Business of Being Creative with Sean Low

I'm Sean Low, and I've been lending practical business advice to those in the business of being creative since the early 2000s, including accomplished notables such as Preston Bailey, Vicente Wolf, Nate Berkus, Sawyer Berson, Style Me Pretty, Marcy Blum, Michelle Rago, and Sylvia Weinstock--to name a few. The key to my own success has been my ability to help artists build their businesses in a way that most honors the art that is behind them. I'll give you straight up, no holds barred advice on handling what happens from deal to done. The journey with your client begins when they first connect with you, whether digitally or in real life. And from that moment until the project is finished, you have the power to manifest an experience and journey with them that's transformative for all. Everyone should be creative. Whatever your art is, it should invigorate you and bring you joy. And if it happens to be your business, it should bring you the money you need to KEEP being creative. Hopefully, I will challenge you each week to do just that. So, let's not just think outside the box… Let's erase it!

Episode 239: You Go First

The key to sustained value, important clients and great work? Proaction. If you do not go first, there will be no story, no spark only reflection. Fluency not brilliance. If it really matters to you and your creative business, you have to go first. Original Episode Number: 137 | Original Air Date: 11/7/2023 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2023.

12-02
10:38

Episode 238: Know The Rules

The idea that your clients understand what you do is like most people in the United States appreciating how awesome Virat Kohli is. So let's talk contract. Original Episode Number: 90 | Original Air Date: 3/8/2022 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2022.

11-25
15:39

Episode 237: The Information Business – Responsibility and Authority

All creative businesses are in the information business. You are provided information — what is the project, you provide information and then you act on that information. How you handle the flow of information is what makes your creative business go. The real question then is where do you fall on the Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan spectrum? Listen in… Original Episode Number: 37 | Original Air Date: 2/2/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

11-18
19:45

Episode 236: Who Is Your Client?

All clients are not the same. You have to do the work to decide who is right for you. It boils down to are they twos or eights? Original Episode Number: 97 | Original Air Date: 5/3/2022 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2022.

11-11
15:24

Episode 235: Go Over The Bar Backwards

We are all in it now. The world has reopened (in the U.S. anyway) and the thrush of work is there. More then ever you are called upon to reinvent your creative business. Enter Dick Fosbury… Original Episode Number: 59 | Original Air Date: 7/6/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

11-04
14:38

Episode 234: The Psychology Of Choice

Why are clients choosing you, your art and your creative business? Price? Past work? What does it mean to you and how does it impact how your run your business? It really is a conversation about chameleons and totem poles. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 22 | Original Air Date: 10/6/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Talk Back Voicemail Guest: Valerie Gernhauser of Sapphire Events Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2020.

10-28
16:54

Episode 233: Trust Is Fluid

Building your name is not the same thing as making promises and keeping them. Confusing them costs you.  The trick is to understand intentionality. Original Episode Number: 134 | Original Air Date: 9/26/2023 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Sean or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2023.

10-21
14:18

Episode 232: My Christmas Wish List

Know your client. Are they beginners or enthusiastic amateurs? Meaning are they 1's or 5's? And where will you take them? If you cannot fully understand who you serve, you cannot serve them. Building your business to serve everyone means you serve no one. Let's talk knives. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 80 | Original Air Date: 12/21/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Sean or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

10-14
12:50

Episode 231: Know Your Clients

Know your client. Are they beginners or enthusiastic amateurs? Meaning are they 1's or 5's? And where will you take them? If you cannot fully understand who you serve, you cannot serve them. Building your business to serve everyone means you serve no one. Let's talk knives. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 13 | Original Air Date: 8/4/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Sean or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2020.

10-07
20:28

Episode 230: What Do You Want To Measure?

We spend all of our time making sure we are checking all the boxes, doing things as expected and then trying to finish well. We measure efficiency, profitability, sales. What if instead we measured engagement, satisfaction, happiness.  It is all about placebos. Original Episode Number: 123 | Original Air Date: 4/25/2023 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Sean or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2023.

09-30
16:54

Episode 229: Frustration

We should all chart our own course much deeper than simply a strategy to find uncharted territory. Be true to your soul as an artist, where there are no boundaries of possible only the imagination of what could be. What would your creative business look like then? Who says you have to charge any way that someone tells you to. Fifty years next year. Let's talk HBO. Original Episode Number: 62 | Original Air Date: 7/27/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

09-23
17:24

Episode 228: Stay In Your Lane

What does it really mean to only do work for those that care? To really be the best at what you do? To know your range and to stay there? To really know why you are trusted? Most important, what happens when you allow yourself to do the work you simply do not do well? It is about assumptions, bias and the refusal to believe in the power of your lane. Not everyone knows how to spend a million dollars well and let's talk about why that matters. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 40 | Original Air Date: 2/23/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

09-16
17:16

Episode 227: Why Hourly Sucks (Mostly)

For creative businesses, the value of time is not linear. There is intrinsic value that has nothing to do with physical effort. Ahem, creativity. You are not lawyers or accountants. So please stop acting like them. Original Episode Number: 110 | Original Air Date: 9/13/2022 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

09-09
19:29

Episode 226: Play On The Right Stage

You are hungry, scrappy, do whatever it takes to get your big break. You never want to lose that. It feels arrogant if you do. And yet you know what got you here will not get you there. Let's talk Kate Winslet. Original Episode Number: 56 | Original Air Date: 6/15/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

09-02
14:26

Episode 225: The Value Of The Subjective And Knowing If You Are Drawing Bird Or Clouds

Today we are going to talk about the value of the subjective, the emotional component that is critical to the success of every creative business.  It is knowing the difference between drawing birds and clouds and when you might share each.  It is also knowing that the language of emotional and its return dwarfs anything rational.  In the end, what it means is that you have to stop playing the game you are not very good at and start (or only) play the one you are. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 5 | Original Air Date: 6/9/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2020.

08-26
26:07

Episode 224: Your Business Is Not A Factory

We all grew up and are taught the value of a factory.  Efficiency. Low cost. Scale. And you have tried to force your creative business into the paradigm. You measure volume of work, hours, effort, not ideas, emotional intelligence or really anything reflecting the value of relationship.  Your creative business is not a factory so stop acting like it is. Original Episode Number: 129 | Original Air Date: 7/18/2023 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2023.

08-19
15:38

Episode 223: Factory vs. Community

Most of us grew up learning about business through the eyes of the factory model. We all need factories and their models to live our lives. Creative businesses, on the other hand, are needs and have to leave that model behind. Let's talk about Justo Thomas. Original Episode Number: 72 | Original Air Date: 10/19/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

08-12
19:53

Episode 222: Create Joy

Remind yourself why you do what you do. You create joy and you do it with intention. When things go awry it is all too often because the singular purpose has been misformed by ego, by manipulation and by a loss of connection. Finding your way back means two things: tantrums and foundation. Listen in… Original Episode Number: 30 | Original Air Date: 12/01/2020 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2022.

08-05
22:07

Episode 221: Tomorrow Is Another Day

Unless you are committed to making it look like yesterday. Evolution requires letting go to embrace what could be. It means knowing when you speak of something new, it has to be with a different mindset. Let's talk about the Phoenix once more. Original Episode Number: 115 | Original Air Date: 11/22/2022 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2022.

07-29
14:55

Episode 220: Make Change A Choice

Change sucks. It is hard, really hard and the inertia to change is a powerful mistress. The decision to change has to be with intention and an ultimate endeavor to reset your foundation without regard to result. Let's talk The Dip. Original Episode Number: 52 | Original Air Date: 5/18/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

07-22
17:44

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