Standout Creatives: Business, marketing, and creativity tips for solopreneurs launching their ideas

What if the book you never planned to write became the business you were always meant to build? Cathy Derksen didn’t grow up wanting to be an author. She wasn’t a writer. She’s dyslexic. Books weren’t even on her radar, let alone publishing them. But somewhere between a divorce, a career change, two teenagers, and a quiet voice she couldn’t ignore — she ended up in a book. Then another. Then she s...

What if the secret to creative success isn’t your portfolio... but your people? Melquea Smith is a children’s book illustrator and artist who creates clip art of black and brown kids. Her journey from side-hustling artist to full-time creative is built on one foundational truth: community changes everything. In this conversation, Melquea shares why the lone genius myth is killing creative careers,...

What if your biggest breakdown became your creative breakthrough? Maya Sarin didn’t plan to become a poet. Her journey began in beauty marketing. And she wrote consistently but never quite found her voice. Then illness forced everything to stop. In that stillness, something changed. Poetry emerged from fragments. Healing became creation. And the beginnings of her book were born. In this conversati...

What if the book you were meant to write has been sitting inside you for years and all you just needed someone to help you bring it out? That’s the question underneath everything Anita Henderson does. She calls herself the Author’s Midwife. And the more she explained what that actually means, the more I realized how perfectly it fits. She doesn’t write your book for you. She helps you bring it int...

What if the thing that makes you feel like an outsider is actually your greatest business asset? Danielle Anderson figured that out after 15 years as a paralegal. She didn’t have an English degree. She’d never worked at a big New York publishing house. She wasn’t an agent with industry connections. But she had something else: a way of combining structure with soul that authors desperately needed....

What if the genre you dismissed as too dark was actually the most honest thing you could read? Lee Murray has spent twenty years writing horror from the edge of the world. She’s won five Bram Stoker Awards, a New Zealand Prime Minister Award for Literary Achievement, and a medal from the King. And she’ll be the first to tell you she’s barely making grocery money. That gap between recognition and r...

How does a daughter’s simple wish become a full creative enterprise? Osayi Lasisi didn’t set out to launch a product line. She set out to find a brown plush doll for her daughter. When that search came up empty, her daughter didn’t just get disappointed and move on. She said, let’s make them ourselves. And that’s where everything started. In this conversation, Osayi shares how Pocketlings was born...

What if understanding money was the thing that finally set your creative work free? That’s the quiet truth running through my conversation with Hannah Cole . She’s a tax educator, an artist with over 20 years of experience, and the founder of Sunlight Tax. We talk about why there’s no standard path for creatives, how the story you tell about your worth shapes everything, and why financial literacy...

What if the stories you grew up with weren’t just entertainment… but training? Dr. Bailey Lang didn’t become a book coach and editor by accident. Her path moves from hyperlexic child… to marketing professional… to PhD… to founder of The Writing Desk . And when you zoom out, none of it is random. Every season sharpened how she sees story, structure, mindset, and the humans behind the pages. In this...

What if the book you want to write isn’t waiting for the “perfect time” but for a version of you who’s willing to start messy? Jennifer Locke helps people turn ideas into books. Not someday books. Real books that get written in the middle of family life, busy schedules, self-doubt, and the very normal fear of being seen. In this conversation, Jennifer shares what it really looks like to follow thr...

What if the thing you thought was pulling you away from writing was actually preparing you for it? Andy Hodges didn’t set out to follow a single creative lane. His path winds through anthropology, academia, fiction editing, and now novel writing, all held together by curiosity and a deep respect for story. In this conversation, Andy and I talk about what it really means to balance structure and fr...

What if the thing you’ve been taught to ignore is actually the thing guiding you? In this episode, I talked with Julia Carmen , a curandera, spiritual healer, and founder of the School Without Walls . Julia has spent her life walking between the physical and non-physical worlds. Seeing, sensing, listening. Not as a party trick, but as a way of being. Julia talks about presence, self-worth, grief,...

What if writing the story you’re afraid to tell is the exactly what your readers have been waiting for? Leigh Carron , author of Fat Girl and other body positive romance novels , didn’t set out to follow trends, chase algorithms, or fit neatly into what the publishing world expects. She set out to tell her truth. And in doing so, she’s built stories centered on body diversity, biracial identity, d...

What if the thing you’ve been trying hide is actually the reason people remember you? Rachel Lee is a brand stylist and designer who built her business by doing the opposite of what she thought “serious” creatives were supposed to do. From growing up as an imaginative art kid to hiding parts of herself in traditional design roles, Rachel spent years trying to fit in before realizing that belonging...

What if the story you’ve been holding onto is the one someone else has been waiting to hear? Marc Cordon and I had a great conversation about the upcoming Book Summit . It will be a creative space built for writers, not-yet-writers, and anyone who feels a tug to put their story into the world. If you’ve ever felt like your experiences aren’t “big enough,” or you’re nervous about sharing something...

What if the thing that makes you feel “different” in business is actually the thing that makes you magnetic? In this special conversation, I sit down with Aicila from the Business as Unusual , where we talked about what it’s like to build a business as an introvert. If you’ve ever felt drained by networking, overwhelmed by visibility, or unsure how to show up without feeling fake… this one will fe...

What if growing your business didn’t require grinding harder, but actually slowing down , tending to your nervous system, and building something that feels human and sustainable? Heidi Weiland is a holistic business coach and strategist who went from burned-out freelance web designer to someone helping entrepreneurs blend smart strategy with real self-care. Her work sits at the intersection of ner...

What if finding your creative voice wasn’t about adding more to your plate, but about slowing down, listening inward, and allowing yourself to realign with what feels true? Britta Buchanan is the founder of Aligned and Undefined , where she helps spiritually conscious creatives reconnect with their authentic voice and creative flow. After leaving her career as an elementary school teacher, Britta...

What if the secret to impactful design isn’t talent or aesthetics, but responsibility to your community, the planet, and the people you’re building for? As the co-founder of Reny, a certified B Corp agency, Ben Rennie has built his career around using design as a force for impact. The agency now works with global brands like Patagonia, Google, and Nike. But that wasn’t the starting line. Ben start...

What if standing out means showing up fully and not shouting the loudest? Felicia Iyamu ’s creative journey has taken her from architecture and economics to Google, burnout, and back into the arms of poetry. Along the way, she’s been reflecting, writing, and reimagining what it means to live and work with purpose. Her latest work, Poetry in Eden , explores identity, healing, and the unseen forces...

You ever get that gut feeling to do something wild — the kind that makes zero sense on paper but just feels right? That’s how this Substack Live with Heather Vickery started. Heather’s a Joy Warrior: coach, retreat host, and professional permission-giver for anyone tired of living by other people’s rules. We talked about what it means to lead with joy, why curating your circle matters, and how tru...

I’m switching things up. No more intro or outros. Just straight into the good stuff — the conversations. Because honestly? The production side was slowing me down. And I’ve got too many amazing people to talk to. This new format means: Faster episode releases. More creative stories. Easier to share on YouTube. Over the summer, I’ve been deep in three big projects: Moving to Costa Rica — adjusting...

What if your next event didn’t have to feel overwhelming? What if it could actually be aligned, intentional—and even profitable? Heather Black is here to show you how. She’s the founder of Phoenix Collaborations and has spent 25 years in the event world, helping solopreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits turn events and speaking gigs into meaningful, money-making opportunities. In this episode...

What if your next creative breakthrough doesn't come from doing more, but from doing what truly matters? In this episode, I’m talking directly to you—the creative soul who sometimes wonders Am I on the right path? Or worse, Am I behind? Spoiler alert: you’re exactly where you need to be. We’ll explore what it means to create intentionally, how to stop spinning your wheels, and how to start steerin...

Today is my 40th birthday so I wanted to do something a little different. I started thinking about what I’m grateful for, so I wanted to bring back the idea of my gratitude journal to celebrate. Here are 40 things I’m deeply grateful for, broken down into themes that matter the most to me. Personal Relationships This is where everything starts. My wife, Anita — she’s my favorite person, a creative...