The Complete Creative

What if your creative business didn’t have to fit into someone else’s blueprint? This is the final episode of my Work Your Way series, and I’m looking back at what changed for me as I explored a bigger question: How can we, as creative entrepreneurs, build businesses that work with our energy, our capacity, our creativity, and the lives we actually want to live? Because being a creative entreprene...

September has a fun kind of fresh-start energy. Not quite January. Not quite “new year, new me.” More like… something is shifting, and maybe you can feel it too. In this episode of The Complete Creative, I’m introducing something new: a monthly activation designed to help you pause, notice where you are right now, and be intentional about what you want to create next. Because as creative entrepren...

As a creative entrepreneur, success is about so much more than how your business is doing. My friend Anne Miller and I took this conversation to the trail—literally. I’m pushing my grandson in the stroller, we’re getting a little winded on the hills, and we’re talking about how much our definitions of success have changed over the years. We talk about money, health, relationships, creative work, b...

What if your business didn’t have to look the same all year long? I’m sitting outside at what we affectionately call the “swing set sanctuary” with my friend and fellow coach Kolette Hall for a conversation about doing business in seasons—and giving yourself permission to build work around the life you actually want. Kolette has intentionally created a business that changes with the seasons of her...

Katie Pulsifer spent years being the kind of employee every company wants. High-achieving. Trusted. Loyal. The person you put on the important project because she will figure it out and get it done. Then, one day, it was over. The job she loved ended unexpectedly, and suddenly the identity that had served her so well for decades didn’t fit the business she was building next. In this episode of The...

Building a business can feel surprisingly lonely, especially when you're trying to figure everything out on your own.   We could spend so much time looking for the next strategy, marketing tactic, or productivity hack that we forget one of the most valuable assets we have as creatives: the people around us. In this episode of The Complete Creative, I'm joined by Brian Thompson, who co-founded the...

What changes when you start treating your nervous system as part of your business strategy?   In this episode of The Complete Creative, I’m joined by nervous system coach and educator Leah Davidson as part of my Work Your Way series. We’re talking about how nervous system regulation affects the way creative entrepreneurs make decisions, handle uncertainty, respond to stress, and keep moving forwar...

What if your relationship with money isn’t actually about money? What if the way you check your bank account, receive payment, spend money, talk about numbers, or feel pressure to “make it happen” is showing you something deeper about safety, self-worth, shame, receiving, and trust? This is another episode in the Work Your Way series, and I’m talking with certified life coach Crystal Hiatsma about...

We’ve all been taught to manage our time. The planner. The habit tracker. The perfectly color-coded calendar. Very cute. Very organized. Sometimes even helpful. But for creative entrepreneurs, there’s something even more important to pay attention to: your energy. In this episode of The Complete Creative, I’m talking about one of my foundational beliefs: your energy is one of your greatest busines...

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “Maybe I just need a better system, more discipline, more clients, or a vacation”—only to discover that the heaviness is still there? In this episode, I’m exploring something many creatives and business owners experience but rarely stop to examine: the difference between work that is hard and work that feels heavy. Hard work can be meaningful. It’s often whe...

What IF the primary purpose of your business isn't to serve the world, it's to make you rich? And, service is just the byproduct? That's the kind of assumption-flipping you hear from Amber Smith , my coach and the author of Quiet Wealth , who joins me this week to talk about what she calls a "right-sized" business — one built around what you actually want, instead of what scaling culture told you...

What if the reason work feels harder than it should isn’t because you’re doing it wrong? What if you’ve simply been trying to work in a way that doesn’t fit who you are? Many creative professionals spend years chasing productivity, pushing through burnout, and trying to follow someone else’s formula for success. We tell ourselves we just need to be more disciplined, more organized, or more consist...

A few days before recording this episode, I celebrated my birthday. I love thinking of birthdays as a personal new year—a chance to pause, reflect, and look at where life is taking us next. As I looked back on the past five years of building my coaching and photography businesses, one question kept rising to the surface: What does it mean to work your way?   Many of us start by following someone e...

Something unexpected happened after I sold my house, moved into full-time travel, and watched momentum build in my business.   Instead of feeling energized by all the good things happening, I slowed down. I stopped posting. I stopped showing up in the ways that felt normal. And, it all felt pretty confusing.   In this episode, I’m sharing something that helped me make sense of it: the Upper Limit...

You know that moment after you hit send… and instantly wish you hadn’t? Or when you snap, shut down, or spiral—and later you’re like, where did that even come from?   In this episode, I’m talking about what’s happening in those moments—and how to catch it before it takes over. This is a follow-up to the Think, Feel, Do framework, and we’re focusing in on the most powerful part: what you’re feeling...

There’s a moment every creative knows well—you sit down to do the thing that matters most… and suddenly you’re doing literally anything else. Checking email. Reorganizing your desk. Thinking about the project instead of actually starting it. In this episode, I’m walking you through what’s sub-consciously happening in those moments—and how to move through resistance in a way that feels simple, doab...

Selling my home took almost a year… and instead of being stressful, it became one of the most easeful transitions of my life. That wasn’t an accident. In this episode, I’m sharing what actually made the difference—from the emotional side of closing a long chapter to the practical shifts that helped me move through it in a completely different way than I used to. This wasn’t about forcing a positiv...

There’s a framework I use every single day—and now it’s so integrated into how I think and live that I sometimes forget to even talk about it. But this one changed everything for me. In this episode, I’m walking you through the simple but powerful framework of Think, Feel, Do—a concept I learned during my life coach certification that completely shifted how I understand my emotions, my actions, an...

AI is everywhere right now—and creatives are navigating a new landscape of tools, possibilities, and questions about authenticity. In this episode, I’m sharing my honest perspective about how I use AI in my creative business, where I draw the line, and why transparency matters more than ever. After reading an article that felt completely AI-generated, something inside me said nope. That experience...

Welcome to my very first Substack Live — an experiment in real time, growth edges and all. Connect with me in Substack!   In this episode, I’m challenging the entire concept of imposter syndrome. Not with hype. Not with “just believe in yourself.” But with a grounded reframe that shifts how you understand what’s actually happening when self-doubt shows up.   Because what if imposter syndrome isn’t...

Curious what a coaching session actually feels like?   In this live group session, you’ll hear Laura Fox-Wallis and Mel Lau bring real questions and get coached through them in real time. Laura is a painter and expressive arts facilitator who helps people reconnect with their creative voice through silk painting. She teaches both online and in person. Mel is a designer and creative strategist behi...

If you’re craving direction but not more pressure, this audio workshop is for you.   This episode is the audio version of Your North Star Year — a guided workshop to help you choose one clear, intentional word to anchor your year. It’s not about finding the “right” word. It’s about choosing one that feels real, useful, and aligned with where you are in life.   Whether you’re craving more ease, con...

Decision fatigue is real—and for creatives, it can silently drain your energy, stall your projects, and keep you stuck in cycles of overthinking and avoidance.   In this episode, I share how to recognize the signs of decision fatigue and decision switching, plus how they might be zapping your creative flow without you realizing it. I walk you through grounded, practical ways to regain clarity, pro...

If you’re physically present with your people but mentally somewhere else, this episode is an invitation to slow down and come back. We’re talking about what it really takes to be fully present in busy seasons — without guilt, perfection, or abandoning the work you love. This episode is for creative professionals who want their success to feel as good in their relationships as it does on paper.  ...

What if the reason you’re not moving forward isn’t a lack of motivation — but a lack of clarity?   In this episode, I’m sharing why clarity is the foundation of creative momentum — and what happens when your vision is fuzzy, fragmented, or borrowed from someone else. We’ll explore how busywork, burnout, and decision fatigue all trace back to one root cause: not knowing what you actually want to cr...