Episode 97: How Lucrative Can Creative Entrepreneurship Be?
When startup founders launch a new business they pour themselves into it, fueled by hopes and dreams of building a
Category: Money
What’s Your Maximum Earning Potential as a Creative Entrepreneur?
When you’re hustling and grinding it out, do you push yourself forward imagining a future financial payoff? What are your
Episode 91: How to Avoid a Budget Sneak Attack
Does your company’s operating budget adequately anticipate infrequent future expenses? We can easily plan a budget based on our known
Episode 90: How Methodology Can Boost Profit Margins
Last time we explored the topic of creative methodologies, and how they can improve your sales and marketing. A proven
Episode 88: How to Compete Against Upwork
Throughout history new technologies have always had beneficial, yet disruptive outcomes. The printing press put many scribes out of work.
Don’t Fall Into a Gaping Budget Hole
This Spring my daughter graduated from Grove City College, got her first car, and her first job. As a new
How Methodology Can Deepen Your Margins
In my last article I began to describe how PinPoint Positioning can lead to highly refined processes that give even
Is Upwork Dragging Down Your Freelance Practice?
How in the world are you supposed to thrive as a freelancer when clients have access to global crowdsourced platforms
Would You, Could You, Sell Your Company?
Most creatives get into business out of a passion for their work. Unlike creatives, I’ve never met other entrepreneurs looking
Episode 79: Crossing the Perilous Growth Gaps
Last week I discussed the key decision about hiring your first overhead role—and whether that should be a client facing
Episode 73: Is Getting Paid Getting You Down?
Creatives work hard for their money. And not just in the studio. It takes a lot of work just to
Episode 72: Can You Handle Quickbooks?
Being a creative entrepreneur involves making decisions, sometimes risky decisions. Wise decision making requires having good information to guide you.
Episode 70: Learning from Pricing Failures
Entrepreneurship involves risk. The possibility of failure can never be erased from the equation. Among the many points of failure
Having Trouble Getting Paid?
Being a creative entrepreneur is hard. Creatives get little to no training in business while learning their trade. Art schools
Do Creative Entrepreneurs Need Bookkeepers?
As soon as you start accepting money for creative services, you’ve entered into the realm of taxes, accounting, and financial
Episode 64: How to Stay Competitive as a Creative
On Shark Tank, when one of the investors gets intrigued by a startup, before they make an offer they almost
Episode 63: Feeling the Burn of Your “Burn Rate”
In our last episode of 5 Minutes on Creative Entrepreneurship, we continued our “Shark Tank Series” by considering the step
Episode 62: Are You Ready to Scale?
Some creative entrepreneurs enjoy the freelance life. They like working alone, and know that they are not cut out to
Episode 61: Are You Experiencing “Time Debt”?
Starting your own business is a daunting undertaking—especially when we face the startup costs involved. For some startups, in the
Shark Series: Are Partnerships an Alternative to Investors?
The idea that a creative entrepreneur would ever go on “Shark Tank” is entirely an imaginary thought experiment. Venture capital
Episode 60: How to Measure Your Creative Practice’s Costs
Over the past few episodes we’ve been imagining what it might be like to present our creative practice on Shark
Shark Series: Will Competition Replace You?
When a founder presents in the Shark Tank, one of the questions they will be asked is whether or not
Episode 59: Where Do Profits Come From?
As we’ve been imagining what it might be like to get our shot to pitch the investors on Shark Tank,
Shark Series: What is Your “Burn Rate?”
When investors drop hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars into a startup, how can they be sure all
Episode 58: What is Your Equity Worth?
Over the next few episodes we’re going to imagine what it might be like to present our creative business on
Shark Series: Is Your Creative Practice Scalable?
When a startup founder goes on Shark Tank to seek an investment in their business, the primary motivation always relates
Episode 57: A Shark Tank for Creative Entrepreneurs?
Have you ever dreamed of being on Shark Tank? Be honest, do you feel just a little jealous when you
Shark Series: Are You Over Leveraged?
Every entrepreneurial endeavor requires some degree of investment to get off the ground. When a startup founder is just starting
Shark Series: Are You Paying Yourself Enough?
Far too often creatives mistake the money they take from their businesses as being their profits. But your compensation is
Shark Series: Revenues vs. Margins
Last week, as we kicked off our new series in which we imagine ourselves getting on Shark Tank, we considered
Are You a Shrewd Investor in Your Own Creative Business?
Last fall I wrote an article called “What if there were a Shark Tank for Creative Startups?” Of course, venture
Why I Wrote A Book on Creative Entrepreneurship
Last year I published my book, Blazing the Freelance Trail, Professional Practices for Creative Entrepreneurs. I’ve been on the trail
Counting the costs of your marketing program
Marketing is hard work, and it’s costly. Of course, when we measure those costs against the cost of not marketing,
Could a “feast cycle” bust your business?
Creative practices are vulnerable to feast or famine cycles. Usually it’s during a famine cycle that most creatives start to
Episode 38: Profitability Buys Control
Since few creatives are motivated by the dream of acquiring multiple vacation homes, or fancy yachts, we’re going to need
Episode 37: The Creative’s Struggle With Profitability
Since creatives tend to maintain rates much lower than other professional services their profits are pretty slim. But the idea
Episode 36: Unearned Revenue Might Be Killing Your Business
Creative entrepreneurs often suffer from a liability that slowly digs them into financial holes. It’s called the unearned revenue problem.
Episode 35: Keeping Cash Flow Accuracy Under Pressure
Maintaining a cash flow projection is essential to running your business. Keeping it accurate and up-to-date needs to become a
Are opportunity costs hindering your growth?
Many creatives have dreams to grow their practices. Part-time freelancers dream of going full time. Full-time freelancers dream of building
Episode 34: Cash Flow Projections are an Advance Warning System for Your Business
Reviewing the past is helpful for analyzing your business, but seeing ahead helps you make timely decisions to avoid serious