Business Tips For Creatives Podcast

In this episode I revisit my new years resolutions... specifically getting to 100 no's!   Brought to you by www.29pixelstudios.com 

We run a little long in an interview with high school senior Josh Bell. He is a graduating senior in Kansas City and has worked with me on a few projects at an intern/learning roll. He has chops! But, has not been accepted (to go straight into anyways) in any of the three schools he applied. The big question... what now? Go to a fall back college? A community college? Straight into work? Move to a different location?! We talk about ALL OF THAT in this longer than usual episode! This episode is brought to you by www.29pixelstudios.com  

This, is THE question everyone asks.   Honestly, 80% of the time if someone is asking for advice/guidance. It is “How much should I charge.” is what is asked.   Bad news first. This question is something that freelancers with years of experience still spend time trying to figure out.   Good news. It’s something that you can adjust frequently. So, let's get to fine tuning it.   BLUF: The answer to How much should I charge? Is as easy as whatever people are willing to pay. (BTW, BLUF stands for Bottom Line Up Front… (and BTW, By The Way. *wink*))  

So many of us want to read more as a new years resolution and its a great goal. Well, 2016 was a great year for my ‘to-read’ list. Here are my top recommendations for books! The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. Read THIS book, this year! A+ material in my opinion. I’ll probably revisit this book every year! Level Up Your Life: How to Unlock Adventure and Happiness by Becoming the Hero of Your Own Story by Steve Kamb. Steve is the mastermind behind Nerd Fitnesss and if you are a geek (or a nerd) this book is FOR YOU! Why are we leveling up our characters and not ourselves. This is not a fitness book, but more of a self-help book specifically for ME. *probably you too. Sketching Light: An Illustrated Tour of the Possibilities of Flash by Joe McNally, is more for photographers that are not afraid of flash. Yeah, I’m talking to YOU… the one who says “I’m more of a ‘natural light’ photographer. In ALL my contacts, I’ve met maybe two photographers who are REALLY good with ‘natural light’ the rest are simply terrified of flash. I did a more in depth review on my personal blog. Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy. I’m a big fan of Michael Hyatt. His wisdom and willingness to share is admirable. I cannot remember when I first heard about this book, but immediately put it at the top of the queue and  so glad I did. Another self-help book that is geared towards those who feel like they have ‘drifted off course’ and looking to right the ship! Other books from 2016 and their ratings (B+) The Opposite of Spoiled – Raising Kids Who are grounded generous and smart about money. (B+) Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone (B+) The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws Of Business Success – Brian Tracy (B) Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (B) 60-Minute CEO: Mastering Leadership an Hour at a Time by Dick Cross (C) The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg (D) The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

In this episode, I bring up a very important question. What if this fails?   http://www.29pixelstudios.com is still sponsoring :) because... ya know, that's *my* business! ;)

Matt Peet! Getting to know each other before the show, Matt and I have a TON in common. One big difference though, is Matt made the jump to full-time freelancing much faster than I did and is KILLING it! Listen to how he knew it was time to take the leap! “The cemeteries are full of indispensable men.” – Get over giving up creative control. Subscribe to his podcast HERE! : https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-creative-success/id1130721318?mt=2 Quick notes: Big thanks to Matt for backing up this recording as mine failed! He uses http://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/ also, his recommendation for an app you can’t live without is https://www.17hats.com.

29 Pixel Studios was hired to help a KickStarter project for the Takamo Universe! 29 Pixel was responsible for recording the legendary Kevin J. Anderson and capturing b-roll at World Con. During some down time, I asked Randy if I could interview him to share some business tips for creatives that might be in game development. He graciously shared some time and we captured it with video as well! https://youtu.be/IUhgF3k4n0Y The Kickstarter project was a SUCCESS! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/takamo/kevin-j-anderson-presents-empires-rift-by-steve-rz follow them HERE: http://www.takamouniverse.com/

End of the year is rapidly approaching and how did you do this year regarding your goals? If you cannot immediately answer this question, I’m willing to bet that you did not write them down! In this episode I talk about how 29 Pixel Studios (and me personally) handles goals! Where did I hit? Where did I miss? I talk about SMART goals. Every year I have one umbrella goal. Where I succeeded and failed. Where I plan to go in 2017!  

For this exercise I am going to work alongside you for my personal business. Let's start with thinking about a big milestone, after 10-20 years of business, 29 Pixel Studios brought what, to who, and how they did they do it. http://www.businesstipsforcreatives.com 

Kyle Hamrick has been a motion designer and video editor since 2003, working for a string of ad agencies and production houses while cultivating a successful freelance career, then co-founding The Feral Few in 2010. Apparently enjoying the challenge of an ever-changing workflow, Kyle hops from animated explainer videos to live events for corporate clients; from historical IMAX documentaries to full graphics packages for professional sports franchises. His work has aired on ABC, Fox and FXX, and been shown in 11 major league sports venues. Discovering a love and natural talent for sharing his knowledge after becoming an Adobe User Group Manager, Kyle soon became an in-demand trainer for After Effects and Premiere Pro in cities around theMidwest, and more recently became an animation instructor at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. Kyle also fills many of his off-hours creating things like photography, music, t-shirt designs, furniture, origami, and overly elaborate Halloween costumes. He enjoys using his talents for good, often contributing video and design to charitable and community organizations and events.

I wanted to see if my opinion was way off base so I reached out to other creative professionals, other companies or other people that have it as a side hustle and that are successful and making it. I wanted to get their take on hey do I need a college degree. Before I get started though I want to do something that I should have done in the last 5 episodes and that’s to ask for a call to action from all the listeners. If would really help if you could sign up for our newsletter at businesstipsforcreatives.com there’s a little spot in the top right. I promise not to spam you, in fact I have yet to send out a single email so far. Just looking to build the email for future projects, and just information about the podcast. I would really appreciate it. Thanks! Ok let’s get to it.

In this episode we tackle a listener's email about handling school debt and how to make it in the creative field.     

I don’t see a lot of 55 year old photographers running around… Creative professionals, you need to take retirement seriously! Most creative professionals are young, so we have that going for us. That also means social security is going to be less and less of an option for us! I explore the best options when it comes to retirement plans. We don’t see a lot of 55 year old photographers running around… you need to get started today. SEPs, Simples, Solo-k and more… made simple, 12 minutes folks, take a listen!   Intro to Retirement What kind of retirement plan should you get? What if I only make a few bucks, what if I make a BOAT load.

I sit down with best-selling author, Kevin J. Anderson! I ask when did you know you made it? I love his answer to: When did he feel comfortable giving up his full time job (with great benefits)? Turns out Kevin J. Anderson understands the struggle of artist just as much! He talks about his workshop for authors focusing only on the business side! What does Kevin J. Anderson call a day off? He shares his thoughts on the ever changing world of the publishing landscape. I love his answer to 'what's a myth about freelancing' This guy is a work horse!

What to do with some end of the year funds? Maybe you had a little extra business come in late in the year and you already have everything paid for. What to do? This was a situation I ran into in 2016. I've been looking at an upgrade to my camera gear. So, how did I handle this situation? Listen in! This started from a post I made: http://businesstipsforcreatives.com/index.php/2016/09/01/buying-gear-end-year-funds-thought-process/   Had the most views on my Instagram showing the move the needle sketch! Follow us @29pixelstudios.com

The #1 goal behind Business Tips for Creatives is to offer short, easy to understand business tips for entrepreneurs looking to earn $25,000 – $250,000 in sales. From Nick: I’m tired of seeing amazingly talented artist struggle with the business side of things. Personally, I enjoy both the creative field AND the business aspect. I’m constantly learning and sharing tips with my fellow togs! I love teaching and can't wait to share tips with you!!  If you are a photographer, videographer, cinematographer, motion graphic artist, actor, actress, singer, painter, model, whatever creative field you are in, and struggle with the 'boring business' side of things this podcast is for you!