Creative Space with Jennifer Logue

Unlocking Success for Creative Entrepreneurs with Marjorie Gutierrez of Smart Business Designs

• Jennifer Logue

Share episode

In this insightful episode of Creative Space, we sit down with Marjorie Gutierrez, founder of Smart Business Designs, who brings over 25 years of experience in the fine art shipping industry to the podcast. Marjorie has worked in some of the world’s top art cities, including London and New York, helping creatives and artists scale their businesses by implementing effective systems, strategies, and structures.

Marjorie shares her journey, discusses the importance of having processes in place to ensure long-term success, and introduces her fun yet practical "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" method for diversifying income streams. Whether you're an artist, designer, or creative entrepreneur, this episode is packed with valuable advice on turning passion into profit and creating sustainable businesses.

Tune in to discover:

  • The importance of structure and strategy in creative businesses
  • How to balance passion with revenue generation
  • Overcoming imposter syndrome and gaining confidence in your work
  • Building multiple income streams as a creative
  • Using spirituality and grounding practices to enhance business success

For more information on Marjorie Gutierrez and Smart Business Designs, visit: www.smartbusinessdesigns.com.

To learn more about Jennifer Logue, visit: https://jenniferlogue.com/.

SHOW NOTES: 
0:00 — Introduction
1:31 — Marjorie’s Background in Fine Art Shipping
3:46 — Working Between London and New York
6:17 — The "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" Method for Revenue Streams
8:04 — How Systems and Structures Drive Creative Business Success
12:11 — Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Building Confidence
18:21 — Turning Creative Passion into Profit
22:45 — Using Spirituality to Ground Business Practices
30:23 — Advice for Creative Entrepreneurs

Don't forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share how this episode inspired you!

Jennifer Logue:

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Creative Space, a podcast where we explore, learn and grow in creativity together. I'm your host, jennifer Logue, and today we have the pleasure of chatting with Marjorie Gutierrez, founder of Smart Business Designs. Marjorie brings over 25 years of experience in the fine art shipping industry, with an impressive career spanning London and New York. In her management roles, marjorie mastered the art of implementing systems and strategies that drive company success. Today, she's a go-to expert for creatives, designers and artists looking to take their businesses to the next level. Welcome to Creative Space, marjorie.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Oh, thank you for having me. It's such a pleasure to be here, oh my gosh, it's lovely to have you on.

Jennifer Logue:

Where are you calling from today?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I live in London, the UK. A lot of people get it confused with London, Ontario in Canada.

Jennifer Logue:

Oh, that's so funny, oh my gosh. So what first got you interested in the arts? You've had such an amazing career. What first sparked that interest?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I came to the UK back in 2000 and I worked for a fine art shipping company and they had offices in London, new York and Paris and the south of France and I started in different roles and in 2004 they asked me to start working in their New York office. I started commuting back and forth trying to put system structure within the office and I found that I'm very detail-oriented and it really my experience, my previous experience, matched what they were looking for. So my first I was given carte blanche. It wasn't a Carte de Blanche, it was a lot of work and it was a bit of a mess. So it was great. It was a great opportunity for me and a few years later I lived in New York and I came back to London. I did it for about 20 years back and forth.

Jennifer Logue:

Wow, were you always interested in the arts? Like as a fan, I love art.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yes, I love art. I used to. I always wanted to be an interior designer, so I used to draw Not a very good drawer, but I like to paint abstracts. I like to go to museums, galleries, so it was the right industry for me, where I saw art in the warehouse up close. I can even touch them and it's amazing. Yes, I'm very passionate about business and I love art.

Jennifer Logue:

Oh my gosh. So did you ever want to be an artist yourself?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I do paint as a hobby. When I got divorced, my son was four at the time and he's a boy I don't kick a ball so I had to find ways for us to bond and one of the things I brought to as an activity was buying blank canvases and we'd both sit and paint our own canvas canvases and we'd both sit and and paint our own canvas and we'd chat, you know, with a four-year-old, and then he became five, six, seven now he's 19, so we have that common we love.

Jennifer Logue:

We both love art that is so he does the same to to unwind yeah that is so beautiful and that's such quality. Bonding time yes, wow. Art can enhance our lives in so many ways.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

It is. It is really. I like happy art, which means bold colors, bright abstract. You know not. Art speaks to you as an individual. You know one art might be not somebody's taste, but you know it's a personal choice, right? Yes, I love Aboriginal art as well, because of the colors, its meaning and healing art. I work with painters who are also healers and they infuse. It's like Feng Shui, but it's infused with healing.

Jennifer Logue:

I want to hear more about this. This is so interesting Do we call it healing art? Is that the industry term for it?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yes, it's healing art and my client she creates commissioned artwork and that's something that we created together because she's very niched, like her specialty is amazing. She's an amazing artist. The first time I met her I thought her art was alien, like it was strange, and it grew on me and I became one of her biggest fans. She paints very different from everyone else and it takes time to appreciate it, but the healing part of it it's amazing. She's an amazing healer.

Jennifer Logue:

So interesting, and we were talking about Miro earlier.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

You have Miro on your walls as well, which is amazing. How did you first discover him slowly looking at pictures when I was younger? And then, when I got there, I went to the museum and I saw even more massive painting of Picasso. And yes, so the passion is always there for art.

Jennifer Logue:

And before we started rolling, this is a little bit off topic, but I just wanted to share it with listeners. You talked about this amazing place that you would go to in France. That is like chock full of art from some of the biggest artists of the, would you say, the Impressionist period.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yes, yes, definitely. It's this place called Saint-Paul-de-Vence and they had this restaurant hotel called Le Colombe d'Or, which is very famous. Actually, it's a very famous restaurant and hotel and I think during the 60s there were a lot of artists getting inspired in the south of France, but they couldn't afford their accommodation, so they would gift their art to the hotel. So the walls of this place are filled with Salvador Dali, there's Picassos, there's miro, there's um chagals, there's like amazing. To go there and have a meal is just be surrounded by this. It you know it's, it really takes your breath away. It's beautiful, beautiful and the you know the scenery as well, where it's located. Worth a visit.

Jennifer Logue:

Oh it is. This is added to my bucket list. Now I've got to visit this place. I've got to visit this place. So I have a question for you, marjorie. I ask this of everyone on the creative space, but what is your definition of creativity of everyone?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

on the creative space. But what is your definition of creativity? Creatives are visual artists designers, painters, musicians as well but where I specialize is I help creatives. It's a broad term because I think the whole system around it is the same. The whole system around it is the same. Where it differs is the delivery. The delivery. If you're a painter, the delivery. You know we're going to create a business for you to create commissioned artwork and build different revenue streams, but that's across the board.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

For visual artists. Package your specialty in a way that you're not chasing job after project after project where, after someone had told me, after they're hired and the job's done, they're sort of pushed to one side. So having a structure system strategy in place makes you sure that when they're not hiring you, you are offering your services. It's a different way to look at your business as a whole. Now for musicians as well. Musicians, you have your music, you're the expert. But then how are you structured? How do you offer your services? You don't want to just be hired for the day. You want longevity. You want to be able to have a package that you can offer rather than waiting for them to come to you. You can then take the initiative and offer what you have. Is that clear for you?

Jennifer Logue:

I love that, and I love how you say that being a creative spans industries and mediums. Yeah, it's like it puts the power in your hands as the artist.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yes.

Jennifer Logue:

When you look at it from the perspective of this is the service I have to offer, and it's almost like creating your own opportunities too.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yes, that's right system cash flow, which you know all entrepreneurs, small business owners, are always looking after. It's important to have different structures, different revenue streams. As an artist, if you're offering a commissioned artwork, that's your highest ticket offer, as we say in the industry, or it's your highest package that you can offer, and then you have to have a way to be able to make sure you're getting an income, a passive income, so you create that as well. And then there's the one-offs, where you do one project, it's paid and that's it. You know there's no until the next project. So it's important to have different revenue streams. I call them. Are you ready for?

Jennifer Logue:

it.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I love fun. I call it the eeny meeny miny moe.

Jennifer Logue:

The eeny meeny miny moe method.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I love that.

Jennifer Logue:

Let's talk about it.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

So if you have eeny eeny would be let's say you're a lecturer, you give a lecture at the university, college, high school, grade school, kindergarten you get paid for that lecture, so that's INI, because it's an INI, ini, ini fee. Yes, and then you have, of course, you expand and you look for things. You do a market stall where you sell your paintings, so that's INI. It do a market stall where you sell your paintings, so that's ini. It's a one-time thing. You get paid, that's cash flowing.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Then you have mining, where you have a part-time job, maybe once a week, where you get an income from it, and so that's ini-mini, so that's mini. So you know you're going to get it every week. As long as you keep working once a week, twice a week, three times a week, that becomes an income as well. Right, and you have miney. Now this is interesting If you're a jewelry designer and you offer your products to a department store, that means you've got stocks sitting in a department store. So it's very important that it's not sitting stock, because that's your money, that's your money sitting there.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

So you have to be able to negotiate that you get paid for that. So I call that mining, because it's an income coming in from being a stockist. Stockist is when you put products in a department store. If you're a designer, yeah. And then you have mo, which I make. I make my clients sing it like it's a guess what I got mo, mo, mo, and it becomes really so much fun. You know that's important. The journey is fun, but it's structured. You've got income streams, you've got structure in place, you've got your agreements in place and I show them how to do pitch, how to pitch, how to negotiate. That's part of what I do. And Mo is where you're paid a lot of money. Let's say you're commissioned for an artwork that's worth $10,000. So that's $10,000 into your business and that money you can reinvest it into your business or reinvest it into coaching, into whatever, but that money is a big injection into your business. So the best is mining and mowing.

Jennifer Logue:

Yes because it gets bigger, I call it any me, me, mine and mow. Yeah, it's like these rivers joined the bigger bodies of water towards the end with the mining and mow.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yes, but as a creative, wouldn't you be more excited knowing which pot it sits and if you have any me, me, miny, moe. It's so easy oh, that's a moe, that's a miny. And you get people to really get it and embrace it and know where their income is coming from. Then you're not chasing the money, you're focused on what you do best, which is your talent and passion.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

If you're a musician, you're an artist, you're a writer, you're a designer, you're a visual artist. You can focus on that because that's your passion. But when you have the structure in place, the processes in place, the strategy, what's your goal? If your vision is to be one of my clients' vision was to be an international brand, luxury brand. In two years the first three, four months we worked together we got into a luxury department store. A year later she received an order from Korea and Japan. So she's international within a year and a half. So it wasn't. You have to strategize the goal, the vision, to make sure the structure and the processes can support the business. If you're business, if your processes aren't aligned with your, if your current processes isn't aligned with your business, it's difficult to plan your goal.

Jennifer Logue:

Yes, Wow, I have to say this whole method of yours is like a huge light bulb for me, like I'm so excited because, like it's seriously whoever's listening, I hope you're excited about this because this is pretty big, because it gives you the sense of like empowerment, because you're not chasing, you know what your buckets are.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yes.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

And you can focus on those things and it eliminates that like uncertainty and overwhelm right away definitely, definitely, when you have your structure, when you're building a house, you don't put the windows without having the foundation, although a lot of creatives are afraid of that, you know they fear that structure because it's so much like school. You do this, do this, but you have to make it fun. Yeah, you have to deliver it a certain way. Creatives take it in so you know you're doing any, any, my, any mo, you're singing, you're dancing, you're laughing, it's done. It's done Because another way you can create revenue stream is memberships. So let's say, you're a musician. Well, how do I create membership? Well, yes, there are strategies for that. There's strategy and when you look at it, it doesn't really matter what you do, what you're doing. You can be somebody who runs a magazine, the, the processes, it's the same. Delivery is where you empower. The strategy works well with when you have your processes in place and you get this focus on what you're going to do next, because a lot, of, a lot of creatives are like I don't know what to do next. I'm, I'm overwhelmed, I'm really confused, and they get into this oh, we need this, we need this and this. And I'm like why do you need it? Oh, because I need it to become.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Well, you don't work. Start with your assets. What do you have that you don't need to spend? When you invest, you invest, you invest wisely, because then you work on what you need first and not grab everything else you think you need. And it's hard sometimes. No, no, no, no, you can't do that. A client of mine is like oh, we need to be part of British Council. I'm like why, I don't know, but we have to. And then what? You're going to spend 10 hours filling out the forms applying for it when you should be focusing on your passion and your talent, which is designing. So you know, it's like pulling them back. Pulling them back, no, no, you don't need that. You don't.

Jennifer Logue:

You don't really need that I can totally relate to that. Like sometimes you get, like you start grasping and you think you're being creative because you have all these ideas. But when I reflect on the times when I'm grasping for things, it's coming from a place of desperation and that never yields a good outcome. My best outcomes always come from a place of peace, of love, of just stillness, like those Zen moments. But when you're when you have that desperate energy and you're like, oh, let me try this, let me try this, you know it's that's not the way to go, yes, and ideas are abundant.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

You know, if you've got an idea, sounds great, park it Doesn't mean to say forget about it, park it, work on what you currently have and then, when you have more space, bring it in. Bring it in. And one thing people don't realize, or clients don't realize, is that it doesn't matter if you park it now. When you bring it in, you already have a system, a structure, processes that you're going to be using for that idea. And one of the things that you know FOMO, as everybody oh, I need to be part of this, need to be part of that is that you don't really need to be part of everything Because A, you can't even support you, you can't support it because you're too busy doing other things. So what happens? It just sits there anyway. So why?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Even many years ago, I also lived in mexico. I met a boy and he was moving back. So I said, oh, can I come? Because I've never been to mexico and he's like sure. So I started teaching English when I was there, to pay my rent, food and whatever, and then I created an ecological travel business. Wow, and I knew that the language you know. I spoke. I speak Spanish, but nobody could understand me. I could understand that they couldn't understand me so I couldn't go into that market. So I started with expats living in Mexico. I didn't realize there's so many expats, being an expat myself. I had entry into the clubs, into association. It was easy for me to get in as an expat, gradually. After a year I started getting local families, local businesses or expat businesses. It was amazing and the success of that business was before I even opened the door.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I had my structure in place. I had processes in place, I knew exactly what I was doing. I could do presentations without paper, like I knew. I could see the vision in front of me because I created the structure. I knew my vision, I knew my goals and I would invite anyone to really look before they jump, to see what's behind, what's in front, rather than heading towards whatever happens, happens, don't. Don't do it because it's a waste of time. But if you spend time creating that structure and processes in place and even the strategy comes later, but if you have those two first, you won't be. You know flailing, you know drowning or trying to breathe.

Jennifer Logue:

Yeah. So on that subject, what advice do you have for creatives in evaluating their next idea that they want to pursue? Like, we get all these ideas all the time and it becomes overwhelming because there's so many ideas that we might get, and it's like how do we evaluate which idea is the right one for us to pursue?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Okay. Well, look at what's working. Okay, you don't need new ideas at this point. If you're, if you're trying to figure out where you're at, look at what's working, don't worry too much about what's not working. You know how they always say look at what's working, what's not working? No, just look at what's working, don't worry too much about what's not working. You know how they always say look at what's working, what's not working no, just look at what's working. How do you do that? What exactly do you do? Make a list. Let's say I offer this, I offer this, I offer this. How much do you charge for them? How much do you charge for them? What have you made from these in the last six months?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

If you have one that you're not excited about but it makes the most money, you have to keep that because that's a way man. But then look at if you're offering 10 services and only three are working, why keep the other seven? Park it, just park it. I know sometimes it's hard because it's. You know, as human beings, creatives especially we want the ones with the cherry on top right.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

But you know, take a deep breath. This is working. This might be your innie, might be your minie, might be your. You know it can be one of the revenue streams and then see how you're promoting it. Look at how you're promoting it. If you're promoting it the right way, that you're attracting, then you can introduce another thing that you're passionate about and use the same strategy and see how it works. But don't ever offer 10 services, because your message gets convoluted, people don't really know in the end, what exactly do you do? Are you singing, dancing, performing, acting, designing the message? The message gets confused and you know your marketing message, your content. So stick to what you know, stick to what's earning giving you a revenue, and then you can start introducing other, because sometimes your other services aren't bad, it's just not packaged properly.

Jennifer Logue:

Right, oh, that's such great advice and it's so funny because we need to hear it from somebody else. We might give someone else the same advice. You need to focus, but when it's yourself, for some reason it's so hard to take your own advice.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yes, and it happens to all of us. And it happens to all of us. It happens to all of us. I had a client. She said you know, this person told me this. I said I've been telling you for the last three weeks. She says yeah. I said when someone's ready to hear it, they'll hear it. Wow.

Jennifer Logue:

That's what I say.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

And I'm also quite spiritual, so I bring in the spirituality into the business. If I'm working with a client, I bring in a little bit. We find grounding. If they feel overwhelmed, we do a little bit of meditation to start our session. So it has to be. You want them to attend your sessions, you want them to flourish, you want them and I don't give up. I don't give up as long as they don't give up. We're in it to win it.

Jennifer Logue:

Yes, so let's talk about what are some other common challenges you see your clients face as creative entrepreneurs um imposter, imposter syndrome is is big.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Um, why me? I had a, I have, I had a client who I, you know, I always say, I always tease her. I always have to pull the duvet away from her because she's hiding underneath and and I'm saying why are you hiding? She says I, I don't know, I just feel why me? I said what do you mean? Well, I speak to other designers and they told me they've been doing this for so many years and they've never been able to get into a luxury department stores. I said, yeah, it's really hard, it's really hard. And I said and what is the problem? She said why me? I said why not you?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

So there's a lot of that, that imposter syndrome or guilt, why am I doing well, why am I doing well? And it hinders the work, because then they're hiding under the duvet and they give you all kinds of excuses oh, I can't because, because you know, my dog ran away, or it's like what happened to your homework, yeah, and then you just have to bring them and you know, then you, you have to, you know, you have to find out where it's stemming from, because it's most of the time, it has nothing to do with them, it's something they hear. Oh, you need $2 million to get really started in this business. Well, I started with $500 creating a travel agency. I don't think you need $2 million. Use your assets. You don't need all these other bits yet until you're ready for them.

Jennifer Logue:

Especially in the age we're in now, with social media and everything, although some artists see social media as a drain. So that's a question that I have what advice do you have for artists when it comes to, you know, building their presence on social media, building their audience, without having it take away from their art and their mental health?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yeah well, success is inevitable, right? Make a plan If you're consistent and disciplined. Make a plan. I always suggest a three-week plan. So on Mondays you do this. Tuesdays you decide how. I always like unfolding a story. So on Mondays I put a quote. I put a quote about creativity and business and I look for the quotes. I don't just put random things. On Tuesdays, I do business tips, like Business Tuesdays. You have any questions? Are you looking at revenue streams? Would you like to ask my mascot? I have a mascot teddy bear named Axo. I said ask Axo. On Wednesday I tell a story or a storytelling and I connect it with the business experience. On Thursdays I tie it in with testimonial and then on Fridays I promote my business blueprint program. So I'm very consistent. So I do every week the same thing Mondays, tuesdays.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

So, as a creative in any business for social media, choose your platform. If it's Instagram, do exactly the same. Have a have a three week plan, because what happens within this three weeks you're going to measure. You're going to see, okay, which one's got more likes, which one's got more comments, which one's followed you, which one's asked to know more about what you do, things like that. Then you find week two was more popular than week one and three. Repurpose it so you don't even have to think again of what am I gonna put out there. Just use your assets. Use what you've got, so repurpose second week. Look at what happened in week one and say, okay, what did I do here that I hardly got any comments. We get a little bit and then move it on to week two and you know. So you have for three weeks, enough material for the next nine weeks.

Jennifer Logue:

But plan it.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Don't be random. Oh, what am I going to do today? Oh, let's do this. If you do that, you're going to feel overwhelmed, because I've been there and there are days like, oh, oh, my god, I don't know what to put, but I won't do anything. Then, if you're gonna be consistent and post every day, monday to friday do monday to friday. If you're gonna be consistent, then do three times a week. Do three times a week, but don't do random here, random there. You're not gonna get the visibility. Oh, that's really nice Always a call to action.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

You want a call to action. If you want to know more, you know link us in the bio or if you're using Instagram. I use LinkedIn. I find a lot of creatives on LinkedIn and that's where I like giving. I like LinkedIn and Facebook. I use both of them. I still need to get used to Instagram. I get overwhelmed. Oh no, not another one.

Jennifer Logue:

There's so many.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

And. Tiktok and who knows, it'll come out.

Jennifer Logue:

Who knows what's next, so it depends on what you do.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

It depends on what type what you're trying to attract. If you're trying to attract your audience is an Instagram, then do Instagram. If your audience is in LinkedIn, then do LinkedIn. But, as a creative, if you're looking to earn a decent return on what you do, earn a decent return on what you do. Look at what you're doing and who is your ideal client and who's your audience, because they're two different things. And people watch. You'll be surprised. People watch you. Randomly hear from someone oh, I've been following you from LinkedIn. Oh, I've been watching you on Facebook and you've never even seen them before. So people are watching and, funny enough, they know if you're consistent.

Jennifer Logue:

Oh, yes, oh my gosh. So let's see here. I actually want to go back to that. We were talking about imposter syndrome a few questions ago. Yes, how do you help you know? Or the why me syndrome? I guess those two are related. You know, it's like feeling like you're an imposter, but how do you help the creatives you work with to have that get through?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

it Okay. So when you have an imposter syndrome, let's say you're feeling you have to make a decision and you're just feeling stressed about it, so you don't take a deep breath, it's always good. And then you ask them what feeling do you get when, when you're thinking about this decision? Oh, I feel very anxious. Where in your body do you feel it? And with your finger, point to where that feeling is? From a rate of zero to 10, what is the intensity? Let's say they say eight. Okay, eight, you're doing well. You have to encourage. You're doing really well because you can see it in their face as well when they're thinking about it. Okay, then you say has it moved? Has it moved? So maybe they feel in their heart. All of a sudden they feel it in their arm. Then, with the same finger, you just point to your arm. You know you follow it. Okay, you're doing really well. So intensity of eight has it gone down? Yes, it's gone to a four. So what it's called one of my coaches have taught me this it's called the peace process. So you keep doing this until it gets to zero.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

That's one way, the other, the other way I've been doing as a healer um, I help ground. So I give a blessing. They don't have to be in front of me, there's no touching, you just offer a blessing. And and one of my clients had covid once and I I said, can I give you a blessing? And she said yes. So you ask the universe am I allowed to give her a blessing? And if they say yes or no, if you get a yes and then you just do the blessing for them, yeah, and I also bless the space we're going to work in.

Jennifer Logue:

So I bless the space that there's clarity.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I bless the space that there's clarity. So there's a lot of funny enough, a lot of the people I work with are kind of spiritual. Some are more, some are less, but I do have some that aren't. And I still make them do the peace process because it helps them. I still make them do the where does it feel? A lot of them have confidence. A lot of this is also mindset.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

So when you work with creatives not only creators, any entrepreneur giving them that clarity, the direction, who they surround themselves with, because you know people say, oh, oh, I'm thinking of doing this. Oh, don't do that. There's so many people doing that already. See, right, right, there, they're already putting you down. See, you have to see who's in your environment. Also, look at the books you're reading. You know, are you reading enough books to give you, you know, to empower you? You know, to whatever books, what type of books are you reading? And also, it's also important to upskill. Okay, you might not be a great techie person and that's holding you back. Well, don't do it. Then Hire someone who can do it for you. Don't worry about it. I used to spend hours creating landing pages and used to cry that I couldn't create one. I gave it to VA. She said okay, here it is. I said how long did that take you? 20 minutes.

Jennifer Logue:

And I was still trying to figure out?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yeah, not, it's by Dan Sullivan. Who, not how? Who, who can?

Jennifer Logue:

do it for you Not how.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

And the other thing is that with the mindset, it's good to work on the mindset, feed your mind with it's not positive la-di-da, but when it goes back, when you've got your structure, your process in place, it gives you the clarity and focus on what to do next, because you've got your back end, you know your back office sorted.

Jennifer Logue:

Yes it's important the people you surround yourself with, yes, and the inspiration that you're taking in.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Yes. To help with the mindset you don't want to hang around with someone who's always telling you you can't do it why are?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

you doing it. You know it's been proven it doesn't work. You know, I remember when I started the, the travel agency, everyone was telling me why do you want to open a travel agency? There's so many travel agencies in Mexico. And I said, yeah, I know I'll be another one. And they looked at me and say you're strange. And I said, but I'll be a good one. And they look at me like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was because I created an ecological travel agency. It wasn't just an agency. I created programs for expats and everybody was doing a lot of people were doing programs, tours and all that.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

But I made it different. I added dinner. You know, I made it really unique, a different experience. And that's exactly as a creative, when we're creating for a commercial purpose, the journeys with the sell and that's what they buy into the end product is the reward. But the journey to get there, when you create music, you know you're creating the story of how you created that piece. When somebody buys your music, it's the reward of the journey that got you to give them that music.

Jennifer Logue:

That is so funny. You bring that up because I was at a barbecue last night with some of my acting friends and my friend, Joe, was talking about how the journey to getting the film made is what makes it interesting. If it was easy, if you just make a film, there's no obstacles. I don't have to sell my car to get the money to pay for the crew or whatever. I don't have to sell my dog I think Sylvester Stallone actually sold his dog to get Rocky made but anyway, it makes for. It makes the actual art and the story more exciting. And when you put your blood, sweat and tears into it that way because if it were easy, when things are easy too, it doesn't grow you as an artist, as a person, you know.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Well, sometimes it's nice when it's also easy. You know, we don't want everybody to be so complicated. Going back to the imposter syndrome, my, I had my client who then, um, had that, you know, that feeling of oh, why me? So I asked her why you Tell me a little bit about your designs? Oh, it's this, it's, you know, it's architecture. What's the story behind it? This is the story. There you go, that is why it's you. And she's like, oh, I never thought of that. I said exactly and that is your story, that is your story and this is what you're going to be selling.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

When people ask you, because your designs are unique, but they're not, if we go back many years ago, we'll probably find some similar designs. So people will say it's not unique. But if you have that story, it makes it unique there. That's where we created her pitch. We created. So when she went for her first, her first presentation, um, we created the pitch. I made sure she had her ndas because I didn't want them to steal her design, take it to china and replicate it all. So we were very careful. And that comes with the process. What process do you have when, when you're creating work?

Jennifer Logue:

and a lot of visual artists.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

They're so excited, they show it all and it's taken. Ah, never know. I'm not saying it happens to everyone, but it's easily when you don't have your documentation in in order and that's part of the process. That's what I mean by processes. Yes, when somebody asks you to design a dress, you don't just do your design, give it. No, you make them pay a deposit. You know there's a process in place for you to start working on it. Yes, illegally, we get too excited. Yes, we really got to it. Yes, illegally, we get too excited.

Jennifer Logue:

Yes, really got to protect ourselves legally too. I know, with music, when I'm doing songwriting sessions, like collaborating with somebody, I always like to sign our split agreements before the session begins. And I'll say, like seven out of 10 collaborators that I've worked with are like, oh man, like that's such a drag, but the most professional ones, like the ones with the most success, those three out of 10 that I've gotten to work with over the years, they didn't even blink an eyelash. Yeah, they did it that way too, because it's like because once you know, know the song's done. And once and especially when money gets involved, the splits. Things get more complicated when nothing's in writing.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

so unfortunately, that's. That's what also breaks partnerships. I've, I've, I've seen partnerships you know, friends that have been friends forever because they didn't have it. It's like oh, we love each other, we trust each other. Yeah, you can love each other, trust each other forever, but when it comes to business, have everything to protect both.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

It's not just to protect one person, it's to protect the other. And I had a client who loved designing and she would just take out a sketchbook. I'm like, what are you doing? Do you have an agreement in place? You know, it's simple things like that that we don't want to bother ourselves because we're embarrassed, we're not sure, we don't want to offend, we don't want the client to run away, but you know what? That's your process process. That's your process. Um, when I have sessions, they don't cancel, they want to cancel. They don't cancel within the time. Sorry, you lost your session and I feel bad because I give it to them, but they don't know, I'll give it to them anyway but.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I want them to learn. If you're setting an example, you want that example for them to follow as well, because what you do with them is how they'll also work with their clients.

Jennifer Logue:

Yes, you're setting an example. That is such a good point as a coach, you know. Now we talked about spirituality a little bit earlier. Can you talk about how well can you discuss the importance of spirituality in a creative business and how it can influence the direction and success of an artist?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

no, I don't. I don't discuss it, but often when you're getting to know your client, you find out if they're spiritual or not, and if they say yes, very much, then you can then introduce part of what I do. I had the message for you know from God, the universe or whatever you call it, that I have to infuse grounding and clearing energies for businesses that I work with and there is a charge for that, but I don't charge for it. I've already incorporated it as part of what I do. And what happens as well when someone's spiritual and they have all these challenges, it's easy to then just ground, just ground, create a safe space, and you create the safe space as well for them to be able to speak about their challenges without feeling like they're sharing something too close to their heart.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

And a lot of them. If they're dealing with a competitor, they don't want the other side to know about them, so they're very careful of what they say. And yeah, I do with the ones that are, and if they're not, I just do the peace, the peace process for the day to find where it's, where they feel it in their body, and and it works, you know it works. It really helps.

Jennifer Logue:

Wonderful.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Any way to any, any way to help Love it.

Jennifer Logue:

Yeah, let's see what is the most important lesson you've learned in your work that you wish more creative entrepreneurs knew?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I me just no. I think the whole message with creativity, like with creatives, is having really the structure, having goals, your vision and goals aligned with your processes and strategy. Now you asked me the last questions what can I? So the call to action for any creative would be to see what's working to create that revenue stream. That's a call to action. Look at their structure and their process. Is their business still able to support? Are their processes able to support their current business? So if they're a one-man show, all of a sudden they have a team. Are their processes able to support that business? So that's where you review, update, revise. Now, with creatives, you asked me a question, the last question before my son interrupted us.

Jennifer Logue:

All

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Don't give up. You know when things are, when you feel that it's not going the way you want to. It will, because success is inevitable. If you stick to it, you're disciplined and consistent, you will become successful and seek help. Don't try to do it on your own, because you have a lot of your passion and your talent is your expertise, and where you need help, again, it's who, not how. Who can help you? And work with a coach? Really work with a coach, I think it's, but not only work with a coach. You have to find a coach that resonates with you, that gets you. I've worked with a lot of coaches and most of the time it's like they don't understand me, they don't get me, they're sort of forcing you to follow a system that worked for them. But it isn't you, especially with creatives. It doesn't work that way, it's so true.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

You know people are, we're quirky, we like quirky things. We like to receive information a different way from somebody with spreadsheets. You know an accountant or a lawyer. You know we like things that fill us with passion, that makes us feel alive, right, yes, yes, and it's important to have somebody who understands that, because then they will deliver and not teach work together.

Jennifer Logue:

Work together. The collaboration part co-creating.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Co-creating. So that's what I do with my clients. I'm their coach, but actually I call myself their business partner. We do sessions. I call them their brainstorming sessions. So it's different, because they're not like, oh my God, I got to do. Oh, no, I'm not going to see her, I didn't do my homework. But they're actively doing the work and they're enjoying it. You know, when we create their niche, you're excited. Oh, I know this person. I can tell them I met my niche. You know, you can tell, because you're having fun creating. Who do you want to work with? And yeah, does that give a lot of tips?

Jennifer Logue:

Is that good. Oh my gosh, these are great tips, and you were talking about vision a little bit earlier. How do you help artists who, like they, can't figure out their vision?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

There's so many possibilities, they just can't narrow down what their vision is time, when you started your business, you probably had a vision to be, to be whatever. Whatever you, your vision was. And then you go through why? Why is that a vision? Let's let's take, for example, um, a client I was. She's a uh, she's a science economist oh interesting.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

She's an artist, so she's got two brains one. One is left, one is right, one creates. She creates all these paintings. So as a health economist, she was amazing. I used to tease her you're probably the smartest person I know because of that but then when it came to business, she was paralyzed.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

So what is your vision? She says, well, I want to be an artist. I don't really want to do this, it's just space. Well, but I really want to focus on my art and be an artist. Create a foundation, not a work with hospitals. Bring art to hospitals because it's got healing in her art. And so what is your vision? She says? Says, well, in the future, I want to have this home where people can come and visit. So you always know where you want to go, what you want, but you don't know how to get there. Yes, is your vision a hobby? I've got another client who creates art and her art is not very expensive. They're affordable, they're really affordable. Even her commissioned art is like $1,000 for commissioned artwork.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

She's not spiritual either, but her vision is to create enough income to replace her job and live off her art. Yes, but then when you dig deeper, it's like is it a hobby or is it viable to become a business? Are you creating the value that will replace your income? So it's a matter of question you that will replace your income. So it's a matter of question. You know you can have a vision, but it doesn't necessarily mean that vision is the end goal. The vision for me is how you see what you do. But the goals are what are going that you towards that mission, and halfway you might even change. You might say, oh, actually my vision is to give up, you know, painting, and just focus on music. You know it changes and as you grow and you grow.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Once you have your structure, your processes in place, you're going to see a different you. You grow, your mindset grows, even value, how you value yourselves. I used to charge very little for my coaching programs and everyone was telling me oh, no, no, no, that's the right price, that's the right price. I wasn't selling. And then, and then I had this call, a strategy call. Then this is what I do as well, the free sessions. And he asked me why you? I said I have no clue, why me? I have no clue, why me? So digging back, like what did you do for your company when you work there? Well, I moved the company from a three million to five millions and in three years and they're like there you go. That's why it's you. Oh, and he said you know why? Know, so it's also pricing your packages the right way.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

You know, some people are selling programs for 50 000 and you say 50 000, that's how they value their programs. What can you get for that? So it's. This is where all the why I say vision changes, because the more you see your worth, the more you give value, your whole life changes. It opens you, can. You see possibilities, opportunity, and you want to give back. That's one of the things, things I do, I was balanced I sell, I give, I sell, I give. You have to have that element of giving as well, because that makes you grow even bigger, bigger than anything you've ever dreamed of.

Jennifer Logue:

Awesome. What are ways artists can give back, or what are ways you give back, I give free sessions.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

That's wonderful. Yeah, I give free strategy calls um. Yes, I always if somebody asks me for help, well I'm. You know I don't hoard information, because you can google it and you'll probably find the same information. But what I, what I am, is I'm very passionate about business. I'm really passionate and I can see when I'm talking to someone whether they they're passionate about their business, whether I feel and this is where intuition comes in gut feeling, that's being spiritual as well, whether you see their business is really a business or a hobby. And if you can crush it for them, can you take them to that level, and that's I want to. I always integrity is a big word for me and I live through integrity. I want to make sure what people invest in me is what they get back, and I think everybody should be the same.

Jennifer Logue:

Marjorie, this conversation has been completely enlightening, completely inspiring. Oh my gosh, I am just so many light bulbs. Let me say that again. So many light bulbs are going off for me. Where can people find you online?

Marjorie Gutierrez:

I've got a website which is wwwsmartbusinessdesignscom. By email Marjorie at smartbusinessdesignscom or through LinkedIn. Through LinkedIn, is Marjorie Gutierrez Beautiful? Yes, LinkedIn is good.

Jennifer Logue:

Wonderful Marjorie. Thank you so much for being on the show.

Marjorie Gutierrez:

Oh, I enjoyed it so much. Thank you for having me.

Jennifer Logue:

Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited about this episode. I'm so excited for y'all to hear it. I want to hear what your thoughts are, how it inspired you. You can reach out to me on social media, at Jennifer Logue, or leave a review for Creative Space on Apple Podcasts so more people can discover it. I appreciate you so much for being here. My name is Jennifer Logue and thanks for listening to this episode of Creative Space. Until next time, thank you.