Inside the Studio
Behind the scenes of running my business - processes, podcasts & ai tools.
I’ve always been curious into how other people are running their business. After starting my own last year, I spent a lot of time listening to podcasts of other business owners and reading books hoping to find some guidance.
Who was their first hire? What tools are they using to organize and schedule? Or to send invoices? Have they set up AI to help in their business or are they hiring out for positions? I constantly had (and still have) a million questions.
But there comes a point where you just have to start and accept that you’ll learn it along the way.
Last year I wrote about all this in my little 4 part series called Building a Business. It chronicled the research & strategy, the branding building, what programs & processes I was using at the time, and more.
This is an extension of that series. It’s what I’m working on in real time. What lessons I’m learning, what programs are actually working for me now, what books, podcasts and other media I’m consuming. It’s a closer, real time look at what it looks like to run a small creative business.
And of course, since my creative studio is called The Market, everything is loosely grocery themed.
Topics you can expect to see through this series:
The Grocery List: Media I’ve been consuming (books, podcasts, videos, etc.)
On-The-Clock: What I’ve been working on with clients & internally with the business
The Back Office: Tools & resources I’ve found helpful
What In My Grocery Cart: Items I’m looking at adding to my workflow
& more creative discussion, tips, & lessons i’ve learned.
I plan to make this a regular series for paid subscribers, it’s something I wish I had access to last year when I was in the starting phase of my business and I hope it helps anyone else that is curious about starting a business.
Let’s get into it.
The Grocery List: Media I’ve been consuming
Process the Podcast | I’ve been bingeing this podcast like you wouldn’t believe. I love the interviews she hosts with creatives I’ve always admired like Jasmine Dowling & Stephanie Stematis. And she has episodes that go into how she runs her business which has been very helpful and you’ll notice how much I mention her podcast throughout this whole post.
Rereading The Creative Act | I hate to say this, but since we’ve moved I haven’t had anywhere to put my books so I haven’t been reading as much. I finally dug this one out because it’s a treasure trove of advice for creatives. This is one book I’m always returning to when I’m feeling stuck or uninspired.
John Galliano’s objects of affection | I came across this old vogue video of John Galliano going through his french hideaway that is stuffed full of treasures. I think it’s so inspiring to see where other artists work and what their studios look like. Now I kinda want to paint my office pink and fill it with plants and art.
Rothko Paintings | I went down a rabbit hole recently about Mark Rothko, the American painter, and how he created his works of art. I loved this video by Sothebys explaining the depth of his work and this video by The MOMA that explains his technique.
On-The-Clock: What I’ve been working on recently
