We were lucky to catch up with Shane Manier recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shane, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

The biggest thing I’ve found in running your own business and in any artistic project’s success is to just get out of your own way. Personal development has been huge for me when it comes to the fears and expectations we have around putting ourselves out there. If you aren’t working on how to market yourself and getting comfortable with that, and what follows by putting yourself out there, it can be a really hard road to get anything off the ground. Letting go of the idea of perfection has been super helpful as well. Just focusing on enjoying the work and the process and letting go of how you view every little detail of your project, is not only freeing but way less stressful. Oftentimes people will focus on the small stuff, and not the actual components that matter. The more you pour into what really matters, and make sure your energy surrounding your projects is one of gratitude and knowing that you’re job is just to do the work and give of that, then the more successful and pleasurable the whole journey becomes.

Shane, 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?

My business is structured in three categories: 1) Performance (spoken word, keynote speaking, live event painting, 2) Educator (Workshops, curriculum, poetry mentoring, creative coaching, trauma informed care training) and 3) Product (merch, books, albums and paintings). I also run a nonprofit called Guerilla Poets that provides art, music and poetry workshops in underserved areas with branches in the US and UK.

One of the things that I often get asked is what does a Creative Coach do? This is a fairly new industry and I absolutely love being a Creative Coach!
I focus mainly on helping my clients cultivate their craft so they are continuously inspired, support them in navigating what route to take in their journey, break apart projects into bite-size steps to make sure they get from point A to point B, and develop projects for them to launch as well as help with marketing of the launch.

Not all Creative Coaches support the actual step by step process to reach a goal, but I geek out over time management and scheduling and love connecting the dots for clients so their road map is laid out for them and they can just concentrate on doing the work that makes them happy.

I am also very passionate about the trauma informed care training I provide as a vital resource for educators and others who want to serve youth with behavioral challenges.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

One of the business coaches I follow is Marie Forleo and I’ll never forget this one episode of her Marie TV series where she said “If you were the absolute best in your industry, how would you behave?” That question has stuck with me ever since and I truly believe that using that question as a north star in how you navigate your presence in person and online is crucial to establishing yourself in your industry.

It has lead me to be intentional about how I show up in the world and making sure that I am consistent, professional and reliable. Those three things have built amazing trust with my clients and has encouraged them to spread the word about my services so that contracts keep rolling in.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I used to have a big bias around large amounts of money. I had to unlearn the way I view money and how I invest in myself. Throughout that journey I’ve learned that the more financially stable you are, the more you can actually give back to causes you care about. I used to undercharge and not negotiate contracts until I sat down one day and actually crunched the numbers to discover I was getting the hole. Ever since I dealt with why I view money the way I do, and started really charging enough to not only cover my costs, but also invest back into my business, I found less stress and more giving back. I was even able to donate free coaching once a month to clients who weren’t financially capable at that time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shanemanier.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanemanier
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shanemanierart
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX3w7_ik5VNjJ5jM0lUiOmg

Image Credits
Stefanie Boughton Photographer