Activity
Mon
Wed
Fri
Sun
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
What is this?
Less
More

Memberships

The New Skool

Public • 25 • $49/m

4 contributions to The New Skool
I just landed my first two clients - here's what I learned!
Hi everyone, Tania here... Kerry's encouraged me to share some good news with the team since I’ve learned a few things through launching my mentorship program, so in case you find any of this helpful, I’m happy to share. Background: I soft-launched my mentorship program for artists by listing my services (currently 2 program options) on my website on the last week of December… and last week I booked two new clients! *the crowd goes wild* 🎉 One is a paying client, and the other is an art student looking for mentorship through her college art program. I’ve been wanting to redirect my community-service efforts specifically to the arts, so this feels like a win, even if it’s not a paid gig. The paying client found me through IG - he started following me in December and expressed interest in mentorship when I hinted my program would be dropping soon - so I tried to keep him warm until the soft-launch when he could shop my services in my storefront. And it worked. Here’s what I learned in the process of converting him from follower to paying client: ✅ Some potential “clients” will feign interest in you/your product in order to suck your energy dry ➡️ ...being wary of this, I engaged in conversation with this client by exercising boundaries around my response times and frequency of communication. I maintained a friendly-yet-professional tone when chatting. Not all followers are potential clients, knowing who’s “worth” chatting with calls for following your gut - I’ve been burned before, but in this case, investing my time in chatting/building connection and conversation within healthy professional boundaries ended up being worth it. ✅ He expressed concerns about the cost of my program ➡️ ...and instead of lowering my pricepoint for him, I gently encouraged him to invest in himself, if he wanted to. There was no attempt to hard sell, I didn’t defend my pricing. My rates are not negotiable just because they’re inaccessible to some people. I wanted him to know that other clients are paying this rate - I wasn’t desperate to secure him as a client and he knew I was able to fill his potential spot with someone else.
2
10
New comment 21d ago
1 like • 22d
@Corinna Miller Thanks for your comment and encouragement, Corinna! And I hear you, it's a pickle to target the people who need your services at the right time, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE believe your clients exist, and they're looking for you, too! It's just a matter of time before you find each other. I have a feeling you're doing great in Year 1 (because here you are, engaging, bettering yourself through connection and commmunity!). And it only takes years and years of dedication to become an overnight success, right? ;) So keep going. Chugging along makes for an epic success story one day...you're just living the part of the movie where the "building-and-creating" montage takes place. I always think about how in the Rocky movies, the training montages are 20 seconds long, but the montage itself eclipses YEARS of his training! Super annoying, but if he had given up in year 1, there'd be no badass montage to match to that badass music, ya know? Happy to brainstorm some ideas with you on how you can reach more of an audience - and I bet @Kerry Morrison is *dying* to share some fresh ideas on approaching new clients 😁 😎
0 likes • 22d
@Emily Aborn Totally. Good point. I can't even think of a scenario where a business' client-base isn't using the Internet. And if online-users aren't the primary market, then at least having an online presence can't hurt..it can only help broaden reach to new markets, too. And to your point of the family members who are scoping out the nursing home scene - if it was me looking for a spot for my elderly loved ones, I'd need to know the nursing home is in touch with today's technology...I somehow associate an online presence with professionalism...like if you don't have at LEAST a website, how can you possibly have technologically-sound-and-accurate record-keeping for your patients when it comes to medical history or administering medication? This association is probably a result of my age having grown up (for the most part 😅) with the Internet.
For Anyone Who Missed it on Substack
This is for anyone who has ever doubted themselves. I spent most of my career convinced I wasn’t creative. Surrounded by designers, writers, and photographers making magic, I thought my role was simple: help them do their thing and stay out of the way. When you’re surrounded by naturally gifted people, it’s easy to believe you don’t belong. That’s the story I carried for years: no design background, no writing degree, no clue what a past participle is. Creativity just wasn’t my thing—or so I thought. When you're surrounded by naturally gifted people, it's easy to tell yourself you're not that person. Not your thing. Stay in your lane. But here's what I learned ( sadly, very late ): Being creative isn't about being the best. It's not about perfect grammar or fancy degrees. It's about having something to say and finding your way to say it. Turns out, I'm a writer. No qualifiers needed. Not because I'm technically brilliant - any English major would have a stroke reading some of my sentences. I'm a good writer because I am an effective communicator. Because sometimes I manage to say something that matters. And yes, because people pay me to do it. If I could become a writer without the traditional path, what else could I create? This question changed everything. Once I understood that being "qualified" wasn't the key to creating value, I started seeing possibilities everywhere. Writing wasn't about mastering rules - it was about connecting ideas with people who needed them. I can do that. What Else Can I Do? We live in a time where technology is tearing down the walls between idea and creation. Tools that once required teams of experts are now available to anyone willing to spend a few hours learning the ins and outs. AI can help code. Design tools are more intuitive than ever. The gap between imagination and reality is shrinking daily. So here I am, the guy who spent years thinking he wasn't creative enough, building things I never thought possible. Apps. Websites. Communities. Me, solo, with nothing but curiosity and modern tech as my team.
2
3
New comment 23d ago
1 like • 23d
Love some of the points you touched on here about self-doubt and how people relate to the concept of creativity, Kerry! You've inspired some thoughts....here's what comes to mind for me... As I'm building another session through my mentorship program for people who identify as "non-creatives" who are looking for ways to improve their creative-thinking skills, the most common thing folks blurt out during our initial conversation is "I don't have a creative bone in my body, I can't even draw a stick figure!" I hear this so often, it makes me laugh... it's as if everyone is using the same script! 😂 Maybe they say this to me because I'm a visual artist, but what they don't know is that I've never attached my "creativity" to my visual art. The visual art I produce is the output, (aka the result) of my creative thinking. That same output can take the form of writing, cooking, singing, dancing or most of all...THINKING. I'm empowering my clients to reframe the word CREATIVITY and what it means - I remind them that if they've had to solve *any* problem today, they've exercised a form of creativity. Creativity is a lifestyle, a way of thinking...to be creative is to take an adventurous and courageous approach to every day life. And what I haven't considered before is how you pointed out that being creative these days is arguably easier than ever, thanks to the amount of tech tools that are available to allow the average person to go from "hey, I have an idea!" to "Whoa, I can actually make this happen!". This is THE TIME to be the most creative! Be delusional, think big, embrace those wild, grandiose dreams...there are more tools than ever to bring a seemingly "creative" idea into fruition. WHAT AN EXCITING TIME TO BE ALIVE!!! I'm going to share your Substack article with my clients who need the reminder that feigning "I'm not creative enough" is no longer accepted as a valid excuse in 2025...🎉 2025 is the year to reframe, reapproach and to think big - slinking around in someone else's professional shadow is just so 2024. *hair flip*
Coffee Chat Today ( Dec 10 )
If anyone was around, I’ll jump on the coffee call in a couple hours.
1
2
New comment Dec '24
1 like • Dec '24
I'm planning to attend if there's other folks joining...
Tuesday
Hey guys, going to post some things today, starting to fill out the landing page content section, and I do have that coffee hour in the schedule. I know a few of us have talked about finding a more convenient time for those and to do some coworking. Should I leave this today and I can chat with anyone who needs has questions. Or should I wait again until we have more members and better times?
2
8
New comment Dec '24
1 like • Dec '24
I've never tried a group work session before but I'm open to it. I'm on team-afternoon-work-session... (don't talk to me before 10am, results may vary). Without making a commitment to attending every week, I'm happy to attend at least a couple of times to see what comes of it. My preferences: Tues, Wed, Thurs are cool ...post-lunch 1:30pm onwards is great, I'm flexible.
1-4 of 4
Tania LaCaria
2
13points to level up
@tania-lacaria-7261
Tania LaCaria is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist specializing in abstract painting and found-object sculpture. LaCaria’s work explores paradox.

Active 5d ago
Joined Nov 27, 2024
INFJ
Toronto
powered by