EPISODE · Jun 23, 2026 · 50 MIN
The Solo Studio | Ep 02
from Maker Division · host Ben Burns & Stephanie Owens
FREE WORKSHOP: Design Your LookbookJoin us this Tuesday for a free workshop, Design Your Lookbook, taught by Stephanie Owens:https://makerdivision.myflodesk.com/lookbookThis episode is brought to you by Maker Division, our community for creatives building real businesses around their craft. https://makerdivision.comBen Burns and Stephanie Owens kick off a conversation they've been circling for a while: the solo studio. The idea is simple. You put your craft at the center and build a handful of income streams around it, client work, products, licensing, teaching, events, sponsorships, so you get to keep making the work you actually care about.This one's a little rambly on purpose. Ben and Steph are both running their own solo studios right now and figuring this out in real time, so you're getting two creatives thinking out loud, changing their minds, and pulling from recent examples in their own careers. If you've ever felt like your personal work matters less than your client work, this episode is for you.You'll hear us get into:Why your "personal work" is really studio work, and why that reframe changes everythingThe income streams that support a craft instead of replacing itWhy client work is a one-time payout and studio work compoundsHow nearly every good opportunity comes from sharing the work and staying openWhy focus, one project at a time, makes or breaks the whole thingChapters(00:00) The solo studio, defined(01:55) Why client services is the easiest first stream(04:27) Reframing personal work as studio work(06:15) One-time payouts vs. work that compounds(08:15) Studios we admire and steal from(10:05) Why sharing the work attracts the opportunities(12:27) Show what you make, not just what you think(14:23) Ben's "client work desert" and staying in the game(15:35) Hobbies vs. craft: protecting the joy(20:31) Stop stacking services, dig deeper into one(22:02) Not wanting employees and the shadow artist trap(24:00) Inside Ben's studio: design, Maker Division, Watson, speaking, Circle(27:44) Inside Steph's studio: physical work and her rock-song cocktail project(33:16) Focus: why "one at a time" matters(35:08) Getting comfortable with content when you make what you love(39:48) Make cool stuff, show people, share the journey, stay open(40:49) How the Adobe and Show It opportunities actually happened(50:27) Stop measuring everything by ROI(51:08) Meaningful work, meaningful moneyMentioned in this episodeMatthew Encina, Young Jerks, House Industries, Hoodzpah, DKNG, Invisible Creatures, Aaron Draplin, Chris Misterak and Show It, Adobe, Circle, Domestica, and Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way (the shadow artist idea).
What this episode covers
FREE WORKSHOP: Design Your LookbookJoin us this Tuesday for a free workshop, Design Your Lookbook, taught by Stephanie Owens:https://makerdivision.myflodesk.com/lookbookThis episode is brought to you by Maker Division, our community for creatives building real businesses around their craft. https://makerdivision.comBen Burns and Stephanie Owens kick off a conversation they've been circling for a while: the solo studio. The idea is simple. You put your craft at the center and build a handful of income streams around it, client work, products, licensing, teaching, events, sponsorships, so you get to keep making the work you actually care about.This one's a little rambly on purpose. Ben and Steph are both running their own solo studios right now and figuring this out in real time, so you're getting two creatives thinking out loud, changing their minds, and pulling from recent examples in their own careers. If you've ever felt like your personal work matters less than your client work, this episode is for you.You'll hear us get into:Why your "personal work" is really studio work, and why that reframe changes everythingThe income streams that support a craft instead of replacing itWhy client work is a one-time payout and studio work compoundsHow nearly every good opportunity comes from sharing the work and staying openWhy focus, one project at a time, makes or breaks the whole thingChapters(00:00) The solo studio, defined(01:55) Why client services is the easiest first stream(04:27) Reframing personal work as studio work(06:15) One-time payouts vs. work that compounds(08:15) Studios we admire and steal from(10:05) Why sharing the work attracts the opportunities(12:27) Show what you make, not just what you think(14:23) Ben's "client work desert" and staying in the game(15:35) Hobbies vs. craft: protecting the joy(20:31) Stop stacking services, dig deeper into one(22:02) Not wanting employees and the shadow artist trap(24:00) Inside Ben's studio: design, Maker Division, Watson, speaking, Circle(27:44) Inside Steph's studio: physical work and her rock-song cocktail project(33:16) Focus: why "one at a time" matters(35:08) Getting comfortable with content when you make what you love(39:48) Make cool stuff, show people, share the journey, stay open(40:49) How the Adobe and Show It opportunities actually happened(50:27) Stop measuring everything by ROI(51:08) Meaningful work, meaningful moneyMentioned in this episodeMatthew Encina, Young Jerks, House Industries, Hoodzpah, DKNG, Invisible Creatures, Aaron Draplin, Chris Misterak and Show It, Adobe, Circle, Domestica, and Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way (the shadow artist idea).
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The Solo Studio | Ep 02
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