oops brb i’m changing my entire business plan 🫠

Summary

In this reflective video, the creator discusses turning 25 and reevaluating her business structure and strategy. She shares her desire for 'Kelsey 2.0' changes, aiming to enhance her YouTube channel's effectiveness in aiding creatives with business and marketing knowledge. The creator contemplates her current business model, influenced by books on business sustainability and productivity, and reveals her personal journey, including past struggles with homelessness and her passion for art. She outlines her business evolution, focusing on scalable strategies like art licensing, print-on-demand, and hosting workshops to achieve a balance between financial stability and creative fulfillment.

Takeaways

• 🎂 The speaker has recently turned 25 and is reflecting on their business structure and overall strategy.
• 🚀 They are considering 'Kelsey 2.0' changes to improve their business without making drastic or scary changes like quitting YouTube.
• 🤔 The speaker is reading books on business, marketing, and productivity, which have prompted thoughts on the sustainability of their business.
• 🏡 Personal goals like traveling more and owning a home are driving the speaker to reassess their current income and business model.
• 📚 Books like 'The 12-Week Year', 'Buy Back Your Time', and 'Deep Work' have influenced the speaker's thinking on business sustainability and personal labor.
• 🎨 The speaker comes from a background of financial instability and homelessness, which has shaped their drive for financial stability.
• 💼 The speaker is passionate about helping artists and creative people learn business and marketing skills, which is a significant part of their channel's content.
• 🖼️ Art licensing is identified as a potential scalable business opportunity for the speaker, allowing them to earn royalties from their artwork.
• 🖨️ Print-on-demand services and infrequent large shop updates are strategies the speaker uses to save time and focus on creative work.
• 🛠️ The speaker is considering pivoting from one-on-one mentorship to workshops, which can help more people at a time and be more scalable.
• 🌐 The speaker is committed to creating high-quality, well-edited art videos and is inspired by other creators to improve their content.

Q & A

What is the speaker contemplating at the beginning of the script?

The speaker is contemplating the current structure of their business and overall strategy, considering changes to improve their situation without making drastic or scary changes.

What are some of the books that have influenced the speaker's thinking about their business?

The books that have influenced the speaker include 'The 12-Week Year' by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington, 'Buy Back Your Time' by Dan Martell, and 'Deep Work' by Cal Newport.

Why is the speaker concerned about the sustainability of their business?

The speaker is concerned because they realize that many small business owners work excessively long hours, essentially creating a job rather than a scalable business, which can lead to burnout and a lack of personal freedom.

What personal goal does the speaker have that their current business structure does not support?

The speaker's personal goals include being able to travel more and owning a home, which their current income and business structure do not adequately support.

What is the speaker's background in relation to art and business?

The speaker's mother introduced them to art, and they come from a background of financial instability, including experiencing homelessness. They have a strong drive for financial stability and have developed a passion for learning about creative entrepreneurship and business.

What is the speaker's current approach to sharing their business knowledge?

The speaker shares their business knowledge through free YouTube videos, low-ticket digital products, and one-on-one mentorship.

Why is the speaker considering a shift away from one-on-one mentorship?

The speaker is considering a shift away from one-on-one mentorship because it involves trading time for money, which does not scale well and limits their ability to help more people efficiently.

What alternative educational offering is the speaker planning to implement?

The speaker is planning to hold workshops focused on business and marketing, with the aim of helping attendees achieve specific, measurable goals.

How does the speaker plan to ensure that attendees of their workshops take action and implement what they've learned?

The speaker aims to incentivize action by creating a curriculum that fosters transformation and is considering a world-class refund policy to ensure attendees get their money's worth.

What changes is the speaker making to their YouTube content?

The speaker is focusing on improving the craft, editing, and videography of their art videos, aiming for longer, more storytelling-focused content that integrates business and marketing knowledge in a creative way.

Why is Squarespace mentioned in the script?

Squarespace is mentioned as a sponsor of the video, and the speaker discusses its features and benefits for creatives looking to build an online presence that includes an online store, portfolio, and other business functionalities.

Outlines

00:00

🎉 Reflecting on Turning 25 and Business Growth

The speaker begins by sharing that they recently turned 25, prompting deep reflection on their business's current state and overall strategy. They express dissatisfaction with the status quo and a desire for change, not in the form of drastic measures like quitting YouTube, but rather an evolution to 'Kelsey 2.0'. The goal is to enhance their business practices to better serve creative individuals in learning about business, marketing, and sales, while also ensuring personal fulfillment and avoiding burnout. The speaker intends to share their thoughts on business strategy and the future of their YouTube channel, aiming to help others while also considering their own personal goals and the sustainability of their business model.

05:03

📚 Insights from Business Books and Personal Context

The speaker discusses the impact of reading business, marketing, and productivity books, which have led to important self-discussions about their business's future. They mention titles like 'The 12-Week Year', 'Buy Back Your Time', and 'Deep Work', highlighting the importance of business sustainability, especially in terms of personal labor. They reflect on the common struggle of small business owners working excessive hours, often leading to a business model that is unsustainable and imprisoning. The speaker also shares personal context, including past experiences of homelessness and the influence of their mother's artistic background, which has shaped their approach to business and art. They emphasize the importance of financial stability, a new experience for them, and their passion for learning about creative entrepreneurship.

10:03

🎨 Art Licensing and Print on Demand: Scaling the Business

The speaker outlines their plans for scaling their business, focusing on art licensing as a long-term, scalable goal. They express a desire to see their artwork on various products like wine labels and candles, acknowledging the time it takes to build a portfolio and establish industry connections. They also discuss their use of print on demand for their art prints, partnering with a company to produce high-quality prints, which saves them time and aligns with the advice from business books to delegate tasks to specialists. Additionally, they mention conducting infrequent but comprehensive shop updates to manage their time effectively and focus on creative work.

15:04

🛠 Shifting Focus from One-on-One Mentorship to Workshops

The speaker shares their intention to move away from one-on-one mentorship due to its scalability issues and the desire to help more people at once. They recount their experience hosting a weekend workshop called 'The Artist's Business Blueprint', which was well-received and allowed them to teach business and marketing fundamentals to a larger audience. They express their intention to hold four such workshops annually, each focused on a specific business action or goal, with a strong emphasis on student implementation and a world-class refund policy to ensure value for participants. The speaker is also considering ways to incentivize action and create an environment that fosters significant transformation in participants' businesses.

20:06

🌟 Balancing Art and Business on YouTube

The speaker discusses their journey on YouTube, noting a shift in focus from solely art creation to also including business and marketing content. They express a desire to find a balance that allows them to continue making art while also sharing their knowledge in a way that is engaging and beneficial to their audience. They mention recent changes in their content strategy, aiming for higher production value and more storytelling in their videos. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of sponsors like Squarespace, which allows them to continue creating content and exploring new avenues in their business, such as workshops and online courses.

25:06

👋 Closing Thoughts and Acknowledgments

In the final paragraph, the speaker briefly mentions their plans to continue sharing their journey and insights through future videos, expressing gratitude for the support they receive. They also provide a call to action for viewers interested in Squarespace, offering a discount code for their audience to try the platform that has been instrumental in their own business success.

Keywords

💡Business Strategy

Business strategy refers to the long-term goals and actions a business undertakes to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. In the video, the creator contemplates her current business structure and overall strategy, aiming to evolve her business model to better align with her personal and professional ambitions. She mentions considering changes to her business strategy to ensure it supports her personal goals and provides creative fulfillment.

💡Creative Entrepreneurship

Creative entrepreneurship is the process of starting and growing a business based on creative skills or assets. The video's creator discusses her journey in creative entrepreneurship, focusing on how she can use her art and business skills to build a sustainable and fulfilling career. She shares her experiences and learnings with her audience, aiming to help other creative individuals navigate the business side of their passions.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. The creator expresses her desire to avoid burnout by reevaluating her business practices and ensuring they allow her to maintain a healthy work-life balance. She acknowledges the importance of not overworking herself, especially considering her chronic health condition, and seeks a business model that supports her well-being.

💡Art Licensing

Art licensing is the process of granting permission to a company to use an artist's work for commercial purposes, such as on products or marketing materials. The video mentions art licensing as a potential revenue stream for the creator, allowing her to earn royalties from her artwork without directly selling the original pieces. This concept aligns with her goal of creating a scalable business that generates income from her creative work.

💡Print on Demand

Print on demand is a business model where products are only printed or produced when an order is received, eliminating the need for inventory. The creator uses this model for her art prints, partnering with a company to produce high-quality prints that she can sell without having to manage the printing and shipping process herself. This approach saves her time and allows her to focus on her art and other business activities.

💡Mentorship

Mentorship involves a more experienced or knowledgeable person guiding a less experienced individual in developing their skills and knowledge. The creator discusses her experiences with one-on-one mentorship, where she helps artists and creatives with their business and marketing strategies. However, she recognizes the scalability limitations of this approach and considers alternative methods to help more people effectively.

💡Workshops

Workshops are interactive, educational sessions focused on teaching specific skills or knowledge. The creator plans to host workshops as a way to educate artists and creatives on business and marketing topics at scale. These workshops would be designed to provide actionable insights and strategies that attendees can implement in their own businesses, aiming to help them achieve their professional goals.

💡Content Creation

Content creation refers to the process of producing various forms of content, such as videos, articles, or artwork, to engage an audience. The creator of the video is a content creator herself, focusing on making art and educational videos for her YouTube channel. She discusses her approach to content creation, emphasizing the importance of balancing her love for art with the need to produce content that resonates with her audience and supports her business goals.

💡Scalability

Scalability in business refers to the ability of a company to increase its output or size in response to growth. The creator is concerned with finding scalable solutions for her business, such as art licensing and workshops, which can generate income without requiring her to be constantly involved in the day-to-day operations. Scalability is key to her vision of a business that can grow and provide her with more freedom and financial stability.

💡Chronic Health Condition

A chronic health condition is a medical or health-related issue that persists over a long period, often a lifetime. The creator mentions living with Hashimoto's disease, a chronic autoimmune condition, which affects her energy levels and overall health. This condition influences her business decisions, as she seeks to build a business model that accommodates her health needs and prevents overworking, which could exacerbate her symptoms.

Highlights

The creator reflects on turning 25 and contemplating changes to their business structure and strategy.

Desire for 'Kelsey 2.0' changes to improve upon current business practices without abandoning core activities.

Aims to evolve the business to better serve creative individuals in learning business and marketing.

Seeks a business model that is creatively fulfilling and sustainable without causing burnout.

Discusses the importance of reading business, marketing, and productivity books for personal and business growth.

Concerns about the unsustainable work hours small business owners often face.

Recognition of the need for a business that can operate without constant personal involvement.

Personal background and experiences with homelessness influencing the drive for financial stability.

A deep dive into learning business and marketing to overcome a lack of examples in her family.

The joy of helping others succeed in their businesses and the fulfillment it brings.

The challenge of balancing business advice content with a passion for art creation.

The concept of 'art licensing' as a potential scalable business strategy.

Utilizing print-on-demand services to save time and focus on creative work.

The benefits of infrequent, large shop updates over frequent, smaller ones for efficiency.

A shift away from one-on-one mentorship to more scalable educational offerings.

The success and scalability of hosting a weekend workshop for artists on business.

Plans for four workshops per year focused on specific business and marketing goals.

The intention to create a refund policy and curriculum that incentivizes student action.

A vision for a more sustainable business model that allows for continued art creation and sales.

Gratitude expressed for sponsors like Squarespace that support the channel's content creation.

Details on Squarespace's features and how they benefit the creator's online business presence.

Transcripts

so I just turned 25 over the weekend and

it's really making me think more about

the current structure of my business and

my overall strategy and the more that I

think about it the more that I realize

I'm not actually currently very happy

with the status quo or at least I think

and I know that I can do better and I

want to make some changes not like big

scary super duper scary changes like

quitting YouTube or not making business

content anymore I love business content

I love helping people but more like more

like Kelsey 2.0 kind of changes does

that make sense like just how I can be

better at all the things that I love

doing so anyway I want to think more

about the next evolution of my business

and my YouTube channel how I can more

effectively help creative people learn

about things like business and marketing

and selling stuff and how I can create a

business for myself right that feeds me

creatively that I find really fulfilling

and that allows me to spend time making

art and sharing it without causing

burnout so I want to spend some time in

this video thinking about my current

strategy and just like sharing with you

what my thoughts are right now when it

comes to business and the next evolution

of my own business so it'll be a chatty

video very casual very like co-working

so get any materials that you want to

work on today and let's just hang out

together thank you so much to

Squarespace for the continued support of

this Channel and for sponsoring this

video so I have been reading a lot of

business marketing and productivity

books lately and they've been sparking

some really interesting and I think

important discussions with myself about

the future of my business books like the

12we Year by Brian Moran and Michael

lennington buy back your time by Dan

Martell in Cal Newports new books slow

productivity all talk about the

importance of considering the

sustainability of your business when it

comes to your own labor the reality is

that most small business owners are

working 40 50 60 even 70 to 80 hours a

week on their business often 7 days a

week just to keep things running in that

sense they haven't really built a

business business as much as they have a

modest to low-paid job and honestly a

job that is basically a prison their

business is built on top of and around

them and they are so vital to it that

they can't step away they can't take

time off even sometimes just a week or

else things start to crumble and revenue

starts to decline I have talked to a lot

of artists and once your business gets

off the ground this seems to be the

number one issue they struggle with and

I'm growing increas concerned about this

problem in my own life and so I want to

try and get ahead of it and the more I

think about the goals for my life

outside of my own artistic and

professional Ambitions personal goals

like being able to travel more and own a

home the more I realize that my current

income and business structure doesn't

really support that but before we get

into the changes that I'm going to make

in my business I want to give you some

context some important insights I guess

about me I don't discuss my personal

life much on this Chann Channel and

there's a myriad of very good reasons

why I try to keep things mostly private

but I realized that without this context

my focus of business and marketing um

especially when it comes to Art can feel

unartistic or even inauthentic having

Financial stability is a very new

experience for me it is my number one

priority for my business and I have

honestly grown to love learning about

creative entrepreneurship and business

and marketing and pursuit of this goal

so both of my parents and I guess me but

I was very young at the time I have

experienced homelessness and not the

couch surfing with friends and family

kind U like between Lisa like the the

streets kind like the homeless shelters

kind of sleeping under a bridge um

existing near very dangerous people

kind and my mom is actually the reason

that I got into art in the first place

the creative parts of me come from her

she was the one to introduce me to sidew

shock and colored pencils and Micron

pens and our relationship is really

complicated she is the only one of my

biological parents that I still speak to

um both of my parents have some pretty

serious illnesses mental illnesses and

my mom struggled with addiction her

entire life um she's a good person and I

care about her but she was not at all

equipped to be a parent if you know you

know and I think seeing her struggle for

so long to gain Traction in the art

world and hold down a job and stay sober

was one of the big reasons why I avoided

pursuing art as a career for so long

there was simply No Ex example of

someone in my life doing this

successfully of breaking into the art

world or even just having any kind of

successful business more generally and

so as soon as I realized that I wanted

to give this a serious go I knew that

there was so much that I needed to start

learning about business and marketing I

am 25 years old I just turned 25 a week

ago and I needed to do a huge Deep dive

into this and I'm still doing deep dive

into this um I honestly just needed to

convince myself at the time that it was

even doable and so somewhere between

2021 and 2022 I started to play around

with sharing the things that I was

learning um on my channel here on

YouTube and people liked it they found

it helpful and it was and is really cool

to have this experience of researching

business and marketing getting better at

the skills that are important for my own

business and then teaching them in

totally free content to people three

four five steps behind me and see them

achieve the goals like going full-time

even faster than I did sketches of Shay

is a great example of um someone that

bought one of my digital products and

watched my videos and then was able to

go full-time in a year and I'm not

taking credit for her success by any

stretch of the imagination I don't want

people to think that but it's so cool to

see her talk about the stuff that I make

and how it's helped her it's it's an

enormously personally fulfilling

experience and I realized to myself

there was there was truly no more

experience more fulfilling in my life

than helping someone double the revenue

of their business or go fulltime with

their passion or make their top

performing video ever or help them

realize their own you know professional

Ambitions It Feels So genuinely

incredible to help someone with that to

understand this tangible impact that

you've made on their

lives and over time the goals of my

business in this Channel and everything

that I do online have expanded I started

out wanting to share my journey to try

and go full-time as an artist here on

YouTube and now I am full-time I get to

spend hours every week making art both

in terms of my oil paintings and these

videos that I share with you and now I

have a second goal helping artists and

creative people learn about business and

marketing and all of the skills that go

into creative

entrepreneurship but linking all of this

back to the books that I mentioned

earlier there's a lot that artists can

learn from successful businesses and

entrepreneurs and other

Industries regardless of Niche and the

specific products that you're selling

many business owners struggle with the

same problems this is not unique to

artists in any way every business

struggles with building an audience

right finding your customers figuring

out how to stand out in a saturated

Market how to sell your products and how

to create such memorable and amazing

customer experiences that people come

back for more and most importantly how

to manage your time and juggle your

priorities in such a way that you can

get all of that done without going

insane and without working 70 80 hours a

week because I don't know about you but

I'm not interested in building a

business that requires me to overwork

myself in order to stay afloat I

actually have a chronic degenerative

autoimmune condition called Hashimoto

and the chronic fatigue that comes with

that for me forces me to prioritize my

efforts on the things that matter if

Instagram isn't getting results for me I

don't post on Instagram I think I've

only posted like six times in the past

year and that's because I just don't

have time for it right now I don't have

energy for it the things that move the

needle financially and keep me

creatively and personally fulfilled are

the things that I focus on more than

anything else and that's a big part of

what the books I've been reading like

slow productivity the 12we year and buyb

back your time talk about how to give

more attention to the things that matter

and do more in less time while taking

very healthy

breaks and not only that but figuring

out how to delegate and what to delegate

in your business so that you can pay

more attention to the critical tasks

that you love doing I am still a solo

operation so I do literally everything

it is just me um butting this is really

important to keep in mind as people grow

and

scale but I really want to do deep Dives

on these books maybe even make a whole

series kind of translating this kind of

um traditional business advice for

people like us but um yeah I I think

there's so much that we can learn here

and apply to our own lives and stuff

like this just lights me up inside I

love problem solving be it in business

or in arts complex puzzles like this are

really fun for me that's think a part of

why I just love oil painting because oil

painting is such a challenge you are

like my brain is active the entire time

it's so like stimulating but anyway all

of those books have me figuring out how

I can scale sustainably in my own

business because as great as 100K in

annual revenue is it actually looks a

lot more like 70k after taxes and then a

40K salary for myself in terms of like

eventual profit which doesn't actually

get me very far in a High Cost of Living

area like the San Francisco Bay Area I

know that this sounds like very first

world problems and I don't want to seem

like I'm complaining I am very grateful

um but if I want to help support my mom

and my half siblings I want to put money

inside for a house and sa for retirement

I need to strive for more and I I don't

think I don't think there's anything

wrong with wanting success to be honest

um yeah but let's talk about scaling

right the ways that I'm planning to

shift and grow my business going forward

and the various things that I already do

to help me spend more time on the things

that matter and less on all the boring

admin stuff number one is Art

licensing art licensing is basically

where you sell a brand the rights to use

your artwork on things like marketing

material or products I would love to see

my artwork on wine labels and perfume

bottles and candles I've talked about

this before but this is a kind of a

broader goal that I'm working toward it

will take me years to build the really

solid port portfolio and the knowledge

and connections that I need to turn this

into a profitable part of my business so

often people want to see like immediate

results online that's just kind of not

how things work like this is going to

take a long time this is very much a

long-term project that I am steadily

chipping away at every time you see me

work on a painting I am getting better

and I am building a new piece in my

portfolio that I could eventually

license to a company to put on perfume

bottles candles whatever but art

licensing seems from my research so far

as a very scalable option for me and for

a lot of artists actually you can have

this body of work that you're building

over time which is what you would be

doing anyway and then you can retain the

legal copyright of your work and the

ability to sell prints of your work and

talk about it post about it etc etc and

you get periodic royalty checks or a big

lump sum whenever you negotiate these

contracts for artists that are cool with

having their work commercialized like

this it seems

fantastic the second thing that I kind

of already do is continue with print on

demand and big infrequent shop updates

so I personally do not like the idea of

packaging orders all day long this does

not spark joy for me I know some people

love it but that's just not me it's

right up there next to folding and

putting away my laundry or emptying the

dishwasher on the lists of tasks that I

just don't like um yeah I currently save

myself quite a lot of time by having my

art prints be print on demand products

I've partnered with a really great

company finer works to produce Museum

archival quality prints of my work and

they do a far better job at producing

and packaging my prints than I ever

could this is one of the things that

buyback your time by Dan Martell talks

about actually how by delegating tasks

to Specialists you're actually

increasing the equality of different

parts of your business and replacing a

task that maybe you don't love to do at

the same time one of the other things

that I do in order to save myself some

time in my business is to do very big

shop updates a couple of times a year

instead of much more regular smaller

ones so I get to spend five 6 months

painting and then one month taking

everything to get photographed and

ordering print proofs and making the

product listings on my website and

grouping all these tasks together

instead of trying to do them peace meal

saves me a ton of time I think and Just

Energy this unfortunately means that my

website is often a little at least like

a little bit out a date but it's

honestly a trade-off that I'm more than

happy to make and I don't know if anyone

else really struggles with this um but

task switching is a huge pain for me

because there are so many tasks

associated with running a business and

different modes that you need to be in

to kind of succeed at those tasks like

my brain when I'm painting is very

different from my brain when I'm

answering emails or editing a video I

find it really

helpful dear God there's so much traffic

noise I find it really helpful to just

group similar tasks together as much as

possible because switching between these

different like modes in my brain takes a

lot of effort and honestly if I can just

spend one work day just painting that's

awesome like I want to I want to focus

my energy on like these long stretches

of the same kind of work and the third

way that I want to shift my business

plan going forward is to Pivot a little

bit away from one-on-one mentorship so

like we talked about helping artists

work their business and marketing

muscles and get better at everything

involved in Creative entrepreneurship is

really important to me it is work that I

find just genuinely enormous personal

fulfillment in and there are a couple

ways that I do this in my business

number one is free videos just like this

one right and the hundreds of other

business focused videos on my channel

some featuring art like this one and

someone with talking head videos the

second one that I do is low ticket

digital products things like notion

templates and my art YouTubers workbook

I am currently working on a very brand

new edition of that will be like twice

as long and hopefully even better and

third lastly we have mentorship I don't

currently have any availabilities right

now this video is on a sales pitch but

every so often I open up limited spots

of weeklong intensive programs or a

three-month mentorship and mentorship is

something that I used to get and still

get a lot of people asking for um I

talked about this when I first began to

offer it but I felt and still do feel no

small amount of impostor syndrome um but

I kept getting requests for it via email

and DM when I didn't offer this and it

felt a little silly to not at least give

it a try a couple times so earlier this

year I did a bunch of free calls people

would like submit a little application

telling me about themselves and then I

would pick a couple and do some calls to

kind of get practice and I even made

some videos about a few of them and had

some initial ideas for a podcast that I

ended up not having enough time for

which is classic but those free calls

boosted my confidence and gave me some

really great testimonials and feedback I

actually helped a onewe intensive

mentorship client make her most

successful YouTube video ever and she

launched this um cool like art style

mentorship program for her audience on

Instagram and she had a huge following

but had no idea how to monetize it and

helping her figure that out was really

cool and fun and like fulfilling for me

and she got results which was

great yeah but there's but there's kind

of an inherent scalability issue with

mentorship I'm still trading my time for

money and I'm only helping one person in

the process it feels like there should

be a happy middle ground here and that's

what I've been trying to play around

with this year a couple months ago I had

a breakthrough with this problem I held

my very first weekend Workshop called

the artists business blueprint where I

taught people the fundamentals of

business and marketing and guided them

through how to write a business plan in

a live virtual event it was something

like 8 hours of live instruction it had

homework assignments and co-working

sessions the works it wasn't a small

amount of effort by any means but it was

quite scalable I think I had close to a

100 people go to this event I had never

done anything like this before it was

totally new to me but it felt really

good to to give a concise refined

version of what I might normally go over

with a mentorship client to a crowd of

dozens of people asking really great

questions and getting a ton out of the

experience it's been about like a month

or two since that Workshop happened and

my business brain has been kind of like

like quiet L churning in the background

while I've been working on a bunch of

new oil paintings one of which you are

seeing right now and I think I'm slowly

discovering what my future might look

like in terms of the educational side of

my business because ultimately anything

that I do any project that I go on to

sorry any project that I start like a

podcast or workshops or an online course

whatever ultimately takes time away from

Making art in my business and selling my

art and that is kind of why I started

this that's what I want to focus on so

even though um my business videos

perform better by every stretch of the

imagination they perform better and um

people just love the educational content

that I create they seem to get a lot out

of it I help people when I do it I do

want to make sure that I'm staying true

to the heart of my business and the

reason why I started this in the first

place I think I am kind of slowly

figuring this stuff out I'm still

hammering out the details and nothing is

said in stone so don't hold me to this

but here's what I'm thinking I want to

hold four workshops next year so one

every 3 months all based around business

and marketing something pretty narrow in

topic revolving around one particular

action item or measurable goal things

that I have tangible real life

experience in doing either myself or

helping clients with something like

writing a business plan or creating a

sales page or designing and launching a

digital product Etc and the big weakness

here is the student implementation side

of it I can show up and I can teach

people all day long I can you know put

thousands of hours of effort into a

product or a curriculum but if they're

not putting things into practice and

taking action I feel like I might as

well not be there I don't want people's

money if I'm not actually helping them

so I want to have a really like

worldclass refund policy for these

workshops like I want to make sure that

people get their money's worth um but

I'm also trying to brainstorm ways that

I can incentivize action in the

curriculum itself like I would love my I

my big goal for this is I would love for

someone to take all four of these events

put them into practice and then go

full-time by the end of the year that

would be incredible but the question is

how I can create an environment that

Fosters that kind of transformation if

these workshops are 3 to 7 days long and

I'm doing four of them a year that's

maybe 2 months of effort working on the

curriculum and the marketing and a Max

of you know one month actually teaching

and I think this project would enable me

to help people at scale and do what I

love and find really fulfilling which is

teaching while also creating a more

sustainable business for myself in terms

of effort and more financial

stability like this is something that I

could do in addition to YouTube and oil

painting and trying to sell my work that

would give me more freedom to keep

making art without directly trading my

time for money in quite the same way as

coaching or a traditional 9 five it

enables me to continue helping people

and experiencing that personal

fulfillment that I get from doing so

while staying true to and honoring the

original purpose of my business making

and selling art speaking of YouTube and

the content that I make in this platform

I've been doing a couple things

differently over the past couple of

months and I only intend to make more

changes going forward so I want to talk

about that just a little bit so

basically for all of 2023 I felt pretty

unsatis ified with the direction of my

channel art focused videos were

consistently getting fewer views than

business focused videos I was getting

loads of sponsorship offers and brand

deal offers but they all prefer to

sponsor business videos and so the

monetary incentive was really difficult

for me to ignore right in part because

like I said um Financial stability is

really new for me but it left me feeling

very creatively unfulfilled and I don't

know it seemed like it was what the

viewers wanted too so I stopped making

art videos quite as much but I think in

a lot of of ways this problem is

somewhat inherent to the niche that I've

created for myself like I'm not just an

art YouTuber right and I probably never

will be I love The Insider baseball type

stuff the business and the marketing and

the entrepreneurship side of things to

ever give it up but there's a balance to

it right and it's been a very gradual

process with a lot of stumbling around

in the dark to try and find that balance

for myself and I feel like I'm very much

and I feel like I'm very much still

figuring things out there's probably

always going to be a certain amount of t

between these things but in the

beginning of this year I decided to

start making some pretty serious changes

in the direction of this Channel and the

past seven eight months or so of uploads

have been reflecting this change my I've

gr boss too close to the Sun video is

maybe the best example of this style

that I want to have going forward I've

started focusing more energy on the

craft and the editing and the

videography taking things to a new level

making shot lists for my videos and

hanging out with creators like wholesome

Simon and Natalie Lynn and American

Baron and frantic frames at events

called Creator camp and being exposed to

so many amazing talented people has

really inspired me and pushed me to

become a better YouTuber like a better

Creator and a better artist considering

my art as more than just the oil

paintings that I work on right but the

videos themselves trying to figure out

how I can make art about art and make

art within art I would love to share

business and marketing knowledge in ways

that feel Dynamic and creative and

entertaining and every so often going

above and beyond the standard talking

head video I will always be an oil

painter and I will also always be

interested in business and I need to

figure out ways to make this sustainable

for me that's kind of the future I'm

really excited for these changes and for

us to grow together as a community I

want my videos to be longer and more

storytelling focused and just a little

bit better over time not all at once or

not all right away

but I'll be stretching my baby

videographer muscles a little bit more

but all of this the art videos the

workshops none of this would be possible

if I did not have amazing sponsors like

Squarespace to support the work that I'm

doing on this channel so I want to take

a minute to thank them for sponsoring

this video and a huge chunk of all of my

videos this year and tell you some

Squarespace features that you may not

have heard of before

so here's the deal Squarespace can be

your online store your portfolio website

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membership scheduling and invoicing

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can do it really well imagine a world

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your own website branded exactly how you

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on top of that squarespace's fluid

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it's perfectly aligned with your

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work it has your email on it it's

incredible I have been using Squarespace

for years it makes me tens of thousands

of dollars a year on my online store and

whenever I need a sales page for an

online coaching program or a three-day

live Workshop that I want to promote I

use

Squarespace it is so easy to use I love

the flexibility of their drag and drop

editor and the ability to further

customize your site with code if you

need to and they're adding new features

all the time if you want to give

Squarespace a try you can support the

channel by going to squarespace.com

Kelsey Rodriguez and using my code

Kelsey Rodriguez for 10% off your first

order of a website or domain if you're

interest in signing out for that weight

list that I mentioned it's in the

description and I'll see you in the next

video bye guys