I’m shifting a bit.
After I moved back to Chicago, I spent 5 years working as a Financial Counselor for a social service agency. During that time, I got lots of practice helping people overcome serious financial hardships. Then in August of this year, I started Self-Worth full time.
My plan was to serve anyone who was experiencing financial distress or discomfort and stick solely to working with people on their personal finances. However, most of the clients I have been attracting are turning out to be my favorite Creative Entrepreneurs so I am changing my focus a bit now to offer more programs for them. Going back to my roots utilizing all of my tools as a business and financial coach to help them turn their passion into profit.
My definition of a creative entrepreneur is anyone who has a passion for what they do, but hasn’t been taught much about how to run a successful business and even less about how to manage money. I am an expert in this area. I’ve had 4 creative businesses of my own.
I started my first business right after college. I designed and made batiked fabrics for women’s clothing and I hired an incredibly talented fashion designer to work with. I made the fabric and he created a wonderful line of clothing that we sold in upscale boutiques in Chicago and to Neiman Marcus. Although I was innately good at marketing and created beautiful fabrics I knew nothing about clothing design or sewing. When the fashion designer unfortunately had a nervous breakdown I wasn’t able to continue the business.
I pivoted to designing fabrics for interiors. That way I didn’t have to sew anything or rely on anyone else. I painted the yard goods and sold them through interior design showrooms around the country. That business ended when I got a huge order from a restaurateur who went bankrupt the week after the restaurant opened, owing me thousands of dollars. I still had unpaid bills for the base fabric and paying that off took all the money I had. I had to close the business. This taught me the importance of an iron clad contract. I also learned how resilient I can be.
From there I went to managing someone else’s fabric and wall paper company.
I learned there that you earn the amount of money you believe you will make.
I had gone into business thinking I’d be grateful to make enough money to pay my bills. Glad to be able to do what I loved. The owner of this business went into it thinking he would make millions. No surprise that I made just enough and he made over a million a year selling tie-dyed fabrics and wallpapers. Each of us made drastically different business decisions because we started out with different goals and expectations. I never made that mistake again.
My next business was a school for using art as a tool for healing and growth. It was housed in the basement of my apartment building. I taught there and hosted other teachers who taught various spiritual and intuitive courses. Miracles happened, I was asked out of the blue to teach my treasure map class at corporations, making more money in a day than I had ever made in a month. I got very good at manifesting. Opportunities were abundant.That business ended when I got married and moved to Michigan.
My next business was creating murals and decorative wall finishes for people’s homes. This business taught me how to be very productive and how to manage others. It was very successful. I worked in this business until it became too physically demanding.
After that I started Artful Work. Working predominately with artists and designers helping them grow their businesses. I was teaching them what I knew about marketing, planning, productivity and how to price their products and services. They were afraid that if they charged what I recommended that no one would buy their products. All believing that their work wasn’t worth that much.
That is when I got certified as a Financial Counselor so that I could help them understand how their thinking affects their financial behavior and their ability to succeed. I wanted to learn how to help them increase their self-worth. I then incorporated financial counseling into what I was offering.
I became known as the business of art lady. Carving out that niche for myself throughout the country. Teaching artists all over how to grow their business, make and manage more money. I got so good at teaching entrepreneurs that I was asked by the Provost of Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN to teach entrepreneurship for 3 of their graduate programs even though I only have a bachelors degree.
If you are an artist, designer, therapist of any kind, writer, coach, chiropractor or in any other profession and you haven’t been attending to the business and financial management of your company I’d love to help you get organized, change your thinking about yourself and money and start increasing your profit. If you’d like to explore that option click the link below to set up a Discovery Call to see if coaching is right for. It’s an investment in yourself and your future.
My clients will tell you that working with me has given them more money for the things they care most about and that they feel more confident and in control of their money and business.
LOVE,
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