The Creative Entrepreneur's Secret to Staying Focused, Inspired, and Organized.
How My Monthly Planner Became My Creative Compass
As an artist and creative entrepreneur, finding balance between creativity, business, and daily life isn’t easy. Years ago, when I was a teacher, I carried my planner around like a little Bible. It told me where to be, when to be there, and what was coming next—a lifeline amid the chaos of lesson planning and classroom life. When I transitioned from teaching to running my own creative business, I discovered I needed a new kind of structure, one that went beyond managing appointments. I needed something to help me grow as an artist and a business owner.
Over time, I built my own business planner, a resource that I now use monthly to stay grounded, focused, and inspired. I created this planner not just to organize my time, but to give myself the space to reflect, plan, and prioritize what truly matters to me. Unlike a typical daily planner, my monthly planner has become a ritual—a time each month where I sit down, unplug, and dive deep into both my past progress and my future plans.
Why a Monthly Planning Session Is My Secret to Staying Inspired
At the end of every month, I take 45 minutes to an hour, switch my phone to “Do Not Disturb,” and fully immerse myself in reflection and planning. Sometimes I’m working toward specific goals—like prepping for an upcoming show, focusing on commissions, or building a new collection. Other months, my calendar is more open, allowing me to set creative goals that might not have an immediate payoff but are crucial for my artistic growth. During these quieter months, I’ll often use my planner to outline personal projects, take an online course to refine my business skills, or simply spend time experimenting with my art to keep things fresh.
This monthly ritual doesn’t replace my day-to-day diary. I still keep a physical diary for appointments and use Notion for task lists and projects to stay organized. But my monthly planner is different; it’s a tool I use to zoom out and look at the big picture. It’s here where I get to think strategically about my next steps while making sure I’m investing my time in a way that feels purposeful and balanced.
How My Planner Supports Creative Growth and Learning from Failure
Running a creative business can be overwhelming, especially when you’re wearing all the hats. My planner helps me break down big ideas into monthly focus areas, allowing me to tackle my goals without losing sight of my artistic side. Whether it’s organizing a marketing push, preparing a new collection, or giving myself the freedom to play and fail, my planner reminds me that I’m allowed to explore. Failure, after all, is part of the creative process. Some of my biggest breakthroughs have come from failed experiments that taught me more than any “success” ever could. Learning to navigate these ups and downs keeps me engaged and reminds me that growth often comes from taking creative risks.
Why This Planner Works for Creative Entrepreneurs
If you’re an artist, solopreneur, or anyone balancing creativity with business, this monthly planner can be your guide. It encourages you to pause, reflect, and make intentional choices about how you spend your time. Planning each month isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about giving yourself the space to dream, reflect, and grow.
This planner allows me—and can allow you—to approach each month with purpose, whether it’s a month full of deadlines or an open canvas for new ideas. Having this dedicated planning time keeps me moving forward, grounded, and focused on what matters most in my creative journey.
For those interested in using a planner like this, I’ve made it available as a digital download, along with two free bonus resources to help you stay visible and focused as you build and grow your creative business. If you’re ready to make space for your creative goals each month, take a look—I’d love for this planner to support your journey too
Getting the right mindset for a successful business.

I started my own art business in September 2014 after a 20 year career in teaching! I knew how to paint but I had no idea how I was going to be able to turn my passion into my full-time job and my full-time living. Now seven years on I’m happy to say I’m a successful artist and loving my life.
If you have doubts about your abilities in business or if you’re able to make your passion your business read on and get the mindset to realise your dreams!
Read on for more info or click the button to sign up. It’s free by the way!
I read Carrie Green’s book “She Means Business” in early 2017 and thought it was one the most useful business books I’d read.
I also realised how I was getting in my own way. My mindset needed some work to allow me to be successful.
I then joined her membership….that was four years ago and I’m still member. There’s so much great info there.
I’ll blog more about what her membership is about in a couple of weeks time. But in the meantime here’s a podcast I did with Carrie in 2020, talking about the ups and downs we have in our personal lives and how we can still make our business a success.
Some of the things we cover are…
- how I created multiple sources of revenue
- How being a successful artist means you also have to manage a business
- The crisis of confidence and the mindset struggles I faced when I first started.
- Three essential aspects of business.
- The struggle to continue working on my business after the loss of my lovely Dad and how the support of other members from inside the Members’ Club helped me.
- How I use the Members’ Club monthly Goal Setting and Planning workshops to review and plan ahead.
- How being in the Members club helped me win SWOBYA Entrepreneurial woman of the year in 2019.
Carrie’s launching a great new mindset challenge you can join in with this October.
Its free and its fun and you’ll learn a whole lot. If you’ve ever had that imposter syndrome feeling…or in my case I just get so overwhelmed with it all sometimes, then this challenge is going to help you so much.
It’s going to be 3 fun filled days of realigning with ourselves and our vision and reigniting our love for our businesses. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s going to be happening:
Day 1: 3 Ways To Get Out Of Your Own Way – No more feeling stuck not taking action.
Day 2: 5 Ways To Condition Yourself For Success – Once you overcome the things that were holding you back, it’s time to start setting yourself up for success.
Day 3: Creating Your Future History – Predicting your future is not as crazy as it sounds, in fact we can all do it!
It’s gonna be so awesome and I’d love for you to join me in the challenge, because the more the merrier, right?
If you want to join me you can sign up for free
I can’t wait to get started!

My podcast with Carrie Green about overcoming the ups and downs in business

Here’s a summary, written for me by the FEA of what Carrie and I covered in our interview.
Sometimes even a job you once loved is no longer the right fit. This is exactly what happened to Louise Luton, who, after 20 years of teaching art and drama, started struggling with the pressure she was facing and having to deal with crippling anxiety.
She decided she had to make a change, and despite the common misconception that you can’t make money as an artist, Louise was an artist at heart and decided she would figure out how to make it work, so she set out to build her business, Louise Luton Art.
Louise started seeing a return and her business going from strength to strength within six months. She later decided she needed to uplevel her business again and that’s when she read She Means Business and eventually joined the Members’ Club.
Saldy, the tragic loss of her father stopped her in her tracks and she went through a period where she felt she couldn’t go on growing the business. This is where Louise says the community and support she received from the members of the Members’ Club was indispensable, helping her realise that she was strong enough to keep going, step by step, growing the business and honouring her father through her art.
In this podcast, Louise and I chat about:
- Her beautiful art and how she has created multiple sources of revenue through her website, art galleries and by visiting art fairs.
- How being a successful artist means you also have to manage the business aspect. Louise shares how she managed to make it work when she first started and the important part that the Members’ Club has played in keeping her going and growing.
- The crisis of confidence and the mindset struggles she faced when she first started, being scared to approach galleries and charging too much for her art.
- The three essential aspects of her business and how she manages each one.
- The struggle she faced to continue working on her business after the loss of her father and how the support of other members from inside the Members’ Club helped her make it through.
- How she adapted the traditional business plan for her own needs and how she uses the Members’ Club monthly Goal Setting and Planning workshops to review and plan ahead.
- A recent business award she won, which has continued to increase her confidence and encourage her to grow the business further.
- Her exciting plans for the year ahead, including an inspirational trip to Kenya and being featured in galleries in major cities in the UK and US.
Louise’s top tips for success are:
- No matter what you’re facing, remember the importance of working on your business “little and often” – accept that you can’t do everything today, but you can do SOMETHING today so just keep chipping away at your idea until you get there.
- Once your business is up and running, make sure you’re reviewing your results from month to month. Identify the patterns in your own business and use them to make better decisions and create more success.
- When you’re just starting out, focus on one social media platform rather than trying to be on multiple platforms all at once.
- If you have an idea you love, the timing will never be right so you just have to take the plunge and give it a try now!
- Join a community that can give you the support you need now – you don’t have to wait until you’re on top, join when you really need the help!
Find out more or connect with Louise
Website: www.louiselutonart.com
Louise’s work is also displayed and sold at the following galleries around the UK:
The Wey Gallery – Surrey
Park Gallery – Cheltenham
The Doll’s House – Fordingbridge
Mayne Gallery – Kingsbridge
Ytene Gallery – Brockenhurst
"Artists are bad at business; so are women". Wanna bet?
A few years ago Phil came home from the South Wilts business of the year awards and said to me "You should enter next year". I thought he was crazy, after all he works for Porton Biopharma which is a multi million pound company and there's just little old me, a sole trader and an artist to boot. What an earth could I do at a business awards?
These brilliant awards, attended by over 800 people are organised by SpireFM and FSB.
Last year I entered without expecting much and was delighted to become one of the finalists. This year, I felt a bit more confident and wanted to really push myself.
There was an added surprise to my night, as I was a finalist in Marketing excellence. The winners in that category were Chalk valley history festival, where I'm exhibiting next weekend. Wow, two winners in one field...I might have to take my trophy with me!
A quick drinkie in the Old ale house to round off the night was lovely too!
I'm chuffed to bits.
Graceful as a swan....(but you can't see the chaos underwater)
Do you share your life with a creative?
Is a member of your family pursuing the arts?
Maybe your best friend has just jacked in her job to finally lead a truly creative life?
Can they be a right royal pain in the backside at times? Don't worry, you can make them happy very easily with my top tips - I guarantee they'll appreciate your efforts.
1. Creatives can be sensitive!
That doesn't mean shower them with false praise! But try to be gentle if criticising their work; it can be tough. However, in my experience creatives are very able to take criticism about other aspects of their business, so if you know a better printer, courier service or accountant, tell them - they'll want to know!
2. They're doing lots of things you can't see.
Creatives are often "one man bands" and do everything. I'd love it if every day was pure painting! But whatever it takes to keep business going, that's what they're doing. So if you feel you can't really talk about their art then talk about their business. They'll love it and again you might have some useful insight that they'd really appreciate.
Creatives need to be online, and sell online, and know what their competitors are up to too. We need to have a presence online - and here's where you can really help the creative in your life:
Like, share, heart, retweet whenever you can!
Facebook business pages don't have the same reach personal profiles. So
everytime you click 'like' on my business page, it tells Facebook that my post is good and groovy and it extends the post reach to others.
Everytime you share or comment, it pushes it even further. All for free. And boy do I appreciate it. I really do. Even better, if you have bought my work, prints or anything else post a picture in situ...wow I love seeing my work in situ!
4. Give them a testimonial.
Pop them an email with a nice quotable sentence.
I really appreciate the friends who have, over the years, bought work from me, attended my workshops, seen my exhibitions and visited my studio. And indeed, the new friends I've made by selling work or doing workshops. When they've written a little email with how much they enjoyed it, or how much they learnt, or how much they love my painting - it's worth its weight in gold. It not only helps me through the tough days ( and that alone is great) but it helps fill a folder of testimonials, that help other customers develop trust in me, my work and my business..
From the bottom of my heart, thank you!