I'm Sean Low, and I've been lending practical business advice to those in the business of being creative since the early 2000s, including accomplished notables such as Preston Bailey, Vicente Wolf, Nate Berkus, Sawyer Berson, Style Me Pretty, Marcy Blum, Michelle Rago, and Sylvia Weinstock--to name a few. The key to my own success has been my ability to help artists build their businesses in a way that most honors the art that is behind them. I'll give you straight up, no holds barred advice on handling what happens from deal to done. The journey with your client begins when...
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Sep 29, 2026 · 7:40
So the time has come for me to say goodbye to the podcast. I feel like the thoughts are complete and I am compelled to focus on writing. A few thoughts on what it means for me to…
Sep 22, 2026 · 13:52
When creative business owners stop and think about where they want to go with their art and their creative businesses most start with money, then talk about the effort required…
Sep 15, 2026 · 15:46
We are all obsessed with something. Your obsession is why you are who you are both as an artist and business owner. We can get caught in the moment. The arrogance is to be…
Sep 8, 2026 · 16:40
We are all obsessed with something. Your obsession is why you are who you are both as an artist and business owner. We can get caught in the moment. The arrogance is to be…
Sep 1, 2026 · 12:10
Holiday season is upon us. Maybe rest is in sight and a moment to reflect on what is necessary for you and your business. Start with abundance. Original Episode Number : 138 |…
Aug 25, 2026 · 13:04
We all give lip service to the idea that you are interviewing a potential client as much as they are interviewing you. But are you really? Do you know what you need? Let's talk…
Aug 18, 2026 · 12:42
Design is creation. Easy enough. Now put teeth to it to make it a business. Why does it matter? Which would you rather have: the straw house or the brick house? Original Episode…
Aug 11, 2026 · 15:33
Too often creative businesses devalue themselves and overvalue client relationships. Case in point: giving a discount to repeat clients. It goes against having better clients pay…
Aug 4, 2026 · 10:33
What happens when there is a lull when it seems like everyone else is busy? What does it mean for your creative business and what should you do? Original Episode Number : 99 |…
Jul 28, 2026 · 20:18
We are at an inflection point. The public recognizes the value of design and is willing to pay for it. To what end leverage then? What are you willing to do to earn that value…
Jul 21, 2026 · 12:21
It is fifty degrees one day, ninety the next. On average it is seventy degrees so no need to buy a coat or a swimsuit. You can use information to justify your complacency or you…
Jul 14, 2026 · 16:45
Why does your business exist? To serve you, your clients? Or for you to serve it? My guess is you think the former but act like the latter. No better time to change than today.…
Jul 7, 2026 · 19:14
Fairness matters and if your client is acting poorly, you do not get any brownie points for sucking it up. Only adults in the room please. Original Episode Number : 121 |…
Jun 30, 2026 · 13:00
When you think about it, the statement "I hope…" is almost always about something external happening that may or may not directly affect you, but is certainly in your universe.…
Jun 23, 2026 · 13:33
Creative business is about being vulnerable. Vulnerability is the fuel for trust. The question is where, when and why should you be vulnerable? Original Episode Number : 98 |…
Jun 16, 2026 · 16:59
Knowing what you need to live the life you wish is the key to your success as a creative business. How much do you need and how much do you want to work? If you set your business…
Jun 9, 2026 · 15:50
When you see what it all costs to create, it is very easy to say, why? When the world demands crisis, how can you talk about things that are not in crisis? How do you navigate…
Jun 2, 2026 · 12:39
There is always a better way, better than what I might offer, what you might offer. Who cares? There is no end to better, only the work to get to the very place you will never…
May 26, 2026 · 15:20
Where were you a year ago? What has changed? What will you do with 2023? Are you willing to add a zero? Original Episode Number : 117 | Original Air Date: 12/20/2022 Links &…
May 19, 2026 · 13:50
You thrive on your number of Instagram or TikTok followers. The likes on your posts, how many times you or your work is featured, well, anywhere. But the phone is not ringing.…
May 12, 2026 · 13:40
The difference between those rising and those who know is professionalism. What does it mean to be a professional? Simple. When you know who you are you will no longer need to…
May 5, 2026 · 19:01
I will be taking some time off after this episode (airing August 3rd) and will be back on August 24th. Yep, 21 days. So a 21 Day Challenge is in order. Let's talk about three…
Apr 28, 2026 · 15:58
Knowing where you are, where you are going and, most important, where you would like to go is all about the life of an apple tree. Original Episode Number : 128 | Original Air…
Apr 21, 2026 · 11:35
What do you get paid for and why? What you do not define will be defined by others. Let's talk about the Flux Capacitor. Original Episode Number : 82 | Original Air Date:…
Apr 14, 2026 · 15:14
What was is no longer. What is has to be redefined with history in mind but also ignored. The question is whether you will be willing to share your voice to a new chorus or if…
Apr 7, 2026 · 15:33
Unless you really value the next thing you do, you will be unaware of the margin. When you misprice your margin you will find yourself doing everything you do not want to do.…
Mar 31, 2026 · 7:57
If you are in creative business, your voice matters. Pretending it does not is an illusion. Truth may not be palatable to some and that is okay. They just cannot be your clients.…
Mar 24, 2026 · 17:36
We tell ourselves stories. Our memories are shaped by our own biases. We live in the definition we have given ourselves. Why? For the most part, for your creative business it…
Mar 17, 2026 · 13:45
The essence of humanity is to be seen and heard. It is pervasive in all things and for all endeavors, none more so than for creative business. The reason is that creative…
Mar 10, 2026 · 18:47
We are at a moment in time when your ability to tell your own story is more important than having someone else tell it for you. The real question though is what is the aim?…
Mar 3, 2026 · 14:03
The axiom that the client is always right is not true for creative business. If you let someone's wallet dictate the limits of your power to do what you do, it will be lesson in…
Feb 24, 2026 · 14:54
We all rely on our intuition to drive us forward. Intuition is a function of experience, natural gifts, education and maybe even just age. We use intuition to form opinions on…
Feb 17, 2026 · 14:54
At a certain point change in circumstance demands change in behavior and we need to appreciate what leverage means to all of us. Especially those who have never been here before.…
Feb 10, 2026 · 14:41
Art is impactful to the patron as they find themselves in it. We enjoy art from our own worldview. The ultimate Rorschach Test. Artistry, on the other hand, is a singular…
Feb 3, 2026 · 12:34
Nothing ever goes according to plan. What happens when things happen? How do you handle the turmoil? Let's talk Chinese Finger Traps. Original Episode Number : 104 | Original Air…
Jan 27, 2026 · 12:00
This is not school and your employer is not your parent, teacher or even your friend. Now is the time to invest in yourself and be willing to be wrong before you are right. Let's…
Jan 20, 2026 · 13:09
I am just around the corner. Be there soon. An hour later you ask: Which corner? And what does soon mean? Time is all you have and leaving its definition to negotiation, or…
Jan 13, 2026 · 18:05
The line between personal and creative is blurry at best. You are professional but you are also an artist required to move beyond the technical. Trust is sacrosanct and…
Jan 6, 2026 · 16:26
We have all been trained to think that the customer is always right. For creative business though, they are always wrong. It is a distinction with a VERY big difference. Original…
Dec 30, 2025 · 15:48
Try harder. Pay more attention to detail. Focus. None of these are helpful to creative business employees. It truly is not about you as a person, it is about the system even if…
Dec 23, 2025 · 16:59
To move forward, you need a strong foundation. Something you can return to again and again. Enter the four transitions: Potential to actual client, idea to design, design to…
Dec 16, 2025 · 9:31
The absurdity of what resonates with our culture is never lost on me. I wanted to have a little bit of fun today to illustrate the point that the difference between legacy and a…
Dec 9, 2025 · 21:03
You know how you treat your clients. You know the promises you make and how you intend to keep them. Yet you do not consider yourself a super client. You do not demand the level…
Dec 2, 2025 · 10:38
The key to sustained value, important clients and great work? Proaction. If you do not go first, there will be no story, no spark only reflection. Fluency not brilliance. If it…
Nov 25, 2025 · 15:39
The idea that your clients understand what you do is like most people in the United States appreciating how awesome Virat Kohli is. So let's talk contract. Original Episode…
Nov 18, 2025 · 19:45
All creative businesses are in the information business. You are provided information — what is the project, you provide information and then you act on that information. How you…
Nov 11, 2025 · 15:24
All clients are not the same. You have to do the work to decide who is right for you. It boils down to are they twos or eights? Original Episode Number : 97 | Original Air Date:…
Nov 4, 2025 · 14:38
We are all in it now. The world has reopened (in the U.S. anyway) and the thrush of work is there. More then ever you are called upon to reinvent your creative business. Enter…
Oct 28, 2025 · 16:54
Why are clients choosing you, your art and your creative business? Price? Past work? What does it mean to you and how does it impact how your run your business? It really is a…
Oct 21, 2025 · 14:18
Building your name is not the same thing as making promises and keeping them. Confusing them costs you. The trick is to understand intentionality. Original Episode Number : 134 |…
Oct 14, 2025 · 12:50
Know your client. Are they beginners or enthusiastic amateurs? Meaning are they 1's or 5's? And where will you take them? If you cannot fully understand who you serve, you cannot…
Oct 7, 2025 · 20:28
Know your client. Are they beginners or enthusiastic amateurs? Meaning are they 1's or 5's? And where will you take them? If you cannot fully understand who you serve, you cannot…
Sep 30, 2025 · 16:54
We spend all of our time making sure we are checking all the boxes, doing things as expected and then trying to finish well. We measure efficiency, profitability, sales. What if…
Sep 23, 2025 · 17:24
We should all chart our own course much deeper than simply a strategy to find uncharted territory. Be true to your soul as an artist, where there are no boundaries of possible…
Sep 16, 2025 · 17:16
What does it really mean to only do work for those that care? To really be the best at what you do? To know your range and to stay there? To really know why you are trusted? Most…
Sep 9, 2025 · 19:29
For creative businesses, the value of time is not linear. There is intrinsic value that has nothing to do with physical effort. Ahem, creativity. You are not lawyers or…
Sep 2, 2025 · 14:26
You are hungry, scrappy, do whatever it takes to get your big break. You never want to lose that. It feels arrogant if you do. And yet you know what got you here will not get you…
Aug 26, 2025 · 26:07
Today we are going to talk about the value of the subjective, the emotional component that is critical to the success of every creative business. It is knowing the difference…
Aug 19, 2025 · 15:38
We all grew up and are taught the value of a factory. Efficiency. Low cost. Scale. And you have tried to force your creative business into the paradigm. You measure volume of…
Aug 12, 2025 · 19:53
Most of us grew up learning about business through the eyes of the factory model. We all need factories and their models to live our lives. Creative businesses, on the other…
Aug 5, 2025 · 22:07
Remind yourself why you do what you do. You create joy and you do it with intention. When things go awry it is all too often because the singular purpose has been misformed by…
Jul 29, 2025 · 14:55
Unless you are committed to making it look like yesterday. Evolution requires letting go to embrace what could be. It means knowing when you speak of something new, it has to be…
Jul 22, 2025 · 17:44
Change sucks. It is hard, really hard and the inertia to change is a powerful mistress. The decision to change has to be with intention and an ultimate endeavor to reset your…
Jul 15, 2025 · 19:19
Every creative business takes a journey with and for its clients. The points along the way are its value. No doubt, the goal is inevitable if the journey is profound. In this…
Jul 8, 2025 · 12:30
At the end of the day, you need permission to do what you do as you would do it. The one thing you have to have to create. Let's talk about Sunday dinner. Original Episode Number…
Jul 1, 2025 · 15:24
Since the dawn of the industrial age, if we can measure it, we will. For creative business, those standards are and will always be amorphous. How do you value an idea? Let's talk…
Jun 24, 2025 · 20:13
Just like governments do not run like businesses, so too does creative businesses not look like other businesses. All too often what would be expected in business, is not true…
Jun 17, 2025 · 12:49
Integrity means getting paid to ask better questions and being willing to live with the answers. Sound cryptic? It is not. Listen in for my explanation. Original Episode Number :…
Jun 10, 2025 · 16:15
What does it mean to be proactive? How often do you practice being, well, you? Let's talk brain surgery. Original Episode Number : 49 | Original Air Date: 4/27/2021 Links &…
Jun 3, 2025 · 24:21
Art does not see color or sex; clients do though. As with all things creative, how can the business story compel your art to move beyond bias? To do that though you will need to…
May 27, 2025 · 11:53
If you start a line of reasoning with a presumption, you can only go one way. For most creative businesses, the presumption makes no sense so you can only go the wrong way. The…
May 20, 2025 · 15:19
I define entrepreneurship as being convicted enough to be relentless in having others believe as you do. This permeates everything a creative business is all about. Let's talk…
May 13, 2025 · 18:19
Every creative business has four transitions: Potential Client To Actual Client, Idea To Design, Design To Production, Production To Reveal. As with all one-way valves, if they…
May 6, 2025 · 14:33
A contract is when your business talks. Do you want to shout? Whisper? Or pretend you are not talking? How about you just tell a story? Original Episode Number : 101 | Original…
Apr 29, 2025 · 13:08
The impact your work as a creative business will have and the places you might take it depend on your core and consistency between your business and your artistry. The frog and…
Apr 22, 2025 · 26:09
You would not think an operations management book would be so critical to the success of a creative business. After all creative businesses do not produce widgets. Process is…
Apr 15, 2025 · 17:04
The world is upside down so I better react by screaming louder and compromising more. Except you only want ten clients. How about you become more specific, not less? Original…
Apr 8, 2025 · 14:09
As a creative professional, you see what others do not. It is why you get paid. You try to lead those you seek to serve with a guiding hand. And yet. When those around you refuse…
Apr 1, 2025 · 20:54
We live in a world of validators, franchises and even networks. Duncan Hines, McDonald's and The St. Regis. What if we created a different kind of consortium for creative…
Mar 25, 2025 · 13:10
So you want to start something new or continue going on a new endeavor. How do you go about thinking about whether it makes sense to start and/or keep going? Remember The Perfect…
Mar 18, 2025 · 19:53
All artists want to leverage their creative business. Most use influence and/or product to get where they want to go. They all want to be the next mega brand, the next unicorn.…
Mar 11, 2025 · 23:24
Delivering Happiness shows what it means to change thinking and to solve a different problem. It also shows the power of scarcity, relationship and purpose. Zappo's is the story…
Mar 4, 2025 · 12:01
A slinky stretched out down the stairs is the same toy as the one sitting on the shelf unless you bend or break a rib. So too your creative business. Structure is everything.…
Feb 25, 2025 · 17:41
Creative businesses are busy. Many are seeking new employees as they grow. The question is what do you do when they show up? Teach tasks or show culture. Let's talk Herbie, Think…
Feb 18, 2025 · 17:26
Creative business is all about the irrational, the ephemeral, the desire for other. It is the business of hope and transcendence. How you get from challenge to solution is of…
Feb 11, 2025 · 17:51
Clarity. Nuance. Exposition. Chameleons can do any of these because they are too busy being Chameleons. Let's explore what it means to dig deeper holes. Original Episode Number :…
Feb 4, 2025 · 19:07
The fluency of creative business is ever on order today. Design, Production, Installation/Reveal are the stages every creative business inhabits. The path forward remains with…
Jan 28, 2025 · 23:05
In today's world, we are what we measure. We hear it all the time now — data analysis, big data, consumer preferences, artificial intelligence and computer learning to show us…
Jan 21, 2025 · 15:28
We have all experienced the utter toxicity of an out of control client. What makes for great client management? Easy — Knowing the 4 transitions and living the 3Ws. Original…
Jan 14, 2025 · 16:34
Storytelling requires engagement and imagination. If you lay it all out there you rob me of my ability to dream. Let's talk about fairness, no more no less and being the adult in…
Jan 7, 2025 · 19:33
All creative businesses are actually in the information and communication business far more than they are in the making stuff business. Understanding how communication tools have…
Dec 31, 2024 · 12:35
Most people think about their creative businesses as singular not communities. What a missed opportunity. Let's talk about JazzWire and Shop My Porch. Original Episode Number :…
Dec 24, 2024 · 40:24
Bernadette and I discuss all things DEI and its impact on all business, creative and not. We talk about opportunity and change and the desire to be human. We also talk about…
Dec 17, 2024 · 14:58
To be successful in creative business, you have to get paid for your talent, wisdom and experience. But what does that mean? In fact, what does each of talent, wisdom and…
Dec 10, 2024 · 11:23
If someone asks you which you like better — chocolate or vanilla when you like strawberry, what does your answer really mean? Comprehension requires definition not explanation.…
Dec 3, 2024 · 16:56
Fall is upon us and the instinct is to race ahead. What if you did one thing less? What would you have to charge to do it? Can you choose not to chase the shiny penny. Let's talk…
Nov 26, 2024 · 21:04
Change is painful. It just is. Nobody wants to change, we are compelled to because we hope the future is brighter if we do. For creative businesses, this is about telling a…
Nov 19, 2024 · 13:36
Intentionality and singularity require purpose. It means you have to fish with a spear. Original Episode Number: 122 | Original Air Date: 04/11/2023 Links & Resources: Host: Sean…
Nov 12, 2024 · 15:14
To be effective, you have to communicate well. Translate senses. Explain even better. Let's talk bond math. Original Episode Number: 74 | Original Air Date: 11/9/2021 L inks &…
Nov 5, 2024 · 21:33
We are on the precipice of emergence. We can feel it — the demand for creative business is exploding as people search to express what they have not been able to express for the…
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