We recently connected with Deanna Seymour and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Deanna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Before I started my business I was an art teacher, so the pay wasn’t the greatest. It felt like I could at least match that by working with clients and helping them figure out their branding and content plans. It didn’t happen immediately, but I’ve been able to double my teacher income in two years.

In the beginning I was learning everything I could about being an “online business owner.” Since all experience up until that point had been being an art teacher, I felt like I knew nothing about growing a business. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to learn all the things other people did to be successful.

I thought learning from everyone else would speed up the process, but in hindsight I think it slowed me down. I was losing touch with myself and my creative ideas trying to follow formulas and templates that didn’t really work with my brain. As someone diagnosed with ADHD it’s imperative that I find systems that work with my unique brain in order for me to keep up any sort of consistency.

My business really took off when I started doing things my own way. I tossed out everything I “should” do and just did what made me happy. My brand colors were taken from a mermaid bathing suit I bought for my 4 year old daughter. (And I still have them 2 years later.) I started selling custom GIFs through my Instagram stories for 30 bucks a pop. Most people would tell me to charge more, but I wasn’t ready back then, so I just started where I was and grew from there.

I think especially when you are your brand, it’s so important to focus a little less on who you want to attract and more on how you want to show up so that you can be consistent, have fun, and really enjoy your business and your life. Most of us start businesses because we want to escape a job where we’re not happy, so I think really leaning into the idea that you get to make all the decisions is going to make your business that much more sustainable.

And from a marketing perspective, it’s going to make your personal brand rise to the top of the sea of all the people out there following the rules, templates, and scripts. You’re gonna shine bright like the diamond you are! (ok, I’m getting carried away, but you know what I mean!)

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I spent 13 years teaching art at various levels. During that time I started (and gave up on) so many different businesses. I had an Etsy shop that sold custom plush monsters. I started a local punk rock aerobics class after I failed my audition to be a Jazzercise instructor. I started a photo booth business when those were hot. I hosted an international button exchange where folks designed 1 inch buttons and I crunched all the buttons, mixed them up, and redistributed them back to the participants. I had a kid portrait business. And a business to help parents foster more creativity and kindness in their homes.

Dang! I’m tired just mentioning all of those. But I realized that my absolute favorite part of those businesses was coming up with the concept, the branding, the offers, and really getting them up and running. I realized that I could start a business where I could live vicariously through my clients and I’d get to help them get their businesses up and running.

That’s when I knew I had stumbled upon the business that would stick and ultimately allow me to leave my full time teaching job.

What I’m most proud of is that I am building an anti-capitalist, sustainable, people-first business. There’s a ton of business coaches out there that make it seem like you just have to work the least amount possible and charge the most amount possible, and if you don’t want to do that, you have some sort of money mindset issue.

I’m not saying that you have to work for next to nothing in order to prove that you’re not some capitalist jerk. I’m just saying that you can realistically think about how much money is enough for you and your family and make that the goal. I’m raising kids. I want to help them if they want to go to college. I want to save for my retirement. I want to be able to go to the dentist and not stress about how much it will be in I have a cavity. I want to take my family on vacations a couple times a year.

I don’t need to make billions or even millions to do that. I know because I planned it all out on a spreadsheet. I’m not here to grow a million dollar business (especially not my exploiting anyone I hire, or overcharging my clients based on some pie in the sky outcomes.) I’m here to build a business I love working in, that I feel great about in my heart. And one that I can set my own schedule and go on a field trip with my kid if I want. And I think most people in the online business world think that means I’m thinking small. But I would wholeheartedly disagree.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn is that I didn’t need another course to move my business further. As a matter of fact, it was putting me further in the hole spending money on courses that were over promising and under-delivering. I’ve learned that most of the time I just need to Google something to figure out my next step in business, and then take that step. I’ve found that courses just suck up my time and get in the way of me doing the things that actually make me money in my business.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

My best source of new clients is actually taking the time to meet new people. Sometimes I think I “meet” people by inviting them to respond to my email newsletters. But it’s me there answering them, as a human to another human. I know it seems faster and easier to just stick to social media and cross your fingers and hope you go viral, but for me, it’s connecting with people that’s made all the difference.

You have to keep in mind that my main offers are all 1:1 services and a community that I’m intentionally growing slowly. So I don’t need to reach millions of people to fill up my plate. And this also goes back to the anti-capitalist business I’m growing. I have an end goal, and I’m not going to just keep growing for growing’s sake. I know what I need to make my goals for this year, and that’s enough. Then I can chill. That’s the kind of business I want to grow, not one where I have to keep upping the game year after year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://deannaseymour.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedeannaseymour/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedeannaseymour/