How exactly does someone with zero business or artistic training launch and grow a $900k business and build a life full of creativity and freedom? Thatās exactly what The Shinah Show explores. Every week, I (Shinah Chang, a former corporate security lawyer turned wildly successful calligrapher and calligraphy teacher) share a lesson that I learned along my journey. Maybe you feel like youāre stuck in a life that doesnāt light you up inside. Maybe youāre craving more creativity, but you donāt ...
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Iām taking a little break from the Podcast and hereās whyā¦ āThis is the scariest thing Iāve ever done and Iām terrified.ā - Shinah FIRST: Crooked Calligraphy is NOT going anywhere In fact, Iāve created a brand-new FREE CALLIGRAPHY STYLE MONTH for March 2024. āļø So, if you want free lessons on how to think about style BUILDING BLOCKS, so you can levā¦
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How to Start a Calligraphy Business (Getting Customers)
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Letās get into part 2 of how to start a calligraphy business with arguably one of THE most important things ā how to attract customers & keep them with the services youāre providing! There is a LOT that goes into starting a business ā which might sound incredibly scary. But this is stuff though where you actually need to show up and courageously keā¦
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How to Start a Calligraphy Business (Legal & Financial Setup)
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Iām de-mystifying the legal & financial steps to officially setup your calligraphy or art business. āI promise, by the end of this episode, this stuff will feel less overwhelming and more DOABLE.ā - Shinah If youāve ever dreamed of making money with your art, but this scary logistical stuff is whatās stopping you, grab a notepad ācause weāre gettinā¦
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Betcha didnāt know I was a huge fantasy nerdš¤ā¦ and other (maybe) interesting facts In todayās light-hearted episode, I share 13 things you probably didnāt know about me! Including: The 21 countries Iāve traveled to The martial arts black belt I never useā¦ What I do in my 40s that I would NEVER DARE to do in my 20s Hopefully you feel like you know mā¦
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What could you accomplish if you no longer feared failure? "Iām more open than ever to feeling it ALLā¦ success, disappointment, shame, and extraordinary gratitude." - Shinah If you go after something brave and a little unusualā¦ you WILL face failure and disappointment. Hereās what I do so that those feelings make me stronger, instead of crushing meā¦
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She Made More Money Than Her Husband (From Calligraphy!!)
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"I made more money than my husband, for the very first time in my life... with calligraphy!" - Priscilla Basilio, Crooked Calligraphy Student Today, Iām interviewing someone who went from: Not knowing anything about calligraphy... to Bringing in more money with her calligraphy business last December than her husband did with his full-time job! Prisā¦
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If youāre afraid to follow your creative dreams, Iām going to give you some perspective today that will totally DISARM your fear (and itās not what you might think). Iāve been encouraging people to go after their creativity in the form of calligraphy for 8 years now. Iāve sold courses that cost $500 or more ā and Iāve also heard EVERY excuse under ā¦
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Genell of @speciallyinked is a BRUSH PEN calligrapher (yes, not all calligraphers use pointed pen!) who started her calligraphy journey as a fun venture - unaware of her savvy marketing skills at the time. She had never really thought of herself as ācreativeā. But after taking my Modern Calligraphy 201 course (and showing her friends her progress aā¦
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psst... Join our FREE 5-Day Calligraphy Challenge (starts Jan 14, 2024) If youāre hoping for more creative exploration and expression in 2024, Iām here to bust some myths about what it truly means to be ācreativeā and explain why as a society we need to re-think creativity just like weāre re-thinking SEX. Join me in this episode as I debunk some ofā¦
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Clarity can only come from Action āThereās just no way to over-think yourself into true understanding. Thatās why Iām walking away from this year with so many lessons.ā - Shinah This year, I did NOT hit my financial goals. And I beat myself up constantlyā¦ all while creating new offers, trying new business ventures, and feeling like a failure most oā¦
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Iām officially back from Korea, and settling back into my CEO role as I break down how Crooked Calligraphy has fared in the 10 months since Iāve dismantled & rebuilt it once again! As I process my feelings and look back on the last year, Iāve had quite the love/hate relationship with its performance. While my revenue was almost spot on to my predicā¦
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Opening a Calligraphy Boutique in a Small English Town
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Dani has always had a life-long love affair with fancy pens and inks. After discovering me through my sweary calligraphy greeting cards on Reddit (crazy right?!?), she began her calligraphy journey in 2018 with my Modern Calligraphy 101 course. When her mental health started to decline due to fertility issues, she made a promise to herself to focusā¦
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I recently hosted a āLaunch Your Profitable Productā Bootcamp, and my students had SO many questions about Etsy. So much so that I added an entire unit to my āBiz Starter Courseā walking you through how to sell on Etsy. There are a LOT of strong opinions when it comes to Etsy. And since I have technically sold products on it since 2015, I figured iā¦
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There are two ways to grow revenue āThe calligraphers I see thriving often have a mix of revenue streams.ā - Shinah This episode started when I got an email from someone asking, sincerely and thoughtfully, whether itās possible to make a living as a calligrapher WITHOUT teaching calligraphy. So I answered her honestlyā¦ I myself make the vast majoriā¦
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How Pain leads to Growth (8 Month Update)
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GROWTH CAN BE INCREDIBLY HARD āOne of the most challenging parts of running a business is that it forces you to confront the parts of you that youāve been AVOIDING your whole life.ā - Shinah This is a deeply personal episode and warning, I get a unabshedly sniffly for the entire second half. I share REAL FINANCIAL NUMBERS from my latest course launā¦
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Let's face it - the real reason most people don't start their own business is because of FEAR. Those paralyzing "what ifs" in your mind ignite your true fears - fear of the unknown, fear of the judgement from others, fear of failure.... But what if there was a way to overcome those? Last week. I held my very first "Launch Your Profitable Product" Bā¦
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āHelp, Shinah!! Someone wants to pay me to write their wedding song lyrics in calligraphyā¦ is this allowed, or am I going to get in copyright trouble?!?ā The Short Answer? You might be violating copyright law, buuuuuut you probably wonāt get in trouble for this one job. The Long Answer? Itās complicated. Iāll try and explain it in easy terms (and kā¦
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What kind of person do you picture when you hear the word āentrepreneurā?? A lot of us (as I did for most of my life) pictured rich, powerful men full of generational wealth. They were venture capitalists, stock brokers, or heads of giant corporations who drove around one of their many sports cars when they werenāt vacationing on their yacht in theā¦
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Whatās the first thing you think of when you hear the word āCUDā?? Probably a cow chewing their cud (at least thatās what I think of). BUT, there is an entirely different definition of āCUDā that can help you jumpstart a profitable creative business (stick with me here!) In todayās episode, I define how to use the āCUD Methodā (clear, unique, doablā¦
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Hobby v. Business Mindset - How to Sell More
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How many of you have ever begin an Instagram caption with āI loved creating _______!ā Yeah, weāve all been there. As creators, making things is what we LOVE to do! YOUāRE always going to love what youāre makingā¦ but are other people? As sellers, we have to remember that we arenāt selling ourselves on our products- youāre selling to an audience. Oftā¦
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If you have ever tried to price a good for sale that you created, or you have but feel like you canāt quite hit the sweet spot- this episode is for you! I find SO MANY of my students wondering āHow the hell do I price my products??ā I totally get it- thumbing through the pages of Etsy researching competitors prices can have you feeling a little, weā¦
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What NOT to do when launching a course. āLooking back, there are some definite reasons why this launch under-performed.ā - Shinah Today, Iām getting both STRATEGIC and quite VULNERABLE. Iām looking at my latest launch of my Intermediate Calligraphy Course and analyzing why: A pre-launch runway is so important Too much content during a launch can beā¦
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Getting & Keeping High-Paying Corporate clients āWorking with big brands is a different beast - they have certain standards and expectations when hiring a professional.ā - Shinah This BONUS EPISODE is a snippet from a live training I did recently called āConfident Calligraphy Style (Stop Copying & Start Attracting High-Paying Clientsā ā¦.psstā¦ Iām tā¦
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Building a business in your hometown āYou donāt need a huge instagram audience or email listā¦you can grow a thriving business rooted in the physical PLACE and community youāre in.ā- Shinah I have three stories for you today - all students of mine - all building calligraphy businesses very much based in their physical home towns. And those communitiā¦
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Iām back with the LAST episode in my āBusiness 101ā Series! So far, I have guided you from the āexploreā phase, through the ārefiningā phase, and now onto the āmasteringā phase of building a well-established creative business. Very few people get to the āmasteringā phase- because it doesnāt just require working on your business, but rather yourselfā¦
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Weāre onto phase 2 this week of Business 101- Refining! So youāve explored and gotten your business off the ground- bravo!! Youāve found some customers, created a few product offerings, and have the framework established to build your businessā¦ now what?? In this weekās episode, we dive into phase 2 of my 3-part Business 101 series- refining! Weāllā¦
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Have you ever tried to start a business, but became paralyzed at the OVERHWHELMING list of to-doās?? Trust me, Iāve been there. In the 8 years Iāve spent building Crooked Calligraphy, Iāve realized there are 3 distinct stages of building a business- exploring, refining, and mastering. Join me in this episode as I guide you through the 1st stage- EXā¦
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Instagram is NOT what it was in 2015- YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THINKING THAT! In the 8 years Iāve been using the platform to grow my business, IG has gone from static photo-only posts, to high-quality reels using trending audio, lightning fast transitions, and catchy hooks. When it comes to growth on Instagram, Iāve experienced it ALL. Stepping back, Iā¦
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Rebuilding After Burnout (Six-Month Update)
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Is my business feeling more joyful these days? āIf you look at the numbers, Iām FAILING hard. But, there are so many ways in which Iām wildly succeedingā¦ā - Shinah Itās time for a deeply personal and vulnerable evaluation of how Iām doing on my year-long RADICAL BUSINESS EXPERIMENT. You know, the one where I declared that I would be running my busiā¦
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EVER DREAM OF DOING CALLIGRAPHY FOR A LIVING? āA calligraphy business was not something that crossed my mind at all when I startedā¦ I have terrible handwriting. Little did I know, two months later, I would leave my job to pursue calligraphy full-time.ā - Shaochen Wu, Monstera Gold These four women show itās totally POSSIBLE to do calligraphy as youā¦
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An "accidental" Workshop Empire (with Sip & Script)
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How do you end up running a nationwide calligraphy workshop biz with your bestie? āWe just put this first class together, winging it the whole timeā¦ and 60 students showed up.ā - Meg Chaloner, Sip & Script Founder Today Iām talking to the co-founders of Sip & Script! Meg Chaloner and Julie Mancini - who met in 2015 when they were the only calligrapā¦
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If you struggle with practicing calligraphy (or anything else!) consistentlyā¦ āYouāre not lacking in discipline. Whatās stopping you is perfectionism.ā - Shinah I hear from so many people that they WANT to get good at calligraphyā¦ and they know that it takes PRACTICEā¦. but they just never get around to actually doing it. Well, spoiler alert: MORE Dā¦
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THE LEGAL STUFF IN BUSINESS CAN SEEM REALLY SCARY. āThereās a big difference between law in THEORY and law in PRACTICE. Dealing with legal stuff on a human relationship level makes it much less intimidating.ā - Shinah Today, Iām giving you a casual legal education =) Some of you may know that I used to a corporate lawyer. So I want to break down alā¦
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They Refused to Pay Me (how to protect yourself)
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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN A CLIENT REFUSES TO PAY YOU? āLooking back, the money was not that big a deal. It was the mental anguish that was the most painful part.ā - Shinah Today, Iām telling the dramatic story of how I worked my butt off as a new calligraphy business ownerā¦ and an unscrupulous client took advantage of my naĆÆvetĆ© and REFUSED TO PAY ME. Tā¦
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Calligraphy Business Model Options āMost beginner creative business owners spend all their time trying to increase followers without understanding WHYā - Shinah Come get an inside peek at the overall STRATEGY Iām thinking through for my calligraphy business. If youāre a new or growing calligraphy business owner, and youāre not sure if youāre spendiā¦
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Sales Results, Pricing Lessons & 5-Month Check-in
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āIām thrilled with our sales results, even though they're lower than we're used to... and here' s whyā - Shinah If youāre interested in the true behind-the-scenes of ābigā business resultsā¦ this episode is for you. I chat openly and honestly about: The RESULTS (in real dollars) of our recent sale of calligraphy courses - the first real launch weāveā¦
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From Beginner to Pro Calligrapher (four student stories)
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āYOUR SUBCONSCIOUS NEEDS TO SEE THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING ITā¦ BEFORE YOU CAN GO FOR IT!ā - SHINAH Today, Iām bringing you something different. FOUR SUPER-RELATABLE STORIES of women who started as calligraphy beginners, and are now Calligraphy Professionals. All four purchased the Pro Calligrapher Bundle in April 2022 and have already booked theirā¦
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āFocus on these two core things, and donāt let the rest of the business details bog you downā - Shinah In todayās episode, Iām breaking down exactly how to launch your CALLIGRAPHY STARTER BUSINESS. Itās easier than you think, and will get you crucial learning and skills to continue building. First, I bust the MYTH that you have to have everything fā¦
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āYou can sell your calligraphy without having an official business - but youāll want to weigh the pros and consā - Shinah If youāve ever dreamed of selling your calligraphy to make some extra cash, but you donāt want the hassle of a full-on, official business, this super practical episode will help you weigh the pros and cons. How the IRS defines hā¦
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Riding the Entrepreneurship Rollercoaster (2 Month Update)
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āThe goal is not to get a place where everything is zen. But, to reach acceptance that life is hard and that is beautifully ok.ā - Shinah Itās been TWO MONTHS since I came back to my calligraphy business, determined to run it with more freedom and experimentation and joy. Many of you might have been (rightly) wondering, āBut donāt you still have toā¦
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As a creative entrepreneur, what do you do when you launch a product or offering... and the SALES DON'T COME IN?? After 7 years of entrepreneurship, as a professional calligrapher then as a calligraphy teacher, I've run into this situation once or twice... and it just happened AGAIN, with a new training I recently launched. I share three important ā¦
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The demand for calligraphy workshops (and people to teach them!) is alive and well. Iāve heard from SO many of you that youāre itching to host your own workshops- but paralyzed at the laundry list of to doās that forms even before signing up your first attendee. I want more of you to feel EMPOWERED to teach your own classes!! So in this weekās episā¦
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What Calligraphy Biz Owners struggle with
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āWho do you need to be in order to make a million dollars?ā When youāre starting a creative business, itās the latter part thatās the real hang up. Youāve found your creative passion, but then you get stuck on the actual business part of itā¦ I recently offered 12 creative entrepreneurs a free coaching session to help them work through their businesā¦
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One Month into the Radical Biz Experiment
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āIf youāre curious if someone can totally disappear from their business for 9 months, and then come back and still sell stuff right out of the gateā¦ hereās your answer...ā Itās been a little over a month since Iāve made my official return to social media and my calligraphy business. Thereās been a whole lot of good, a little bad, and even some uglyā¦
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Join me in part 2 of "My Major F*Up", where I share one of my BIGGEST f*ups in my creative business to date š¤¦š»āāļø I posted Crooked Calligraphy's "worst review of all time" that one of our calligraphy students left in our āStudent Surveyā that we ask all our students to complete at the end of the course. I thought that if I blurred out the reviewerāā¦
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Join me for this 2-part saga where I do something new and bold and scary and vulnerable.... and find out I royally f*cked up while doing it and hurt a couple people. In PART 1 I talk about how I shared the WORST (but most valuable), 1-Star review our Modern Calligraphy 101 course has ever gotten in 6 years and 4,500 students. And the three reasons ā¦
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After 8 years of working with a life coach, quitting a lucrative law job to build up a million-dollar calligraphy business, and then taking a huge, risky break from that businessā¦ I think Iāve finally figured out the BEST WAY to make DECISIONS for myself. ā¦And itās not ātrust your feelingsā or āwhat does your body tell you?ā Because hereās somethinā¦
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My 9-Month Sabbatical (Burnout, Laziness, Creative Projects & Finances)
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Today I answer YOUR questions about the 9 month break that I took from my business, Crooked Calligraphy. What did the day-to-day look like? What creative projects did I do? How was my wedding? Was it hard to actually relax and do nothing? How did I prepare myself financially? Listen in for my honest, unscripted answers. PLUS - I'm opening up my calā¦
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Season 2! I'm baaack (in a different way)
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An impromptu start to Season 2 of the Shinah Show. I'm back from a 9-month break from my calligraphy business... and I want to do things differently this time around. More informal, organic and off-the-cuff. Tune in to hear more about my Radical Business Experiment of 2023 and how I'm approaching Instagram differently these days. I also explain whyā¦
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āI need to take some time to really get clear and think through how I want my life to look, because I donāt want it to look like just another version of that law job that I left.ā - Shinah I have a big announcement and Iām just going to come right out and say it: the second season of The Shinah Show will be postponed until further notice. After theā¦
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