Creative Business Real Talk

You’ve FINALLY booked a spot at your local craft fair to sell your calligraphy. You pay the deposit, create your inventory, follow all the tips to set up the *perfect* booth, and… *crickets*. 🦗 Hundreds of people walk by, only TWO stop to peruse—and suddenly your brain goes, “ This will NEVER work. I’m not cut out for this. No one’s interested in calligraphy!” Sound familiar? Yep, we’ve all been...

If you’ve ever feared someone criticizing you for selling your creative product, listen up! If you’re new here – welcome! My name is Shinah, and I unabashedly sell premium level curse-word laced calligraphy courses on a very public scale – and over the past 8 years, I’ve gotten a lot of shit for that. But if you’re not new, you know those neigh sayers have just fueled me to become more outspoken....

🎧 Are You Actually Growing Your Business— Or Just Keeping Busy? If your to-do list looks more like a laundry list, and you’re constantly posting on Instagram, answering emails, and juggling customer inquiries— but somehow, your big goals keep getting pushed aside —this episode is for you. Today, we’re breaking down the difference between working in your business vs. working on it . In the past 10...

Feel Like Your Biz is Running You ? Here’s How to Take Back Control You’re working your butt off, posting on IG, trying all the things… but the sales? Meh. 😩 It feels like your business has a mind of its own, and you’re just scrambling to keep up. I finally started feeling in control (and paying myself consistently!) when I did one thing: tracking my numbers. Not just finances, but time spent, co...

The Pro Calligrapher Bundle - open for enrollment through Tues, Jan 28, 2025! Five short stories from students who signed up for our calligraphy courses 2 - 5 years ago. How they’re doing (you won't believe some of them!) and what actions they've taken to continue to growing their businesses.  Because an investment in our courses (and your creative & business skill)... is an investme...

The most HONEST student conversation I’ve ever had Ever dreamed of leaving your job (where you feel seriously unappreciated) to build a business that truly lights you up? Sher did just that. She enrolled in our Pro Calligrapher Bundle with one goal in mind: to quit  teaching and become a full-time creative. But -cough- calligraphy is definitely NOT a get rich quick scheme, so the road has been ful...

Ever wondered if your creative hobby could become something more?  Megan did too—she’s loved calligraphy since childhood but never in her wildest dreams imagined getting paid for it. After leaving her overwhelming teaching job, struggling to raise her first child, and trying a mom blog (that never really felt like her…) she finally took a leap last year that changed everything. In this interview e...

Have you ever tried to start something new, only to be paralyzed by the fear of failure and crippled with anxiety about adding one more thing to your plate? You are far from alone. Part of that fear & anxiety comes from a lack of confidence – in yourself, your knowledge, and your ability to succeed. And while society has deemed it necessary to have confidence when beginning a new venture, I th...

Free “Newbie to Pro Calligrapher” Challenge - starts Jan 13, 2025! Sign up at crookedcalligraphy.com/challenge -- If you'd love to become a professional calligrapher and make money with a craft you adore, but you’re SCARED to make the commitment and actually go for it … You must listen to this episode where I give real-life business advice to my student, Sarah, when she emailed me for help. F...

A personal, off-the-cuff, HONEST look at how I did in my business in 2024.  Including:  How much REVENUE we made (and how I’m feeling about it) How I was able to take a whopping 81 paid days off - a completely different measure of success The truth about growth and self-healing -  it’s not all peaceful meditation, in fact it can be incredibly tough emotionally My biggest lessons that I want to sha...

I posted this (kinda salty) Instagram Reel back in May… and boy did people have feelings about it. [Please please please be kind if you're going to comment there!] Everyone says they want more “authenticity” on social media.  But what happens when you show up as your imperfect, un-polished self on social media… and people don’t like it?  This is a SUPER IMPORTANT episode for anyone who wants...

What if calligraphy is your “thing”, but not necessarily the “thing” that your towns all about? Kind of makes it hard to seek out customers, right? Wrong! Whether it’s, “There’s too MUCH competition in my area!”, or “There’s no demand in my area!”, your brain will ALWAYS find ways to cast doubt about being successful. On this episode of The Shinah Show, I’m sharing my best strategies for finding c...

I recently asked on my social media for podcast topic ideas - and wow did you guys deliver! On today's episode of The Shinah Show, I'm sharing one student's struggles with getting her business up and running (and profitable!). She reached out because she is trying to be strategic in her products and offerings to ensure she can actually make money. Does she go for the place cards &am...

**This episode is a replay of episode 48. It has been updated to reflect current course sales & promotions** The demand for calligraphy workshops (and people to teach them!) is alive and well. BUT I’ve heard from SO many of you that you’re itching to host your own workshops- but paralyzed at the laundry list of to do’s that forms even before signing up your first attendee. I want more of you t...

Brand activations (aka “Live Event Calligraphy”) can be a super fun & lucrative job in the calligraphy industry – if you’ve got the skills to deliver the goods! Brands frequently collaborate with calligraphers to personalize their products with everything from pointed pens & brush pens, to glass engraving, at live in-person events. As far as locations? They are only limited by your imagina...

Yep, you read that title right. If you thought the idea & success of Crooked Calligraphy just fell into my lap, you might wanna settle in for an eye-opening episode. In October of 2013, depressed and burnt out, I flat out quit my 6-figure job as a corporate lawyer and went from a completely independent & successful career woman, to living in my best friend’s spare bedroom with NO direction...

“Us small business owners are over here thinking that if we make a mistake, if we have a failure, if something doesn’t go the way we wanted it to… it means something catastrophic about us.” Most businesses statistically fail. So how do the other businesses succeed you ask? Because most of them are products of business owners who have failed previously. In Silicon Valley, failed businesses are cons...

This episode is a small preview of my full, in-depth "Calligraphy Business Made Simple Training" - ​CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT FOR FREE --- Starting a business isn’t necessarily hard because of the knowledge you need to run it. But rather because you need to look inside yourself and find the courage and strength to face the hard things. Let that sink in for a minute. Because that’s just one...

Montine has been my life-coach for 10 years. She leads a magical, creative, laughter-filled, self-love-incuding practice called Intuition Painting .  And she needs your help, because her beautiful studio in Asheville, North Carolina was recently decimated by Hurricane Helene. Montine has had to cancel nearly all of her retreats for the rest of the year. So she asked me to help spread the word abou...

“Even top ranked tennis players win barely more than half the points they play.” - Shinah In today’s episode, I’m going to totally transform the way you think about business “mistakes” and “failures.” ‘Cause way too many of us go into business thinking you’ve gotta be close to perfect. Even Roger Freakin’ Federer, a world-renowned tennis player, barely won HALF his points while playing matches. BU...

"If you only measure business success in dollars... you'll never be satisfied, because you're never acknowledging the things that are actually making your life better." - Shinah I just got back from my honeymoon trip to Paris and had a realization about why my business feels like a slam-dunk SUCCESS to me right now... despite me not reaching my goals in my last course launch. L...

“We’re not satisfied with the quality of your calligraphy, so we won’t be paying you.” Yes, that was actually said to me. And naïve, inexperienced Shinah hadn’t gotten payment upfront – so all my work ended up being for nothing. Sucks, right? I recently shared this experience with my Calligraphy Biz Inner Circle members. Not to teach them about payment standards, but to remind them that client’s o...

“My life is always crazy and I’m running all over the place. I do so much for everyone else but calligraphy is something to call my own….and that is a feeling I didn’t even know I needed.”   Danielle Williams is a BUSY person. She’s a full-time caregiver to her mother who has dementia, and a part-time healthcare worker. She never considered herself a “creative” person… and now she’s bringing in $3...

Watch the video training here -- A concrete six-month PLAN you can follow to go from calligraphy beginner, to starting your own calligraphy business! This is the roadmap I wish I had when I first started, because it tells you 1) The crucial building blocks and priorities to focus on, and 2) What you can ignore (despite "experts" telling you otherwise) If you want the BEST GUIDANCE and ME...

“I’m still afraid to put myself out there because now there are so many more experienced calligraphers than there were back then.” - Shinah Today I’m talking about one of the biggest fears that keeps calligraphers from putting themselves out there – competition . When you’re just starting out, you may think that NO ONE will want to pay you for your calligraphy – but in reality, you are so wrong. N...