054: Emily Laura Derr – Art, Creatives & Overcoming Resistance

Emily Laura Derr is the Founder of Grassroots Impact Creative Coach, where she helps creative people break through resistance and coaches creative businesses to craft messaging and build community.

Today, Emily joins the show to discuss the concept of resistance, where it comes from, and best practices on how to overcome it both as an artist and a businessperson. Emily touches on the proclivity artists tend to have to devalue their work and what they can do to address that. She talks about the power of process over outcome and provides advice on how artists can identify their ideal customers.

📺 Watch on YouTube

https://youtu.be/UqCeANGz7aU

Key Takeaways

00:56 – Jonathan introduces today’s guest, Emily Derr, who joins the show to discuss how early lessons about money impacted her relationships, and how she got on a path to working with Creatives

10:03 – Emily speaks to the types of Creatives she works with

12:41 – Defining ‘Resistance’ and navigating an artist’s fears

17:59 – Tips and best practices for breaking through the resistance

22:02 – Process over outcome

24:49 – Knowing your worth and pricing your rates accordingly

27:53 – The difference between ‘fine art’ and ‘art’ and finding your ideal customer as an artist

33:59 – One piece of financial advice to heed as an artist and one thing to completely ignore

36:30 – One thing Emily wishes others knew about her and one place Emily visited that had a profound impact on her

38:28 – Jonathan thanks Emily for joining the show today and lets listeners know where to connect with her

Tweetable Quotes

“Sometimes you wonder – or I wonder – what would it have been if I had pursued that? Would I have been better off financially by letting in the help and the opportunities? You never know that and you can’t look back on that.” (05:47) (Emily)

“Well, you have to find out what they really want for their business and personally in working with them, and also helping them keep focus. That’s why I became certified in ‘The Infinite Breath Method,’ started by Greg Mannion, a former street performer and a recovering alcoholic who created this. I added it to my artistic programs because it’s not just about the business and the outreach, but also real-world techniques that you can use to ground yourself in tough situations and how to deal with the resistance.” (16:31) (Emily)

“Taking care of yourself and having a ritual may sound silly, but consuming content that’s good and positive – whether that be meditation, or reading, or doing an exercise class – just having those moments on a daily basis can get your day going on the right track.” (19:59) (Emily)

“Even if it’s not a finished product, just get something down. In some situations, ‘good enough and done’ is better than waiting for that perfection. The procrastination will eat away at you and you could miss that window. Of course, it’s a learning experience. If you don’t submit something, you’re not gonna learn what you can do better because you never took the jump.” (22:50) (Emily)

“Go outside the ‘art world.’ Don’t limit yourself to the art world. The worst thing people can say is, ‘No.’ If you’re polite and direct in what you want in partnerships, the worst thing they can say is, ‘No.’ And, a lot of times that ‘No’ is maybe a ‘No, not now.’” (34:10) (Emily)