Business Journal: a place to celebrate wins & reflect - 37th Edition

January’s highlights included launching pay-what-you-can options for Self-Made Artist Academy, completing my first official artist trade, making lots of money magic happen, and sketching and developing countless new designs for 2023.

The Big Wins

• Developed pay-what-you-can options for enrollment in Self-Made Artist Academy. Our fifth cohort will start on February 20th. Learn more about our signature, six-week virtual program here.

• Completed my first trade as part of the recently launched Artist Trade Program with Meghan of Bridging Canvas. Learn more about the trade (and Meghan) here. You can also learn more about the program and submit an artist trade request here.

• Graduated from the Next Level Exchange mentor program, where I was paired with an incredible mentor and met virtually on a monthly basis for over a year. I applied to the program after participating in multiple educational cohorts with the Women’s Business Development Center.

General Updates + Accomplishments:

• Made some money magic happen from attending a money rituals workshop with the Lifestyle Business League to opening a new business bank account to transparently sharing 2022 numbers on social media to contributing to my Roth IRA to paying both Q4 estimated taxes and sales tax to onboarding some new projects.

• Presented on Charging Your Worth with Confidence, which was sponsored by Elmhurst Public Library. I also spoke to a Bradley entrepreneurship class and shared my journey from artist to entrepreneur. And I prepared a new presentation on How to Show Up Online as an Artist (and Sell Your Work Too) for the Business of Art Conference, happening on February 11th in Peoria, Illinois. Learn more and purchase your tickets to attend the one-day conference here.

• Enjoyed relatively moderate temperatures for January in Chicago. Getting out of the apartment for frequent walks, happy hours, and time with friends are making this winter in Chicago more bearable. I have been enjoying leaning into my word of the year (pause) and developing my new habit of recording snippets of my day for 1 Second Everyday.

• Received renewed certification as an ACDBE and DBE from the City of Chicago, which means I can continue to take advantage of opportunities set aside for small business in government and aviation spaces. I also had my first meeting AT O’Hare airport, which was a really fun experience (and totally different from being in the airport as a passenger)!

• Took a trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to celebrate my dad’s birthday. He’s been such a huge supporter of my business since its inception and always helps with financial questions, investing, and generally providing some of the best business and life advice.

• Continued to show up online, which included doing an Instagram Live to share an overview of 2023, launching a new website homepage, adding ten recent projects to my Behance portfolio, and sharing my 2023 offerings on LinkedIn.

• Participated in the Faire Winter Market. The beginning of the year is typically a little slower wholesale-wise, so it was nice to get some extra sales via the online market. I have some new products in the works that I am excited to continue developing behind the scenes and make available to my wholesale customers in the coming months.

• Did lots of sketching and iPad work for new sticker designs. Most of these new designs are requests from some of Lettering Works’ top shops from 2022 alongside some personal work. I launched a private program to celebrate these special shops and find new ways to further partner and collaborate.

January was filled with designing, planning, prepping, and launching, making it feel like one of my most efficient and packed Januarys in business. If you’d like to get the ball rolling on a 2023 project, reach out today for best availability.

In February, I’m most looking forward to speaking at the Business of Art Conference, spending time in warm Mexico City and Port Royal, South Carolina, and starting work on some cool branding and custom merchandise projects. I am still offering “On Brand in 2023” and you can schedule your session now if you’d like to get strategic together about building and growing your brand and business in 2023.

Thank you for being here, for supporting me, and for following along with my entrepreneurial journey.

PS - Have a project you’d like to chat about? Send me the details now to ensure your project gets on my calendar in 2023. Bring on all the logos, branded merchandise, + brand identity projects… let’s make some beautiful + impactful things together.