Valerie: 0:01

Hey, I am so excited to be with you today. I have something that I'm bursting to tell you and also something exciting that is going to be happening here on the podcast for the next five days. You are listening to the Peaceful Creative Podcast. My name is Valerie McKeehan. I am your host. I am joined today by my husband, Mak, who's here with me.

Mak: 0:30

Hello, hello.

Valerie: 0:31

And if you've listened to the podcast before, you know he's been on the podcast a few times now and a few episodes, and we are both going to be talking about something that we are very passionate about. A little bit of a backstory with us we have been entrepreneurs since 2008.

Mak: 0:52

Together, together. Previous to that, we were entrepreneurs separately, separately.

Valerie: 0:57

But we met and started our first business together. What three, four months later, after we met?

Mak: 1:05

Yeah, like into dating essentially.

Valerie: 1:07

I do not recommend, however, it did work out.

Mak: 1:10

It did work out and it was an advertising agency.

Valerie: 1:12

Yes, we did marketing. Then, after that is when I started my business, which was an art business. Lily and Val started as a hobby. That took off. Maybe a year or so into that, mac joined full time. We've been working on that art business full time for many years it was over a decade and now changing into my current model of business Mac's current model of business, where he is a business coach and a creativity coach, I work with creatives on education and teaching them how to paint, also still running my own art business. We still do have Lily and Val as an art business, so I'm saying that to say we are very well versed in the world of art and artpreneurship.

Mak: 2:07

And honestly, we have spent almost 100% of the working hours of our lives since we met selling things. Right, I mean, it's literally all we have done. We helped a lot of businesses sell things and then, with Lily and Val, we sold a ton, a ton, a ton of art in all kinds of different ways, not just one way, not just an Etsy store or a Shopify store, but internationally. We did licensing deals and you also started that business selling art one-on-one, personally, like originals, out to people. And then, with this current iteration of everything that you're doing, that all started with you selling your fine art pastel pieces one-on-one and now it has grown into the current iteration of your business with all the education and the membership and the courses and things like that. And probably the number one question that we have seen over the last six or seven years, people say can you please help us? Can you help me sell my artwork? How do you do this? How can I get started selling art?

Valerie: 3:20

I was just about to say, hey, why are we telling you all of this art? I was just about to say why are we telling you all of this? Just to come on here and tell you what our past and our background is. Why are we saying that? And it is because of just that. We've been hearing so many questions about starting an art business, questions with selling how do I do it? How do I price my work, how do I market, how do I get on social media? On and on and on, because it can be overwhelming. And my own personal journey, which, if you listen to the podcast, you know has been one that has been filled with ups and downs of entrepreneurship, where I burned out, really had to discover my own creativity again, my own sense of self and authenticity, and it's taken me really this journey of how many 12, 13 plus years as an entrepreneur to come around to making all of the mistakes failing in the ways that we failed.

Valerie: 4:23

coming back to myself, my creativity, I feel now at this place of being able to really confidently step into answering those questions and answering them in a meaningful, bigger way.

Mak: 4:42

And it's something that is so true because over the years in my entrepreneurial history spans very, very long time. I mean I've been starting businesses since back in high school and a vast majority of them did not work. I mean, my list of failures is very long, but I don't look at them that way, because you learn. It's like when Thomas Edison said he found 1000 ways not to make a light bulb. I found probably more than 1000 ways not to run a business and 1000 ways not to sell things. But when you finally hit your stride and you have a couple of those successes which we've now had, it's really empowering.

Mak: 5:22

And I've had a lot of people this is how I got started coaching and people asking well, how did you do this? And you start going to lunch and you have calls or Zoom calls and you're helping people. And then you begin to realize you know what? Maybe there's some wisdom here, that I can actually help other people, which has always been my dream, and now I get to do that all the time in my own business. But also, this is something I'm so excited about because, listening to this right now, I'm sure you have a thousand questions how in the world can I do this?

Mak: 5:57

How can I sell my art? How can I not feel skeevy or weird or gross selling it? How can I do it and have fun? Can I replace my current income? Can I just be able to take my family on vacation? Can I just be able to go out to eat once a week and my art pays for it? These are all things that people want to know, and we can help you do that. And I want to tell you right now I don't care who you are, I don't care where you are in life.

Valerie: 6:33

It is 100% possible for you to do that, yeah, so we are very excited to tell you about a new course that we are launching. It is launching in January, but there's fun stuff that is starting in November and December to really get you off on the right foot to go into the new year.

Mak: 6:46

So it officially starts in January. But we're so excited and chomping at the bit and we obviously Q4 is here and people want to get their legs under their torso, or whatever the phrase is, and get their feet, so we're like, we're like ready to go now.

Valerie: 7:01

Yeah. So what is cool about this? The course is called the Peaceful Artpreneur, because how often we are so sick of all of the cliches thrown at artists. We hear artists are tormented, they're struggling, they're starving, they're suffering Enough with that. They're suffering Enough with that.

Valerie: 7:29

You can be a peaceful creative, which is the name of the podcast, because I feel so strongly in that, because I was on the other side and I was that angsty, suffering person.

Valerie: 7:37

But there is a way to be a peaceful creative and there is also a way to be a peaceful artpreneur where you are selling and having an art business in a way that feels fulfilling, joyful, supporting who you are, a way that feels good, and that is what we want to open up to you. If you think that you want to start selling your art, if this is something that you're saying, it's a goal of yours, but you maybe just don't feel ready or you feel afraid, we want to take you on this journey with us. The course is going to span six months. The first three months we are going to be live. We're going to be giving you all of the lessons and the content and the learning that we have gained over the course of this decade plus. But the cool thing is, it's all live. This is not a recorded module course. We're going to be with you.

Mak: 8:44

So, because this is something that Valerie and I have been talking about doing for a long time, because this is easily the most requested thing that people have been asking us, Absolutely.

Mak: 8:54

Since the days of Lily and Val, but especially now with what you're doing. We didn't want to. I mean, we had a thousand options. We could have sat in pre-recorded modules and packaged it all nice up and just sold them as one-offs and all this, but we knew that, in order for you to get the success that both Val and I know that you're capable of achieving, that, we wanted to do it alongside you. We wanted it to be raw and real and in real time.

Mak: 9:25

And so, while we have a plan for those first three months, which are really the action months January, February and March we're going to be getting feedback from everyone who joins in process and, I'll be honest, we have to make changes to the curriculum or we have to go one way versus another way because of all the feedback that we're getting, because it's going to be a conversation. This course is not Valerie and I on a screen preaching at you. We're going to actually have a two-way conversation. So this is something you've been nervous or you're even if you're not nervous, but you've been unsure about doing. Think of us as we're your partners in getting things going, Starting in January. We're here and we're ready to go and we're going to work with you, we're going to roll our sleeves up and we're going to do it together.

Valerie: 10:14

Yep, you're going to have live support the entire time. All of the classes will be live. Be with you on Zoom. As Max said, it's going to be raw and real. We're going to do it together, alongside of you. You're going to be in community with other people, which is a huge, huge thing when you can be with somebody who is also walking the same path and encouraging and supporting one another.

Mak: 10:43

It's essentially going to be everything we wish we had over the last 12 or 15 years building our business, because 100%. I mean, I can't even count the amount of money that we've lost or the number of mistakes we made or all the ways that we got stuck in the mud that I wish we had this, what we're doing now to prevent us, because we would just be in a completely different place right now if we had had the help that we're so passionate now about providing.

Valerie: 11:11

Yeah, so it's going to be those first three months that are really the action months. As Max said, we're going to be having weekly classes, there's going to be inspired action calls, where we are going to be alongside of you so that it's not just something that you're talking about, that you want to do, but you actually take that inspired action to move yourself forward and you don't have to go at it alone, because doing something new like this it can be scary, but we're going to be with you every step of the way. And then there's going to be three additional months of support. So you need something. You have a question, something comes up. Support, so you need something. You have a question, something comes up. There's going to be that room and that space for you to get what you need.

Mak: 11:57

And we really wanted to structure it that way because, you know, first of all, six months is a long time to dedicate to something. I mean, we all look, we know how busy you are, we have two kids under the age of five or five and under, and we're running two businesses and our lives are absolutely crazy. So we didn't want to create something that was going to be this big time suck that was going to have all of this homework and all of these, module upon module, and all of this stuff. No, no, no. We wanted to create something that would be fun, first and foremost, above all.

Valerie: 12:30

Because if it's not fun, then what?

Mak: 12:32

is the point.

Valerie: 12:34

We want to have our businesses because we want our lives to be better and to be fun.

Mak: 12:38

And then number two, something that you could grasp and take action steps on right away. And number three then, when you're done with the three months, you are so confident and more than likely you'll have already sold something before the course is over, and so that's what we're excited about. But then Val and I were talking we're like what is one of the biggest problems that we have with courses is you go through it and it feels great, and then you're off on your own and then you kind of freeze a little bit because it's the first time you're out. So we said let's back it up and let's give three additional months of support following the first three months. And so that's I'm I'm almost like more excited about that, because I can't wait to digest the questions and actually get deep and help people work through and and there is nothing more exciting than experiencing somebody's wins- yeah.

Mak: 13:29

And I can't wait for that because I know, I know we're going to have a lot of winners. Yeah, and I can't wait for that because I know, I know we're going to have a lot of winners.

Valerie: 13:33

Yeah.

Mak: 13:34

And, and, and, so it's. I'm just so excited.

Valerie: 13:36

Yeah, and it's really cool too because of the individual perspectives that we each bring to this topic and how we have. We've obviously worked together for a long time in business. We understand that, but I think, coming from my perspective of things as an artist, coming from your perspective as things as a creative, but also leaning on more of the business side, the strategic side, but we both have both and it's really going to be so unique and I'm really excited for that.

Mak: 14:14

And I'm going to throw in here a little caveat. So up to this point, everything that you have produced, we've produced for your business, has been Soft Pastel. Specific related the membership, the courses and things like that. This course is not just for artists who sell Soft Pastel, this course is for any artist any artist that wants to sell anything visual.

Valerie: 14:36

It's going to lean toward, going to lead toward visual.

Mak: 14:39

But I'm telling you there's even there will be a lot of advice in here that if you've got other kinds of art, that would be very helpful too. So this is not just soft pastel focus. So even if you're listening now and you're thinking, oh well, I'm not a soft pastel artist, this might not be for me. No, that's not true. This is 100% for you. I don't care what your medium is, we will be able to help you.

Valerie: 15:01

Yeah. So what we are doing? We are having a pre-sale right now, since the course doesn't officially launch until January. So from now until November 16th, you will want to sign up. If this is speaking to you, if you have the tug right now, that is saying this is my time, this is my moment. Maybe you're feeling nervous and scared, but you're like I want this, I want to tell you you're ready for this. So we have the pre presale going on. That is until November 16th. There is a huge discount for being part of the presale Plus.

Valerie: 15:39

as we mentioned before, although the official content and calls kick off in January, the regular schedule we are doing three bonus calls in November and December. One of them is a pricing masterclass. We're going to touch on that on the podcast here in the next couple of days, but we are really going to dive into pricing so that you can feel confident about that.

Mak: 16:02

That is probably the number one question under the umbrella of selling your art and, honestly, every piece of advice you've probably gotten up to this point is wrong.

Valerie: 16:14

Yeah, yeah, we have a different take on that. And then we're also going to do a holiday sales bootcamp so that you can even capture some sales here as we're going into the holiday season, so you can get your feet wet and start in a time when people are buying. They're buying for holiday gifts, so it is a great time to just really dive in feet first. Again, you're not doing it alone. We're going to be there with you.

Mak: 16:39

And maybe even cover the cost of the tuition before the whole thing even starts. It will be very possible.

Valerie: 16:47

Then we will be doing a vision workshop. This is our take on goal setting. It's also different than maybe what you have heard, but we're going to do an entire vision casting workshop so that you can feel really good and prepared going into the new year, going into this experience, going into who you want to become and who you want to be in the new year, and it's going to be a lot of fun, it's going to be very empowering. It's an exercise that I started doing personally every year and it's really just really powerful.

Mak: 17:25

So if you want all the details, just go to ValerieMcKeoncom slash sellwithpeace. There's no spaces, no capitals, just ValerieMcKeoncom slash sellwithpeace. There's no spaces, no capitals, just ValerieMcKeoncom slash sellwithpeace. Of course, the link is listed in the show notes right now. All the details are available there the pricing you'll be able to see the massive discount plus the bonuses, like these three bonus calls, their value and everything that you're going to get and that all expires in a few days. So make sure you go and check it out.

Valerie: 17:54

We're just so excited. We're excited for those who are going to say yes to this next version of your journey in creativity. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. We are excited to meet you. So make sure that you get that now, so that you can get that discount and those bonuses and not wait.

Mak: 18:14

And, of course, if you have any questions or anything in the meantime, if you check everything out and you're like well, what about this, what about that? There isn't a frequently asked questions up there as of the recording of this podcast, but we're working on getting one because we have a lot of questions coming in, so it might be there by the time you hear this. But if not, just email us support at ValerieMcKeoncom and I'll give you a little secret I get all those emails. So if you email support at ValerieMcKeoncom, it's not going into some like AI driven world where we will never hear from you. That comes right to like my desk right here.

Mak: 18:47

I will read your email personally, so even if you just want to say hi, support at ValerieMcKeancom. We'll answer the questions as quickly as we can and also be able to potentially put them on the FAQ.

Valerie: 18:59

Yeah, all right. So that brings us to what we are going to be talking about today and for the next four days. So we are going to be back with you on the podcast here for five days straight because we want to share with you some of our biggest breakthroughs, our biggest philosophies when it comes to selling art. You're going to get a ton out of it out of these next five days, so we're just excited to talk about this.

Mak: 19:33

Come along with us for the journey and also share it with other art, friends and things, because even if you would decide not to do it which might not be for everybody you're going to get something out of these next five days. So make sure you bookmark it, you save it, you come back and you join us every day.

Valerie: 19:47

So today's episode is all about exploring your mindset when it comes to business, when it comes to selling, when it comes to money. That's really what it is. It's that introduction of the exchange of money that gets a lot of artists feeling like, oh no, because this is what I hear all the time. Artists are loving their art practice and their creativity and it feels so good and it feels fun and they're enjoying it. And then it's like, oh, let's talk about selling, let's talk about business, and it's like business. You know, this creepy voice comes down or something and it feels like I got to stiffen up, I got to get serious, this is a big deal, this is money, and it's like you just get heightened and heightened and more pressure. So if there's anything that I can tell you today is it does not have to be that way.

Valerie: 20:45

I want you to think about business, selling, as an extension of your creative practice itself. Business, this exchange of money let's not even think about it as that. Let's think about business as an exchange of value. Somebody is saying I value this, I value what you can add to and bring to and enrich my life with, and in exchange for that, you are both getting a really cool charge from that. They're getting a charge because they're getting something that is enriching their lives. You are getting an appropriate compensation and an exchange for that in the form of money, which gives you a charge and makes you feel really good, and then everybody is happy going on their merry way, having this very beautiful, energetic exchange that happened.

Mak: 21:56

It's really a cool thing and I want to say here is every business that's ever been created is just an extension of someone's creativity, that's it. If you begin looking at business as an actual creative venture in and of itself it's not even venture adventure Then you begin to realize, oh my goodness, it can actually be fun, it can be exciting, it could be. It doesn't have to be.

Mak: 22:22

We hear business and we think business books and we think business school and we think you know nerdy, guys, nerdy guys in glasses who are saying make a business plan and you got to have your ones and your zeros and your decimals and all. No, no, get that out. Business is nothing more than a real life expression of the creativity that's within you.

Valerie: 22:47

And sharing it with other people who you make it available to them. Business is an invitation. Selling is an invitation to invite somebody into experiencing something amazing, like I said, that will enrich their lives and make their lives better. It's beautiful and often, as the artist, we can tend to feel some resistance there because we feel like, well, who am I to offer this, who am I to sell this thing? Or we feel like it's somehow imposing on other people's lives to try to sell your work.

Valerie: 23:33

But think about your own experiences of buying things that you were so excited to buy. I mean, go to the mall, look around. People are very, very happy to be at the mall and to be shopping and nobody is going past JCrew or whatever and saying how dare they sell that stuff. No, we're saying thank you, we love it, we want to buy this stuff.

Valerie: 24:02

And if you think about the experiences that you yourself have had when you have bought something that you've really wanted and how that makes you feel, and maybe if it's something that's a high, high price purchase, you're finally like, okay, this is the day I'm doing it and you're so happy and you like, either press that button online or it just it feels so good and think about when you have supported a person, a small business, somebody that you had that connection with. We can think about the bigger brands and things, and that's fine too. That's all part of this beautiful flow. But think about a small business that you've purchased from. How good did that make you feel to buy that person's handiwork? It feels good. We love it. So let's think about this idea of selling and this exchange. All you're doing is opening an invitation and inviting this beautiful flow to happen where everybody, when it's done right and you get appropriately compensated, the person gets the value that they want, and when that happens, it's beautiful, it's an amazing thing.

Mak: 25:22

And you are probably already doing this pretty regularly in your life. So think about this If you invite some friends over for dinner or family, you probably don't just throw out some paper plates and order a pizza. I mean, you might have it's a kid's pizza night or something but what you do is you go through your recipe books and you find your favorite recipes. You might have like a lasagna you make. That's great, and you take time to set a nice atmosphere and you might put the music on and set the candles and whatever, and you aren't expecting any money for that. But what you're doing is you're inviting people into your home and you're giving a big creative part of yourself to them to make them feel happy and welcome and loved and appreciated. That is all that you're doing when you're selling your artwork, too. It is the same exact principle, except you're selling art rather than inviting people into your home, in a way, you're inviting people into your soul, into who you are as a creative and into who you are as an artist. And in terms of selling, you are selling every single day of your life. Already, I promise you, you are.

Mak: 26:37

You know that movie that you saw a couple weeks ago that you haven't been able to stop telling people about, or that great novel you read, or the new song that came on your Spotify playlist and you're going around trying to get everybody you know to listen to that song or watch that movie or read that book. And when you convince people to do it, and it feels so good because you know they're going to absolutely love it, and it just feels so great. You sold them on that song. You sold them on that novel. You sold them on that movie. You're already selling, and if you have little kids, you're probably selling them on that novel.

Mak: 27:13

You sold them on that movie. You're already selling, and if you have little kids, you're probably selling them on the peas and the vegetables and all the things You're already selling every single day of your life and you're enjoying it. When you try to convince somebody to, it is like this thing, let you like. If it's a song, it's a song that you just absolutely fell in love with and it makes you feel good. You want everybody else to feel as good as you did, and so you're doing it benevolently. That is what you just take that same principle and you apply it to your artwork.

Valerie: 27:47

But here's what comes in. So let's talk about this next Money.

Mak: 27:52

Yeah, you're right, you're going. Hey, mac, yeah, but none of that costs anything.

Valerie: 27:57

So, but you get the idea of that is what we're doing and I love what you said about it's setting an experience for somebody and especially as an artist, you are able to create that world I guess is what I'm saying and invite people into partaking in a meaningful way, with their dollar of partaking, into what it means to be part of your world and what that says about them. So we're going to go back to money in a second, but I want to say often I've heard this recently that a journey into entrepreneurship is a journey in self-worth.

Mak: 28:40

Isn't that interesting. That's really good.

Valerie: 28:42

Because we stop ourselves, because you think, oh well, I'm not enough, I'm not good enough, I'm not worthy of this, and so it's a real exercise in self-worth. But here's the thing In entrepreneurship, it's not even about you, and that is what is kind of hard to maybe grasp your head around at first, because you're thinking well, I am the artist, they are investing in me, they're investing in my heart and they're investing in this world that you're creating for them. Yes, that is true. However, they're going to buy because of what it says about them, how they are bought in to that world, and that story and what you are offering is mirroring to them what they are saying about them.

Valerie: 29:33

So, if we think about even back to some bigger brands, what is the difference between a Gucci bag and a bag from Target? Or even go to a nicer bag, like something that's still genuine leather and all very nice? It is in who that person is saying that they are. They are the type of person who wants that energetic exchange. That's what the brand is, because the thing is not even the thing. What they're buying is. I am the identity and the type of person who is going to go in and buy a Gucci bag and what that says about them.

Mak: 30:17

And no business or exchange of commerce was ever created to just be a one-way street. Businesses exist for one reason, and that is to solve a problem. Every single person who has created a business is solving a problem for somebody else, and so what you're doing with your art is you are helping to enrich somebody's life, help them feel good, help them feel positive. You are solving a problem for them through joy and happiness and peace and beauty and all of these things. So that's how you have to look at it. You can't look at it as oh, I'm this bad business owner trying to take money from somebody. No, no, no. You are here to bring peace and joy and happiness and love into their lives. That's what Val and I are doing. We're going to be selling this course, but our goal is to help you. We're doing this to help you. We're not doing this for ourselves, and that is what is so beautiful about looking at selling your art through that lens.

Valerie: 31:29

And when you add in the piece of money. So let's go back to money, because it becomes very sticky when we think about money and we could dedicate a whole part of this to money mindset, which we're going to go deeper into in the course.

Mak: 31:42

In the course and probably a couple of calls on that.

Valerie: 31:45

However, the exchange of money, again being that energetic resource that it is, money is a resource. So you have something that you want to put out there, you want to help people with, you want to give them this gift, but you getting back that energetic resource in exchange is what helps the whole entire thing become sustainable, so that you can continue to do it. That's why we are well. There's more than that reason of why we're charging for the course.

Valerie: 32:23

It is a. It's just a known thing that when people pay, they pay attention and it's actually helping somebody when they pay for something. So if somebody buys a piece of art and they spent money on it that felt like a good chunk of money, they are going to value that, that is going to get a special frame and that is going to live somewhere in their home because they paid for that. So they're going to pay attention to that. So there's that element of it, but then there's also the element of money being a resource. So charging for something means you can continue to be sustainable. You can then use that resource in order to continue to do what you're doing, continue to do more good and make more art and put more out there and continue that beautiful cycle.

Mak: 33:21

And so that's why the idea and Val touched on this at the very beginning of this episode was like this idea of the starvingsty artist is so it's just so false, because I'm so over it, because you know what it is.

Mak: 33:36

It's something that that I think society has just built into itself, and we put that on artists. So we say if you're going to be an artist, then you're. You're going to be a star. Like that, those two words almost go together. Oh, you're a starving artist. It's like you're going to suffer, you're going to suffer and you're going to be a star. Those two words almost go together. Oh, you're a starving artist. It's like-.

Valerie: 33:50

Or you're going to suffer.

Mak: 33:51

You're going to suffer and you're going to have no. Artists are just I mean everybody's creative. I believe that every human being in the world is creative and has creative brilliance at some level within them, and I just would love to uncover that for everybody, but especially for people who are listening now. Like visual artists, you have a beautiful, beautiful gift to give to put beauty into the world, and the world needs more beauty, and beauty begets more beauty, and it just continues to grow and to flourish. And so you aren't an angsty, angry, starving artist. You are a beautiful creature who is completely capable of making beautiful, beautiful things.

Valerie: 34:40

And getting an exchange for that, because people want that. They want that way to be invited into something that is speaking to them. And how cool that we can think about it as this like circle, this cyclical thing, where it's like you're enriching through your art, you're getting that exchange back. They in turn are feeling really good and feeling filled up because they can now possess something that spoke to them, something that they now value. And the thing with money it's just a resource.

Valerie: 35:17

If we think about money the same way we think about Wi-Fi and water falling on a plant, it just waters something to make it grow more.

Valerie: 35:30

So something with money just as a real top level thing, we sometimes have just a block toward it and we think that somehow having a lot of money or having more money than maybe you think you deserve or something, is bad. But we have a lot of cultural messaging around that as well. But when you think about money just as a resource and you think about if water fall and sunshine fall on weeds, weeds are going to grow. But if water and sunshine falls on a flower, a flower is going to grow. It is just going to enhance and boost what you are doing and we personally want to see beauty makers, magic makers, people who are creating good and positivity and light into this world that desperately needs it. We want to see them get the water and the sunshine onto them so that you can grow and expand and when you have the resource, then more positivity and light and everything can grow, and that's really just a principle of abundance.

Mak: 36:45

Yeah, and money blockers is something we'll go really deep into in the full-blown course. But to help kind of expand upon what Valerie just said in terms of the weeds and the flower, I love that analogy. All evil and we hear that money is bad and people who have money are bad people, and so this is again another thing like starving artists. That's sort of like built into the architecture of our lives.

Valerie: 37:16

All the villains and movies are always the rich, the rich guy thinking about hallmark movies, which nothing against hallmark movies, because we love them, and we were literally just watching a hallmark movie earlier today. We love it. But we do get that picture painted like oh, this is the rich business person and this is the good you know.

Mak: 37:36

And they're always in the rich person's always trying to ruin the life of the poor person, whatever. So there might even be some subconscious blockers around money that perhaps you don't even recognize you have, and that's OK. We all have those things. But one of the big ones and that's why I'm bringing it up is that money is evil and having money is evil. That's not true. Money is neutral. Money is just nothing more than an energy resource. And so, to your point, we can all probably think of five people who have tons and tons of money who are just terrible people, who are just not good, people that are doing bad things with their money. That would be the weed. But we can also all of us can think of five people who have tons and tons of money who do really good things with their money. And the same thing is true with people who don't have a lot of money. There's a lot of good people who don't have a lot of money. There's a lot of good people who don't have a lot of money, and there's a lot of bad people who don't have a lot of money.

Mak: 38:33

Money is not the problem. Money is the resource. The problem exists within the heart of the person. So one of the big problems is you say to yourself okay, well, I can't. You physically don't allow yourself to be open to receiving more money because you're afraid of being evil or because of these blockers that are built in to your subconscious. We're going to help you work through those kinds of things, because once you overcome that and you realize that money is nothing more than an energetic resource, it becomes so much fun because you don't have to hold on to all your money. You can give it all away if you want to, or you can buy the Gucci bag or go on vacation or whatever you want. You get to decide. But it is a resource that is so great and so you know we'll help you through that. And that's one of the big issues that people face when they first start looking at selling.

Valerie: 39:29

Right, and that's part of. We have these subconscious things that keep us blocked in those ways from even starting. Sometimes, and we may not even realize it, you might just have a just a fear that comes up and you don't know why, but it just seems like oh, selling, I don't know, I don't want to, I don't want to think about it or I don't want to do that, I just want to make the art. I don't, I don't want to sell it, but it could be because of these beliefs, these stories that maybe you're telling yourself. That's just hidden under the surface and so, if anything, I want this episode to just maybe break through to some of that and say oh, maybe I am telling myself a story about this that needs to change and needs to just have another possibility.

Mak: 40:18

And if right now in your mind you're hearing this dialogue and you're going, yeah, okay, guys, whatever you're crazy, that might be something you want to examine. I'm just going to put that out there. If this is feeling like a little bit of friction for you, that's probably a good thing and you're going to want to take a moment to examine that.

Valerie: 40:36

Just to notice and all of this stuff. When we talk about a selling mindset, we talk about business, we talk about the things that are holding you back. It's always in a way of gentleness and just noticing and having something come up and you'll say, oh, that's interesting. Maybe I do feel somewhat stuck around this concept.

Mak: 41:00

And it all comes down to pretty much the art of receiving, which is almost much harder than the art of giving, because you know that even if you're again, if you're out to lunch with a friend, they say let me pick up the check. What's the first thing? Like almost everybody says no, no, no, no, no, you don't have to do that. Okay, instantly, boom right there. We're not comfortable even receiving.

Mak: 41:20

Because boom, right there we're not comfortable even receiving Because it feels vulnerable. Because it feels vulnerable, no, I don't know. So it's a back and forth exchange where, if you can begin to feel comfortable receiving even little tiny like a compliment If someone says, oh, you have a really great smile, oh, no, I don't. You cover your mouth, oh, you know, you're not you can't even receive a compliment then it's going to be a little more difficult or going to take a little bit more time to be able to work through the idea of receiving money and also giving of your talents in charging for them. So if there's a takeaway from today's episode, it would be one of the takeaways. But one of the action items I think you could take this week is examine all the opportunities you have to receive and notice how that makes you feel. All the little ways that you have a chance to receive. How does it make you feel?

Valerie: 42:21

And going back to what we said about entrepreneurship being that mirroring to self-worth and it's really being that exercise in self-worth. And there's so much that's happening under the surface of what is and that's something that we've really have come to understand that when we don't feel safe, when something makes us feel unsafe or it makes us feel too vulnerable, well what's the answer to that? It's really looking at that root cause of why we might be blocking those things and not even realizing it. And even if your brain is telling you I want to do this, this is a dream of mine. But if you are feeling physically unsafe by receiving or this idea of money and asking for money for your artwork, if that just is seeming like, oh, like I can't do that, Well what is that? Let's examine that, because sometimes it's a safety issue, it's a vulnerability issue.

Valerie: 43:22

So this is really about getting down to the root of it and having a new story and just replacing some old story. So a way that I like to do that a lot is if there's a story that you're uncovered, that you're telling yourself and you say is this always 100% of the time true, and examine that. So if the story is, if I sell this, people are going to think, who does she think she is? Or something like that. Well, is that 100% true? Do you know that? Can you think of other artists who are selling the way that you want to be selling, and do you think that about them? Do you think, well, who does she think she is? And so just examine, it's all about. These are big issues, guys.

Valerie: 44:13

I just want to say, too, the idea of mindset. This isn't something that is a once and done like okay. The switch is either on or off?

Valerie: 44:23

No it is not like that is a constant coming back to you and uncovering. But the first step in that is in the noticing and just really seeing where there's stickiness for you and just be like, ooh, I just had that feeling that felt really vulnerable when I was thinking about receiving and just be like, interesting, what's that about? And get curious about that, because entrepreneurship is going to mirror self-worth issues and so it is important and it would be doing a disservice for us to not talk about these things and just lay out like, oh, here's what you do and have this website and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Mak: 45:03

Yeah, and that's not what it's going to be. By the way, we're not going to come along and say here, you got to make all these websites. No, no, no, no. But to expand upon your point a little bit more, I just want to point out there are hundreds, thousands, probably tens of thousands, of artists out there making really good money selling their art right now. So what's the difference between them and you? Because we all know art is subjective. You can't say, oh, they're better than me. No, that's not the case. The case is they're comfortable saying I'm worth getting this for my artwork, and guess what, they're getting it. Getting this for my artwork, and guess what they're getting it. There's there you. Throughout history, billions and billions of dollars have been spent on art. I almost feel like in the news. Every week there's some auction where some the guy that taped the banana to the wall do you remember that a couple years ago? And he got a million dollars for that thing, and and but so like think about it and we laugh about it.

Valerie: 45:58

But the guy got a million.

Mak: 45:59

He duct taped a banana to a wall because he had the audacity to be able to receive that.

Valerie: 46:04

Like literally think about that and the value. It's about what it's the, it's the story, it's the value. There's so much that goes into it.

Mak: 46:10

And we're going to have a whole episode about pricing. And I can be good.

Valerie: 46:23

And I can promise you right now this your art is way better than a banana duct tape to a wall. So I hope that this episode helped uncover something for you, helped just really open you up to this idea that selling can be fun, it can be creative and as you are creating this world, as you're creating your marketing, as you're creating your art offers, even your pricing, this gets to be part of the creative process and as part of that, we all know the creative process is filled with mistakes, it's filled with awkwardness, it's filled with process. How can we embrace that when it comes to selling in business? And that's what we want to help you do.

Mak: 47:01

And that's why we designed the course to not just be module after module in some big chat room that you can go to once a week. No, we're going to do it along with you, we're going to help you. You'll be able to ask questions, you'll be able to get in the hot seat. We will help you through this entire process because, as you just heard, we're going to be tackling some big things and we know that that can't be covered in 10 minutes.

Valerie: 47:23

Right. So again we want to give you that address and that is ValerieMcKeoncom slash sell with peace. But we are with you again for the next couple of days. We want to give you just a lot of content that you can sit with and actionable items even here on the podcast that you can really take and use. So we will be back with you.

Mak: 47:47

And I'll just give you a little teaser tomorrow. Tomorrow is how to set your prices, so make sure, yes that's a big one, so make sure you tune in.

Mak: 47:58

Tomorrow we're going to, we're going to go over our philosophies on setting prices and everything. And again, this is not just for Soft Pastel. If you're an artist of any kind or any visual artist, please check out ValerieMcKeoncom slash sellwithpeace. The discount is going to expire in a few days the early bird discount so make sure you go check it out today. Don't sleep on that, because it's a really good deal to get in on the ground floor up front. Valeriemckeancom. Slash sellwithpeace. And if you know anybody else that you think could benefit from this, please forward this episode on to them and let them know what's going on. All right, it was so good to be with you and let them know what's going on.

Valerie: 48:41

All right, it was so good to be with you and we will be with you again tomorrow. All right, bye.