I wrote this once already and then Google deleted it. I was in a negative mood at the time, so maybe it’s a sign from the universe to smarten up.

So here we go again! Lots of transparency below!

2024 was a building year for me

After a spectacular 2023 where I hit six figures (!!!) I took the money I made and reinvested it into time to really focus and finish building my course: The Artful Entrepreneur - How to craft a life you love by building a thriving creative business.

I finally made a course I wish I had when starting my own artistic journey!

I also leaned heavily on help from my awesome virtual assistant Shen for video editing, social media maintenance and marketing help.

I took things learned over my 20 years experience in the creative industry, and turned it into lessons to help others to start building their own creative careers.

If you think 2025 is going to be your year to supercharge your business, then please follow along by signing up here.

I’m going to be launching AE with a FREE webinar in conjunction with my friends at the Creative Connection Collective - Alisa and Lauren.

FREE WEBINAR - Wed January 22th - 12 noon EST

I’ll be talking CREATIVE BUSINESS ESSENTIALS: Finding clients, communicating your value and building your confidence.

✔️ 2024 GOOD THINGS

• Finished my Artful Entrepreneur Course - Launching Jan 2025
• Lots of super fun book illustration jobs
• Started sharing content on YouTube and currently have 7051 subscribers!
• Launched 4 free guides and grew my email list to 500 subscribers!
• Even though 2024 was down I still made more gross income than at my old office job.

❌ 2024 NOT-SO-GOOD THINGS

• Felt I did more writing and working ON my business than making art.
• Lost one of my biggest clients when the company laid off a whole department.
• Lots of canceled Paint Nite shows. Having trouble selling tickets.
• My income was 23% lower than last year.
• Didn’t do much outreach at all.
• Distracted by the emotional work of having to clean out my late mom’s house to prep it for sale. Overwhelmed by all the stuff coming into our house and the time to organize it.
• No Instagram growth even though I was posting daily at one point. Wondering if social media is worth the time invested. Also feeling less connected with my audience. 
• Consumed too much news about the state of the world and feeling powerless to do anything about it.
• Went viral on YouTube and I got SO close to getting monetized. I regret not taking advantage of that momentum while it lasted. Now I’m back to the bottom.
• I spent a lot more on my business than other years. Hoping to see those investments pay off in 2025.
• I feel like my organizational systems are a mess compared to other years. Even putting these stats together felt like a treasure hunt for files.

GOALS

🌟 Draw more - in my sketchbook, without pressure and not only on the ipad

🌟 Consume less news - it’s a distraction and angers me and makes me feel powerless.

🌟 More outreach - planning on giving the task to my assistant so it’s off my plate.

🌟 Consume less legal substances - I feel it’s dulling my mind and making me lazy. Working on a dry January and may continue beyond, or confine it to the weekend. Also, harder on the body when you’re older.

🌟 Help other artists - starting with my course, webinars and free guides.

🌟 Organize my business better.

🌟 Don’t let emotions and fear cloud my judgment. Take action and move forward.

🌟 More action in the education sphere - courses and YouTube.

🌟 PLAN regular newsletter content.

🌟 PLAN consistent social media content.

🌟 Paint my own Paint Nite paintings to make them more fun.

Here’s to a bigger and better 2025! See you at the live chat!
- Alana

P.S. My “official” launch for The Artful Entrepreneur starts with the free webinar on Jan 22, but if you’ve made it this far in my blog (thank you!) you can check it out early below.

✅ How to build a business doing what you love, so you can love what you do

✅ Figuring out your target market

✅ Create a laser focused business plan

✅ Business basics: clients, pricing, invoicing, contracts and more

✅ Time management, mindset and confidence in your work’s value

✅ Creating a passion project that attracts your target market

✅ How to professionally brand yourself and get those jobs!

SIGN UP NOW!