A friend called yesterday to discuss possible ways to approach an opportunity that recently came her way, and one of the resources for information I directed her to was my original Swirly Girl website, which includes a Greeting Card Business FAQ and a Licensing FAQ (click on “Resources” on the site for these.) I haven’t updated the site in a long while, and when I read the tag line for this site ~ Making A Dream Real Since 1995 ~ I was sort of flabbergasted that I’ve managed to pull this off for more than fifteen years.

I thought about giving those resource pages some updates, then thought about creating a monthly newsletter, briefly pondered putting together an e-course, but then decided that all of those ideas involved more work than what needed to be done. I have a great platform right here on this blog, so I hereby declare I have a new category that will get filled with new entries every week: Creative Business Toolbox.

I’ll start by giving a brief overview of my experience as a creative entrepreneur, because my journey hasn’t been altogether linear. I’ve shared, sold, marketed, and licensed a variety of different kinds of work through a variety of different avenues. The one constant: My mission has always been to inspire people. That is the one thread woven through all of the experiences I’ve had, which are outlined ~ in no particular order ~ below.

Here’s what I’ve done:

* Participated in craft shows ~ some outdoor/weekend/holiday type events (think July 4th Art Fairs) and some juried, longer terms co-op type boutiques.

* Built an independent greeting card and stationery business that eventually carried tens of thousands of inventory items, managed more than fifty reps, and shipped up to twenty orders a day. This line was eventually taken over by Recycled Paper Greetings.

* Licensed my work to an array of companies for everything from cards to journals to wall art to an entire line of gifts, furnishings, and other baubles for tween girls. I did this with Swirly and now, to a smaller extent, with my mixed media work.

* Worked with licensing agents ~ who negotiated contracts for me ~ and negotiated many of my own agreements. Which ones were more successful? The ones I negotiated myself.

* Assembled a growing resume for my writing, a pursuit I began in earnest about three years ago.

* Self-published a book.

* Secured a contract for another book with a publisher.

* Contributed to a variety of books written by other authors, and contributed to e-courses by other teachers.

* Taught classes and workshops, organized retreats and gatherings.

* Participated in the National Stationery Show.

* Created a line of greeting cards after Swirly but before I began my mixed media work. How did that line do? It tanked!

* Managed multiple graphic design and website projects ~ many for my own work, some for other clients.

In between all of this I’ve been married twice, moved eleven times, traveled all over the world, and done about five billion loads of laundry. My experience as a creative entrepreneur isn’t so much about a focused, myopic determination to Make It Big as it is about creating my own definition of success and incorporating all areas of my life into that equation ~ home, marriage, family, friends, health, etc.

I don’t share this list to claim that I’m All That or that I have all the answers for whatever questions anyone might have as this category grows (particularly with the wealth of information and resources available at our fingertips these days.) What I can offer here has to do with longevity and experience, and that is why I wanted to start this project with an overview of some of the ways I’ve gotten my work out in the world. I began my work as a professional artist when the world wide web was still a vague idea in most people’s minds, so my name and brand were built slowly (intentionally so), something I now consider to have been a great privilege. These days it is easy to feel like a failure if our “success” isn’t stratospheric. I’m monumentally grateful I was able to grow my business slowly, incrementally, without the additional pressure of things like Twitter updates.

I’ll probably get this party started this week, so stay tuned. There is so much I look forward to sharing, and if there are any specific questions you would like me to address, please let me know in the comments!