Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aunia Kahn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Aunia, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I really love being a creative person doing creative things, however, I’ve found that having a “regular job” has actually helped me with my creative pursuits. Right now, I’ve been running a website design, SEO, and digital marketing agency for 25 years, and it’s how I make most of my living. This setup lets me focus on my art, like gallery shows and connecting with people, without constantly worrying about paying my bills and I feel it helps me create better work.

Earning money through artistic and creative pursuits is deeply meaningful to me; however, I recognize the practicality of ensuring a stable financial foundation. This financial stability, provided by my agency’s work, enables me to obtain necessary art supplies, handle framing, shipping, and other associated costs. It allows me to enjoy the process of creating without the constant worry of meeting my financial obligations.

I want to emphasize that I hold great respect for individuals who dedicate themselves entirely to sustaining their livelihood through their creative pursuits. It’s a noble and inspiring path. My personal preference, though, lies in keeping the financial burden of bills separate from my creative journey. This way, my creativity can flow freely, driven by inspiration, joy, connection, and the simple pleasure of creating, without being entangled with concerns about whether I’ll have enough to eat or pay my housing expenses.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In 2001, my life took a significant turn when I moved from Michigan to St. Louis. On the very first day of my new job, I found myself in a break room with strangers, witnessing the tragic events of 9/11. Overwhelmed, I requested to leave and never returned to that job.

Around the same time, I was grappling with unexplained health issues. To make ends meet, I turned to freelancing, leveraging my skills in website design/development and graphic design, which I had been doing since 1998 – for fun. Today, 25 years later, I continue to thrive in this field.

I began creating digital art in 2002, and by 2005, I had my first exhibition. My choice to pursue digital art was driven by my life-threatening allergic reactions to traditional art mediums.

My digital art journey continued until 2021 when I finally received a diagnosis, the necessary medications, and proper care. This newfound stability allowed me to delve into more gentle mediums such as watercolor and gouache, expanding my artistic horizons. I am addicted to art supplies and review a ton of them on YouTube due to my immense joy!

It’s somewhat ironic considering how prevalent digital art has become these days. Back in 2005, digital art was hardly considered a legitimate form of art and was rarely showcased in galleries.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The story of my resilience for me, comes from dealing with multiple rare diseases that for decades doctors could not find. I had to live believing in myself even when no one else did – even family and friends.

As I started to seek medical help, they always pointed to anxiety and panic attacks being the root cause. As much as having those challenges was true, it was not the root of my issues – it was a symptom of a much bigger problem that almost killed me.

At times, I had doctors yelling at me, telling me I was anorexic and needed very intense mental health help. I had family and friends who considered me a hypochondriac. I lost numerous relationships.

I spent a lot of time having to believe in myself when no one else did. After decades of no answers, it was hard to keep going. I wanted to give up many times, but I did not.

Not everyone can do this (we lose people every day to medical negligence), nor should they have to keep getting back up over and over again with no support from medical professionals.

I always tell people; if you know something is wrong in your gut – don’t ignore it – even if no one believes you. Sometimes you only have yourself and you can save your own life.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

This is a pressing concern for many artists today. Social media has become incredibly draining. As a content creator, I managed to amass a collective following of half a million on various platforms, with Facebook alone accounting for 400,000 followers. However, in recent years, due to changes in algorithms, the engagement in terms of likes and comments has dwindled to almost nothing. The numbers have become so minuscule that gaining any traction requires an immense amount of content planning and a significant time investment, all for very little return on investment (ROI).

As someone who has been a part of the social media landscape since its early days, having joined Facebook back in 2004, I’m disheartened to see that all the effort spent building a substantial following for almost 20 years has resulted in limited reach unless I exhaust myself creating content that often leads to burnout, with little to show for it in terms of ROI. Likes and followers have lost their significance.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion, both for myself and my clients, that unless they want to invest in ads or dedicate copious amounts of time, then social media is not where to put their time. In light of this, I’ve decided to cease posting on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and others, unless it’s essential to share gallery or collaborative work or current interviews like this one that helps me maintain connections within my community and nurture those relationships. Everything else can be found on my website, Patreon, or YouTube.

Some might argue that YouTube falls under the umbrella of social media, but the key distinction lies in the longevity of content. Unlike posts, reels, stories, etc., which tend to fade into obscurity within days. All that work for what? YouTube videos have an evergreen quality. Videos I created a decade ago are still being watched today. This means that as I continue to build my YouTube presence, I also experience growth over time, unlike other platforms. While the time investment is substantial, the ROI is tangible, as you can monetize your content.

Also, Patreon is a platform I wish I had joined years ago, but I’m grateful I made the decision to join now. It’s undoubtedly one of the best platforms for creators.

My advice is to choose wisely and invest your time in platforms that reciprocate the energy you put in with tangible real-life ROI. Likes and follows may seem enticing, but they often serve as mere incentives to keep you posting without delivering substantial benefits in return.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://auniakahn.com/ and https://risevisible.com/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/auniakahn
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/auniakahn

Image Credits
Thanks! All images are credited me