How to Overcome the Starving Artist Syndrome and Make Money as a Creative with Tobi Fairley

Tobi Fairley, my guest this week on the Sigrun Show, has a lot in common with me. We have both made it our mission to empower women and get them to step up and be successful with their business. But while I mainly focus on service-based entrepreneurship, Tobi is concentrating on helping creative people make money online.  Tobi isn’t just a creative herself - she is a left-brain and right-brain person and has a degree in interior design as well as accounting. This is somewhat unique in the creative industry, and it has served her well in order to build up her business successfully.  She’s worked as an interior designer for 20 years, was in magazines and created product lines for companies. She did all the things in the designing industry she dreamed of, but what she liked most was working together with other creatives.  As she saw the interior design business slow down back in 2008, she reflected on what else she could give to her audience. She realised that what people wanted from her was to look over her shoulders and see how she created her brand and ran her business.  She started a weekend design camp where people could attend seminars and sessions and eventually grew it into the successful consulting business she runs today. Her goal is to empower especially creative women to step into their personal power, believe in their ideas and charge their worth.  Today, Tobi shares how she was able to reach such success, how to overcome the starving artist syndrome and why it’s more important than ever that artists take charge of the business side of their craft.  If you’ve been brought up in the belief that you can’t make money as an artist, this episode will turn your world upside down.  “We are the only people holding back our pricing, our value and the success of our business.” - Tobi Fairley In This Episode of The Sigrun Show: How Tobi came to work with creatives  How Tobi explains her own success  The starving artist syndrome and how to overcome it  Why artists need to take charge of the business side  The steps to become visible as an artist  How to overcome the pricing problem  Ideal clients and adapting your offers  What changes when you sell products vs. services    Want to dive deeper? Find out how your money mindset affects your revenue potential or how to become known in 30 months or less.  Starving Artist Syndrome: 3 Tips to Overcome it and Start Making Money   Whether you’re a graphic designer, a painter, an interior designer or a sculptor - how can you actually overcome the starving artist syndrome, be visible for potential clients and make money online?  In Tobi’s experience, artists tend to think about possible steps of action, map them out and put them on their schedule, but when the time comes to pull through, they believe they can only do it when their creativity strikes. Or they think that if their work is good enough, one day they will just “be found”.  But if you want to make money and have success as a creative, you need to actively put yourself out there and attract clients. Here are Tobi’s top 3 tips on overcoming the starving artist syndrome:    Make a plan that involves social media and digital marketing. You need an email list, lead magnets, a good website - all the things that keep you from being hidden. But more than that, you need to consistently show up and follow the plan, especially when you don’t feel like it. Go and put yourself out there. What’s on the plan is in some way less important than showing up and following through.  Pricing is a reflection of your self-worth. What most artists do is they look at other people’s prices and they’re judging themselves against these people. They’re trying to find the “going rate”. Yet they have no idea if the people they’re looking at are actually making any money, or if they have the same expenses. It’s a shot in the dark and wrong to settle on a price just because somebody else has picked it, and that makes you think it must be what people are willing to pay. Reflect on what you need and want to make. Then make sure that the product you’re selling is worth that price. Don’t wait for the world to raise the value of what they believe an artist to be worth. You have to set your price, and then meet that price with your deliverance.  A lot of creatives put everybody that approaches them into the same pot of clients and they let the ones who aren’t their ideal client make them believe that their prices are too high. It’s normal that only a small number of people will be interested in your high-end, most valuable service or product. Most people will be interested in you and what you offer, but aren’t willing to pay high rates. That’s why you should figure out what other scalable, lower rate services you could offer that cater to their needs. Create other revenue streams that sustain your business and fill in the gap while you can patiently wait for the right client to fit your high-end product.    Did these tips inspire you to get your creative business going? You can follow and connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Sigrun LIVE This is your last chance to sign up for the Sigrun Live!  For the first time, I’m opening up my yearly live event to anyone who is not in SOMBA, Momentum or one of my masterminds. Due to the Corona virus the event will take place online this week on Friday and Saturday, October 23rd and 24th.  Don’t miss out on making new and deep connections, masterminding with like-minded entrepreneurs and getting the inspiration to take action on your big plans.  We also have amazing speakers lined up for you to make this the most inspiring and unforgettable online business event of the year.  For those who are not in SOMBA, Momentum or one of my masterminds, find out all about Sigrun LIVE and how you can join here. SOMBAs and Masterminders, reserve your spot here. Connect with Tobi Fairley: Tobi Fairley on Instagram Tobi Fairley Please share, subscribe and review Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Sigrun Show. If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music so more people can enjoy the show. Don’t forget to follow and connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Click here to learn how to leave a review, then head over to Apple Podcasts for your chance to win a special thank you gift!