The And She Looked Up Podcast
Every other week The And She Looked Up Podcast sits down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys and their best business tips, as well as the creative and business mindset issues all creative entrepreneurs struggle with. This podcast is for Canadian artists, makers and creators who want to find a way to make a living doing what they love. Your host, Melissa Hartfiel, left a 20 year career in corporate retail and has been happily self-employed as a working creative since 2010. She's a graphic designer, illustrator, writer, community co-founder and has owned and operated a multi-six figure a year creative content business. She resides just outside of Vancouver, BC.
The And She Looked Up Podcast
SUMMER REPLAY: Branding For Multi-Passionate Creatives with Diane Foy
As a multi-passionate creative herself, creativity coach and host of the Superfan Attraction Podcast, Diane Foy understands how difficult it is for multi-passionate creative entrepreneurs to present themselves to the world. In this summer replay episode we talk about the power of personal branding and showing the world all the wonderful things you do instead of trying to keep them under wraps!
This episode is brought to you by How to Market Your Ebook - A Complete Checklist to Market Your Ebook or Digital Product
This is a great episode for anyone who:
- creates in multiple genres
- works in a creative field that requires multiple skillsets
- struggles to avoid labels like "flaky" or "jack of all trades" and being known for having a short attention span
- doesn't know how to bring all of their endeavours under one umbrella
You can find Diane at her website www.dianefoy.com, or on social media:
- Facebook Group for Multi-Passionate Creatives
- Instagram @dianefoyarts
- Superfan Attraction Podcast
For a summary of this episode and all the links mentioned please visit:
Episode 91: Creativity Coach Diane Foy
You can connect with the podcast on:
- Instagram at @andshelookedup
- YouTube
- Tik Tok at @AndSheLookedUp
For a list of all available episodes, please visit:
And She Looked Up Creative Hour Podcast
Each week The And She Looked Up Podcast sits down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys and their best business tips, as well as the creative and business mindset issues all creative entrepreneurs struggle with. This podcast is for Canadian artists, makers and creators who want to find a way to make a living doing what they love.
Your host, Melissa Hartfiel (@finelimedesigns), left a 20 year career in corporate retail and has been happily self-employed as a working creative since 2010. She's a graphic designer, writer and illustrator as well as the co-founder of a multi-six figure a year business in the digital content space. She resides just outside of Vancouver, BC.
This week's episode of the Anchi Looked Up podcast is brought to you by Fine Lime Illustrations. If you love quirky, colorful art transformed into fun handmade stationery items pretty much guaranteed to brighten somebody's day that's just what you'll find in my new online shop at finelimeillustrationscom. That's fine, as in I'm fine lime, as in the fruit illustrationscom. Browse the entire collection or sign up for my email list to see some behind the scenes peeks into my studio. You'll also get first notice of new product launches and subscriber only sales, and as an added little bonus, you'll also receive a free coloring sheet to help you relax and de-stress from your day. And now on with the show.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Anchi Looked Up podcast. Each week, we sit down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys and their best business tips, as well as the creative and business mindset issues all creative entrepreneurs struggle with. I'm your host, melissa Hartfield, and after leaving a 20 year career in corporate retail, I've been happily self-employed for 12 years. I'm a graphic designer, an illustrator and a multi-six figure a year entrepreneur in the digital content space. This podcast is for the artists, the makers and the creatives who want to find a way to make a living doing what they love. Hello everybody, it's Melissa here and I'm welcoming you back to another episode of our summer replay season, and in today's episode we're going back into the archives, to episode 91, which was all about branding for multi-passionate artists and creatives, with Diane Foy.
Speaker 1:So one of the things I've learned over the last few years of doing this podcast is that so many of you myself included I know Heather, who comes on the show regularly, would also probably classify herself as this but so many of the guests have identified as multi-passionate creatives and artists, and I think one of the things that we all struggle about when we find ourselves in that situation is how to brand ourselves. How do we get ourselves out there? How do we tell the world about all the wonderful things we do without it feeling like we do too many things, or like it's hard to keep track, or it's hard to figure out consistent messaging? It can become really messy and it can become really confusing and I think we really tend to overthink it because we just don't know which direction to go in, or if we should abandon all the other things we do and just focus on one, or if we you can probably hear the frustration in my voice just thinking about it right now. So this is you. You probably know exactly what I'm talking about and that's why this episode with Diane was so great.
Speaker 1:So Diane herself identifies as a multi-passionate creative. She is also a creativity coach who works with multi-passionate artists, and she is also the host of the Superfan Attraction podcast. You'll hear it referenced as the multi-passionate artist podcast in the show, but it has now been rebranded, I believe, as the Superfan Attraction podcast. So if you're looking to check it out, that is where you'll want to go. But Diane works, as I said, she's a creativity coach, she works with multi-passionate creatives and she knows just how difficult it is for us to present ourselves to the world. So in this episode, she joins me to talk about the power of personal branding and showing the world all the wonderful things that we do instead of trying to keep them under wraps, so that we seem like we're focused and together.
Speaker 1:So this is a really great episode for anyone who creates in multiple genres or who works in a creative field that requires multiple skill sets, or if you're somebody who struggles to avoid labels like flaky or You've heard them all you're flaky, you have a short attention span, or you're Jack or Jill of all trades master of none you know all the things that I'm talking about or if you're somebody who struggles to bring all of your endeavors under one umbrella. So Diane had some fantastic advice for all of us and this was a really great conversation. So I hope that you enjoy it and I hope that you're all having a fantastic summer and I hope that you're all managing to stay cool. I know that's not an easy feat this year, but hopefully you are able to do that and we'll be back in a couple of weeks with another replay episode, but for now, I hope that you enjoy this one with Diane. Welcome.
Speaker 2:Diane, and welcome to you too. It's great to chat with you. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1:I am excited to talk today because we are going to be talking about multi-passionate artists and creatives which I think many of the people who listened to this podcast would identify with. So before we dive into the interview, let's just get to know Diane a little bit better. As I said, she is a multi-passionate artist, coach and podcast host, and she is on a mission to challenge the saying Jack of all trades, master of none, because renaissance souls, like all of us, are limitless in their capacities for knowledge and development. So I actually just learned last week that Jack of all trades, master of none is not the full saying, which was interesting. It has a completely different meaning if you hear the whole saying.
Speaker 1:So Diane loves to draw on her photography, fashion and makeup artistry experience one day and her journalist, publicist and marketing experience the next. She helps artists embrace their values, ambitions and story in order to slide into the spotlight, with the impact and income to match, which are all things I like to hear. So I think all of us who are listening, as I said earlier, can identify with this. And today, diane and I are going to be focusing in on how to brand yourself when you're a multi-passionate creative. And if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you know that about a year ago, abby Payton and I did an episode on being a multi-passionate creative, and the biggest thing that we both struggled with was the branding process, and so Diane's going to be helping us with that today and we're going to be talking about a few other things, but before we do that, diane, the question I ask everyone who comes on the podcast is did you identify as creative when you were a kid?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I think I did, but it's not like I came from a family that was creative. I think I was always attracted to arts and entertainment. I remember being like into crafts and art and things like that. And I did grade seven. Grade eight I played the clarinet and I've recently telling a story about that. I realized that might have been one of my very first multi-passionate experiences, because the first year, obsessed, practiced all the time, learning everything I can about it. Second year started to get bored and I kind of just didn't want to continue with that, which always seems weird because I love music so much, so I don't know. But now when I look back at that I'm like, oh, that was probably one of my very first Like, yeah, I was obsessed and then I'm bored.
Speaker 1:Next. I think a lot of us can. What's the word I'm looking for? We can relate to that. It's you see, something new and it appeals to you and you just want to dive in and you want to learn everything about it. You just want to fill up all that knowledge and then, once you feel like you've mastered it, you want to move on to something else, because there's just so much to learn and so much to do and be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm also thinking like there's different levels of our interest too, because there's some interest that we dive in and we kind of always love it and then but we still want to do things as well. And then there's things that maybe it's just a casual interest, where we can satisfy that interest by, you know, reading a couple of articles, reading a book, watching a documentary or something, and you're like, okay, I'm good, that's all I really want to know about that, move on, and then. So there's different levels, I think, of all the different things.
Speaker 1:So tell us a little bit about your background, because you've done a lot of different things. And where did you? Where were you first drawn to career wise? When you were coming to the end of high school and thinking about what you wanted to do.
Speaker 2:Well, in high school, when I was in high school, my high school counselor only cared about the really smart people that were going to university. So for all of us that were not going to university and having straight A's, you didn't really care and he was just kind of like secretary or teacher, wasn't really any other option. And I'm like all the jobs that were presented to me I'm like I'm not interested in any of that and I was like so I was kind of having trouble in the career explorations courses because I'm like none of this fits for me and so kind of out of a out of a desperation is like I loved music so much, I loved arts and entertainment and I wasn't necessarily an artist or performer but I just I needed to be around performers because I was so attracted to them. So I opened up my Pat Benatar tour book to the credits and was like, well, that's entertainment. So let's see what all the credits were. And I either didn't understand what they were or wasn't interested. And I saw photographer. I was like, ok, that's it, I am a photographer. I hadn't really ever worked a real camera before, other than a Polaroid. So yeah, gonna be a photographer because that's my way of getting in with musicians.
Speaker 2:And so grade 1112 took photography. Then that same counselor told me that I would never get into the photography school because I didn't have high enough grades in algebra, physics, chemistry, because it was a real technical photography school. And yeah, I'm shouting out all the creativity killers I've had in my life. You know, because I believed him, my mom said that's crap, don't believe him, you can do it. Yeah, I did take a year off to take those courses, get the better grades, got into the school, two years of photography. It was a challenge, it was a really hard program. Again, the teacher was not very supportive and I wasn't getting that grade good at grade. So by the end of the first year I was like I guess I don't have it in me, I don't, I guess I'm not good enough. So this is not what I'm going to do. I'm not going to be a photographer because he says everything I do is crap and but I'm not a quitter.
Speaker 2:So I was still coming back for a second year and finishing. But then I started to think look at other careers and I was looking into media and publicity and but it was kind of good coming back second year because, with that, not caring as much how I did, I started to challenge the teacher and be like, okay, so if you don't think I should have done it this way, how would you do it? And he didn't have the answer. So I started to like not take the criticism seriously and I did pursue photography for a long time, worked with a fashion photographer, did my own shoots with models, actors, musicians. Then I moved to Toronto from Vancouver and with the, with the goal to pursue photography more. But then I ended up somewhere along the line. I took makeup artistry school thinking for my own photography.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's a smart idea.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, someone else did that and I thought that's a great idea, I'm going to do that too. And then. But then when I started working with that fashion photographer again, it's this advice that everyone tells you that you can't do it all. Even other artists tell you that, because I had this photography mentor and I was doing the makeup and photography and he's like you need to stop doing that and just focus on photography, get another, get another makeup artist to work, work with. Because, again, it's that specialist mentality that you can only be successful if you focus on one thing and one thing only. So again, I listened. But then when I moved to Toronto, just needed a job, I got in with Matt Cosmetics so I dived head first into makeup artistry and back then the company had great trainers and it was very creative, but still on the side I would be doing music videos and fashion shows and photo shoots with musicians and actors, and again, it's my way of getting in with them.
Speaker 2:And then I tried to journalism. At some point I thought that was it. No, it wasn't. That was short lived. But then, when I was hating my day job, even though it's creative but they were kind of taking away the creativity out of it because it went, it went corporate, so it was all about sell, sell, sell and not about your artistry. So I was like I got to get out of this. I'm so bored here, I hate it. I don't even want to do makeup anymore. So over it that I again. Career explorations, okay, what am I going to do? And then I kind of realized that everything I'd done to that point was because I wanted to be around performers, musicians in particular. So obviously I want to be in the music business and all these other things were kind of on the outskirts. It was more just my way of getting to the people I wanted to be around right. Then the love of the actual art. So I went to entertainment management school, learned everything about the music business and became a publicist. My story's long, isn't it?
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:I'm like, and then, oh my.
Speaker 1:God, no, I can relate, I can relate so much. That's a lot so interesting.
Speaker 2:But the thing is like, you know, at some point I got bored and, you know, needed to do something else and so, but I feel like when I became a publicist, it was the first time that I really took a risk, because when I was doing photography and makeup, I still had that, you know, money, job, yeah, and never really gave it 100%. Make a freelance living out of this. Cause, along the way, also, no one teaches you about entrepreneurship, like when, when I was even from being a photographer, like if my, my mother was very supportive of anything I wanted to do, but I don't think she knew that being any kind of artist means struggle and and not a steady income. And I think if she knew that, she would have, you know, steered me in a different direction, cause I didn't know that either. I was like, okay, I'm gonna be a photographer, but you still kind of think that you're gonna finish photography school and then someone's just gonna hire you to be a photographer.
Speaker 1:I suspect we're around the same age and you know, when we were in high school, entrepreneurship was not a career option Like it was never discussed. It was never. Nobody taught you how to start a business, how to do business basics. If you wanted to learn anything about business, you had to go to university and do a business degree. Yeah, which is not really how entrepreneurs think, you know. So it just wasn't something that was really taught or discussed. I will say, when I went back to school to do design, I was in my mid thirties and we did actually have to do a whole course on the business of being a graphic designer, which I think was fairly new to the program at that time. So it's getting better. But yeah, definitely back in in the nineties and the early 2000s there was that was not a focus at all.
Speaker 2:Like even in the photography two year program there were courses on marketing. I did always like the marketing stuff but it was kind of in a. It was just the typical college course in marketing. It wasn't really geared towards photographers. No, you know, and I did take some classes in like photography business, but I don't think I ever was confident enough to really like charge decent for photography makeup. I always had the full-time job, so any extra money from there was just extra.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But it wasn't to like. Halfway through entertainment management school I quit my job because it would just became too stressful, right and to do both and cause of the company culture changing. And so when I finished that school I didn't have a job and really didn't want one, really didn't want like publicist I was working with. He's like there's a job opening at Sony and I'm like, oh God, no, he's like what you need a job. I'm like I can't go big corporation, I can't. I just I think again, even no, mac was creative. It turned to so corporate that I couldn't, I couldn't. So I kind of had to make it work. Well, I had to figure out how to make a living as a freelance kind of solo person and I was lucky that I picked publicity, because publicity is one of those things that it's in demand. Not a lot of people choose publicity as their thing, so especially in music. So that fact that there was a new music publicist, everyone was like, oh, let's try her new and shiny.
Speaker 2:And I stuck with publicity for like 16 years, but in that time there was definitely ups and downs. I did some artist manager stuff and quickly learned that that I didn't want to do Publicity you actually have to pay us to do it, whereas managers do you only make money if they do it was a lot of work.
Speaker 2:So, no, that's not it, but publicity. I did love it. It just changed a lot and it became harder to get press for the artists I loved. Right, whether that was. I started to do film publicity as well. I feel like that might have been. My 16 years was maybe five years of success and the rest struggle, because it's figuring out how to actually be an entrepreneur, how to run a business, and so for a long time I called it, I floated. So some months you're making a lot of money, next month you're making nothing, don't know how you're gonna pay your rent, and then back to busy, and usually around the time that I thought, okay, I guess I gotta go get a real job, then things would pick up Right, there was a point where I did decide that steady income and benefits sounded really good to me.
Speaker 1:They're nice, aren't they Like?
Speaker 2:I was just tired of the struggle. But there was a period of time where I just was not making money in entertainment publicity. That might be a good job to do, to do publicity for a big company, and I gave it everything I had. And I jokingly say no one would hire me, but I think it was also a fact that it wasn't the right move for me. But then also someone made a good point of, like you've been on your own for so long, how are you gonna feel all of a sudden not being the boss, being told what to do? And I'm like, yeah, you're right, I won't like that, because once you've had it, the freedom like it's. Also discovering that freedom is one of my main core values, because that is what keeps me going, because that is what keeps up. And when I think about getting a job, the funny thing is the closest I got to actually getting a real job was for Estee Lauder. That is the corporation behind Mac that ruined it for me. I think I wouldn't be happy Even if I took that job. Yeah, I'd be happy with the money and benefits for a couple months, but then very quickly, the corporate culture and not having the freedom would bug me. So I just kind of stuck with what I was doing, and what brought me to what I'm doing now is speaks into.
Speaker 2:The multi-passionate thing Is maybe 2017, I came to the point where publicity was just wasn't into it as much anymore Because it was harder to get coverage for my artists, there was less media outlets to pitch and because more and more indie artists were doing their own thing and pitching them themselves. It was like I got tired of pitching yet another singer-songwriter who has a new album out, like who cares, and I would encourage them to really dig into their story, find what's unique about them. But it was too much. I finished an album I finished. I have a part in a movie, I'm an actor, I need a publicist, but they would skip all the stuff that would make it successful. So that was frustrating me and I decided to kind of give up my company name and just put everything I do on DianeVoycom, because at different times I picked up photography, again I picked up jewelry design and I would have a different website for everything I did and no one knew I did the other things. It was like living all these separate lives, yes, and I decided that I'm going to put everything I do on DianeVoycom and just have a year of exploration. I didn't know where it was, kind of the first time. I didn't really know what I wanted to do next and I'm like maybe I'll do photography again, maybe something else will come up and maybe I'll still do publicity, who knows? I said I was going to put it all on DianeVoycom.
Speaker 2:Everyone told me horrible idea, because it's the typical, the multi-passionate thing of you're going to confuse your audience. You can't do all those things. You have to focus on one thing and stick with it to succeed. All this advice that everyone gives and everyone listens to it was again. And then, why would I give up my company name, which has been established and successful, and all these things? And I just was like, yeah, I'm going to do it anyways. But by the end of the year. That's when I kind of discovered coaching and I was like that's it so. But in the end I still went back to that advice that everyone gives you Because even though I was going to do coaching, I took everything else off my website and made it just about coaching.
Speaker 2:And in niching my coaching I still listen to the advice of the niching down. So I got it down to musicians and actors and PR marketing is what I thought everyone wanted from me, not necessarily what I wanted to do. So, like I think, originally, what I'm doing now is kind of what I originally wanted to do was creativity coach for multi-passionate artists, but I thought people would pay for PR marketing and also, you know, and also the advice from other coaches and experts was to niche down and not say all creatives, all artists and it's like niche down to musicians and actors, even though they really wanted me to niche down even further, and I just kind of came to the conclusion this past summer really that it's not working.
Speaker 1:And I was losing interest again.
Speaker 2:I was like I don't care about talking about PR tips and social media tips and all this stuff, and so that's why now I am embracing the multi-passionate, you know, because it's what I am, yeah.
Speaker 1:And there's a lot of us out there.
Speaker 2:So that's where I'm at now that I think that brings us up to date.
Speaker 1:Let's talk a little bit about that, though, like what are some of the biggest challenges that multi-passionate creatives face when it comes to earning a living, but also building a business that encompasses all the things they do, and I am one of these people, so it is something I struggle with regularly, like all the time, and I know I'm not alone. So what are some of the biggest things that you see multi-passionates coming up against when they decide to go all in and embrace all of it?
Speaker 2:I think there's a few different things like. One of them is the society telling you you can't. That's been what I think was what was really hard with me and the niching down advice. It felt like I was being told to hide parts of who I am, and I also realized that my favorite clients that I have had over the last few years has been multi-passionate and but even in their world they came to me as a musician or a actor and they were expecting me to say you need to focus on one. And you know, but I didn't, and so I think that's permission, I guess, to do it. And then that's easier said than done, because you also have to figure out how you couldn't make a living at this.
Speaker 2:Yes, and a lot of it of that part comes down to goals and priorities and focus, because I find in the years, many, all those years of struggle I call it during some PR years, were because I was go with the flow. I didn't have a plan. I was like if I was busy with publicity, I'd be doing publicity, but then if I decided I wanted to do some photography for a while, I would just float over there and do that and oh, jewelry, ok, I'm going to float over there and not have a plan for any of it and then you can't be successful in any of it because you don't really have a plan. And I think goal setting and priorities has been really helpful for me the last few years is that I don't like being told that I can't do something. But it helped when someone kind of said I'm not saying you can't do all these things, but of the many things that you want to do, which one would be kind of the easiest to implement and that would make you money. Because I don't think about a lot of us are. We don't think about money, we're just like it's all passion and creativity.
Speaker 2:I think that's how I came to coaching is I was like, ok, well, I already have all that experience and knowledge and so the easiest thing would be to share it.
Speaker 2:So I think goal setting, priorities because I think if you're all over the place with wanting to do it all, you kind of do it all and not really get anywhere.
Speaker 2:So a lot of it is like brain dump put it all on paper, all the many things that you want to do, everything you want to learn, everything you want to spend your time on which can be hobbies and which could be money making things, and also just figure out priorities.
Speaker 2:You know, for me I still think I'll do photography and jewelry again, but right now it's on hold because I really I love the coaching part the most and it's where I want my focus to be. But it's my priority because the best part is I get to help other artists and share all my experience and knowledge and be able to tell them I guess, yes, you can do this and I'll help you. Like that's because so many of us also figure things out on our own and the coaches have. Really, once they discovered coaching, to be a coach, it was like, ok, well, I better hire some coaches myself and it really helps because they've already figured it out and so they can walk you through the steps and get you where you want to go faster than floating on your own.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you made an interesting point there. Like one of the things that I think a lot of us struggle with is and this I have heard this said to me so many times is when do you know that one of the many things that you're attracted to learning and doing could be a good revenue stream, and when might it suit you better as a hobby? Because this is something that comes up all the time. I will just do something for fun. You know, I don't know crochet something and you share it on Instagram and there's always somebody who says, oh, you could earn. You know, you could make some money if you sold a bunch of those kind of thing and it's like, well, I just, I'm just trying it out, you know. Then you get your, your, your business, brain starts ticking and you're like, well, maybe I could make something selling crocheted pot holders or whatever the thing.
Speaker 1:So, where do you, how do you, evaluate all these different things that you're interested in and decide like?
Speaker 2:I have done the follow everything and try to monetize everything and then none of it worked because I was too scattered, I was too all over the place. So I think also just know that it's easier said than done that, oh, these crafts that you're making, you could turn that into a business. But with everything else that you have done, you know that running any kind of business is hard. Do you love it enough to put that effort in and to kind of drop some other things? That's why the priorities come in because you want to be a singer, songwriter, filmmaker. You like writing, you want to paint as well. You painted some things and people are telling you you should tell them where's your heart. Maybe you sing or songwriter is kind of where your heart really is. That should be the number one focus.
Speaker 2:But the fact that you do all these other things adds to your story. It's what makes you unique. So you don't have to hide those things, whereas the advice used to be hide those things. You're a singer, songwriter and I'm like no, the fact that you do all these other things and that you're interested in all these things, they don't have to be money making, but they're things that you love or maybe you make it money at it. Later on Part of when I was doing my thing and everyone was telling me it was a horrible idea, I would say, but what about? And I would name some celebrity who does you know? Singer, songwriter, actor, filmmaker, director, like JLo, like she's. Like you know, she's got a skincare line, she's got. A lot of people are like, yeah, but that's her.
Speaker 1:Like you can't do that, or she also didn't start out doing all those things. I mean she was. Wasn't she a dancer on in living color first? Yeah, yeah, so exactly she.
Speaker 2:She built that and I love how she talks about, because she talks about how everyone would tell her she can't do all these things. But she's proved them. All wrong because she is. But she built the mountain layers. Yeah, she was a dancer, then she was an actor, then she she only put out her first album. She was 29 years old, you know. Then she did music and so along the way people are like no, she's an actor trying to be a singer.
Speaker 2:And then she gets known as a singer and then she doesn't move you again. Oh, she's a singer trying to be an actor. It's like, why can't she do it all? And I that's. We may not have the work ethic of JLo Maybe we do, I don't but you can build your own version of that and build it on layers. That's why you think about your priorities when you want to do all these things. And then there's also some things that I'm interested in that I suck at. I have a mandolin and a guitar that I don't know how to play, but I think it's also. I'm not passionate enough to do the dive in with those things, and I'm okay with that.
Speaker 1:I think, too, it's okay for us to have hobbies that are just hobbies, like. I think that's actually healthy from a mental, mental health perspective is just to have things that don't get monetized. They're just things you do because you enjoy them and they relax you.
Speaker 2:It's important just to get your creative juices flowing.
Speaker 2:And I think it was an advice. I have a financial coach for creatives thing and she was her. One of her recommendation was, like you know, I think you should take some time and just do something creative. And I think about all the creative things that are part of what I do for a living. And she's like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, like creativity for creativity's sake.
Speaker 2:And I'm like, oh yeah, I wasn't in my priorities, but okay, I like to like do mixed media, art, collage thing, but I don't know what I'm doing, but I do it. But I also that to me that's a hobby. But I still kind of have it in my head that maybe one day I'll be good enough and it'll be a, maybe it'll be money making things. So I don't I never rule anything out except guitar mandolin. I'm not going to be, because I just don't love it enough to put it at the time Right, yeah, I know that makes sense. So, yeah, that's how I decide what is money making, what is hobby, and I think, having some focus, having some priorities, so maybe, like you don't have to drop everything and just do one thing, but you could have, you, you can decide whether you'll split your time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, maybe one of your creative outlets is seasonal, like if you're a wedding photographer, so maybe all summer long all you're doing is photography, yeah, and then the fall hits, then then you're what? Are you your singer, singer? Then you might focus on writing songs and recording and and doing some live shows and, you know, focusing on that for a while. Or if you are, if it's not seasonal and you are doing things all the time, then decide, like, what percentage do you want to dedicate to one thing and then what percentage do you want to dedicate to the other? And it's having a plan, because if you don't, then you're just going to float. You're going to float from one thing to the other, depending on what pops into your head that day. But if you go, okay, I want to give this thing 60% of my time, this one, maybe 30%, and then maybe this little 10% is just more of a hobby, but maybe you're building towards something and I think that helps to put the focus and to be able to do all that you want to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, and I liked what you said about building things out in layers. I hadn't thought of it in that way, but that's actually a really interesting way to think about it is because one of the things even while you were talking about all the things you've done in your career all of them have kind of layered onto each other, Like you've been able to use pieces of each one in what you do. I like that idea of having like a layered approach to it and focusing on one or two and then slowly building your layers outwards.
Speaker 2:That's kind of interesting to me and everyone's different too, like, I think, even in the multi-passionate, multi-potential light thing. Some people are serial specialists, which I think that's what I was. I was a serial specialist because I would dedicate 5, 10, 15 years to one of these things. So that's like a serial specialist, and then now I'm kind of drawing on all of it to create this umbrella thing and coaching it allows me to bring all that in.
Speaker 2:Definitely, and I still might do a couple of little other things. But then there's other people that they don't dedicate many years to something. They're like I'm going to do this for a year, then that for a year. That might be a little bit harder, bigger challenge, but there's ways of doing it and just figuring it out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, one of the things that I think a lot of us who fall into this category worry about is and you kind of mentioned this with trying to find your focus, and that is you know that you're flaky, or you can't settle, or you, you know, flaky is the big one.
Speaker 1:It's like oh, you know, she's always got a million things going on, and can you even do all these things and do any of them well? Or are you just kind of dipping your toes in and saying you can do this, and then you're dipping your toes into something else and saying you can do that. And you just mentioned being a serial specialist, where you kind of dive in and really get into the meat of what it is you're interested in. You do it for several years before you're ready to move on, and I think I fall more into that category as well. But how do you battle this stigma? There's still a lot of people out there who won't want to hire you if you're all over the place, because they just figure you can't give them the attention they need or whatever. How can we, how can we kind of refute that idea that we're flaky or we just have the attention span of a flea or whatever?
Speaker 2:I think years ago I stopped saying I don't have time or I don't have, I don't have the time for that, I don't have the money for that. Those are the two excuses that most people give. And if you're always like I don't have time for that, that's not true. It's not my priority right now. Yes, so if, maybe, if you and maybe communicate a little bit better with the people in your life, if they're wondering why you don't want to go out all the time and it's because I'm really focused and just even explaining, it's not that. It's that I'm really focused and committed to achieving this and so that is where I'm spending most of my time.
Speaker 2:Instead of saying I don't have time for that, you could say that's not in my priorities right now. Most of it's your friend. You don't want to say you're not a priority for me right now, but you can limit it. You could say I have one day a week that I will go out with friends and just creating those boundaries so that the people in your life don't take it personally and they start changing what they say about you, because if they're saying you're always flaky, it's probably because you're not communicating with them what it really is, and then hopefully they'll change what they say about you instead of saying you're flaky, oh we're so, and so she's always doing other things.
Speaker 2:No, oh, she's really. I'm really impressed. She's working really hard to achieve this thing. So that's where her time is being spent these days, and so that's why she's not coming out as much. If you could change the narrative is just being communicating what it is that you're really doing, right, and sometimes we do have new interests that are just kind of a fleeting moment and just enjoy it and even say I don't know if I'm going to stick with this, but right now I'm interested in learning a bit more about it. How do you?
Speaker 1:explain it to a client, though. Like this is something that I because I'm a graphic designer but I'm also a writer and I do both professionally for freelance, and I always have writing clients who are like, are you sure you can take this on because you're doing all this graphic design over here? And then I have graphic design clients saying, oh, you write like it's. They don't always see how I can be focused on what they're hiring me to do when I do these other things, and that's always a bit of a challenge, maybe be clear about when you take on a client, I dedicate this much time and that way it's just making sure.
Speaker 2:I think it's just making sure that they feel taken care of, right, that you're not going to be, you know, dropping the ball on their project because you have all these other things. It's like you know, like you can even say, because I do all these things, I limit the amount of clients that I take on. That's a good one, yeah, so you're not like taking every graphic designer writing job that's offered to you and that again makes them feel even more special is, yes, I'm doing all these things. And because I want to do all these things, I limit the amount of clients I take on so that I can dedicate the appropriate amount of time, talent, everything to you as my client. It's making them feel better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's part of it. Usually I tell them that I'm a graphic designer by trade but I've always loved to write and so I do both and most of them seem to be okay with that. But it is. I understand where they're coming from. You know. They get a referral and somebody said, oh, she writes my newsletters for me, she's great. And they come over to me and then I say, yes, I'd love to take you on. And then they see through the great fun that I'm doing an ebook or designing an ebook for somebody, and they're like well, wait a minute. I think it's just like you said communicating to them. I mean, I don't do six or seven things, I really just do two main things and I think most of them, once you explain it, can kind of see that.
Speaker 2:I think it's also figuring out your ideal client. Yes, and I think that's what my most recent pivot is is, I was attracting the wrong clients and with my messaging of I help musicians and actors with their PR marketing, so I would get musicians and actors that would come to me for PR marketing.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly what you said they would get, and then I would be annoyed because I couldn't care less about PR marketing anymore, and it would be musicians and actors that have this very narrow focus of that's all they want to do, and also, being by same PR marketing, they want to. They want to skip the work, the real work. Personal branding is just that. It's figuring out who you really are. It's exploring your core values. It's exploring your limiting beliefs, exploring your why, why do you want this dream? And it's all this deep inner work that they would come and they didn't expect to do that, so they resisted it because it's hard and so personal. But I'm like, and they just always want to like, speed through that and get to the. Can you just teach me some PR marketing?
Speaker 2:You know, in social media and so, with getting clear of my favorite clients have been those multi passionate. Yes, they were musicians or actors, but they also want to do all these other things, and those are my people. And now, by changing my messaging to embracing that multi passionate in you, like, forget what everyone else is telling you that you have to do. I want to celebrate you, embrace everything you want to do and help you figure it out. Help you figure out what your priorities are, help you figure out how to make money at certain things.
Speaker 2:And that starts with that deep inner work. And if someone goes through the deep inner work with me, then I'm invested and then I'll tell you everything I know about PR marketing. But changing that messaging is attracting the right, attracting those favorite clients I've had, attracting those people that want to come to me for coaching. Because I get them, I get another coach for a musician or an actor. It's like you. I understand the multi passionate thing and I've experienced it myself and that's who I am. I can help you instead of the other.
Speaker 1:This gets into the how to build, and you, you sort of I'm all over the place here how to build that personal brand, and you, you kind of just hinted in what you were saying there that there's a lot of inner work that has to go on before you like to lay the foundation of that person brand. And I think this is where so many people struggle is, first of all, I think a lot of people struggle with should we brand ourselves as a business or should it be a personal brand? And how do you know when which one to pick Before you even get into the whole process of building out that personal brand? But yeah, what are the? What are the steps that we can start to take early on to kind of build that personal brand and build something that is somewhat cohesive to the outside world but that embraces all the things we do? That's a huge question. I just realized, as I said it was good.
Speaker 2:I like it. I think, first off, everything is about personal branding more so than business, because if you look at the corporations right now, they're all leaning into personal branding and they're showing you stories about the people behind the company, the, the core values of the company, like I'm noticing commercials like the car commercial that is all about giving back to the community, amazon talking about their employee that they pay the keys. Like I wanted to become a nurse, so Amazon actually paid for me to go to school and become a nurse.
Speaker 1:Yeah like.
Speaker 2:So even the major companies are leaning into the people behind the big brand and they're telling stories of the people that work there, telling stories about their charity and their values, and so even the big businesses are leaning into that. So most of us, as creative artists, most of us are solopreneurs. If you did have a brand, a company where there's other people involved, maybe you have a partner. I think it's again leaning into telling the story of the individual people and making that connection of you know what are the common values, interests of those two people that are running this company. So again, it's still about personal branding. But if you're a solopreneur, all personal branding is is who you are like, who you authentically are, and it's not putting a brand on you. And I think that's what's been kind of miscommunicated and for many years, even as a performer, a brand was put on you. You know, you hear of all these young artists that some major label took them on and and told them how to dress and how to act and before they've even figured out who they are, because they're young, they put this image on them and then years later they come out and be like I never really feel comfortable in that that's not who I am. This is who I am, you know. And so that still happens.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, sure, but these days, in order to get that big chance, you need to know who you are, because a lot of the labels are not taking on artists unless they've built up the fan base. But it's leading with that. You can. You can attract the industry by controlling your image and putting out who you really are. So when it comes to like PR and marketing, you got to know what you're promoting. You know you can just jump to that. I could tell you all the tips, but you're not going to be that successful at it. And that was like that's what kept coming up in all those years of publicity is artists just would not give me or not take the time to really tell me who they really are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's more like that. You do the thing tell everybody about the thing.
Speaker 2:Like yeah, and like nobody cares. And now now I use that example of here's yet another singer, songwriter, who was born in, and then they did this, and then they have this album. And here you go, who cares? Yeah, I just couldn't do it anymore. And now I want to teach you how to.
Speaker 2:Even in that, like starting with personal branding, it's just exploring what do you really want. It starts there, like what is your vision for your life? And breaking that down into goal setting. If you're multi, passionate some, and you're younger, I think sometimes that's hard to think of because so much is going to change.
Speaker 2:But yeah, even if you can kind of have an idea, or maybe for some people it helps to just maybe do five years and then you can break it down to one year, and then you kind of break down your goals to how to achieve it. Because if you break it down so that right down to your to do list today is email, this person, check, it's that one step check closer to your goals. But first you got to figure out what your goals are, what do you really want, and once you kind of figure out what you really want and then kind of set up a plan of how to get there, how long that's going to take, and then just goes to why do you want that? So why are you pursuing a career in this field? Or what is the why, behind the core priorities, you've chosen that you're going to pursue your core values. The limiting beliefs is a huge thing, because we all have so much that pulls us back.
Speaker 1:Yes, so much mindset stuff to work through. I think that does get a little easier as you get older and have a little more confidence in who you are, but it's still there.
Speaker 2:It doesn't go away. No, I'm still struggling with things. Exactly Just when I think I accomplished and tackled it down, a new one comes up.
Speaker 1:There's always one in there waiting to leap out at you when you least expect it. Yeah, if you're going with a personal brand and I've been thinking about this a lot I just sold one of the businesses that I own and that was my heart and soul for a decade, and it has got me thinking a lot about exit strategies. And how do you exit out of a personal brand? Or do you just? Do we ever retire? Or does the personal brand just evolve as we evolve?
Speaker 2:Because there's a lot of entrepreneurs out there.
Speaker 1:They're out there and they're like I'm going to start this business, I'm going to take it as far as I can go and then I'm going to sell it. That's part of the strategy, Right, and that's really hard to do with a personal brand. You can't.
Speaker 2:It is. Yes, I think I would do it in a way of still leading with values. Think about your core values and your personal brand and if you're building it up and having more people in the company and just have a general kind of brand that connects everyone, I think you could still one day sell it, because it's not about one person. Yeah, it's what this brand represents. And if you are leading with the values and you hire the people that share your values, share your goal, share your vision, then all the people in the company should share those vision and have kind of a similar approach to the company. Then you could sell it because you've built that up Right and hopefully someone wants it because of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean that's always a challenge. It was one of the things we ran into. The business that my business partner and I owned had a name that had nothing to do with either one of us, but so many people who were interested in the business knew that it was our personalities behind it that had made it what it was, and a lot of them were very worried about potentially purchasing a business that we would no longer be involved with, because they felt like, well, if we lose you, that's half the value of the company. Yeah, so it was really challenging. I mean, we were able to do it in the end, but it took us two and a half years to find the right buyer.
Speaker 1:And the thing is, the person you are when you're 30 is not the person you're going to be when you're. I mean, at some point. I think most of us want to retire or do something, or maybe not retire necessarily, but be in a position where we can just do the things we want to do without worrying so much about the money side of it. But we may still work. You know it's not like retire at 65 anymore or anything like that, but yeah, the person that you are when you're 30 is not the person you're going to be when you're 65.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your personal brand definitely evolves, is. I don't think you ever have to like give up one brand and then start a new one, because if it's authentic to you, it's who you are and so it just evolves. And then also, if you do the work, the inner work, you I feel like I'm more coming back to who I really am. You know, it's like who we are doesn't necessarily change. Our interests might change and maybe some years we go against who we really are in one of our pursuits or you know, it takes a long time to be comfortable sharing who you really are. Yeah, I think that's why it's so hard and that's why so many people want to skip it. They're like I don't really want to tell my deep dark secrets, and you know and I, but so it's a struggle in the beginning. But I've also had clients where they come to me with this deep dark secret that they've never told anyone and we explore it and I always say like, yes, you definitely don't want to put things out there that you are still struggling with because that can, you know, derail you. But I've all that client, like literally overnight she was like I've never told it anything, but I guess the second she told me also, and she's telling all her friends and really embracing it.
Speaker 2:And it's just the freedom that comes with owning who you are and putting yourself out there. It's how you connect, it's how you build an audience and how you connect with people. And in order to do that you have to share your story. So the more you do it, the more you start sharing who you really are, the more comfortable you get at it. You know, as I'm an introvert, it's been a struggle for me to really put myself out there of who I really am, because that's uncomfortable. But the more I do it, the more comfortable I get.
Speaker 2:And then also I think, with my embracing the multi passionate artists thing is, I'm tired of hiding parts of who I am. Right, I'm sick of the advice everyone gives and I'm just taking a stand. I'm over it. So now I'm, you know, hopefully I will be attracting more multi passionate artists because I get them. I know how to help you. So it's exciting to almost it's freeing to just be like this is who I am, this is who I've always been. I didn't always know that's who I was, but you know, that's your brand. Is that you know, at the core of who you are right. That still kind of stays the same, but you might transition a lot of things within that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember reading somewhere once that you know your personal brand is like we've been talking about this whole episode your personal brand is your story, and story is important. It's what connects people to us. We're drawn to each other's story. That's why I have this podcast. I just wanted to be able to tell people's stories because that's what I'm interested in. Yeah, but I do remember reading somewhere once that when you are going through something major but that's not when you share it you share it after you've had, after you've been through it and you've had the opportunity to process it, and then you put it out into the public eye to be part of your story. But sometimes doing that when you're in the middle of it can be a bit disastrous.
Speaker 2:Yeah, everyone has a different comfort level with that. Yes, and that's, that's kind of.
Speaker 1:My next question is you know we live in this age of social media where we share everything, and how do you decide what the line is between what the public sees of your life and what you keep private? Because I do think there are things that we don't need to share, and I think it also depends on your family situation and things, because it's important to remember, your family didn't sign up.
Speaker 1:Your kids don't sign up for their whole lives to be put on display and things like that. So the line is going to be different for everyone. But how do you find your comfort level and build your brand out that way so that you're staying within your comfort level with what you share and you're comfortable with what you're not sharing? So like I'm not asking that very eloquent.
Speaker 2:I get what you mean I've had, yeah, and for those experiences that you're not ready or you never will share publicly it's you don't have to tell them the details, because everyone's details are going to be different, right, so you can talk about an experience you've had, or you can talk about it in a vague way, but you can share the feeling, the experience of it, something that people will like oh, I totally get that, right, like I get you. That's more. It's all about the connection, yeah, so if you necessarily have to go into the detail, you could say, as a survivor of trauma, this is what I've learned, blah, blah, blah. Or this is how I approach things. That way, you don't have to tell the details of it, you just go this is why I've gone and doing this, this and this, and then again, yeah, everyone's different. So some people will share with their audience as they're going through it.
Speaker 1:Some people love to put it all out there and others are very much. No, this is my piece of the pie that I keep here and this is what I'm going to let you in to see.
Speaker 2:So yeah, and I think also, like my publicist's brain says, you don't put anything in your bio that you don't want people asking you about. You put it in your bio. You're inviting people to ask you about it. And you know, I've I actually had a guest on my podcast at one point and I'm asking him things about his bio and it's like, oh yeah, I don't really do that anymore, I don't really. It's like, well, don't put it in your bio, Because it's fair game if you put it in the bio.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you say that you're a cancer survivor, you have to be willing to talk about your journey with cancer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you don't have to tell the details again, but you should be prepared to how you're going to answer that. Yeah, when you're sharing, like it's all about sharing stories and who you are because you want to make the connection, it's not really about you. And I also look at it like all those celebrities that we all love and but we probably love them for more than their talent. Like we love the way they dress, we love their attitude. I love J-Lo's everything, but I don't really relate to her as a person. Yeah, I don't think we have anything common in that sense.
Speaker 1:He wouldn't necessarily be BFFs if he met up.
Speaker 2:But I'd really want to hang out with her and I'd be around her and hopefully some of that work ethic would pass down, because I feel like I'm a hard worker, but I admire that about her. Whereas then there's other artists like I'm also a Janet Jackson. I actually do relate to Janet as a person, as things she writes about, things that she shares. But it's that connection, whatever it is, whether it's personal or I just love that person, the way they dress. You love them for more than their main thing. So by sharing more of yourself and telling your stories, people are going to see themselves in you. That's kind of the ultimate goal. That's how I say it's not really about you, it's about them.
Speaker 1:That's such an interesting way to put it that it's not about you. It's about them and the connection you want to make with them. But that comes out of who you are, because I think I've spent a decade working in the influencer world, where people are very open with everything. Everything is something to be shared. Every experience they have is something to be shared with the world, and I'm not always wanting to do that. I'm starting to see a lot of those people, a lot of the original influencers, who are kind of starting to back away from it. They've had enough of putting everything out there, and it's interesting to watch how things ebb and flow and change.
Speaker 2:I guess that, on that sense of like, I do work with a lot of artists and performers. You would think that they're extroverts, but a lot of them are introverts. No, yeah, but it's like, if you want to be a musician or an actor or, these days, anyone you have to be a public figure, basically to build an audience online. And you may not. I want to do this. I don't have the first one Like.
Speaker 2:I've been struggling going on video, like doing videos and putting them out there. But to get where I want to go, that's what I have to do suck it up. And so it's going in baby steps of your comfort zone, pushing it little by little. You don't want to be like, you know, never sharing anything, then all of a sudden sharing your every thought, you know, but it's baby steps. And so I do work with a lot of artists that they just don't want to do social media I don't want to spend my time on that. And they make the excuses of, oh, it's not that important, or you know, they kind of dismiss it and it's like no, these days you've got to embrace social media. Sorry, yeah, it's. But Jasmine Star always says do the work that most people won't do, because most people won't do it, and that's so true, you know.
Speaker 1:That's very true. But if you want to have longevity in your career, you have to be willing to grind it out when other people give up. Like that's just how it works.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all the information is out there, and but if you're not going to act on it, then you're still going to be stuck where you are. And if it takes this to get where you want to go, well then got to do what you can to do it right. And so for me, that was sharing parts, because I was always behind the scenes. Yeah, I'm a publicist, telling your story, like telling my client's story, like, yes, go, look at, you know, the musician, actor, performer, they're the extroverts, even if they weren't, you know. It's like, yes, you have to share your story. Sorry, it's what you do. You're a public figure and always behind the scenes. But these days, even if you are behind the scenes, you still need to build that audience on social media.
Speaker 1:And how many make a show? Yeah, how many makeup artists have YouTube channels and Instagram accounts? Right, it's yeah, because now they're a public figure, which probably wasn't the case when you started out as a makeup artist. Yeah, I didn't have to do that. Yeah, you could just be behind the scenes. You got to be in the arena that you wanted to be in, with the people you wanted to be in, but you didn't have to be in the spotlight at the same time, yeah, and if you're now, if you're that behind the scenes person you're, you need to document every moment of the day and share it.
Speaker 2:Yes but, sorry, that's what you have to do. You got to do the work that most people won't do.
Speaker 1:I don't follow a ton of celebrities on social media, but one who I do follow that I really like is Kayleigh Cuoco, and she is always her makeup artist, has her own Instagram account and the two of them are always promoting each other. It's it's like, and they do it in a lovely way. I like seeing how they do it, but her makeup artist is not as well known as she is, but it's very well known because she's Kayleigh Cuoco's makeup artist and it's out there on social media and she so you know it. It's. It's really is hard to stay behind the scenes, and that was one of the. The last questions I have for you, which I think we've pretty much answered, is if you love doing multiple things but you don't necessarily want to be in the spotlight, can you still build a personal brand where you don't have to be in the limelight?
Speaker 2:And I think that's very difficult to do these days it is like I think it's possible. There's always the exceptions to the rule, like I would get when I would get the pushback from musicians or actors that will so and so is never on social media. Well, good for them. You're not there yet. You know, like, yes, there are exceptions to the rule and there is exceptions of yes, sometimes artists do get discovered and overnight sensation. That is such a rare occurrence.
Speaker 1:So rare.
Speaker 2:People need to understand how rare that is. Most of those overnight successes have been doing it for 10 years. You just didn't know about it. Sean Mendes is kind of the only one I can think of. That really was overnight sensation and that again is just a fluke, you know. But what got him there? Social media, justin Bieber, what got him there?
Speaker 1:He's YouTube, yeah, social media.
Speaker 2:You know. So there are those chances of overnight success, but you're still to put yourself out there to do it, and there are ways of not putting yourself out there as much like you could do videos where you're never really showing your face, or but at some point people want to know who is behind the brand.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know I don't. I don't even have a lot of photos of myself. I got to keep taking more of myself because on Instagram, you know, I do post other things, but it's whenever I post a photo of me with a personal story that gets the most interaction.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I know my my illustration Instagram account is 99 percent my artwork and every now and then I'll throw in a photo of me, like maybe once every six months, and that photo will take off. I'll get so much interaction on it and it's it's crazy how that works. I think if I was to post a photo of myself every day, yeah, but lose interest, like they're not that interested in me, but they do want to see who it is behind the work. You have to let them in from time to time.
Speaker 2:Because of it, kind of expanded to more types of artists. I have been looking at accounts of visual artists and most of them there's no photo of them and it's all about their artwork. Yeah, and that could work, but I still kept looking like but but who are you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, like no, absolutely I think. But who are you? If you want to be the artist who is working away in their studio and maybe you have a gallery show once a year, kind of thing? Even then you still have to get your butt out to the gallery for the opening, because people want to be the artist.
Speaker 2:That's like I. I work with the List Gallery in Toronto and most of you know their openings are successful because the artist is there. Yes, the artist is there telling their story. They're there to meet everyone that buys their art. They're there to sign the back. Todd White is an artist that I've bought a lot of his stuff and half a time, like he'll, when you he's there, he draws a picture of you on the back not just signs it, he actually draws you and all these little things is making you love your painting even more.
Speaker 2:And knowing who he is and what the story are behind the, the artwork that makes you buy it, more than, say, if you just happen to come across an image in a gallery. You know nothing about the artist, you know nothing about the story behind what you're looking at, and it's thousands of dollars and you're like, why would I pay that? And you know you're less likely to buy it than if you. Okay, I love this. But then you find out and also, it could work the other way around too, because I've also loved art that when you find out the story about the artist or their values, you're like not so much.
Speaker 2:I'm never, you know, I've never buying that. Yes, that's why it's so important to know your story. Because if you you know you've bad things about you out there, that might not turn off a lot of people, but if I find out something about someone that I'm like, OK, that kind of makes me never want to support this artist. Yeah, it goes both ways. It does.
Speaker 1:I have one entire wall of my studio is full of artwork from friends, fellow artists and stuff, and even though the art might not have been something I would have been drawn to if I was purchasing in a gallery or at a show, I love every single one of those pieces because I know the people behind them, I know what went into them creating that and I know about their lives and it completely changes how I view the work and I think that's really important for people to remember when, when they shy away from telling their story.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's that personal connection Absolutely that just makes it even more valuable.
Speaker 1:Diane this is great. Thank you so much for being here today. We've we've come up on the hour and I think we've gone over it actually, but it was a really good conversation and maybe, before we wrap up, you could tell us a little bit about what's next for you and what you're working on and where, where the audience can find you. If they're interested in finding a coach, you can help them manage all their creative aspirations.
Speaker 2:Yes, so my website is DianeFoycom. On most socials I'm Diane Foy Arts, a R T S and I have a group on Facebook and Clubhouse. I'm called Multi Passionate Artists, the podcast Multi Passionate Artists, but all the information and links is on DianeFoycom and I especially in the next like few months, because I've kind of transitioned to this multi passionate I'm opening up slots for some free discovery sessions. So if you want even just to get the experience of what it would be like working with a coach working with me and I'm also working on the podcast Just to get the experience of what it would be like working with a coach working with me, I'm offering free discovery sessions where we would, you know, talk about what it is that you really want and what you're struggling with, and to see if I'm a match. And I think that's also what comes from leading with your values and leading with who you really want to work with and that connection. It's that for me, it's freedom, that if we're not a match, all good. I'm not the coach for you, you're not the client for me, there'll be someone else that is, and through the discovery session we figure it out and if I'm not, maybe I can refer you to someone that would be better suited to you so that you can get DianeFoycom. Scroll down tells you more information about coaching, but at some somewhere on there there is a button to schedule an appointment with me.
Speaker 2:I also have a freebie If you kind of struggle with I don't really know how to do PR marketing. I do have a freebie called the Fans, media and Industry Attraction Playbook for Artist, musicians and Actors and it kind of takes you through the process, the roadmap that I take my clients on, or it's the roadmap. This is of the things that you want to follow to get to where you want to go. And if you figured out yourself, fantastic Somewhere along the line, I figured it all out myself. So it takes you through the milestones through personal branding, through social media, through publicity. So it really helps for that. That's again DianeFoycom.
Speaker 2:And what's next for me? My next mountain to climb is video. So I've been saying this for a year. But stay tuned for video me going live in that Facebook group and me doing videos on Instagram and me doing hosting rooms on Clubhouse. Stay tuned, I swear it's really going to happen soon. In the next few months. It does get easier after the first few times. I've been saying this for a year, but now I have a video coach, I'm in a video program.
Speaker 2:I have all the equipment. I just got some video editing software on Black Friday and I'm running out of excuses not to yeah you are. So yeah, I'm working on it. Join me on the journey of uncomfortable videos.
Speaker 1:You got to get the uncomfortable ones out of the way, and then the good ones do follow. It is awkward for the first little bit.
Speaker 2:Got to do the work that most people won't do.
Speaker 1:That's right. We will put all the links to everything Diane just mentioned Her booking sessions or session booking, her playbook and her website will have links to all of that in the show notes, as well as her social media accounts, so you can follow along and get in touch with her if you think she might be a good fit for you. So, on that note, thanks again. It was great to have you here and, for the rest of you, we will be back next week with another brand new episode. We'll talk to you all then. Thank you so much for joining us for the Anchi LookDeb Creative Hour.
Speaker 1:If you're looking for links or resources mentioned in this episode, you can find detailed show notes on our website at AnchiLookDebcom. While you're there, be sure to sign up for our newsletter for more business tips, profiles of inspiring Canadian creative women and so much more. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe to the show via your podcast app of choice so you never miss an episode. We always love to hear from you, so we'd love it if you'd leave us a review through iTunes or Apple podcasts. Drop us a note via our website at AnchiLookDebcom, or come say hi on Instagram at Anchi LookDeb. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.
