Teach your Craft Workshop | Teach & Tell 📆 Tuesday, September 15th

Hello, everyone. Hi, so happy to see you here. Welcome to Teach and Tell. I am so excited about this event. We are going to have so much fun and dive into all things online education. But before we do, I would love for you to say hello in the chat. Tell me where you are joining from. Tell me where you are joining from. Dana is here from Ontario. Hello and welcome. Linda is also here, a friendly neighbor in Canada. So nice that you're here. Says, this is my first workshop. I'm excited to be here from Bend, Oregon. Trig, welcome. And on the page that you're on, you've got replays of all of the other workshop lessons, so you can dive into those. They are available until the end of the day on Thursday. Shannon, hi from British Columbia. Isabel is here from Switzerland. Oh my goodness, Nina from Denmark, Jackie from the Isle of Man, and Karen from Michigan. Wow, we have people from all over. Angela's here from Canterbury, England. Amazing. Jackie says, ooh, names on the wall. So if you are new, um, We have a tradition of naming the people who join these. This is so far the founding class of Artisan Educator right behind me on paint swatches. I've been having so much fun. So if you have joined us for Artisan Educator, your name is represented right behind me, and if you are going to join us, you'll have a spot on the board as well. Okay, my friends, this is the schedule for today. I have 3 incredible course creators that I'm going to introduce you to. We're going to bring them one on at a time live and get to talk a little bit about what they do online, how this has impacted their life, and also what their craft is. Then we're going to shift gears and I'm going to introduce you to the beta team, so a team of students who have come through Art as an Educator before anyone else. So Art as an Educator is a brand new course, and what we did was be really careful about making sure that the content and the lessons were tested from our beta team first, and you get to meet them. I've got some really great questions for them. I'm also gonna invite you to ask them questions as well. Alright, my friends, the first person that I am so thrilled to introduce you to is Miss Alex Kincaid. Alex. I'm gonna let you come on while I introduce you. Alex is a watercolor artist and educator living in Fort Worth, Texas. Hello! Alex's classes have helped tens of thousands of women discover the joy, the beauty, and freedom found in learning how to paint. Driven by the belief that we are all created to create, Alex is passionate about helping others find confidence and joy as they grow as artists. Through her botanical watercolor membership called the Garden Studio, she serves thousands of women who are learning to embrace their creativity through watercolor. Alex, welcome.

Hi, Bonnie, it's great to be here.

I'm so glad to have you. Please, in your own words, just tell us a little bit more about what you do and what you help people do. And if you have— I'm guessing your painting behind you is yours, but if you have something within reach, we also wanna see it.

Okay, great. So my name is Alex Kincaid. I am just getting over a cold, so I sound a little, little congested today. Excuse that. I love watercolor. Watercolor has totally changed my life. It was something that I started doing in my late 20s, so it wasn't something that I had a whole lot of experience with before then. And I discovered teaching a few years after I started painting, and it has just transformed my entire life. And I've been able to teach so many people and make a really positive impact, which is so fun. So I teach botanical watercolors in particular, and I grabbed a few examples. We do a lot of realistic botanicals. So more like this, or like this campanula that we did. And we also do some more relaxed kind of florals, a little bit looser, a little bit, a little bit more fun. And I'm excited to talk all about teaching, Bonnie, because teaching, like I said, it's totally changed my life. And I just enjoy talking about it and encouraging other people to do it. So let me know, let me know your questions.

Alex, your work is stunning. It takes my breath away, and I love what you do so much. What I want to ask you is if you would take us back to before you were teaching online. So tell us what you were doing and what made you even— can you remember what, how you even became interested in? And then, yeah, what was the one thing that made you finally decide to add online education?

Okay, so asking a little bit about the history of it. I started painting. I think I started painting for the same reason a lot of us start our crafts, which is some combination of we want something to do to keep our minds busy and our hands busy, and a little bit of undiagnosed ADHD, probably. And so I started, and I did it for fun, and it was nice for me because I have a very perfectionist tendency to me. It was nice for me when I started because I just did it for fun. It was just the process of it, and I loved it. And so people started asking if they could purchase my paintings or do a commission, and I just loved it. So I dove all in. I started doing art shows. I had no idea what I was doing, you know, the booth fees and setting up and getting your display just right. And I did that for a couple years, and then a friend of mine asked if I would come and teach class. They had like a local produce farm where I was living in upstate New York, and I was like, oh, I don't think I'm a teacher. No, I can paint, but I don't think I can teach. And she was like, okay, it's just gonna be, you know, 8 or 10 people. It'll just be fun. It can be relaxed. And so I said yes, and that was my first time teaching, and I had no training as a teacher. I just decided I would walk in there and go with the very basic things and just talk people through what I had been doing and learning how to do myself. So I actually, I grabbed one of the first things that I taught people, because I think, I think something that holds you back in the beginning, if you're interested in teaching, is thinking that you have to be able to go, you know, to teach something like this right away. And it's not true, right? You're gonna learn what you don't know as you go through the process. And so what I started teaching was very simple. So I grabbed a couple examples. I went into my archives. You know, it was a lot simpler. It was a lot easier to paint. Can you see those?

Okay?

Yes.

Yeah. Yeah. So super fun. Just a few people, and I was carrying around like I didn't know anything. I was carrying around this huge watercolor palette, and I was walking around the room, and I think I stuck my paintbrush into somebody's like drink along the way. You know, I was nervous, but it was so fun, because even in that first class we had like 8 or 10 people. And you could see right away that— and I think everybody here will agree— that it's not always the end product. That's not the reason why we always create. It's the process of it and the joy you find in it and the peace and just the fun of making the thing. And so without being an expert, you can have all these students in front of you who are getting to have that peace in them and that calmness and that fun. So that was really fun for me. And then I kept teaching and teaching, and it was great. It was becoming a full-time thing, and then it was March 2020. And so the thing that really propelled me to move online was COVID, because nobody could come to classes anymore. And it was scary to move online because you're going from teaching in person, and you can talk to people in person, you can kind of fill in any little awkward silences, and then you go online and you have to know how to set up your camera, have technology. And it's all so much easier than we make it out to be. And I was thinking through, you know, you asked ahead of time, like, what would you tell somebody who's considering teaching online? And it's to start simple. So it doesn't have to be difficult. You don't have to teach a whole master class of everything that, you know, you can start with just something very simple. You don't need a lot of technology. I started with a little clamp that held my phone above the project. You can start simple. You can be yourself, and it's okay not to know everything. You're gonna learn as you go. So I started teaching, and I actually, I went before we started here, and I found a blog I wrote after my first Facebook Live, which was in the summer of 2020. And it said, I'm so excited, I just did my first live on Facebook. And the goals of this were to, to get used to being online in front of a camera, to talk about watercolor supplies, and for all of us to just paint something together. And so it was super simple. We were just painting little watercolor circles and just talking through that process together. And that's where it started. And so, you know, year over year, lesson over lesson, I've learned more. I've become a better painter. I've become a better teacher, and it's been so fun to impact so many people.

Alex, was there anything that like almost kept you from coming online? Was there anything that you found especially difficult to kind of get over the—

Yeah, you know, I think when we were talking about watercolor, it's a, it's a there's a lot of watercolor teachers out there, and I think, I think I struggled with— I'm not the best watercolor artist to ever exist, you know, like that imposter syndrome kind of sneaks in there of, do I know enough? Can I teach it well enough? And the truth is that we all know something that other people would like to learn. I think also that when you go into the world of teaching, it motivates you to become even better at your craft. And so I can paint things now better and with more expertise than I could, you know, 3 years ago or 6 years ago or 10 years ago. And part of that is because of teaching and answering questions and, you know, figuring it out as you go. And another thing that held me back was, you know, wondering, like, do I have the right personality? You know, do I have what it takes? And I decided early on to just show up and be myself because I'm the only one of me that there is. And so there's going to be people who are attracted to your personality or your style of your craft, or the way that you explain techniques, which is different than everybody else. And so I might not be the watercolor teacher for everybody, but I am the watercolor teacher for a certain group of people. And so I think for me it was just saying yes and getting started. And one thing that really helped me, I always ask myself a couple of questions when things scare me in life. So not just saying yes to teaching or starting teaching online, I, I always say, Other people have done it, so why not me, right? Why not me? I can do it. If other people can figure it out, I can figure it out. And then I always go through the process of what is the worst that can happen, right? And so what's the worst that's gonna happen when you show up to teach a class? Even the very worst thing isn't that bad. You might dip your paintbrush in, you know, one of your participants' drinks like I did. But then what's the best that can happen, right? And so it's kind of just walking yourself through those questions like, Why not you? If other people can figure it out, you can figure it out. You are different from other people, and so you're going to attract a certain crowd. You don't need to be the perfect teacher for every person in the world. Just gonna be the perfect person for the group that you teach with your technique and your style. And that's a piece of good advice, honestly, is not to try and copy other teachers, how they teach, or their personality, or their projects, but to focus on you. And to just show up and be yourself. And you know, you're like a magnet then. So some people are gonna be attracted to you and other people aren't, and you're gonna find your group of people. So I mean, we're never gonna end up with nobody who wants to learn how to paint, or nobody who wants to learn how to do arts and crafts. We have a never-ending source of people who are excited to learn and excited to make. And I think now more than ever, as everybody is kind of tired of AI and things all looking the same, more and more people are going to wanna make something with their hands.

Okay, so I wanna drill into something that you said. Rachel in the chat says, so helpful. I'm a watercolorist, and thinking about how many watercolor artists online has been a huge deterrent for me to start. But also overwhelmingly, I've been holding conversation with so many people over the last 4 days, and overwhelmingly it's some version of the same thing. But I'm not the leading expert in my industry. So What business do I have teaching? I would love for you to speak to that because it's something that I think a lot of people are feeling.

Yeah.

So I think, I think there's no visual quite like this one, right? Like, we started out here. Now we're here. You don't have to be the leading expert. You're gonna have things that are specific to you. You're going to have a way to describe techniques that's specific to you. You'll have an audience that's specific to you. Now, I think it's important to find the thing that kind of is your narrow focus. And so for me, it's clearly watercolor flowers and botanicals. And so for you, it might be quick and easy projects. It might be landscapes. It might be pet portraits. You know, there's so many different things that you could do even within the world of watercolor, and you're gonna find your own style and not copy other people's style, but figure out what yours is, and then give that gift to other people. So that they can learn it for themselves. And I think that I was kind of contemplating, you know, as I was getting ready for this, like, what do we need to be good at to show up online and to teach? So to me, it seems like we have to be good at 3 things. We have to be really good at our craft. We have to be good at teaching, and we have to be good at business. And so probably some people are like, ah, I'm not good at all 3 of those things. And that's fine, because none of us start out being good at all of those things. You've already done the hard thing by learning the craft. That's the thing that is gonna set you apart from so many people. And you can learn how to be good at teaching, and you can learn how to be good at business. And it's easy when you have like a structured course to walk through as well to help you learn. And so I think that you don't have to be the world's leading expert, you know. You can be the world's leading expert in being you, in creating like you create, and then other people are gonna be interested in learning how to do that too.

Alex, that was amazing. Um, okay, one very specific question for you is that I know that you are an introvert, and I think that many of our introvert listeners are thinking, no way can I teach, can I do this, can I teach online? And I actually think maybe the opposite is true. I love how you talk about this. So talk to my introverts for just a second about what the gift is of teaching online?

Well, my introvert friends, being an introvert doesn't mean that we don't like people, right? It doesn't mean that we don't like connecting with people. We actually crave some deep connections. For me, making the switch from teaching in person to teaching online really showed the difference, because when you're in person, and both are great, but when you're in person, you show up, and so you're setting your things up and people are talking to you. You have that small talk, you're talking the whole time. Class is over and you have to, you know, get the people out the door. It's time to go and pack up, and it takes quite a lot of energy, I think, when you're an introvert. The thing I love about teaching online, and I'll just be really, really honest with you, is that I can control my entire environment now. So I get to decide when I do a class. I am not a morning person, so I always teach in the afternoon. I get to decide the temperature of my house where my office is, and when class is over. There's no small talk. I can just turn off my Zoom call and go into the living room and have a cup of coffee or read a book or listen to some music while I get the upload ready to replay. So for me, it's actually been a lot more, a lot more fun and a lot more enjoyable as an introvert because you don't have those moments of friction where you're like, oh, what awkward conversation do I need to have right now? You're going to talk about your craft. Over time, you're gonna learn how to read a chat, you know, while people are, are learning from you. You'll come up with things, you know, to narrate as you're going, and you're gonna learn as you do it. I think, I think it's true for all of us that we probably would like to know exactly what's gonna happen, to have everything exactly laid out for us. But we're gonna learn as we go. For the people here who are, you know, artists and craftsmen, How often does the thing we make look exactly the same at the end as we planned for? I mean, for me, it almost never, you know, there's little creative choices along the way. And so that's going to happen when you're teaching and when you're doing things online as well, but it's worth it and it's so fun. And so as an introvert, I would much rather teach online than in person 9 times out of 10.

All right, any last words of advice for someone who is interested, is thinking about teaching online?

I think just start simple. I think that's the best advice I can give is you don't need to have a, you know, 100-point plan ready. You can start simple. And I think it's important to know that the audience of people who want to learn how to do something, most of them are probably going to fall onto the beginner end of that spectrum. And so, you know, even if you don't feel like you're the expert Or you don't have a, you know, an 8-month course mapped out. You can start very simply with people to just walk them through the basics. And I would love to say that my favorite thing about teaching has just been I have seen the effect of creativity in thousands of people at this point, and it is the thing that lights me up and just motivates me to keep going and keep learning and keep teaching. When you start to see the joy that you can bring into other people's lives by helping them create and helping them to use your hands and to get through hard times by creating and giving them these healthy coping mechanisms, overcoming perfectionism. It is truly incredible and it's so fun. And to be able to do that online means that you can do that at scale to, you know, an endless amount of people, you know, to whatever you, whatever you want to reach. So go for it. Don't be afraid. You don't have to know everything and keep it simple.

I love that. Alex, thank you so much. We're dropping Alex's links in the chat so you can go give her some love. Go dive into her world. Alex, thank you so much for being here.

Thanks, Bonnie. It was great to be here. Bye-bye, everybody.

Oh my goodness, Alex is incredible. Alright, the next person that I have to introduce you to is Miss Bale Ansari. Bale, I'll let you come on as I introduce you. Bale is the creator behind Just One More Project and the Laser Craft Fest. She is a laser educator and SVG file designer who helps laser crafters bring their creative ideas to life. A self-taught tech nerd, Bale loves geeking out in Adobe Illustrator, experimenting with new creative tools, and finding easier ways to create with a laser cutting machine. She's a girl mama, runs on coffee, and is all about simplifying the path of idea to creation. Now I need you to translate that for all of the people in the audience who have no idea what I just said.

Oh my gosh, you were saying I was an SVG file designer, and when I first started, Bonnie, I didn't even know what an SVG was. I was just like, I'll just teach people what to do. But yeah, so thank you for that introduction. So yes, my name is Bale. I teach people how to use laser cutting machines. If you've never heard of a laser, but you've heard of like a vinyl cutter, lasers do similar things, but with a beam of light. And so you can cut wood, acrylic, cardstock, anything cool, and make really cool things with it. So I teach people how to do that and kind of bring like the tech side of it into the fun side of it, because there's a lot of fun, but it's not fun if you don't get the tech.

Show us, show us an example.

Okay, so this is something that you could probably do with a laser. So you can see that this is cut out with wood. This felt is also cut out with— these flowers are cut out with felt, and so they're designed in Illustrator, and then they, they're put together. Here's another one. It's just a laser can cut something like this. Can y'all see that?

Yep.

So it's got like, these are— this is acrylic, this is wood, and like, it's quite thick. And lasers can do all kinds of very interesting things. I dropped a leaf that was not glued well there. But there you go. So there's all kinds of fun things that you can do with a laser, and You have all these wonderful ideas when you first get one, but then I see a lot of people that get them and that are like, gosh, this is so hard. I can't do what I want to do. And so that's kind of where everything started.

I feel like once you wrap your mind around what's possible with a laser machine, it's just like, you know, everything is possible.

Oh, yeah. Yes.

So I want you to take us back to before you were teaching online. Tell us what you were doing and take us to the moment that you made the decision to take some of the education online.

So I actually went to school to be a social worker. I am doing nothing of that sort at the moment, but I, like many of you probably, you know, when I had kids, decided, hmm, I cannot do this anymore. I was working really long hours as a social worker, and it was just something that I was not able to keep up with. And so I decided to stay home with my kids. And as a creative person at heart, I had this like itch and I was like, I'm so bored. I can't take care of this child all day long. And that's kind of where that started. So I started making handcrafted bows and then slowly kind of went to— I got served an ad for a laser cutting machine and I told my husband, I was like, I think we should buy this. And he was like, you are kidding me, this is $7,000. And I convinced him and we did. And I slowly started designing files, um, for laser cutting machines, just kind of things that I wanted to make for my kids and things like that. And I felt like I was contributing to our home, you know. I was designing files, I was listing them on Etsy, I was making a little bit here and there. And I was like, yay, I'm still sitting at home feeding this baby and there's, there's money coming in that's just a little, but it's good. Um, and then it kind of started where, um, people on Etsy and people like in my audience would just be like, how did you make that? Like, I don't want to buy that, but I just want to know how you actually made that because I have a machine too and I want to make it. And so I started getting more and more of those kinds of questions. Um, and that was that. It just sort of turned into my world now.

Okay, so was it like the easiest thing you ever did, just like pop it on the internet?

Oh my God, I will say that I didn't even know that teaching online was a thing. I didn't even know I was actually about to enter this world of teaching online. I just thought, why don't I put all this together and see who wants to buy it? And like, in my mind, I didn't know I was entering online education. I didn't know I was doing anything. I was like, I'm just taking the next step forward and Um, it was really fun, you know, and I kind of feel like I, coming from the social work background, not like a techie person, not someone who's a graphic designer, was learning in my own way to understand these tools and these, these like, um, softwares and things. And like, the everyday mom could probably learn this too if it was explained to them the right way, you know, in a way that just sort of made sense. Instead of a way that doesn't make sense. And so that was kind of where my life sort of turned. It was like, I think there's an easier way to explain this to people. And so then I just started recording myself doing it, and that was, that was the story there.

Okay, Bale, I think you've told me as a social worker you were making 20s.

Oh my gosh, $26,000 a year.

$26,000 a year.

So that was awesome back, like, back then. That was like, oh my goodness, way to go, you know.

But so somehow in there you convince your husband to get the $7,000 machine. Tell me, just fast forward us. Tell me what teaching online has made possible for you, but also like for your family.

Yeah, absolutely. So like I said, I had quit my job. I wasn't really bringing in any kind of Real income to pay our mortgage, to pay any of our bills. It was just a little bit here and there. And so when I put this course together for the very first time, I launched it, and I think I must have made twenty or thirty thousand dollars just that one time. And I, for me, that was incredible. But personally, it was the very first time that my husband had been like, oh. She can actually make some real money while we're at home here. You know, like it was it was just really validating for me to know that I was capable of that. I didn't go to school for this. It was just something that I learned on my own, and it was a really good it was really good for me. It gave me confidence. Obviously, as a new mom, I was you know all over the place, and I'm sure so many people can relate to that. But it really gave me confidence in like. People actually want to hear what— hear what I'm trying to teach here and what I— what I've done. And so, yeah, it definitely changed. Everything has just been so good since then.

Do you want to fast forward us to how long ago was that very first launch and what does it look like today?

Let's see. So I have only had my laser about 6 years maybe. And so I probably launched that course about 4 years ago, I think. And, um, since then I have kind of expanded my online business. I didn't even think I had an online business until that. Um, I now have a membership where I teach folks how to design with their lasers every single month. Um, we have an online event that we host once a year, and it's brought in like thousands and thousands of people and It's really making a difference and teaching people how to use these really big clunky machines to make really cool things for their families, for, you know, their livelihoods. Like, I've seen people grab a laser and make things that they can sell and actually do the same thing that I'm doing and, you know, be able to bring something to their family also. So, um, it's, it's been incredible and really rewarding to see all the Um, ways that it's, that it's affecting others.

So yeah. Talk to me about the questions you started getting, because I think that this is probably the, the best place to start looking for ideas on what you do teach is what questions you often get from the people who, uh, interact with you already. Or maybe you teach in-person workshops, or maybe you sell something and someone is like, how do you do this specific thing? So How did you kind of identify the underlying questions that kept coming up and translate them into an online course?

So I kept getting questions on Etsy, on Instagram, things of, of the sort of like, hey, I've designed something in this program, but I don't know how to tell my laser to read it or my laser to, to do what I want it to do. I just don't understand. And I knew that there was like a few things that I had kept doing with, you know, I've designed a flower, I've designed, you know, an animal, and like there's a couple of things that you need to do to that file to just make sure that your laser knows what the heck to do with it when you put it in there. And so I think that when there's something that you do over and over and over again that is just something that you've kind of like developed on your own, kind of like a checklist, I think, like if there's something that just you do over and over again in whatever craft you do, that's probably something that someone wants to learn about. And so for me, it was getting a file that has been designed on Illustrator prepped and ready for a laser to read correctly. And I kind of had my own little mental checklist of, oop, did I do this?

Yes.

Did I do this? Yes. And that is something that I started kind of putting together, naming it. Like, I think once you name something where you're like, this is the method that I'm gonna call it, and I mean, it does— it doesn't have to be anything real. It could just be the laser designing method. It could be anything. And once you name it, it really does make it real, that it's like, yes, this is something that someone else does and they have consistently found results with this. And so I, I just think that once you get the same kinds of questions over and over again, it's just so easy to kind of pile it all together and Hand it over. Love it.

Okay, Bale, go maybe envision your earlier self. You're doing this thing, not sure about teaching online, or think about someone who is just kind of wondering if this is the right next step for them. What advice would you give them?

I would say just do it. There is something in you that is— that, that you do better than so many other people, and There's other people that are admiring it and that want to learn how to do it. We are all creatives, and we all have probably some pretty awesome skills. And there's so many people that just want to learn how to do the thing. And if you're, if you're able to put that together in an easy way and explain it in an easy way, Gosh, people are gonna listen and they're gonna buy it, and it's gonna speed up their time to make the cool things. So yeah, just do it and just like, don't hold your breath.

Go.

It could change a lot of things for you because it definitely has for me. Um, my life is so different now. Um, I have a middle schooler, I have an elementary school kid, and I, I'm able to contribute to our family in a way that I would have never imagined. And I also can stop everything in the middle of the day and go have lunch with my kids if I want to, because I have that flexibility now. And I've like given myself that flexibility by taking that chance way, way long ago. So, um, just do it.

That's all. Thank you so much for being here. We're huge fans.

You're welcome.

We are popping Bail's links into the chat so you can go check her out. Bail, thank you so much. All right, we've got one more incredible course creator you're going to fall in love with, and, uh, then we are going to switch gears and I'm going to introduce you to our beta team testers. But first, the one and only Diane Hill. Diane is a London-based artist known for her bright, beautiful paintings inspired by the 18th century art of chinoiserie. Using her unique method of painting on silk, Diane brings this intricate historic style to life with a fresh, modern perspective and meticulous eye for color and detail. Diane.

Hi, thank you for having me.

I will never forget, um, I mean, it was about a year ago. First of all, I was learning how to say chinoiserie. Second of all, uh, you and I were talking and you were like, this thing is happening, it's crazy, um, telling me all about your online education. So I'm so excited to get into it, Diane. First, just tell us a little bit more about what you teach and who you teach it to and show us some of it.

So I teach a really niche art called chinoiserie, which, yes, half the people that I teach or introduce it to don't actually know how to pronounce it. I didn't know how to pronounce it. It's very, very niche. I have kind of been doing this for like most of my life. It is a beautiful art form of Um, inspired by 18th century antique wallpapers. So that's— it's a big wallpaper. Um, there's like beautiful birds and flowers and trees, and it's very kind of like whimsical. But yes, it's inspired by an 18th century art form. Um, and I've basically been doing this, um, from straight from university. So I went to uni and I found this art, and then I actually went to work for a company in London. There's hardly any companies in the world that make this in the traditional way, so it's like very hand-painted on silks and all these beautiful, um, papers. If you really love it, then also look at Gracie Wallpaper, who are amazing. Um, so I went to uni, um, got a job was working for like 7 years creating these wallpapers. It was like a total dream job. I was very, very lucky to get it. Well, I say lucky, I did hound the company until they hired me. Um, and they sent me to China to learn this in the traditional way with 2 brushes. So 2 Chinese brushes that kind of swap— one's got paint, one's got water. It's very soothing to look at when you're watching it. It's just like— really mesmerizing. Um, so I got really good at it, and then I started putting it on Instagram. Um, and people will be looking at it like, what's she doing? What are you painting on? What are those brushes? What's that surface? Because I paint on silk paper. Um, and then I started selling art prints. So I sold art prints and got to the point where I was like pretty much like a 6-figure business, like just into the 6 figures. And I was like, this amazing. Oh my gosh, selling art. Um, and yeah, people would be asking all the questions, so I started cutting up the silk paper that I was working on and sort of slowly selling it to these artists and kind of like introducing them to the brushes. Um, and yeah, I just went really slowly with the whole teaching thing because I didn't plan to be a teacher. I was just an artist. And so when I say slowly, I mean really, really slowly. I'm so cautious with everything. But now, like, the impact that I have on the world is like way greater than the impact that selling my art had. So I am now— I can't believe it, but I'm teaching like thousands of students and they tell me things about how completely life-changing it is for them and what it does to them. Like, they've worked through grief. And just any, anything really that they need to, you know, work through. It's like, it's just helping them on like that kind of mental level as well. As some of my students have started businesses and stuff just like me, painting bespoke designs for people. But I just feel like the impact is far greater and that I probably couldn't go back to doing. I mean, like, I have to say, I still sell my art, so I'm still successfully selling my art online. I wouldn't get rid of it. I still do bespoke work, so I have wallpaper collaborations, I've got fashion collaborations, all these cool collaborations, and selling my art. But this really is the thing that has changed my life and more lives around the world, for sure. So yeah, I think that's my story.

It just kind of magnifies what it is you're doing, magnifies it for you, magnifies it for the world. The impact is so incredible. Diane, I wanna hear you tell us about like the moment that you decided to start teaching online, and how did you kind of make that leap? Tell me about that.

Yeah, so I would say I started with an ebook, a small ebook. So I was like, right, these people, they want my brushes, they want my silk, and now they want to learn how to do the techniques that I'm doing. Um, so I was like, right, well, I'm not gonna go and make a whole course because I don't— I do not know if I can be a teacher. Like, I was adamant that I wasn't a teacher, and I think most people would be. They're like, well, I'm not trained to be a teacher, why would anyone listen to me? So that's why I started with this ebook. It was like 30 pages. I just did a bit PDF in Canva and the audience that I built up on Instagram, I was like, I just like, I didn't do ads or anything like that. So I had like a really small email list and I was like, here's an ebook, How to Paint Chinoiserie Art, buy it. And it was like $25 or something like that. And like, I think I got like 700 sales. This is organically. So I was like, oh my gosh, this is crazy. These people want this. Um, and then I was just like, right, okay, let me get a camera and let me just start learning this thing. And I just filmed my whole course myself. I didn't bring anyone else in. I didn't have ads, didn't have, you know, any of the fancy stuff. I did it to my list of the 5,000 people that had been waiting, and that was it. It was all just totally done by myself. Someone who, I'm telling you, I know nothing about cameras. I know nothing about video editing. I edited every video myself, and it's the course that I still sell today and is literally changing lives. Like, I haven't refilmed or anything because there's no need to. I'm like, I obviously got it done in the first round. Like, that's pretty cool.

Okay, tell us what this— tell us what this course has done for you. Tell, tell me what— how it's changed your life.

My life, well, it's changed my life pretty drastically. So I was doing all right with my art prints, but the, the level of like revenue, I mean, it's shocking to me still. And sometimes I'm like, is this legal to like make this much money doing this thing? And I'm looking at these numbers, I'm like, this can't be real. So I wrote down a list of little life-changing things. So first of all, I can do whatever I want whenever I want. I don't work very much, so I go to the gym every morning. I don't work till about 12, 12 o'clock midday. I pick up my kids, take them to all their classes, take off the whole of December. I took off most of the summer, and then I'm just like, some days I'm just like out with friends doing whatever. So I do whatever I want whenever I want. And like Alex said, I plan my videos and stuff for when I want to do them. Um, I have a cleaner twice a week, which is just like bougie. I mean, I'm like, oh, it's embarrassing, but I'm like, I have this cleaner twice a week. It's like just— it feels like luxury. I go on long-haul holidays with my family. I never ever went on long-haul holidays. I didn't go on holidays, full stop. So we're going long-haul. We did that the first time recently, so we've done 2, 2 now, long-haul holidays. I'm like, that's cool. Um, no money worries. And I've been at the other end of that. So that's really cool. I do things like buy my friends really good presents, and like, I can pay the bill at restaurants and all these little things. I'm just like, this is so nice. And spending money on my health and things, you know, like, if I've got a problem with my hormones, I'm gonna go and get it seen by a specialist. Little things like that. So yeah, for me personally, it's been very life-changing.

You know, those things are so life-changing when I know you and I have both been at the other end of things where it was really tight and every day was spent kind of checking to make sure we were going to be okay. And then it's like, what is life? What is life?

Yeah.

Um, yeah, thank you for sharing that, Diane. Um, I want you to talk to the people who are feeling like what I do is way too niche. No way it would ever possibly be successful. You teaching chinoiserie that no one's ever heard of.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I'm a prime example of that. I mean, this is seriously, seriously niche. And I did, I did worry to the point where I wasn't even gonna use the word chinoiserie. I remember saying to you guys, like in the mastermind, I was like, I can't use this word. No one knows it. This is gonna be awful. Like the only reason I thought it sold to those original people was because they were following me and I built up a relationship. But now it's like, no, it's, it's that it's introducing them to something new. Yes, they don't know how to pronounce it, but they've been introduced to it and they get addicted. So like, for me, it's worked so well. I think the more niche, the better, actually. Um, so anyone who's worrying about that, I like— I think you should get— if you have something like watercolor or whatever, get even more niche, like watercolor for XYZ, or just something super, super niche. And I think that it'll actually work in your favor. It's really, really worked for me. Um, and yeah, like, I'm— I am able to be the one that's introducing this to people and, and making their lives so much better. And like, they are like— I love how my students talk about their addiction to shimoazuri now. They're churning out work and they're going and doing all the background research. And in my community, it just looks amazing because they're just like enjoying this thing Together, and you can be the one that gives that to those people. So niche is good.

Diane, what advice would you give someone who is feeling like maybe how you felt, like, I'm not a teacher, I didn't set out to be a teacher, I'm successful with my art, or whatever their craft is, but they're considering teaching online? What would you tell them?

Well, I would just say to do it like me and just dip your toes in the water, really. I think personally that's the best thing to do rather than like building a massive big course, um, like without, you know, validating it, like getting that research and stuff. So, uh, I just— I mean, I've always been like slow and steady with everything, and, and that's, that's really worked out. So like maybe try an ebook like, like me, try an ebook, try a small course Teach a portion of your course, teach a portion of your skills. So I still am not teaching all chinoiserie. I have— the only course I have is a foundation course. So it's just the foundations. You're just painting a flower, some leaves, a branch, and a butterfly. It's like very, very simple. There is a whole world more of this, and I am actually taking Bonnie's course. To design my signature course, which I can't wait for. But yeah, so I still, with all this success, I'm only teaching a tiny little portion of my skill. So you can just dip your toes in, go slowly.

Diane, thank you so much for being here. Give all the love to Diane. We're gonna put your links in the chat as well. Love you.

Talk to you soon.

Thank you.

Bye.

Okay, my friends, that was 3 incredible course creators, really, who I think I can speak for all 3 of them that never really set out to be an online educator, to have an online course. But one thing led to the next, and their lives have been transformed because of it. The next group of people that I am so excited to introduce you to is our Beta team. So Beta, I'm gonna let you come on the camera. We're gonna introduce you. Because Art as an Educator is a brand new course, I wanted to make sure that we had people who could come experience the course as we were building it, and also give me an opportunity to— give me an opportunity to improve it and clarify as we go. So the beta team, this is a handful of them. Um, let me talk to my team for a second. My team, Aubrey's video might be turned off because of me, so you might have to turn it back on. So this is a handful of them. They have been through modules 4, so 5 and 6 are coming up next. Beta team, they've been through 4 of the 6 modules, and I'm giving them complete permission to be honest and transparent with you all today. The way that we have done this is that they go module by module, and then we get formal feedback, and then we meet once a week and just dive into like, how was it for them? What questions did they have, etc., etc.? So before we get to it, let me introduce everybody. Jennifer, wave your hand. Miss Jennifer Long is a fabric and pattern designer for Riley Blake Designs. Jennifer is an author, a sewing educator, and founder of Sew a Story. A former professional ballet dancer and early years educator, Jennifer combines her love of storytelling, doll making, quilting, and sewing to create meaningful projects designed to inspire creativity and imaginative play. Will you show us one of your dolls, Jennifer?

So cute.

Okay, next up is Susan. Susan, wave your hand. Susan Yeats is a sketching teacher, author, and founder of Inspire, her online sketching membership. With 20 years of in-person teaching behind her, she now teaches thousands of students worldwide to build a sustainable sketching practice rooted in creative wellness. Susan, do you have something to show us? Amazing.

Yes, here we are.

Sketchbooks. Helps if I unmute. So yeah, all different types of sketching, from mushrooms to landscapes to studying other artists to fine liner pen, all the sketching, all the printmaking, anything on paper.

I'm your gal.

Susan, also tell me, like, just list off the crafts that you have taught online and in person.

Online and offline, I've taught sewing, patchwork and quilting, yoga. Clay, pottery, painting, painting, soft pastels, drawing, sketching, printmaking, and also, yeah, all the, all the crafts.

All the crafts.

All the crafts.

Yeah.

Amazing. Aubrey Balmer. Wave, Aubrey. Aubrey is a nurse practitioner and functional medicine specialist turned faith-based health coach. Her dream is to take the dietary protocols and coaching systems that have helped thousands of people each year and make them available to even more women. Aubrey, do you have anything to show us other than how healthy you are?

I have muscles. I have muscles and good skin. Like, that's what you get right now, everyone.

Um, you get like a green smoothie.

Yes, in my office. Yeah.

And then we have Amy Bakrar. Amy, wave. Amy is a surface designer, an illustrator, an online community support expert for creative educators. Her craft is designing artwork for wallpaper, fabric, and stationery using medium like watercolor paints, ink pens, and digital art. Through surface design, she found her passion for supporting online educators and helping their students grow, and she's honored to be a part of our support team here for Art as an Educator. So it was really important to me to bring together a wide range of people for the beta team. So we have some long— we have, we have some online educators and in-person educators with a long history of education. We have some people who are looking to teach online, to take their craft that they've kind of been successful at in, in person to an online situation. And then, of course, some of our testers to support Artisan Educator as well. So my friends, I'm going to ask you some questions. We'll just pretend like it's Friday. Pretend like it's a beta review. It's just a little bit bigger than that. My first question—

hold on, I can't find this one.

My first question is, when you began beta testing for Artisan Educator, What were you hoping it would— why did you raise your hand for this? What were you hoping that it would help you kind of figure out? Do you want me to call on you, Jennifer?

I was so excited. I actually like jumped up and down basically when you announced that you were doing it because I have just felt like there's been such a gap and a need for bringing all of this information together, but for artists specifically. So for someone to take it to a craft and be able to teach it all the way, just like Diane was saying, from something small and just a portion of it all the way into a big, a big course and really speak the language of artisans. And, and also there is so much power in having artists of all types of fields and care together, learning alongside each other, because there isn't this feeling of like competition. There is really a feeling of rising up together, and it's so powerful to be in a community of other artisans that are all trying to do the same thing. So I'm just so excited about it.

Susan?

Yeah, I want to second Jennifer as well, and I think I was uber excited when I knew you were doing this because I think I've been Following you and watching you for years, and I think I have seen you grow personally from being a complete one-woman show. I did immersion way back when, probably in one of your first rounds, and I've just seen your business scale and the way that you teach, the way that you run the business is highly admirable. And then coming into the space that I absolutely love, which is teaching, I was like, oh my goodness, there is literally no one better placed. I did the hands thing. I wave a lot. I'm very expressive.

Me too.

I've also taught dance as well, so I just, I was just very excited about it because I knew it would be comprehensive, having seen Surface, your Surface Pattern Design Immersion, having seen and experienced that previously. And I think also just kind of validating that we can, as artists, artisans, craftspeople, charge for our knowledge as well as our artwork. And I think that's really important because, um, there was, I think, a bit of a blip in the market during COVID and a lot of people offering lots of free stuff. But actually, I think education is really valuable. I really believe in— I love learning. And I think also we should be paid for our education too. And it is a real business. Um, I think I've sat for years with the, oh, I just, I just play with pencils, it's not a real business. this. And I'm like, you know what, it really is, and it can be powerful for both the student as well as the teacher for so many reasons. And I think, yeah, the reason I wanted to be part of this is to be part of a community that believe in education, that believe in the beauty of art, craft, and teaching it. And also just personally to upgrade my tech, to have the confidence to charge more, because I'm always a bit like, oh, just have it for free, or like, yeah, don't worry about it, I just love this. And there's nothing wrong with charging for something that you really enjoy and are passionate about. So I have absolutely loved my experience so far.

Yeah, I love that. Um, my next question, I'm thinking—

well, you want—

you both want to go? Go for it, Amy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, I actually want to speak from it from a little bit of a different angle. Susan, well, kind of jumping off of both of you, I have also been following Bonnie for many years. Um, I still remember her very nervous on her first calls and all of that. So seeing your business grow and to what it is now and following you for years, being on your team for a few years, it really is so admirable, like what you have built. But more than that, I've had the honor of working with other creative educators. But the biggest thing for me is the impact that I see the students have, but also the impact that it has on the educators, the way they grow from being like a beginning educator to like really their community grows. They're seeing all these stories pouring in and it changes you. It changes you as a person, as an educator. to know that it's because of what you're teaching and it's impacting lives in ways that you will not even ever understand. And one of the things, Bonnie, you said in one of our trainings earlier on was you're gonna have this ripple effect that you will probably never know about, but there will be people that share these stories. And honestly, it made— like, when I was listening to Alex's story on your, uh, the webpage, I had tears in my eyes because I've seen that. I've seen it with her, and I've seen it with you, and I've seen it with Diane. I've seen it with other people, and it's just such a powerful thing that you can do. But when you asked me to be on the support team for this, I was like, well, why wouldn't I? I get to see thousands of people, hundreds and thousands of people become this person, and I want to be a part of that journey and see it all come together and see these people stepping into that. Meaningful thing. So that's where I— that's why I said yes.

Aubrey?

Yeah, similarly, to take a different perspective, I honestly feel like art as an educator kind of chose me. You know, I know my skill set is a little bit different than— well, we're all different, and that's on purpose, because the world needs all of what we bring. But I have had a dream in my heart, and I have tried multiple times, and I just knew somehow that I had to see this through to fruition. And when the Program came in front of me, when it just kind of came into my life, I was like, maybe this is the time. Like, I have this dream. Why wouldn't it be now? Like, let's try this. And so I feel very fortunate that after 5 years, I feel like this course has given me all the steps that I didn't know I needed to see my dream come to life. So I know it's been awesome. So I feel like it chose me, not just I raised my hand. I had to be willing. But, but thank you for the opportunity.

Aubrey, I want you to kick us off with this next question. It is, what if you done with it so far? What have you created or designed— decided, or like, what has changed for you as a result of what you've been through so far?

Thanks for asking. Okay. So I lost sleep over it last night because I was so pumped. So as you guys heard, I am a health coach. I have 20+ years of experience where I have these systems that help people feel so good, and I'm really good one-to-one. I want to take that and I want to, like, bless, like, so many people, right? And I, from the beginning of this program, I actually thought that I had my program kind of written. I've taken multiple courses to try and figure out how to make these programs come to life, and there's always been little hangups or things where I'm like, like barriers to seeing this come to life. So through this course— I know this is a question later on, but it feeds into this— one of the questions that we were to ponder is, what were you expecting and what surprised you? I expected that technology and the overwhelm of all these moving parts was the biggest reason that I couldn't take my craft and make it into a program. And while that is a thing, actually what my bigger problem was is I have this vast knowledge. How do I make it simple and beautiful for people to where I can take their hand and walk them through it? And so I actually wrote a program. I actually recorded a program before Artisan Educator was a thing. And from this program, I actually, I started to see the beautiful path that comes from, from just the way that you lay it out, the way that you teach us to lay out educating people and letting them have their space to grow on their terms. So I have since rewritten my course, still the same principles, but I made it to where it flows. I had dreams of a workbook, but now I see how to make that work. So I am almost in the finishing stages of that. I have new scripts written for most of my program, and, and I have a website which I've been paying for for over a year that Bonnie has kind of given us information for. How are you going to work with these tools? And that's what I did last night is it is done. As soon as I figure out how to make it go live, it will be published. So, so yeah, it has been the wind beneath my wings just to build something that like has been in my heart for so long.

Yeah.

It's time.

It's time to—

It's time.

Boop it out of the nest. Who else wants to share what you have created or decided? So far, Susan?

Just found here, this is my full module map and course content for my next course that I'm creating, which is going to be all about sketching these little dudes. So little mushroom sketches. And I've upgraded my tech in my studio. It gave me permission to do that because I had literally— and I still record on my iPhone. I still— this is still my primary recording device because I'm not a fan of tech. I'm all about the analog. Um, I just want to be told, do this, this, and this, and I do it, and I'm— then it's off my plate. So I think that is really, really helpful. That's why I love— I just love being told what to do. I love following a course. And I think the thing that's great with the tech, because it is a big stumbling point, it is for me— if it's too complicated, I won't do it. So I've just, I still film like this overhead and I still film my Zooms, super simple, but I have upgraded my tech. I've had the confidence to do it and try things out and reset up my studio. So that's been fabulous, but I am ready to film this baby now. So it's right ready to go. I've upgraded my course stuff to Kajabi. I've got new sales pages. Templates are amazing. So it's all just leveling up to another level. And it's also just given me so many ideas for things I can do, but also permission to not do it all because I need that. Okay.

I'm gonna go on to the next question unless— yes.

Okay.

Which lesson or module or resource have you been most excited about? Jennifer.

My question. I just am so excited about it. This, this one I didn't even know, and I said this to you on a Friday, but the module on marketing is worth every single penny of this course times 10. Truly, it demystifies everything that you can possibly think. In fact, Bonnie, I feel like I understand some of online marketing, and when Bonnie, the way she's teaching it with all of the different vocabulary that's out there, she is bringing together things that people say, and she's even pointing it out, and these 3 things actually all mean the same thing. And so it actually like takes away some of the overwhelm. And it, it's just such a wealth of knowledge of marketing, of all the things you can do. And I've used this term on a Friday too, but I really feel like it can be— this course can be à la carte, meaning you don't have to do everything all at once. But every single lesson within every single module has so much value, and you can take just one lesson and apply it And in 2 months, come back and take lesson number 2 in that batch and apply that one. And it doesn't have to be all of it at once. But the marketing module is something that surprised me completely, Bonnie, that I had no idea you were gonna share as much as you did. And it is everything, really. And it's in such a beautiful way. I mean, it's what draws, I think, so many of us to you for that matter. But it's in— it's such a beautiful way that speaks to you as an artist or as an artisan myself, that you can share about something in so many ways that is a beautiful way and that's true to who you are without having to feel like this is a cookie-cutter way of marketing. And so I think that's, that's my favorite module so far.

Yeah, Amy.

Okay, quickly before I forget what you just said, Jennifer, it's not cookie-cutter lessons. Like, that's— you literally put it into words that I didn't know, but like, yes, that exactly that. You don't— this isn't just like, oh, one size fits all. Like, you're addressing that it's going to be different, and you— I mean, I'm gonna get to that later, but You know, you address how to make it different for different, like the different stages and what you're teaching and things like that. And I really appreciate that. I also— it's really difficult when you ask what you're most excited about because there's not one thing. There's never just one thing. So I can't pick one. And marketing, that module, Module 4, was absolutely gold. Like, I agree with Jennifer. Absolute gold. I learned— so I've heard you talk about marketing in other things. I've been to your conferences, things like that. This, I just— you hit just points that, you know, the questions people are gonna have if they're completely new to you, to marketing, just the whole online education world. You really do bring those words and you're like, oh, someone might call it this, and This is what I'm going to call it. And it just releases that, like, overwhelm of—

The pressure.

I don't know, just, yeah, just like, it's just real and it feels very relatable. It doesn't feel icky, it just feels very real. And it actually— I'm not into marketing at all, but it feels fun. It actually sounds fun, like, oh, okay, I can do this, I can talk about that, and I have stories, I have this. But then the other thing I really, really love and appreciate that you do is the way you reframe these common pain points and roadblocks that people have. Like, you know it, you've been there, you are in the education space, you know what other people feel when they're starting out. And the way you help reframe those, like, hey, this is absolutely common, this is normal, but this is what How are we going to reframe it? And just know that you're not alone in that. So I really, really love that you do that.

Good stuff. Anybody else for that one? This is really good.

Yeah, I just want to very quickly comment, and I was really looking forward to the creating your course content module. So like mapping the course out and the lessons, because that's my favorite part of education. And deep inside, I was dreading Module 4 marketing because I was like, I don't like marketing. I just want to draw things with pencils and teach all day. And I think it, for me, the marketing one was the one where I felt I learnt the most and I could make the biggest improvements and changes to my approach. And actually, it made me feel more creative with it rather than this is a chore I have to do, which is how it's been. framed in my mind, in my business. It's a chore. It's something I've got to do. I've got to create content and be enthusiastic about it, whereas I just want to hide with my sketchbooks and be introverted and not, you know, which is why I love teaching online, same as Alex. I'm very much like, I can just be on my own in a room all day. But I've, I've learned to be creative again, and I did my first email leading with a story this week, and I got responses. I didn't even ask for responses, which I know I should do, but I got people emailing me going, I've been up and down those steps. And I was like, do you know what, just telling a story in my email for the first time instead of just, I do sketching, I was like, it was really creative and fun. And I love writing. I've written like 6 books. Like, why has marketing never felt the same as creative writing? I was like, uh. So it's kind of unlocked loads of things, that module, and that surprised me because I was just dreading it, if I'm being absolutely honest, because I'm the ever the creator, Ms. Analog. So yeah.

That kind of leads me into my next question, which is what has surprised you? What has surprised you that you might not have been able to understand looking at the course from the outside, or maybe reading the modules or looking at the information about it?

Is it okay if I go again?

Yes.

I'm so English, I'll ask permission, sorry. And I'll apologize all the time. I think for me, I was blown over by how comprehensive it is, how open it is, how honest it is, how no holds barred. It's completely— you're sharing 25 years, or I don't know how many years, I'm assuming like years and years of knowledge. Distilled down into one course. So, providing a path, filtering, but it is so comprehensive, and it opens the doors to loads of things that you've learned, different approaches. Obviously, we all learn from different people, but just how much is in there. And like, we as beta testers haven't seen everything yet. We've seen most of it. We've seen it in its raw, uncut stage, and that was brilliant. And like the conversations we've had on Fridays, you're like, oh wait, there's going to be this thing, you're going to get this extra thing. And I'm like, I want the extra things, I want the calculators and the bells and the whistles and the— and I know there's all that. And there's the sort of field notes where you're talking and sharing behind the scenes and giving tips. And like, I just think it's comprehensive, but it's also beautiful. It's beautifully filmed, it's beautifully delivered. There's a real beauty to the way that it is presented, which is just, I don't know, really a great way to learn as well, to learn from a beautiful Course.

I think that's so funny that Susan is saying this because she mentioned this, but the Beta Team has had what we call a rough cut, which means it's not that beautiful. It's not beautifully— we don't have all the beautiful slides and the Field Notes in their version. The Course, of course, does. But yeah, it's— I actually just cannot wait for you to get in and get started on the final produced version. Yeah, Jennifer.

I was just going to say that I think what I appreciated the most about and surprised me— not surprised me, but I think pleasantly surprised me about it was just how supported we felt and how every, every question that you didn't even know you had was going to be answered in the next lesson. You know, like we would just come alongside and just say, I don't know, I expected that you would help us lay it out in modules, which you absolutely do, but maybe not to the depth and clarity that we got from you. Like you really helped us understand, you know, what the difference between a like small, medium, and large course was, how you could define it, how you could price it and feel justified about pricing it, how you could film it, you know, just like all of these things that we didn't even think about. You know, I wanted to have a pathway and I wanted to get a foundation, which you did, but every area was past expectations. I think that's really, really, I think, important to say. And I think that's just true to who you are. And I knew you were going to pass expectations, but you blew it out. There is more. Like, I think we could all take it I think we're all going to take it again. And, you know, I think you can continue to take this again and again and again and still reap so much value. And no matter where you are on that journey, you have something to learn in here. And it's just sort of almost like not just like life-changing because you're gonna build a course, but life-changing because you're going to see what your craft can do for like the larger picture. So it's pretty special.

Yeah, to go along with that, it was so comprehensive. And yet, just like Susan said earlier, there were so many layers. The second you think you're gonna get overwhelmed, you're like, wait, I'm just gonna do this, and then I'm gonna do this. And it's like I've spent north of $3,500 in the past 5 years, and the overwhelm from all the detail of great courses was so much. But this was set up to where I was like, okay, trust the process. I'm just gonna do this. Trust the process. I'm just gonna do this. And then now at the end of like 7 weeks. I, I have something. It's not done yet, but I have something that I didn't— I honestly didn't know I could make. So it's like, it's so comprehensive, and yet it was beautifully done to where I didn't drown. Like, I was able to thrive. So all of you out there, you're okay. You can do this. Like, um, it's Yeah.

What about how did you make room to take the lessons in your busy lives and in your space? What advice do you have about making space for just doing something like this?

That's one thing you taught us, like, I don't know, since the second we met you, however many years ago each person has met you, is like the one thing a day. And Really, it doesn't have to be a lot. Like, sometimes it could just be listening. It doesn't have to be always sitting down for multiple hours. And so I think just the simple— just if you have this in your heart to do, just being able to set aside, you know, we grow in anything we put ourselves into. And so you can just put just a tiny little bit about yourself every single day, and it becomes a habit. And you can make amazing strides in 7 days, in 14 days, in 21 days. You do do a little bit each day. So.

Yeah, and I think for me, just from a purely practical point of view, I have diary, my book of everything. So it gets put in the diary. If it's in the diary, it happens. And I always, regardless of what week it is, how busy I am, spend time on my own education throughout the week, at least an hour, 2 hours. I love to sit and study throughout breakfast, and I'm one of those nutters that watches videos at 1.5 speed. So, I watch all videos at 1.5 speed, which means I get through the content quickly. And I always have a printed workbook. So, I know we had the beta versions of the workbooks, but they were printed out and I handwrite with pencil, take notes, and just one lesson at a time, fit it in. And it was kind of a little bit addictive that once you started watching one video, then I was wanting to do the next. So—

Mm-hmm.

But for me, It's put it as a task to do, is just list that I'm going to do it for the week and allocate time to it a little bit regularly.

Yeah, something that helps me— sorry, Bonnie, go ahead.

No, no, go, Amy.

I was going to say some— I mean, the whole one thing a day and consistency. So even if it's maybe not one thing a day, maybe like Susan, you know, having 1 or 2 hours a week, the fact is that just like the point is that you just Just stay consistent. But what personally helps me is one, watching at 1.5 speed. I'm also that nutter. And you can do that with Bonnie because it's like—

I go on 0.75, so there you go.

Yeah, I can't do 0.75, I'm sorry.

Oh my goodness, no, I'm like, how fast can I go before it's too fast?

No, but you can with Bonnie go at 1.5. I can anyway. But I like to know how long each lesson is, and then I'll allocate that to each day. So like Susan, on my— in my diary, my planner, I'll have every day like, okay, I'm gonna watch these lessons, and I can work it around my other schedule, like everything else. What can I actually realistically fit in today? And it might just be one lesson, and that's okay. But consistency, guys. Consistency, consistency, consistency.

Yeah.

And use the pockets you have. So I have 2 health clinics. I work 50 hours a week. I listen to them on the spin bike because exercise is non-negotiable, at least a couple of times a week. I drive and I would listen to stuff, and then I would look at the printed out versions and say, okay, what do I need to grasp here? And just even if I did one 7-minute video or one 15-minute video, then I would use the time to think on it and be able to answer when I wasn't driving or whatever else. So it's like, yeah, I had to be more whimsical, I think.

But, um, yeah, so the beta team talk about scrappy and rough cut. They had to print the workbook out on their printer, but all of the students are getting beautiful workbooks shipped to their home. So they're already on their way. We're so excited about— I wish I could show it to you, but I took mine home. Okay. Would love to hear from everybody. What would you want someone who's deciding whether or not Artisan Educator is right for them? What would you want them to know?

This is one thing we haven't talked about, and I really want to speak on it. So I actually want to hit from the side of legacy, um, because many of us have like learned our craft from somebody else, um, and possibly somebody in our family. I learned doll making from my grandmother and sewing from my mom, and they've all had a huge impact on who I am as a person. And, you know, when you're thinking about how to carry on this craft that we are doing, especially in a more digital, 2-dimensional world, if you will. It's just such a powerful way to sort of reach more people. So I live— not where I am right now, but I live in a very tiny town, and there may or may not be lots of people that want to learn this craft. But in the world, there are a Lots of people that want to learn doll making. And, you know, how can they learn doll making if they don't have somebody near them that they can learn it? And so this is such a powerful way to share the knowledge that you have in your craft with people that actually really are desiring for it, not just what's close to them, but what they can find there. And, and have an opportunity to, like, share that Legacy for the craft and then financial legacy for your family. So a way to create, you know, sustainable income that is far beyond what you can do just as one person in your tiny, small little corner of the world.

So true, Susan.

Oh, that's so lovely. Totally going to make your dolls. I had 2 things I wanted to say. So first of all, the reason I started teaching, it was because I was doing a lot of in-person teaching. So I first started in-person teaching, I think I calculated it 22 years ago, but I was always teaching evenings and weekends. And so for me, moving online meant that number one, I could find a bigger audience, but I could also teach at times that work for me. So I've got a daughter. It means that weekend time is sacred. I do not teach or work at weekends ever. I have completely that time off. I think like Bale mentioned earlier, I can have— I can always do school pickup because I do teaching after I put my daughter to bed. I can have lunch with my husband.

We can—

the life— I've crafted a lifestyle that works for me. And again, I can go— I still teach yoga. I can still go and teach yoga one day a week because I've got space to do it. I go swimming in the mornings. Like, I can craft a lifestyle around me. So, the flexibility of teaching is amazing. And the other thing I want to say is that I've just met the most amazing people through online teaching that I would never have met had I not turned on the internet and started teaching 10 years ago, filming with a really terrible iPhone, trying to figure out WordPress, and because there wasn't all these amazing bits of tech around then than there are now. I've met friends. I've just met so many beautiful humans through online teaching that I would never have met. I finally traveled to the US last year for the first time in my life through people that I have met through online teaching. So, and I think the great thing about taking part in a course, in any kind of training, mentorship, yourself, and like, for example, joining Artists and Educators, is you will meet a whole bunch of lovely people. I'm sure you will, because lovely people attract lovely people. And I'm just gonna stop there.

Yeah.

Bria, you want to go next?

I was gonna say, I was— whatever, I happily will. I loved what Jennifer said, like the legacy of things I— if you have a burn in your heart to do something, to pass this craft along, to pass along skills that you've learned, to like bless other people with that, then honor the faith of those people who will buy your course with the faith it takes to build the course. And that to me has been a huge part of my life because I don't want my son to grow up and me to tell him, hey, you can have dreams, you can build amazing things, you can do crazy good things, and him not see me live it out in my life. And so I think for me, like, I know there's— I have to just see what happens if I try to build this. That's why after 5 years, I'm, I'm still doing it. I'm still going to do it because I have to know how beautiful this turns out when I actually see it through. And I can say with full confidence, this has been the best course that I've taken that brought all the pieces together and is helping me build the dream. So yeah, honor the faith.

Amy? Okay. I'm not— I 100% agree with everything they all said. But I'm coming at it from a different perspective again, and I've actually had the honor of speaking to quite a few of you on live chat and in the live call chats and things like that. So I want to talk about it more like just things that I've been speaking to people about, and I just want to reassure those of you that, you know, there's many of you that knows that you have this pull to teach but you don't know what, or Do you think your idea is too small, or you just haven't figured everything out yet? And I just want to reassure you, you absolutely do not need to have everything figured out. If you have something that you do, a craft that you do, and you see that there's just that pull to teach, this is going to give you what you need, even from planning out what to teach. Jennifer touched on it earlier of of, um, you know, Bonnie's going to walk you through the difference between a small class and then like a bigger class to a signature class, like what she teaches with immersion and with this course. Um, and that brings me to the builds. Like, Bonnie has so beautifully put this course together that it really meets you at whatever stage you're at. So some of these girls are like coming in with experience, so they will do a different build where they've already got some experience But even in our chats, they would share like, oh, I never even knew this. Like, let me like rewind a bit. Let me go back and redo this. And like, Susan, I remember you sharing like, I need to redo my entire marketing now, which sounds like you already are, which is amazing. Um, and really it does meet you where you're at. So I don't want you to feel like this isn't for me because these guys are already teaching or whatever. It's really going start you from the very beginning of let's take what's in your head, like what, what you already teach. You might not even have it mapped out. Bonnie's going to walk you through how to figure out what to teach and how to teach it and lay it out exactly step by step. Um, and then—

And you'll build a second course as you're going through it.

Exactly, exactly. You're gonna have ideas for other courses and how to put that aside, to stay focused on the current one. And I believe it was Jennifer that said it earlier, but you can come back to this. Like, you will— not you can, you will 100% be coming back to this at different stages or when you're building another course. Like, now you want to go up a bit. And something I really wanted to touch on was the way you go through the filming. And you meet the person that has no room in their house, like they have a studio apartment, but they might have a little corner of their apartment. You can still teach. You can teach with your phone and with just a little corner in your room. And she's going to talk you through that all the way to having a studio, like your own studio, like Bonnie has. It really— I just, I cannot emphasize how much. She really addresses every student, like every educator I should say, um, with wherever they're at. Um, I just think that's so unique about this course, and I just haven't, I haven't seen that anywhere. Like, I've been in the education space for a while, seen, watched courses, everything like that. I haven't seen this build the way you've done it of different stages of Just take what you need right now and then come back to it and build from there.

So—

Amy, I'm gonna tag on to you for a second because I don't know if I made it super clear that Amy and I are lead support for all students in Art as an Educator. So I'm support lead this year. Amy's my right hand. And so when she says she's been talking to you, she's like literally been talking to those of you listening because she's doing our live chat. Chat over on the website. So Amy and I are gonna be with you side by side, along with the rest of our Love Squad as well. But the second thing that Amy is talking about are 3 builds. So many of the lessons come with 3 different levels. Everybody gets all 3 builds, but you get to choose simple, custom, or studio based on where you're at. If you're brand new, And these builds are everything from your filming setup and your budget to your launch plan, so that you can kind of choose the one that fits for you. Now I have 2 questions from our audience. We don't all have to answer them. I'm just gonna ask the question, and if any of you want to answer it, just pop your hand up and we'll get through them. And then I'm gonna let the beta team go, and I'll hang back and answer any questions people have about the About art as an educator. This question is from Nicole. For those of us struggling with the thought of charging people to teach our craft, what is something that has helped you overcome this?

Oh, come on, Jennifer. We both raised our hands at the same time.

I think we're saying the same thing because actually Susan and I have been talking about this together. So, um, yeah, um, what was her name, Bonnie?

Uh, Nicole.

Hi, Nicole. Um, you know, Bonnie does this amazing thing inside of there where she gives you a calculator at the very beginning, I believe, and then you'll get it again and we'll work on it again and again. And it takes a moment to feel because at first it's like, oh, I can't charge that much. Or, you know, I'm not sure if this works properly. I don't know. And then as you work through it and you start to see the whole modules and course unfold together, you realize how much value is there. But she doesn't just tell you this is how much the course should be and here's how you make all the modules. She also shows you how to communicate that value to your prospective customers. And I think that is maybe where, to me, it was like such a big deal because that's maybe where we're falling short is because we feel like we don't know how to communicate the value of what we have to teach and offer. But she's going to show you the whole thing. So how to create it, you know, how to price it, And then how to communicate that value.

Yeah, I agree. And I think for me, this is a huge mindset shift because I have done a fine art degree way back when, and I've been in the art establishment, and I think I just have such deep-rooted beliefs that of the starving artist, and it's hard to make money from art, and da da da, and you'll never make a career out of art, and And I have been chipping away at that for years as a mindset belief, and I make money from art. I've got a whole separate business. I've got a pottery cafe with 2 shops as well as this online teaching business. I more than make enough money from art, but I think there is a bit of a cultural stereotype or belief or whatever you want to call it about, you know, it feeling dirty charging for knowledge that we can perhaps charge for our product because someone gets a physical thing. But I think there is a mindset shift and belief over paying for education. And I've, when I first started teaching online, I run a lot of free challenges and things like that, which I absolutely loved. And I can remember somebody saying to me once, and this was a genuine comment they emailed to me, and I don't, this is not to scare anyone, But this lady emailed me and said, I can't believe you're charging for stuff. I've got a mortgage to pay. And I was like, so do I. This is my job. Like, and I think as soon as you say this is your job, this is your career, this is your calling, whatever you want to call it. I mean, everybody goes to work, or not everybody, like people that choose to go to work and to have a job, a career, you know, it's perfectly fine to be paid for that. And teaching your knowledge in a highly skilled subject at times where you've spent years honing, practicing, sometimes really fine, you know, crafts that take a lot of practice. Why should we not charge for what we do? We are worthy.

And it's true.

And it's not just our worthiness. Like, yes, we're bringing that. I've paid for tons of education, and a big part of that is I want to learn this, I want to know this, and this person is saving me weeks. I mean, Bonnie's going to walk you through this, saving you weeks, saving you months, saving you years even. And we just offer— we make the best product we can, we offer it. It's a gift. to them to be able to buy it. Like, you saved them so much time and you've given them like time in their life back or opportunity they wouldn't have had. Sign me up. Like, I want to pay for that.

Yeah. Okay, next question is from Giselle. Giselle says, I'm ha— I have trouble with imposter syndrome. I am very skilled, I know the tech, I understand marketing, but I have a hard time putting myself out there? How do you get past this fear? And I would just kind of tack on to this because the majority of conversations that I've had over the past week have been someone feeling like they aren't expert enough, that they're not the leading expert in their industry. So what business do they have? To me, that's the same thing as imposter syndrome, like, who do I think I am?

Mm-hmm.

Which I can just remember this feeling You know, like it was yesterday. So what do you have to say to that?

I feel with something like this, I still get imposter syndrome. And when I first taught, I think it was 22 years ago, I was teaching printmaking in a local theatre, and I can remember standing in the cafe before I went up to teach feeling absolutely nervous. I had to drink a glass of wine because I was shaking so much. I needed to calm my nerves. to go up and teach, and I was like, who am I to teach this? Why would these people listen to me? I was fresh out of university. These were all people twice or 3 times my age, and I was like, why on earth? And so I think for me, these feelings still come up. Am I the best person ever on sketching, drawing, or anything I've ever taught? No, I'm not. But I'm the— I'm the only me. Like, I'm the only one that can teach it my way. And I'm not an imposter if I'm doing it my own way as well. And I think sometimes it's also not about me. It's about, I'm the guide, I'm the facilitator. Who am I to not share knowledge if it makes somebody happy or it gets them through grief? Or like some of the stories I've heard from people who have done my challenges or courses and it's really got them through very, very tricky times. It's like, actually, it's, it's a gift to share things like this, because if it saved one person ever or made somebody happy, um, it's— yeah, it's, it's an honor to be able to do it. Um, so I mean, I can't say it'll ever go away, but it's— you just do it anyway. Put your big girl pants on.

I want to tack on to that, Susan, because When I think about imposter syndrome, it's not going away. Nobody I know doesn't experience it, no matter how long you do this. But you, you begin to understand it for what it is. And when I think about imposter syndrome, it's because we're all wrapped up in us. And I say that with so much love because, like, we all do it. But something that Susan said was that she's the guide, and that comes from— goodness, I think it comes from a book called StoryBrand. Is that right? About the hero and the guide? You can correct me, Susan, if I'm wrong, but—

I haven't read it. If it's from that, it's something I learned in my yoga teacher training was, okay, I'm the facilitator, I'm the guide. It's their practice, not mine. And so I try and apply that to my art teaching as well.

Okay. So similar concept is That we are not the hero of this story, that our students are the hero, and they are the ones who so very much need us to, like, manage our imposter syndrome and do this work anyways. Because without being willing to overcome that and put it down, then they never receive the information that we have to give them that can potentially do everything but, you know, increase the joy in their life. to radically change their life. And so, when we're able to kind of just let the imposter syndrome be what it is and let it fall at our feet, then we can step through that, be the guide to making the student the hero in the story. And there's a lot of work that is waiting to be done.

And I would also just tack onto that, it's because you care as well. Like, you don't get— you wouldn't care, like, if you didn't get imposter syndrome. I mean, some people don't, I don't know, but I think it's all— it comes from a place of care that you want to do well, that you really care about what you're doing, and I think that's a really good sign.

All right, Bonnie, I'll just, if I can, just say one other thing too, a little different than that, is that you are meant to share because when you have something that you've worked on and Especially if it doesn't work out and you've had to work, overcome the challenges of, you know, let's— I'm gonna use doll making, but of like the legs being too floppy or not stuffed properly, or the seams coming apart, or any of these things. That is actually skills that you now have that you are gonna pass on and teach. And so if it came to you so easy, you wouldn't know what problems your students were going to have. And so if you have been having problems throughout, or just recently, maybe you're, you know, you're doing your craft and something goes wrong, that's actually a gift because that is something that you can now figure out how to overcome and teach that. And so, so think about all of those like issues or problems as actually stepping stones to becoming a better teacher online or in any, in any capacity, really.

Hey, my friends.

Good.

I have kept you all. My goodness. Thank you so much for being here. Please, um, give them some love. We're putting all of their links in the chat. I'm going to release my dear beta team. I'm going to stay back and answer any questions people have about art as an educator. Love you. Thank you so much. All right, my friends. My goodness! How we doing? An incredible group of women that I got to share with you today. I know we have been here for a minute, and many of you are also still here. So I'm happy to answer any questions that we have about Art as an Educator. Art as an Educator is brand new. This is the first year that we are. teaching this course, hence the beta team. And we are in open enrollment until the end of the day on Thursday. So just a few more days for this founding class. If you have joined us, your name is on my wall right behind me, and I've got a card waiting for you if you're considering joining to add to the wall, my friends. So you all have been putting questions in. You're welcome to continue. I'm going to start with Ashley's question. I'm still so scared that I'll have zero people sign up because I have zero followers on my email list, and it's mostly family and friends. I'm gonna stand up and stretch out. Can you really help me grow an audience and market effectively? So, Ashley, absolutely. I would actually kind of assume that the vast majority of people coming into Art as an Educator are in a similar state. Um, some will have audiences, some will have, uh, just like you feel like, you know, really that you're starting from zero. Some of you will have audiences that aren't necessarily the right audience for your course. And so even if you have an established audience, maybe it's customers from your craft or something like that, and we'll be building an audience of potential students. And so, Ashley, This is a huge part of what we teach and what we cover inside Artisan Educator. There's an entire module called Grow. And so not only do we tackle the marketing, but before that we have to grow the audience. And so I absolutely teach you— I teach you 3 different ways to drive traffic. I teach you how to create content that gets the right student to find you. And we start from zero. So we start your— when I say audience, I mean, we get to choose where our audience is, right? So a discovery platform, and then your email list. So we will grow your email list from zero. This is actually really interesting for me because I just did it. So I have a large audience. Okay. But up until this point, my audience consists of surface pattern designers because that is my craft. And my signature course is Surface Design Immersion. So artists and educators was a brand new audience for me. Truly, it was an audience that we started from zero. So this is very like top of mind for me. It's something that we literally just did. We started from zero, and we also kind of proved our method. Like, we can do it, you can do it. We can teach you how to do it, and it's actually what I'm so excited to teach you. Okay, the next question is from Natalie. Natalie says, "How do you know you have enough content to warrant a course or a full course? I have quick wins that could save people tons of time, but they're things someone could learn pretty quickly. How do I know if there's really enough for a course?" So, Natalie, this is absolutely something that we cover in the first module of Art as an Educator. However, I can imagine that you want to figure this out before you join us. So what I'll have you do is map your entire craft, and from everything that you know from the beginning to the end, and then we start looking for either teaching the entire craft or teaching particular parts of it. Um, I, I've explained this already in the workshop, so some of you might have heard me talk about it, but truly, the more free content there is about your craft online, the better, because that tells us that there's interest in the category, that people are actively searching for help with this thing. It also tells us that there is confusion and frustration and overwhelm, because free content by nature comes in from a bunch of different people, from a bunch of different educators, people who have conflicting advice and who use different tools and all of this stuff. And so absolutely, there is a percentage of those people who are like, please take me by the hand, teach me what I need to know, filter out everything that I don't need to know for me, please. So there are things that we know people will pay for. One of those things is clarity, right? So do this, don't do this. Don't worry about trying to figure it out on your own. I'll tell you every step along the way. That also comes into speed, right? So an end result more quickly, people will pay for, for sure. Also things like feedback along the way and community and accountability. So we teach all of these things inside Art as an Educator. One thing that I would love for you to listen to is if you missed the workshop on day 2, at the very kind of beginning, in the, in about the first 15 minutes, I introduce you to a woman named Laurianne Gonzalez. Laurianne is a fine artist, and she does beautiful artwork, and she has a really successful print shop. And she considered teaching her entire craft. She actually did for a little while and ended up not loving it. It because she didn't feel like that's what she wanted to teach. She didn't want to teach people how to paint like her. So she mapped her craft and identified the one portion of her craft that people really needed help with, and that was how to document your fine art. So scan it, photograph it, then use Photoshop to turn it into an art print with the resources and the tools along the way. So she ended up making a course called Art to Print that only teaches this portion of the craft and absolutely kind of like releases a bottleneck for so many other people who are struggling with the same thing. So there's real power in like the unlocks for people, the things, the, the sticking points, the, the troubleshooting that people have, if it's something that you don't necessarily want to teach in full. Okay, let me check in with, with you. How are we doing? Okay, amazing. The next question I have is from Anna. I've already created a course and launched it to meh. I'm a little gun-shy now. How will this time be different? So Anna, there's a couple of— so, so even though Art as an Educator is a brand new course, I have been teaching online education for many, many years through a program that I did 2 years ago called professional business coaching program. It's not, it's not available anymore. And also through my mastermind. So I've held a mastermind for 6 and 7-figure businesses since 2020. And the vast majority of us also have an online education revenue stream. So I have seen the back end of so many different kind of behind the scenes of so many different courses and course launches. And there are absolutely things that, um, can contribute to this. So the other thing that we call this is that maybe you launch to crickets, right? So you launch and it's quiet. And this is probably our biggest fear, right? Um, there are so many things to do ahead of that moment in order to prepare for the best possible outcome. Uh, oh man, I wish I could just get you into Module 4 right away because, um, there are very, very specific things that need to happen ahead of an— of what we call a launch in order for a student to be ready, for them to be anticipating what you have coming, for them to be excited about it, for them to understand it, for them to have experienced what they need to experience experience to be ready to take the next step with you. Um, the other thing that I have is a resource in Module 5, which is the launch module, uh, called Launch Diagnosis. And so when you're in that moment, like, I wish that we had been together, Anna, because we could have looked at your launch and kind of identified what is happening, where is it going wrong, and how can we course correct in the moment. The other thing that I'll teach you how to do, Anna, is build an audience of students who are, are ready and waiting for this course. So something that I see a lot of times is that people will grow an audience of kind of like not quite the right person that's looking for this particular course that you're creating. So we'll kind of take your course, then we'll work backwards from there to create the perfect invitation for that student who needs your course to come and find you and be excited about taking the next step with you. So there is absolutely a system to it. There is a reason why sometimes they don't go according to plan, and it's something that we can absolutely address, course correct, and plan for along the way. Okay, Lisa's question says, my concern is not the price. I know myself, and I know I won't complete something if I don't have support during the learning period. I'll be traveling for much of the next 11 weeks. How would the support inside Artisan Educator work for someone like me? Okay, so Lisa, let's talk about let's talk about this. I think it's a great question. So inside Artisan Educator, this is what we call a live. Um, how do I want to describe that? It's, it's, it's a live course even though the modules are pre-recorded. It gets delivered, um, kind of like— why am I having a hard time describing that? So Module 1 releases on September 21st, and then the next Monday Module 2 releases. Then we have something called an implementation week where you don't get a new module, you get to work on the first 2. Even though we have live support happening during that week. Then you'll get Modules 3. The next week you'll get Module 4, then an implementation week. So it kind of goes like that, then Modules 5 and 6. Every Friday you get a live call with me where we just crack open your questions from the week and dive into them, very much like we are doing right here. In and alongside that, you get community. So 2 levels of— really 3 levels of support So live calls once a week with me. Oh my goodness. And then lesson comments on every lesson that you can ask questions on, and then the community. So you have live support for 12 weeks that starts when Module 1 begins, which is September 21st. At the end of 12 weeks, nothing goes away. Like, you have lifetime access to the course, but it turns into what we call read-only. So nothing new can be added, but everything is still readable, even the comments and past questions that have been delivered. So if you are feeling like over the next 11 weeks you aren't going to be able to actually do the work, what I would encourage you to do is just listen to it. So listen to it so that you can experience the content, experience the education, and then attend the live calls if you can. If not, you're invited to submit your questions in advance and then watch the replay. So you don't have to be live to get your questions answered. That is something different than what we're doing here because you have to submit questions live, but in the course you'll be able to submit them anytime and we'll put them in queue for the live call. So if I were you, what I would try to do is listen as I travel and then catch the replay just so that that you have context of the curriculum as you go. And then once you get back and you get settled, you can dive back in and really do the work. I don't want to dismiss what you said because you said, I know myself and I won't complete it if I don't have support. But I do have to say for the other people who are listening that, you know, this course is something that you will come back to. Potentially for years and years. This is a course that you'll be able to take off and run with, and then as you are ready to add a layer or add a layer of complexity or do a different course or a bigger course, you will come back and grab the lesson that you need when you need it. I have to tell you that earlier this year I took a course. I bought a $3,000 course. I believe it was like in February from someone, but February, March, and April are my busy times of the year. And so I bought this course because I wanted it, and I didn't log in until May. I bought it, I saw all the emails coming through my inbox, but I knew that it wasn't time for me until May. And so when my busy season calmed down, I logged into that course, I started on lesson 1, and I just started in order. I would watch the replay of the live Q&A in order of it coming out, and I was able to finish the course probably, probably in less time than I would have had I gone through it in, you know, live. So there are many ways to do it, Lisa. And of course, we're here for you and we want to support you every step of the way. Okay, Anna says, what would you consider the minimum viable first course and launch that would let me validate my idea without letting course creation completely take over the time that I need to keep developing my craft? So Anna, something that we're really passionate about is being careful to let the education part of your business support your craft, not consume it. If done correctly, the education portion of your business should allow you to have more time to do the thing that you love, to be with the people that you love. Now, that doesn't mean that there's going to be a little bit of time where you're like creating it and filming it and, you know, making it come to life. That is going to take time from you for sure. But then the goal is to let it serve your creativity and your life. The minimum viable first course and launch. So, Anna, I wish I knew a little bit more, like, what is your craft and what is your idea? But there are so many different levels of classes that you can create. So we'll talk about doing a project-based class or a skill-based class, or something as large as a signature course. A signature course has more of like an identity transformation that's included. Minimum viable would be one skill or one project that is going to give your student like this moment of a new skill that they have, or hey, look at this, I made this moment. Those will not only validate your idea, but they'll also allow you to really start to build on a bigger idea as you go. The other thing that we'll do inside Art as an Educator is is you don't have to validate an idea by creating a class, launching it, and seeing how it goes. We'll validate it before that with something that we call an evidence stack. And so I'll teach you how to kind of go out into the world and gather evidence that this class idea— we can't prove that it's going to be successful, but we can for sure do more than just guess that it's going to be successful. By building a stack of evidence that says people are interested in this topic, they're actively searching for answers in this topic, and they are actively spending money to solve this problem. So we'll build your evidence stack so that you really have a concept of how it's gonna do before you even get there. And I would love to build alongside you. Okay, Mikla. Michelle, I'm not sure how to pronounce it. I am a Squarespace website designer of 14 years, and I can teach website design to both entrepreneurs and business owners who want to launch a website, as well as creatives and aspiring designers who want to start a web design business. How would I decide what type of course and audience to choose? Does the course cover this? Okay, love that. First of all, super exciting and a really great business model as well. So we'll do the same thing with you. We will build the stack of evidence that shows us proof that this particular person in this category is actively spending on learning how to do this. I think just by gut reaction reading these, I think you probably can't go wrong. But what we'll do is decide the end transformation that you want to offer. So you'll decide, Is that a website for an aspiring designer or a business? And then you'll kind of back up from there and decide how you want to build that audience. So I really can't answer which one is better until we do your evidence stack on which one I think would be more viable in the marketplace. And then we will work backwards to build the audience from there. Okay, Darcy, let me check in with you all over here on the chat. How are we doing? Okay, good deal. Darcy says, I'm considering 2 different course directions and would love your perspective on which is a better fit for an on— for a first online course. One is more conceptual and transformational, helping multi-passionate creatives explore their creative identity, recognize the recurring threads in their work, and develop a direction for a cohesive body of work. The other one is much more tangible, helping creatives map and design a functional studio or creative workspace around how they actually make. Do you find that courses with a concrete visible outcome are generally easier to validate and market, or can more introspective transformation like creative identity and direction be just as strong? How would you validate these ideas to decide which idea to pursue first? Okay, great question, Darcy. So we again will— we won't guess. We'll build a stack of evidence and make a, um, we'll make an educated decision on which one to go for. I do think that both are viable, but that the messaging on the first one needs work because I can't— even though I read it and I've got a sense of what you're going for, I can sense that even you have a little bit of a hard time very simply and concretely telling someone what the transformation is. And so messaging is a huge part of what we work on because someone has to be able to read what it is and instantly understand what where they're going to be at the end of this. And then we also have to make sure that they want to be there by the end of this. So you can grow an audience of any— we call them ISA, so ideal student avatar. You can grow an audience of any ISA that you need for your course. But no matter what, the messaging has to be crystal clear. There is another, there is another concept that I think is worth mentioning, and not overwhelmingly, but I do think that sometimes a tangible outcome is just much easier for someone to wrap their mind around very quickly. Um, and so there is a concept, and I, I don't know where I heard it from, but it, it's this, uh, sell them, sell your students exactly what they want and then also give them what they need once they're inside. So let me explain to you what that means. It's really, it's, it's really difficult sometimes to explain to a student what they're going to need, especially when it comes to mindset or emotional growth, because oftentimes they don't know they need it yet. Let me give you my example in Surface Design Immersion, my signature course. I do not sell the fact that, um, like, I don't include this on the course information page that we're going to work on your mindset because, uh, it's really difficult for them to even understand why they would need to work on it until they begin doing the work. When they begin doing the work, they all of a sudden realize, oh, I'm gonna have to manage rejection when I start pitching. right, my work to art directors or something, or when I start sharing my work, I'm going to have imposter syndrome, or when I start pricing my work right, I'm going to have a lot of these, um, like kind of fears and objections come up in and of myself. And oftentimes the educator is the one that's privy to knowing that because you've been there and you've walked that road already. So there's a real gift in communicating your course to a student with everything that they absolutely are going to get and they need and they want, and also being there for them on the other side of that decision, delivering to them only the things that you know that they've needed, that they're going to need along the way. So I almost wonder if these 2 ideas, Darcy— Could complement each other. Like, maybe you are, um, teaching, teaching the more tangible one but interweaving some of these kind of mindset lessons and growth on the back end. Again, I'm not really sure. We'll have to map it out and kind of do some reverse engineering of, of demand in the market and that kind of thing. But, um, it can be a real gift to students to also help them with the other things that they need to grow alongside the very tangible Okay, Anita, this is gonna be our last question for today. Anita says, I'm already an artist educator online and in person, but I'm 78 years old and wondering if I have enough runway. I'm single with no pension and a very modest freelance artist income. Is there enough time for me to build something meaningful?

Yeah, I think so.

from this. Anita, what a gift you are, and what a unique set of experience and perspective that you have that I would just encourage you to be willing to pass on. I mean, this— we're all here talking about the many different reasons to teach online, but there are 3 gifts of online education. One of them is the freedom and the online revenue that it creates for us. But another one is the legacy that it leaves for people that are coming in to learn behind us. And I just can't imagine how much you have to give, Anita. And it sounds like you're, you're really already doing it. You're already an online educator. And so just learning how to take what you're doing and tweak it to where it's more impactful both for you and your student. This actually makes me think of a course that I took, um, in 2019. And this course that I took was called The Membership Experience. It was by Stu McLaren. And I had had a membership for 7 years when I took this course, so I was already a membership owner. I already had successful membership. So I started it in 2012. I took this course in 2019. And, uh, so I'm imagining that you might be feeling this way, like you've already been teaching online. But what a gift it was for me to take this course that really was designed for people who wanted to start a membership, where I was 7 years into mine, and I got to take everything that was taught and use it to just, uh, kind of tweak and improve what I was already doing. And when you look back at my history, especially if you look back at like the number of members my membership had, kind of goes like this and then it skyrockets like this. And that little elbow is spring of 2019 when I took the membership experience and was able to quickly kind of take all of this information and use it to improve what I was already doing. And it just— I saw results really quickly from that. So the fact that Anita, you already have experience, and I know it would be such a gift for you to reach more people than you currently are. Just want to encourage you. Okay, my friends, thank you for being here with me. If you have any questions about Artisan Educator, if you are considering joining us, we're open until the end of the day on Thursday. So 11:59. That's Just almost midnight Pacific Standard Time. Pacific, Pacific Time, PT. Um, I get which one we're in, PST or PT.

What?

But Pacific Time, 11:59 PM is when we are open to my friends, and I would love to invite you into the founding class. Uh, we're here if you have any questions. We are live chatting over on the website, so if you have any questions, come Chat with us over there. There's no bots. It's all humans. It's me, Amy, our love squad. You met many of them in the chat tonight. Karen, or you can also email us. We are here for you, and we want to help you make the very best decision for the future of you and the future of your future students.