For those of you who know me, and for those of you who do not (yet), it is not a secret how passionate and determined I have been throughout my professional career in the arts to help artists not only survive but make a difference with the talents they have. And yet, I cannot say often enough, it is...

Happy 10th anniversary SEA! The SEA conference is coming right up and if you have never attended you need to! Come learn more about how to turn your artistic passion into a living from other successful artists. What The Conference Offers In addition to keynote presentations, topic specific sessions...

Just got back from a wonderful clarinet-buying trip at Buffet-Crampon, the clarinet manufacturer I represent, who is in Jacksonville, Florida. It was an especially pleasant trip. My flights left and returned relatively on time, I was offered a convertible to drive as my rental car, and the B&B I...

Allow me to play the devils advocate for a moment and ask “What’s wrong with thinking inside the box”? It’s dull, certainly, and not very rewarding, and usually quite a tedious process, but other than that, what is the harm? When did “thinking inside the box” become...

One of the reasons I want to write books is because books, art, poetry and film, as examples, all intrinsically are built to last. Their very form offers easy “spark-creating-experience” access, like a hand full of nourishment going right into our mouth. Love that rush of energy that follows,...

January’s Entrepreneur Magazine offered these six tips on using free on-line tools: #1 Just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have to use it. “Because there’s so much out there, businesses have a tendency to be like a kid in a candy store,” says Drew McLellan. “Start...

Is it ever possible in life to get somewhere for nothing and have it be somewhere really good? Over the decades, we certainly have heard that “there is no such thing as a free ride” and that “if it’s too good to be true, it likely is”. But these days, thanks to the internet,...

My wish for you, ON CHRISTMAS DAY, will be for you TOO, to keep the GRINCH at bay! But if by chance, you simply cannot, Band mighty together, as a great big Who-Ville lot! WWHHYY????? Smarty-Arty, I hear you say? BECAUSE, with all your JOY stirring together, the grinch who came to visit, just might...

The story of Ani DiFranco and how she and her partner Scot Fisher built Righteous Babe is a wonderful story about building artistry through a sense of community, the creativity to do so, falling in love, breaking up and the re-birth of relationships and the company. This story appeared in INC magazine...

You’ve got the artistic part down pat, Let us help with the rest* “Sixteen years ago, we were cold calling and struggling to land our first client, The Port Authority of New York. New Jersey called us by mistake, attempting to contact a company whose name was silmilar to (ours). We kept them...

Kelly Penick has written a few articles on this blog. Here is another post about her progress building a business as a sophomore in college. I began working with Kelly, as one of her advisors, last year. Here are links to some of Kelly’s other posts to learn more about her journey. My First Try...

#10 Know when to stop and cut your losses and know when to pat yourself on the back for a job well done. #9 When you have been hit hard, and knocked down, stand right back up. #8 Know success is part financial, part emotional and part about a healthy lifestyle. #7 Givers gain. Always go out of your way...