I was working as a graphic designer at an animation studio. It was a creative 9 to 5 and it was a really awesome job at first. I got to turn animations into brands and make the graphics that went on all the toys and merch. Fun right?

It was really good for years… Until it wasn’t.

I had stayed too long, climbed the corporate ladder and found my days were filled with emails, spreadsheets and telling OTHER people how to be creative, rather than actually being creative myself.

Then came a day that a meeting went really awry. A marketing person threw out two weeks of work I had directed another designer to do - completely wasting and disregarding our team’s time and hard work.

I was devastated and something snapped.

I was done working for the man and being miserable every day. I was done bringing that sadness and anger home to my family. I wanted to take charge of my own path - and build it full of creativity and joy.

That’s when I decided that I had to face my fears and take the leap. I decided to quit my job and restart my illustration business.

Yes, I won’t lie, it was TERRIFYING!

I was nervous to do the freelance thing again, especially without an agent. I worked on rebuilding my portfolio and signed up to many art-focused courses. I was creating great work but my inbox was pretty empty and I wasn’t getting the level of clients I wanted.

Then I took a step back and realized I had to focus my energy on my business skills, not only my artwork. I hired a coach and after an intensive three months of learning I had more high paying clients than I could have imagined.

Now a couple years later I’m thriving! It was hard work but I didn’t even have to dip into my emergency savings and in 2023 I hit 100K income! 🎉

(FYI that’s a heck of a lot more than I was earning at that soul-sucking office job AND recently my whole department got laid off. So much for the “steady” 9 to 5 🙄)

I now LOVE the work I’m creating, and by attracting better clients I’m actually able to work less, have more time to spend with my family travelling and enjoying life! (Check my instagram @alanamccarthycreative if you don’t believe me!)

Now I want to help other artists do the same!

I’m so excited to share everything I’ve learned with you, and teach you how to transform your creative passion into a thriving business! 🙌

Artful Entrepreneur offers simple, step-by-step lessons, workbooks, done-for-you project templates, and time-saving workflows to transform your creative business.

Your registration includes:

• Comprehensive course modules: so that you can master every aspect of your business and achieve sustainable success.
• Workbooks, templates and spreadsheets: so that you can save time and focus on your creative work.
• A bonus pricing guide and contract template: so that you can enhance your business operations, charge more, and make sure you get paid!
• A creative project that is designed to show off your skills and target those ideal, quality clients you’ve been searching for.
• Knowledge on how to create your own unique professional branding so you can put your best self forward, creating confidence for your clients.
• A support community: so that you can get answers to your questions and connect with like-minded creatives.

Learn more and register for the course here

See you inside!