We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erin Cantwell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Erin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

Client Experience is central to everything I do in my own business, and everything I teach my clients to do!

I believe in acknowledging customers and showing them you appreciate them in many ways, consistently! Sometimes it’s a simple note, or a shoutout, sometimes a referral, or even a gift to commemorate a milestone or acknowledge a season.

Back in the fall & winter of 2020, I was working with a group of women who were all in the early stages of their creative businesses. Our conversations often centered around being strategic in their business decisions and the term “put your CEO hat on” became a go-to short hand in our conversations, meaning to pause and think strategically about their business and the decisions they were making, and then go make things happen. So, for the holidays that year, I actually had “CEO” hats made and gifted each of them with one! It was a surprise package they arrived in the mail, early in the holiday season, to show them how much I valued them, and also to give them a simple and fun reminder of all the work we had done (and were continuing to do together). It was a simple, but meaningful and impactful gift they all loved. Almost every single one of them showed up to the next Zoom call they had with me wearing the hat!

One of my favorite quotes of all time that I try and keep as a reminder is by Maya Angelou:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This simple, but impactful gift let each woman feel seen, acknowledging the leap they had made to start their business and all of the hard work they had been putting in. It celebrated their achievement, and helped strengthen our bond (and the bond that each of them also shared as they worked in parallel building their creative businesses). Being a creative and an entrepreneur can be lonely sometimes – this helped make it feel like we were all in it together!

Erin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began my career as a RISD-trained Graphic Designer. After art school, I went to work at a branding firm in NYC, where, I discovered I had a knack and passion for the business side of the creative industry. So, I made the leap and worked my way up to hold dual titles as the Director of Client Services & the Director of Operations, learning how to run a design studio and creative business along the way.

Fast forward a few years, and I started noticing that so many talented designers & creatives were struggling to make it in the creative business simply because no one had ever taught them how to run a business, I knew I had the tools and resources to make a difference. And I knew I had to help. That is when I founded Erin Cantwell Co.

Today, as an Outsourced COO & Business Coach for Creatives, I help artists, makers, & designers balance the creative and business sides of entrepreneurship.

I harness my 17+ years in the industry, years of experience in COO and Director level roles running studios & agencies in NYC & PA, years of freelancing experience, obsession with client experience, and my own experience running a successful creative business to help creatives tap into their potential and watch their business grow!

I work with my clients in a variety of ways:

– for my COO clients, I actually get into their business and work as a part-time COO for them, streamlining and strategizing their business operations so they and their entire team can finally get a handle on it all and ultimately fulfill the mission of their work. (https://erincantwell.co/coo)

– for my Business Coaching Clients, I meet them where they are at in their business (whether it’s still just a dream or it’s something they’ve been doing for years but feel that they need some help getting to the next level) and we work 1:1 to help them gain clarity, establish a strategic plan, and build their creative business in a way that is fulfilling, successful, and sustainable. (https://erincantwell.co/coaching)

– for those that just need a little help on a specific issue in their business, but still want 1:1 support, I offer Clarity Calls, where we meet via Zoom for 90-minutes and tackle their most pressing business issue. They walk away from the session with an action plan, and I then give them support for one week as they begin to implement the plan we put together. (https://erincantwell.co/clarity-call)

– for creatives who want to DIY with some guidance, but aren’t looking for 1:1 support, I created my signature course, Business Building for Creatives. It is built on the framework I established and honed in all of my time as a creative business coach. It is a self-paced business course designed specifically for creatives by a creative to guide them as they envision, build, and sustain the creative business of their dreams. (https://erincantwell.co/businessbuildingforcreatives)

– I also offer a variety of Mini-Courses (including one on Client Experience!! And another on Pricing) as well as Digital Products to help support Creative Entrepreneurs in their businesses. (https://erincantwellco.teachable.com/courses/)

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I always say my business started accidentally. And then my accidental side-hustle grew into a full time business.

Back in 2014, I was at a turning point in my life. I had been in NYC since I graduated college, working in a branding agency. I started there as a graphic designer, and worked my way up through the ranks until I held dual titles of Director of Operations and Director of Client Services. But, at that time, I was engaged, planning a wedding, and made the decision to move back to PA to be closer to my family, where I had been hired on at another branding & marketing agency.

I was only in PA about 3 months when I got a phone call. It was the owner of the agency I had left in NYC. After some catching up, he brought up the fact that he felt that when I left, it felt like there was a gap in their mentorship and strategy team, and he asked if I’d consider coaching a few of the team members and having some strategy calls with him as well.

I agreed and was thrilled to have a new way to help and support the agency I had come up through and learned so much from!

So, we agreed, that once a week, on my drive home from my office, I would have a call and coach select members of the team.

And that’s really how I started officially coaching and where my business grew from.

I realized, of course, that I actually had been coaching for awhile at that point, but in some very informal ways – check-ins and meetings with the team members of the firms I was involved with, but also lots and lots of coffee dates and emails from friends and acquaintances who wanted to “pick my brain” on their next steps or ideas as they went out on their own to build or grow creative businesses.

One client lead to another and another and I eventually grew Erin Cantwell Co. to what it is today! And I couldn’t be more happy and honored to support so many amazing creatives this way!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of the biggest pivots I had in my business so far came on the back of the pandemic. Up until then, I had happily worked with all of my clients 1:1. I love building a relationship with them and really felt that this was the best way for me to serve creatives looking for my help.

Even thought strategically I knew working only 1:1 would limit my business, I loved working that way, and up to that point, I would proudly proclaim that it was the only way I’d work.

But, with the pandemic came huge shifts in the industry and an influx of creatives looking to start or grow their businesses. I was completely booked out (and would remain that way for the foreseeable future) and it killed me not to be able to help everyone who needed it.

So, I had to admit that I was a limitation on my business and rethink my “1:1 only” position – my time and energy could only go so far (and my family needed me too – I had a husband and 2 young kids at this point!), so I got to work on building a digital course, Business Building for Creative, that allowed everyone to access the framework I had created for my coaching clients, along with all the tools and resources I shared with them. It took actual years to come together, and was a true labor of love – but in December 2023 it finally launched!

Since then, I’ve launched other mini-courses and digital products to help serve all the creative entrepreneurs who need these types of resources, but who I cannot work with 1-on-1, because of time, energy, capacity or even financial limitations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://erincantwell.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erincantwellco