I have spent literally 10’s of thousands of pounds in self development and learning, most of which has been valuable and helped me along my path. The worst investment I’ve ever made, however, was in the most expensive program, which I assumed must be good at that price.

When I first decided to leave the corporate world and set up on my own I was listening to all sorts of podcasts, one of which was by Russ Rufino of Clients on Demand. What I didn’t realise was that the podcast was essentially part of his marketing funnel and was there to sell dreams to desperate people, and at the time I was one of those people.

I had the seed of an idea for what I wanted to do, but it was in no way fully formed, tried or tested. When I got on a call with the Clients on Demand team, the sales guy did a great job of selling their program to me as the solution to all of my problems. He assured me that they would help me to think through and formulate my idea into a saleable program that would make me a great income.

As a nuerodivergent person, I tend to rush into things without considering that it might not turn out as I want it to, ever the optimist, I want to believe. This particular program cost in excess of £10k, I was herded through the program in 8 weeks without having any time to consider what I was doing, and came out the other side feeling completely lost and confused and no further forward, but £10k poorer. They had a policy of no refunds, (which should’ve been a red flag) crazy given the cost of the program! Once inside I met plenty of other people in my boat who had been sucked in and were paying the price without any results. I’m still paying back the debt 3 years later.

Now when I think I could’ve spent that money on an MFA or even just on materials it makes me quite sick. Anyway, I learnt the hard way that all that glitters isn’t gold and you can’t trust everyone to have your best interests at heart. Needless to say, I am a lot more cautious about what I invest in now.

Sure, I’m Kate, a creative professional living in London UK. I have always been a creative, I don’t think I would survive mentally in a non-creative job. My career has been a very winding path that has taken me from magazine styling and book illustration through product design and owning my own brand, to running a publishing department in a greeting card company, designing textile prints for fashion and eventually to graphic design, website design and finally art.

I see my creativity as problem solving with strong eye for balance and colour and as such, a transferable skill which I can apply to different disciplines. I enjoy new challenges, working with a variety of clients and projects. I currently split my time between design work and creating art.

I love helping other people to thrive, whether that’s through creating a brand that reflects their core values or creating art that inspires and lifts them to their next phase in life. In my design work I tend to work with smaller companies and start-ups as I find it really exciting to create a brand from scratch and then see it grow and prosper. I currently still work with brands that I created the identity for over 15 years ago, having evolved their brand style over the years. Building strong relationships with my clients is important to me as I get to really understand them and their vision.

My art practice is undeniably my happy place. I put my heart and soul into each piece I create, some of which come to me very quickly with ease and some pieces take longer and grow over time, but whichever way, I always know when it’s done, it just feels right. I hope that my passion and energy can be felt through each piece that I create; I have a theory that energy can be transferred through art and that the right person will feel it. In that way we are able to share our vibrations and lift each other up.

I really hope that if you are reading this you will feel inspired, either to create something for yourself, or to find something that you can look at everyday that motivates you to go out and make things happen.

I strongly believe that what we surround ourselves with greatly impacts us on a subconscious level and so it’s important to consciously choose what we look at on a daily basis. And so I strive to create art that lifts and inspires the viewer, having a positive impact on their lives.

I work on a 1-2-1 basis with my commission clients to help them tune into a future vision and feel the energy of that on a deep level. The art I subsequently create for them serves as a trigger for those sessions, giving them a visual they can tune into in order to feel that energy now. That for me is probably the most rewarding work that I do, often my clients are in tears when they see the artwork, which is equally moving for me to know that I have been able to create something so personal and meaningful for them.

I often listen to music or inspirational speakers as I work. I find I am then able to channel the emotions induced into the work I am creating, it also allows my mind to switch off and be fully present. I find I create my best work when I get into that state of flow where I am not thinking so much as I am feeling what comes next.

I would say this is very much work in progress! I started out on Facebook and to some extent still find that a lot easier than Instagram in terms of building a loyal following.

The key piece of advice I have for other artists is to talk about the ‘why’ behind your art rather than the materials, size, price etc. People will connect with you and your work on an emotional level, so by talking about why you create and the meaning behind a piece, you give them something to engage with and relate to.

Find 2-3 cornerstones for your content. By that I mean values that you will stand by and talk about (not your art)… so for example, my work is about connecting to a higher self, following your own path and being authentic and unapologetically you. So I will post about being an entrepreneur, having a spiritual connection and finding joy in the every day. On Facebook it’s pretty easy to identify groups where your ideal collectors hang out and hang out there too. On Instagram it’s more about creating reels using trending audios that talk about your values.

When I started out, I posted in Facebook groups that were full of entrepreneurs and followers of Abraham Hicks (whom I follow too). Note, I never posted in any art groups! From there it was easy to have conversations, make friends, and draw people to follow my content. I still have very loyal followers who’ve been following me since the start of my art journey in 2020, and I still make the majority of my sales through Facebook even though I don’t specifically post there anymore.

Instagram is still a leaning curve for me. What I’ve learnt recently is that the algorithm is a machine, if something goes viral it will assume that is popular, look for something else that is almost identical, and push that out too. So a good practice is to study the key accounts in your niche, look at their viral reels and copy the format, use the same hook, audio, and same clip length etc, but put your own content into it. And try that up to 6 times for each format, in theory one of the 6 will catch the wave. That said, it’s constantly shifting and evolving so by the time you read this it could be something else that works better. We have to consistently post and engage with others, remember you are building a community rather than just amassing numbers. It’s better to have a small group of engaged followers than a large group of people that you have no emotional connection with… another lesson I learnt the hard way!