Creatives In The Wild

Welcome to Week 11 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! We're exploring Space Making, the act of creating intentional pauses, buffer zones, and moments to reflect. Hear about my own struggle with waking up every morning in reaction mode (consuming news, emails, social media, podcasts) and feeling overwhelmed and anxious instead of grounded. You'll learn: Why creative business owners especially need space to...

Welcome to Week 10 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! We're exploring Radical Ownership, something that's totally shifted how I look at my life. Hear about my own journey from feeling burdened by choice to embracing it as a gift and privilege. You'll learn: The difference between radical ownership and self-blame Why decision-making is at the heart of creative business ownership How to shift from "woe is m...

Welcome to Week 9 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! We're exploring Transformation, how true change happens and why it takes more time than we think. Hear about the ACT framework (Awareness → Choice → Transformation) that my own coach introduced me to, and why it's been such a game-changer for understanding why new insights don't immediately translate into new behaviors. You'll learn: Why awareness is th...

Welcome to Week 8 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! We're exploring Multitudes : the different versions of ourselves we carry within us and how to work with them intentionally. Hear about my own "achiever" persona: the competitive, driven version of myself that built my events business but also made my life unbalanced. You'll learn: Why we don't have to be just one version of ourselves How to identify wh...

Welcome to Week 7 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! We're exploring Values : the concepts that drive us forward and the principles we want to honor in our lives. Hear about my own value of autonomy and how it's shaped everything from my career choices to my daily life. But you'll also learn about something I've recently discovered: the power of honoring values in tiny, everyday moments. You'll learn: Why...

Welcome to Week 6 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! We're exploring Essentialism : the practice of ruthless prioritization and figuring out what truly matters most. Hear about my own struggle with trying to pack too much into my calendar — both personally and in my business — and the toll it took on my energy and sense of aliveness. You'll learn: Why creatives and business owners are particularly vulnera...

Welcome to Week 5 of 12 Weeks of Wintering !  We're reflecting on Identity and the creation of our sense of self. It's a paradox: A strong sense of identity can be incredibly powerful, but it can also become a trap. Hear my own story about how identifying as a "good snowboarder" kept me from taking risks, learning new things, and evolving in the sport I loved. You'll learn: Why we're sometimes afr...

Welcome to Week 4 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! This week, we're exploring Alignment : the place where your being meets your doing. Alignment is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but few of us know how to truly define it, even when we know we're feeling out of alignment. You'll learn: Why alignment is especially challenging for business owners It's a lifelong journey, not a one-time achievement H...

Welcome to Week 3 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! We're diving into the power of Seasonality : both the natural rhythms of the outdoor industry and the cyclical nature of growth itself. Hear about my past work as an events producer in the skiing and snowboarding industry, when seasonality dictated everything about my business. You'll learn: Why seasonality is a pattern, especially in the outdoor indust...

Welcome to Week 2 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! We're diving into the power of Capacity: understanding the time, energy, money, and space you actually have available to accomplish your goals (before taking action). Hear about my own reckoning with capacity when I became a mom, and the struggles I often see clients face around their capacity. You'll learn: Why you can't out-optimize your calendar A mu...

Welcome to Week 1 of 12 Weeks of Wintering ! We're diving into the power of Visioning: not just setting goals, but creating an expansive picture of the life and version of yourself you want to become. Hear my own story of building a "successful" freelance events business that checked all the boxes on paper, but didn't align with who I actually wanted to be. You'll learn: Why it's helpful to set go...

What does it mean to build a business that truly reflects who you are?   Chereen Leong Schwarz of Smeeny Made Wild joins me to chat about how she integrates her core values into her maker business, including:   How to integrate your values into every aspect of your business The role of intentionality in creative entrepreneurship Giving yourself permission to do things your way The importance of co...

Darren Josey is an outdoorsman, bird watcher, spouse, father of two, and the founder of First Seed Sown.   First Seed Sown is a sales and marketing agency serving fellow BIPOC-owned businesses, brands looking to improve their DEI initiatives, and municipalities with environmental justice communities who want to make the outdoors more equitable for everyone in their city.   Connect with DJ or join...

What if the goal you set ends up being something you don't want, after all?   Chereen Leong Schwarz of Smeeny Made Wild joins me to share her winding path of entrepreneurship, including:   How dreams evolve and why alignment is a process, not a destination The challenge of letting go of past versions of yourself Making big career shifts and embracing uncertainty Recognizing when it's time to reali...

Fear is inevitable, but you can work with it in your business, not against it.   Chereen Leong Schwarz of Smeeny Made Wild joins me to talk about fear and discomfort as a business owner, including:   Differentiating between fear and discomfort How outdoor adventures can help us build resilience in business Reframing fear as a muscle that can be strengthened Making bold choices in your creative car...

You're invited— I'm teaming up with Chereen to build an incredible community retreat this August 2025 in Squamish, BC!   Chereen Leong Schwarz (she/her) is the founder and chief-everything-officer behind Smeeny Made Wild. Chereen taught herself to knit with a pair of thrifted knitting needles and YouTube videos, and what started as a hobby quickly became a passion.   Today, Smeeny Made Wild is mor...

Are you experiencing a slow season in your freelance work?   It can be scary, but remember, whether you're new or established in business, it's normal to face highs and lows in demand for work.   Business is cyclical— especially in the outdoor industry.   And you CAN create new business opportunities for yourself— that's a skill we can all learn.   Let's talk about the best uses of your time durin...

Creatives often feel tension between honoring what a brand wants and respecting the authentic story of a person or community. How can you do both?   Sabrina Claros is a photographer, videographer, and creative director based in LA, creating stories at the intersection of adventure, environmentalism, and outdoor equity. Her work aims to create change and inspire more people to connect with the outd...

2025 did not start out the way I wanted it to.   Many of my clients are also getting that "What's the point?" feeling with the state of the world.   Here's the twist: Actually answering the question of "What's the point?" thoughtfully is giving me hope.   We can control how we're showing up for our community. We have agency around the impact that we're able to make. We can invest in our values to...

What can freelancers learn from those founding product-based businesses?   Katie Doherty is the co-founder of Founded Outdoors, a company dedicated to providing resources, programming, and community for emerging outdoor brands.   She is passionate about driving inclusive change through entrepreneurship and combines her experience in the tech start-up world and her love of the outdoors by supportin...

Sometime around years 2 or 3 of freelancing, you can find yourself facing new challenges, often resulting from all the things you did well when you first launched your business. You hustled, you said YES to everything and everyone, and you made sh*t happen. But now, you probably have plenty of work and clients, but you're not doing the work or living the life you expected to. Learn the first steps...

Emma Mary Murray (she/her) works as an environmental artist and teacher. She creates slow-crafted heirloom art pieces that honor the landscapes they depict. Her favorite materials include embroidery thread, up-cycled fabrics, and paints.  Emma also teaches art workshops for kids and grown-ups, and teaches all subjects part-time at a place-based school on Mount Desert Island in Maine. We chat about...

When we consider ourselves business owners instead of simply freelancers, we typically make more empowered choices in our work. I'm sharing three shifts that I've noticed have helped my clients find more agency in the way they run their small creative businesses: Understanding what you're hired to do: leading vs. executing Making time to work on your business, not just in it Knowing what to say no...

Julie Ellison (she/her) is an agriculture, travel & outdoor lifestyle photographer and filmmaker based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Julie has 15 years of storytelling experience, helping commercial and editorial clients engage their communities with photo and video content that has meaning and impact.  With guiding principles of sustainability and regenerative practices, her favorite stories reveal...

Think of your least favorite client right now. What would it take to make you excited to work with them? Or maybe nothing could? Let's talk about: How to train a client to be a better fit for the ways you like to work. How to approach the potential to expand services with a client. How to professionally fire a client if you're truly ready to part ways. Train, expand, or fire: Let's talk about how...