle and Peloton. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 25 | Original Air Date: 10/27/2020 Links & Resources: Link to Sound File for Visually Impaired: Click Here Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being...

Every business takes a risk, that is the very nature of business. The question is whether you are properly paid for that risk. If risk is being vulnerable then the choice to be vulnerable has to be yours. Otherwise, you turn singular risk into exploding risk. Defining risk requires purpose and purpose requires intentional idiosyncracy. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 32 | Original Air Date: 12/15/2020 Links & Resources: Link to Sound File for Visually Impaired: Click Here Host:...

When we contemplate what is next, too often we want to be derivative of what has come before. Sure, we need to acknowledge the benefit of history, ultimately though we have to stretch beyond the realm of possible. Let’s talk about the movie War Games. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 19 | Original Air Date: 9/15/2020 Links & Resources: Link to Sound File for Visually Impaired: Click Here Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business...

In the midst of the existential crisis we find ourselves in, all creative business is being upended.  Sure, some are busy, but most are suffering from a prolonged winter — actors, musicians, event professionals, chefs, just to name a few.  So the house is coming down. To rebuild it, design first. For design to come first, you must be judged, you must take concentrated risk.  Enter a discussion about placebos and Ralph Lifshitz from the Bronx. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 9 | Original...

We all might say that we want to make real change, but the inertia to change is real. We hope that yesterday will carry us forward and doubling down on the old will prevail against the new. Let’s talk about solar lamps in rural India, the Phoenix and the outliers of success. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 27 | Original Air Date: 11/10/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social...

COVID has shifted our culture and forced us to rethink what and how we do what we do. The question is what will you take with you. Let's talk Zoom, Project Management, Cash Flow and Marketing. Original Episode Number: 43 | Original Air Date: 3/16/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter:...

Art is shaped and shapes culture. If you are in the business of creating art, what does that exactly mean for you? How are you to incorporate this responsibility into touchstones of your work? Defining a market is nothing new, but defining culture with the market? Getting paid to honor culture and shift it? That is new. Enter Loving v. Virginia, The Ivory Trade, and End of Life Services. Listen in... Original Episode Number: 15 | Original Air Date: 8/18/2020 Links & Resources: Link to...

What does the long tail, scarcity and niche have to do with your creative business? Umm, everything. Oh, and if you are not sure what the long tail, scarcity and niche even mean in this context, that is ok, I will just tell you the story of Blue Bottle Coffee and it will all make sense. Listen in... Original Episode Number: 2 | Original Air Date: 5/26/2020 Links & Resources: Link to Sound File for Visually Impaired: Click Here Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Link:...

The story of your art and your business are not the same but they rely on each other. The key components of story is trust, tension and resolution. How you hold each component is what sets the path for your success as both an artist and a business. The real question is that if I scratched your name off of your contract would I know it is you? Original Episode Number: 35 | Original Air Date: 1/19/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Talk Back...

Managing the client experience is a singular challenge for every creative business. For the most part, projects are for an extended period of time with many ups and downs both for activity and emotion. The key to success is vision and grit. It is also a deep understanding of sunk costs. Enter the story of Graham Sutherland's portrait of Winston Churchill. Listen in... Original Episode Number: 20 | Original Air Date: 9/22/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being...

Constraints are nothing new. Creative businesses have always operated in a window. I have never met a designer who is perpetually free to create as she sees fit without regard to budget, style or even geography. The new reality we all find ourselves in is that a new constraint has been foisted on all of us. The price of every physical human interaction is now perpetually present. It means the intrinsic nature of art has become ever more indelible. Enter the underneath, an apple tree and...

Who controls your fate as a creative business? How you do attract business without standing on the street corner and screaming? Who chooses you, helps you get chosen and what do you owe them when you do? What value gatekeepers? Let's talk Duncan Hines. Listen in... Original Episode Number: 17 | Original Air Date: 9/1/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram:...

Creative business is literally about creating a world that has never existed. To imagine. Too often though we get trapped into the curse of knowledge, and lose the humility to know that you do not know. History has shown that failure to imagine the future is the curse of intelligence and the demise of the well intended. For creative business, it is the road to commodification and irrelevance. So let's talk about how to avoid tunnel vision. Listen in... Original Episode Number: 39 | Original...

By all accounts 2021 will be a rebirth for creative business. We will hopefully put the pandemic behind us and art will reemerge. The question will be how to handle it. My advice, race to the top. To do so you will have to be radically, unapologetically, idiosyncratic. You will need to convince yourself that best is indeed a verb, not a noun because when you do you will invest in the best of you, you art and your creative business. And from there you will justly reap the rewards of being on...

Pricing is a fraught subject no matter the time. Through in a global pandemic and cultural upheaval in the United States and the rubber band stretches ever thinner. As with all things foundation is everything. What "it" costs is not the same thing as what you cost. Oh and cost is for toothpaste, investment is for art. Let's talk Mercedes and leather seats and speaking of leather seats, let's talk Bentley. Original Episode Number: 12 | Original Air Date: 7/28/2020 Links & Resources:...

Faith is the courage of conviction.  Faith is the prerequisite to courage and integrity. Faith is facile and simultaneously hopeful and hopeless.  Faith is what you need to see your creative business through.  Enter the story of the swimming dog, Craigslist and letting kids have cake for breakfast. Listen in... Original Episode Number: 7 | Original Air Date: 6/23/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives ...

So the time has come for me to say goodbye to the podcast.  I feel like the thoughts are complete and I am compelled to focus on writing.  A few thoughts on what it means for me to have shared as I have for the past 140 episodes. Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Sean or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow...

The essence of humanity is to be seen and heard.  It is pervasive in all things and for all endeavors, none more so than for creative business. The reason is that creative business is the ultimate expression of self. Live there and make it your culture. Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Sean or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of...