Entries Tagged as: interview
The Right Brain Business Plan and a Giveaway!
March 1st, 2011, Comments (59)
I'm thrilled to share this interview with Jennifer Lee, author of the recently published The Right Brain Business Plan: A Creative, Visual Map for Success. Jenn is a friend of mine and I've loved seeing the process of this book go from a spark of an idea, to proposal, to draft, to finish product. I'm so proud of you, Jenn!
The book is awesome and I'm so excited to be giving away a copy! With all the creative folks who stop by here, I know many of you would benefit from this work. I'll have more details about the giveaway at the end of this post. I also want to be sure you've heard about the free Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit that's taking place this week. Check it out, there's loads of great information being shared.
On to the interview!
Jenn, how did you come up with the idea for the Right Brain Business Plan?
Funny you should ask, Leah, because the first Right-Brain Business Plan was born when I did your fabulous Art Every Day Month challenge for the first time back in 2007! So thanks for creating a space to help the idea blossom. During the last two days of the challenge, I was also working on my business plan and decided that I would use the opportunity to do something creative with it since I had to make art for the day anyway. I collaged my big vision for 2008 and beyond on one side of an accordion book and then the next day I put details such as my marketing plan, products and services, financial goals, and action plan on fun cards on the back. The plan helped me reach my goals the next year and became the inspiration for the e-book, workshops, e-Course, and now the book. Just goes to show you how having a regular creative practice like AEDM can spark fresh new ideas!
What advice do you have for creatives out there looking to start their own business?
You don’t have to go it alone. It can be scary to start your own business and put yourself out there, so make sure you have a circle of support – I like to call them your creative cohorts – who you can lean on and learn from. In fact, Leah, you and I connected through our blogs several years ago and have been great sources of support and encouragement to each other even since.
What is the first step to crafting a Right Brain Business Plan?
Start with getting clear about your vision for your business (and your life). What are you passionate about? What do you and your company stand for? What values are you honoring in your business? What does your success look and feel like? This will serve as the foundation for the rest of your plan.
How do you recommend creative people deal with the overwhelm and fear that can come with putting a business plan together?
Find ways to make it fun. Use colorful markers and sticky notes on fun paper instead of forcing yourself to go straight into a spreadsheet to crunch numbers. Pick one piece of the plan to work on and then jump to another part if you get stuck. Don’t feel like you need to have everything ironed out before moving on to the next piece. Give yourself healthy doses of what I call Left-Brain Chill Pills to quiet your judging mind.
What are the benefits of crafting your business plan in this way?
People who have unsuccessfully tried to do a traditional business plan have actually completed a Right-Brain Business Plan because they had fun with it. So actually finishing a plan (and a plan that you’re totally jazzed about and that you look at again and again) is a huge benefit. This RBBP approach allows you to think outside the box and make your plan in any format that tickles your fancy (I’ve seen a bracelet, a paper plate mobile, and even a plan in a paint bucket decorated with a feather boa!).
Above is the fabulous leather cuff bracelet created by Bevla Reeves of Hair Conspiracy.
What are some of your favorite creative business planning tools and resources?
So many. Basic things like sticky notes and colorful markers (Mr. Sketch and Staedtler triplus fineliner are my faves). I’ve been using the Levenger Circa notebooks for more than a decade – it’s an amazing cross between a spiral notebook and three-ring binder. I also love Levenger’s Oasis Concept Pad for brainstorming ideas. My friend Lisa Sonora Beam’s book The Creative Entrepreneur is also one of my favorite creative business planning resources.
How do you stay creatively inspired in your business?
I like to connect with other creative entrepreneurs and see what they’re up to. I work with a coach who helps me innovate and try new things. I look for ways to blend my various interests to form new ideas. I practice self-care Fridays so that I refuel my creative spirit. I love to read.
Where can we get more information about you and your book?
You can find out more about the book at http://www.rightbrainbusinessplan.com. You can also visit http://rightbrainersinbusiness.com to learn about the Right-Brainers in Business Summit started this week.
*Giveaway!*
To win a copy of Jenn's book, leave a comment on the post below by Friday, March 4th at 12 pm EST. If you'd like, leave a comment about how you think the book could be helpful for you!
UPDATE: Congrats to Sheri D. Maple who won a copy of Jenn's book!
Soul Art TV
February 16th, 2011, Comments (11)
My Creative Spiritual Revolutionary interview with Laura Hollick for Soul Art TV is now up! Laura asks some great questions about what inspired me to start blogging and how blogging has helped boost my art career. You can watch our interview here.
Be sure to check out all of Laura's fabulous Soul Art TV interviews with creatives while you're at it!
Soul Art TV
January 11th, 2011, Comments (5)
The truly amazing, Laura Hollick is launching a new show on Soul Art TV called the Creative Spiritual Revolution.
The show features interviews with Revolutionary Leaders with inspirational insights to ignite your own Creative Spiritual Revolution. Check out the launch here and stay tuned for my own interview on the show!
Arts and Healing Network Podcast
October 28th, 2010, Comments (7)
I was recently interviewed by Britt Bravo for the Arts and Healing Network podcast about Art Every Day Month. You can listen to the podcast here or on iTunes.
We talked about dealing with the excuse of "not enough time," some of the beautiful things I've seen happen during Art Every Day Month, and how a creative practice has impacted my life. Thank you Britt, I enjoyed speaking with you! If you haven't already, check out the Arts and Healing Network website. It's full of amazing information and resources.
p.s. I'm loving hearing about how you have prepared or are preparing for Art Every Day Month in yesterday's post. Keep the comments coming!
Intuition, Art, & the Right Brain with Jennifer Lee
May 13th, 2010, Comments (6)
I'm so thrilled to be able to share my chat with the fabulous, Jennifer Lee! Jennifer is an amazing coach, writer, artist, and author of a soon to be published book. And she's my dear friend!
Listen in as we talk about the process of Intuitive Painting, how you can try it out for yourself, and how the right brain and intuition interact. Click below to listen here or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer and listen to later.
Jenn's Right Brain Business Plan e-course is starting up again on May 17th and I highly recommend it for any creative entrepreneurs out there who want to put a creative spin on a task that can feel a bit intimidating. Jenn is a great guide and coach and the plans her students have created are so cool!
You can find out more about Jenn on her website and blog. And you can also find her on Twitter @artizencoaching.
Thanks, Jenn!
Talking Intuition with Bridget Pilloud
May 7th, 2010, Comments (7)
I had the pleasure of speaking with the fabulous Bridget Pilloud this week and I'm so thrilled to be able to share it with you! Bridget is an Intuitive, Healer, Teacher, Writer, and all around awesome person.
Bridget has some great tips and tools to share about how to connect with your intuition in your everyday life and also as you create art! I especially loved her suggestion to "let your brain take a back seat" as you create. And of course the impromptu visit from Leo the cat was fun too! 
You can listen to the interview below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer and listen to later.
Bridget is planning an exciting year-long Field Expedition to the Energetic Body to start in June! Keep up to date with this and all the other amazing things Bridget is up to at her blog, Voila and follow her on Twitter @intuitivebridge.
Stories in Expressive Arts: a chat with Silky Hart
March 24th, 2010, Comments (7)
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Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with the lovely, Silky Hart, an Expressive Arts therapist who I've come to know (and adore!) through blogging. You can listen to our chat here by clicking on the link below or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save to your computer.
I was curious about some of the ways you might use Expressive Arts to explore the theme of stories and Silky had some fabulous examples of how it could be utilized, using work such as Playback Theater and the Five Rhythms. As another example of using her work to explore stories, Silky is generously offering a gorgeous, free pdf workbook, "Writing the New Story of Your Life: A story writing playbook to awaken who you really are." Wow, I've taken a look at it, and it's awesome! Definitely a fabulously creative way to play with your stories and work on creating new ones.
Click here to download Silky Hart's "Writing the New Story of Your Life" playbook.
Silky is leading an Expressive Arts and yoga retreat in Costa Rica from April 24 - May 1, 2010. And it sounds simply amazing. You can get all the details and sign up for it here.
You can find Silky online at her website and blog, Expressive Hart and on Twitter, @ExpressiveHart. Thank you again, Silky for sharing your fabulous self, your creative energy, and your gorgeous playbook!
Storytelling & Collage: A chat with Kathryn Antyr
March 17th, 2010, Comments (53)
I'm so excited to be able to share this chat with the super sweet and creative, Kathryn Antyr! I've known Kathryn through the world of blogging for some time now, but this was the first time we'd had a chance to speak. And oh, was it fun! Kathryn is bursting with wisdom and insights about the creative process and the magic of telling stories through art.
I could relate so much to her collage-making process of letting go and allowing intuitive feelings to guide the process. I loved the way she talked about using art to re-tell our stories and I also loved how Kathryn is using the Hero's Journey as a framework in her Storytelling + Collage online workshop, What a beautiful idea!
Learn more about Kathryn's beautiful process by listening in to the interview below. Click the link below to listen or right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) to save it to your computer and listen to later.
*Giveaway!* Kathryn has generously offered to give away one spot in her upcoming Storytelling + Collage online workshop! Leave a comment on this post by Sunday March 21st at noon EDT to enter and I'll announce the winner on Monday the 22nd. Good luck!
You can learn more about Kathryn on her blogs Collage Diva and True North Arts.You can also follow Kathryn on Twitter, @truenortharts. The collages in this post are all by Kathryn Antyr.
Thank you, Kathryn!
The giveaway is now closed! Thank you for entering! I will announce the winner tomorrow (Monday, the 22nd.)
Itty Bitty Kitty Stories
March 13th, 2010, Comments (17)
I'm working on a new series of itty bitty kitties for my shop and these are the latest, "First signs of Spring" and "The Yarn Basket." As I create these little kitties, I'm always thinking about the little stories that go along with them. The Spring cat was inspired by a neighborhood cat with the same spots that I saw on a walk the other day. He was proudly carrying a mouse as he trotted down the sidewalk towards his house. I saw him again today, standing guard in front of his owner's garage. All cats have such distinct personalities once you get to know them, so I imagine that each itty bitty kitty painting has it's own personality too. I'll have them up in the shop soon.
In the meantime, some more links for you!
- I was interviewed this week by the fabulous Jennifer Hofmann of Inspired Home Office. She's doing a series about the everyday organizing habits of creative entrepreneurs. And while I would never think to interview me about organizing (ha!), I did have a fun tidbit to share that makes keeping track of my to-do list a lot more fun. You can listen to the interview and read Jen's post about it here.
- To celebrate the launch of Red Dress Studios, Ana Ottman is offering a fabulous (and free) ebook of advice from female entrepreneurs about how to build your confidence muscles. You can grab yourself a copy here.
Loving our Rooms, an Interview with Lisa Baldwin
February 27th, 2010, Comments (5)
To close out the month of home for the Creative Every Day Challenge, I'm so thrilled to be able to share this interview with the super smart, funny, and lovely Lisa Baldwin of Zen at Play. Check out her awesome clutter-clearing advice below and her super cool Love that Room e-course!
1. Please introduce yourself:
Hi! I'm Lisa, and I help people make space for their awesomeness.
2. What led you into the work of helping people with their clutter?
I got interested in clutter because I had a lot of it. As I cleared, I noticed unexpected benefits that went way beyond just having a tidier house - it can be a journey of discovery and an act of self-care, and creating a less crowded environment makes way for better things. It didn't seem right to keep all that a secret, so I set about finding ways to teach others and that became my work.
3. I used to use the excuse that I'm artist as a reason for my messiness. Do you think there's a correlation between creativity and a messy house?
Ooh, the answer to this question could be a whole post. So many layers! So many angles!
Active mess is a side-effect of living and is a part of the creative process. If you've got a creative, busy mind, then that can certainly result in something that looks a lot like mess. In that sense, I do think there's a correlation between mess and creativity.
At the same time, there's a difference between that active, creative, happy mess and the passive, stagnant, stuckifying kind of mess that is clutter. (Clutter isn't necessarily messy, by the way, but that's a different question. See? Layers! Angles!) That kind of stuff hinders creativity by sucking up your energy and attention, so there's a relationship there, but not a happy one.
The trick is to determine the level of mess that feels good to your creative self, and then set up helpful systems and habits that support you in maintaining that. If your way of being tends to create mess, then run with it - just be sure to keep that mess fresh by letting go of that which no longer serves you.
Did I answer your question? I answered something, that's for sure. I really need to write a post about this.
4. The theme this month at Creative Every Day is home. Do you have any tips for bringing more creativity into your home?
Create space for what you love. Hold it high. That's all.
5. What's one small, simple thing we could try at home to enjoy our space more?
Recognise your treasures, then love them up. Some things you own light up your life with their beauty, meaning or usefulness. Other things just sit around taking up space and blocking your view of the good stuff. Once you know what your treasures are, treat them as such - put them where you can see them, take care of them, appreciate them - and create more space for them by letting go of the other stuff.
6. I love the name of your online course, "love that room." Could you talk a bit about what the class involves?
Love That Room is a clutter-clearing adventure where we focus on loving up just one room. (You know, that room.) It starts with seeing - really seeing - the space, then gently letting go of the stuff that no longer serves us. There's private blog where course-doers can download exercises, support each other, ask questions, celebrate wins and check in for gentle accountability. It's definitely not a scary bootcamp course - it's all about mindful interaction with your self and your stuff, so it's pretty special. I just opened up registrations for the next offering (starting March 22) and you can take a peek here.
7. Do you think focusing on clearing clutter in one room at a time is the way to go? And how do you deal with clutter overwhelm?
I like to focus on one room at a time because I like to set up a series of small, easy wins. Clutter can be so overwhelming when you look at it all at once, because we tend to think of it all as one big thing - The Clutter! [cue ominous music]. But it's not a big thing - it's a gathering of many little things, and little things we can handle.
8. Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Just that I'm so happy that you invited me to hang out on your lovely blog with your lovely people. Thank you! *waves to Leah's lovely people*
9. Where can people find you?
I have the beginnings of a blog over at ZenAtPlay.com and there's a newsletter there too. I'm an enthusiastic Twitterer - @zenatplay. (Let it be noted that I don't often talk about clutter on Twitter - I'm more likely to do magic tricks and show off my Wonder Woman underwear. Just so you know.)
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Thank you so much, Lisa for sharing your awesomeness!!
