We Help You Grow Your Freelance Business
Online Training. Free Resources. Business Coaching.
We’ve spent almost two decades working with creative freelancers and solo-preneurs just like you and here’s what we know:
- Mastering your craft and mastering your business are not the same thing
- Creative businesses need unique plans and strategies to be successful
- You can stay true to your craft and find fulfillment, freedom, and financial success
- Most business training leaves big gaps between information and application
You can probably feel it in your gut, and you’re right…
There is a growing shift away from information and technology leading the way in the market place. Creativity and innovation are fast becoming the most sought-after services in today’s economy
More and more, people are moving toward self-employment, freelancing, consulting, entrepreneurship and side-hustles to create fulfillment, freedom, and financial success.
The times are changing, and so are the skills needed to survive and prosper.
Why creatives work with us…
We understand
what it’s like to feel isolated and be the ‘solo’ in solo-preneur. We know the struggle for perspective, the value of qualified feedback, and the desire for more meaningful connections to a community and network.
We believe
in supporting creative entrepreneurs to bring their self-expression and innovation to the marketplace and thrive while doing it.
We love
making a difference in the prosperity and satisfaction in what creatives do, removing obstacles and building bright futures.
We are committed
to curating and facilitating small groups of like-minded creative solo-preneurs and freelancers to leverage the power of contribution and connection for lasting, meaningful results in their lives and businesses.
We deliver
the training, resources, and support that creatives need to succeed at the BUSINESS of creativity. We know you’re hungry for real tools, real systems and real guidance to transform your business.
Once upon a time, we were just like you.
We were excited about our creative skills.
We wanted to get paid to do what we loved.
We did not want to run a business.
And for a while…being a reluctant entrepreneur and avoiding thinking too much about the ‘business’ part worked.
We were moderately successful at getting friends and family to hire or refer us, excited to be getting paid at all, and eager to take on any and every project that came our way.
Over time it became harder and harder to find clients, projects didn’t inspire us the same way, and we wanted to raise our prices but didn’t really know how. We knew we had to start marketing and….well, marketing felt super complicated and we didn’t really have a clear message (or any confidence).
Mostly, we were tired… of the uncertainty, the stress, and the overwhelm.
So….we embraced the BUSINESS of creativity. We started to design, build and grow our business with intention.
We stopped using hope as a strategy and made a D.A.M.N. Plan.
Our Founder
Aura McKay, MPA
Aura McKay is our founder, the creator of The D.A.M.N. Plan, and an international award winning photographer. She has a background in Financial Management and Marketing Communications, along with 20 years of experience as successful creative entrepreneur. Aura is uniquely positioned to bring you skilled insight and practical training to run a successful creative business.
Her work with various creative institutes, both creating curriculum and teaching, have refined her expertise on bridging the gap between creative talent and a prosperous business.
Aura has both the knowledge and the experience to recognize what it takes for a creative business to succeed and the skills to train them how to do it.
“Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist” – Picasso
What makes Business of Creativity different?
We get that the ‘business’ side of running a business isn’t intuitive.
And it certainly isn’t part of whatever you did to learn and master your craft.
We also get that most online courses and programs are good at
delivering information but don’t really set you up for significant, lasting change.
So we do things differently.
Our programs are not:
- Pre-recorded, same old same old ‘online courses’ that talk at you without really helping (all of our training is done LIVE and is interactive)
- Quick fixes or magic formulas (success takes time and effort – if it was easy you would already be doing it)
- Done for you solutions while you sit back and coast (this is YOUR business, YOUR life, you are the key to creating want you want)
- One and done training that abandons you before you implement (taking action takes something, usually it takes structure and support)
We promise that our programs are:
- Always include live support (whether online or in person) so we can really connect and serve you while you learn
- Recorded so you can go review as much and whenever you want to
- Multi-layered with group AND one on one on-going support while you apply the stratgies and lessons in your business
- Based on real world experience PLUS traditional business trainings and modalities
- Specifically designed to help creatives like you focus on what matters most so you can master the business of creativity
- Comprehensive with resources, workbooks, and lifetime access to a Facebook Group and Slack community for additional support