Bound By Art: A Tattoo Artist's Survival Guide

I've been tattooing for over 20 years, and a one-star review still makes my stomach drop every single time. But somewhere along the way, I learned something important: not all bad reviews are created equal. And the way you respond to them (or don't) says a whole lot more about you than the review itself. In this episode, I brought back one of my favorite people, Vicky Stoner, who also happens to b...

I've spent almost two years talking to you about business strategy, hiring, marketing, and systems, and I realized I've never really let you into my actual life. So that's what this episode is. The last six months have been a lot: recovering from a fractured skull and partial hearing loss, building a tattoo-themed Airbnb from the ground up (mostly by myself, because I'm a control freak and I own i...

When Vicki first started working at Blue Bird Tattoo Studio as our shop manager, I honestly never planned on taking an apprentice. But watching her work ethic, her hunger to learn, and her genuine connection with our clients made me reconsider everything I thought I knew about teaching someone to tattoo. Fast forward three years, and she's one of the most consistently booked artists in our shop, w...

Thanks Mana Scheduler for sponsoring this episode  Watch on YouTube A conversation with a friend who just opened her own space got me thinking about something I wish someone had told me years ago. She's booked out, things are moving fast, and her instinct is to exhale.   And I get it.   We work so hard to get to those moments of ease that it feels like we've earned the right to coast. But that min...

If you're a new tattoo artist trying to figure out how to build a client base, you've probably heard the advice to "just post on social media" and call it a day. But that's only one piece of the puzzle.   I've been tattooing for 21 years and I'll be honest, I don't always think about what it was like at the very beginning, when you're literally starting from zero. But that's exactly what I want to...

Last week reminded me why I built systems in the first place – and what happens when you think you're too experienced to follow them. My booking day at Blue Bird Tattoo Studio turned into a complete scramble because I decided to wing it instead of sticking to my proven process. From ignored checklists to computer crashes at the worst possible moment, everything that could go wrong did. But here's...

Every tattoo artist has worked with someone who left them drained, second-guessing themselves, or flat-out dreading going into the shop. Toxic people are everywhere, and the tattoo industry is no exception. But calling someone toxic and actually doing something about it are two very different things. In this episode, Missi gets into the real mechanics of toxic behavior: what it looks like, why it'...

Starting out in this industry, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need everything before you can get started. The fancy chair, the iPad, the full ink spectrum, the private studio, the 50k following.   I've been tattooing for 20 years and I'm here to tell you that most of that noise is just that. Noise.    In this episode, I go through exactly what you actually need as a new tattoo art...

Social media isn't the whole game, and honestly, a lot of tattoo artists are finding out the hard way that chasing likes and fighting algorithms isn't a sustainable marketing strategy. Missi cuts through the noise in this episode and digs into guerrilla marketing, a creative, low-cost approach that used to be standard practice before everyone moved their entire business online. Drawing from her ow...

If you've ever caught yourself thinking "I just need to manage my time better," this episode is going to reframe that whole idea. I've been there too, ending every day exhausted and frustrated, even when the morning started out fine. After one too many tough days, I started asking a different question: what if time isn't actually the problem? What if we've been managing the wrong thing altogether?...

I'm beyond excited to bring you this conversation with my tattoo shop bestie and incredible black and gray artist, Gabe Burgos. What started as a guest spot at Blue Bird Tattoo turned into an amazing friendship built on our shared sobriety, brutal honesty about shop ownership, and drive to constantly push ourselves outside our comfort zones. Gabe went from working in factories to running his own s...

As someone who spent most of my life undiagnosed with ADHD, I'm passionate about sharing how what many see as limitations can actually be superpowers when you learn to work with them, not against them. In this deeply personal episode, I open up about my own journey of late diagnosis, sobriety, and building Bluebird Tattoo - and how my ADHD traits actually helped me succeed. Whether you have ADHD o...

Thanks to Mana Scheduler for sponsoring this episode! Mana Scheduler: https://manascheduler.com/ Seven years into tattooing and Angela Wood has already come full circle. From driving an hour each way to earn her apprenticeship, to owning the very shop where she learned the craft. What struck me most about Angela's story wasn't just her dedication to showing up every single day and asking how she c...

Twenty years into my tattoo career, I can finally say I've built a business doing exactly what I love—and it happened because I stopped trying to please everyone else and started being a "Missi Blue pleaser." This episode is my origin story, from a scrappy 19-year-old apprentice working double shifts to opening Blue Bird Tattoo Studio and becoming known for pet portraits that capture each animal's...

When I was an apprentice flipping through tattoo magazines, Jesse Smith's work stopped me in my tracks. Fast forward to today, and I'm sitting down with the man himself, someone who's spent over 25 years proving that unconventional paths can lead to extraordinary outcomes. Jesse started tattooing with a prison-style gun made from a toothbrush and Walkman motor, learned by trial and error, and buil...

Building resilience isn't something you're born with—it's a skill you develop through experience, self-awareness, and intentional practice.   In this episode, I'm breaking down what it really means to be resilient in business and how you can strengthen this critical muscle. From my own experiences of opening Blue Bird Tattoo Studio one month before COVID shut everything down to navigating a trauma...

When I opened Blue Bird Tattoo Studio, I truly believed I'd just show up, tattoo, go home, and do whatever I wanted. I thought I'd work alone because I was tired of dealing with other people's energy. Looking back, that was incredibly naive. I would have gone insane working by myself all day with no one to talk to except my clients.   The reality of opening and running a shop hit me fast, and I ha...

"You can't do nothing and expect people to just find you and give you their money to tattoo. You either need to get on board with social media or talk to people in person—one or the other." Here's the reality: if you're crushing it at conventions but struggling to book local clients, the problem isn't oversaturation in your market. We have 14 tattoo shops within a quarter mile of Bluebird Tattoo S...

I'll be honest—I've been a serial project-starter my entire career. From expanding Bluebird Tattoo Studio to opening the Bluebird Art Collective gift shop, I've chased plenty of shiny objects that pulled me away from what really mattered. This episode is about recognizing when you're spreading yourself too thin, understanding why we're wired to chase new ideas, and learning how to channel that cre...

"You can wish and hope and dream for your goals, but that alone is not getting you anywhere." As we head into a new year, I'm reflecting on what worked, what didn't, and how I'm going to show up differently in 2025. This year taught me something crucial: feelings are terrible leaders. When I let how I'm feeling dictate what I do each day, nothing gets done. After recovering from a skull fracture a...

"Every convention for me is a chance to just do better, to do a better tattoo, to meet more people, to get new inspiration, to find a new opportunity. Even when it's a bad convention, it still serves a purpose."   I get asked all the time for advice on doing conventions. How to prepare, what to expect, what actually works. And honestly, in the moment, I never know where to start because there are...

"It's lonely being the boss. And yes, I get that I asked for this, that I did this to myself. I understand that, but why is it like this?" Missi Blue A coworker's offhand comment stopped me in my tracks recently; something about how I'm "never in a good mood" when I walk into the shop. That hurt. Not because it was entirely true, but because it highlighted something I've been carrying quietly for...

Perfectionism isn't about high standards—it's procrastination in disguise that keeps tattoo artists from taking action on their biggest goals. Learn why waiting to feel "ready" is holding you back and how to push past fear to actually grow your career, even when things get messy.   "You're never gonna feel ready. The only way to truly feel ready and confident and prepared for the things that you'v...

"I didn't die because of tattooing. There were days where I ran with some bad people... and I think the only reason I didn't overdose constantly was because I had appointments to go to. I had a job to show up for. I had somewhat of a purpose." - James Boag This conversation wasn't planned. James and I were trying to squeeze in a podcast recording all weekend at the Tampa convention, but life kept...

"If I don't know the job myself, how can I train someone to be successful in it? And how can I even know if they are successful?"   After letting go of my manager at Bluebird Tattoo Studio, I knew I had two choices: point fingers or take a hard look at where I went wrong. This episode is me pulling back the curtain on every mistake I made in that hiring process—from undefined roles to missing trai...