PODCAST · arts
Creative Business Spark
by Anne LaFollette
Need help navigating through life after getting laid off from your job or as you approach retirement? Join Anne La Follette, former corporate Vice President, who reinvented herself in her late 50s after getting laid off from a job she loved. Becoming a successful creative entrepreneur from scratch was no easy feat. Anne brings her “can do” attitude and warm heart to support you in achieving your creative dreams at any age. Tune in for practical, step by step advice, whether you’re just dipping your toes into the entrepreneurial waters or you’ve got an established creative business that needs some “spark”. Welcome the The Creative Business Spark podcast where: It’s Never Too Late To Create®.
Episodes
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E75 Why I'm Not Very Good At Taking A Break
SHOW NOTES: I’m not very good at taking a break. After a big project or launch, my first instinct is usually to dive straight into the numbers, figure out what worked, and start thinking about the next thing. In this episode, I’m sharing why slowing down doesn’t come naturally to me, what…
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E74 I Don't Always Try To Figure It Out Alone
SHOW NOTES: If there’s something I really want to get good at, I usually don’t try to figure out every single part of it by myself. In this episode, I’m sharing three very different learning experiences—from tennis, to becoming fluent in French, to building an online business—that taught me the...
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E73 Confidence Comes After You Begin
SHOW NOTES: If you’ve been waiting to feel more confident before you start something creative, this episode is for you. I’m sharing why confidence usually doesn’t come first—it grows from the small pieces of evidence you collect when you try, learn, make mistakes, and keep going. You don’t have…
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E72 What You'll Experience During Doodles Coaching Week
SHOW NOTES: If you’ve been curious about surface pattern design but still aren’t quite sure what a repeating pattern is—or what it would actually feel like to learn how to make one—this episode is for you. I’m showing you exactly what you can expect inside Doodles Coaching Week, from the short…
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E71 What Happens After You Create Your First Repeating Pattern
SHOW NOTES: Your first repeating pattern doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. In fact, that’s not really the point. In this episode, I’m talking about what happens when you take that first tiny step into surface pattern design, even if you have no idea where to start and technology feels…
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E70 Why Another Random Tutorial Won't Solve That
SHOW NOTES: Have you ever opened YouTube looking for help with surface pattern design—and ended up with twelve tabs open about Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator, and several completely different ways to make a pattern? You may learn something from every tutorial, but you’re still no closer to...
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E69. Three Shifts That Help You Find Time for Your Creativity
SHOW NOTES: Judy spent more than twenty years sewing beautiful things for everyone she loved, all while quietly dreaming of seeing her own designs on fabric. She just never made room for that dream, until one shift changed everything. In this episode, I share Judy's story and walk you through…
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E68. The Real Reason Your Doodles Stay Stuck In Your Head
SHOW NOTES: Have you ever bought a course, watched a lesson or two, and then quietly let it slip away? If so, I promise there is nothing wrong with you. In this episode I share the real reason beginners stop before they finish their first pattern, and it has almost nothing to do with talent or...
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E67. How One Simple Doodle Becomes a Real Product
SHOW NOTES: Pauline was once told by a teacher that she had no talent, so she walked away from art for decades. Then she learned to turn her doodles into repeating patterns, and one simple design of her little village became cards, mugs, and tea towels that drew a queue at her local fair. In this...
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E66 Five Signs You're More Ready Than You Think
SHOW NOTES: If you've been waiting to feel ready before you start something creative, this episode is for you. I share the reframe that changed everything for me and for thousands of my students: readiness isn't a feeling you wait to arrive. It's a set of quiet signs that are probably already...
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E65 Three Reasons It's Not Too Late to Learn Illustrator
SHOW NOTES: Kathleen was so scared of the technology that she almost never started. She loves her gadgets, but Adobe Illustrator felt like a wall. Fast forward and her fabric designs have sold at farmers markets as tablecloths, napkins, and bundles for quilters and sewists. In this episode I…
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E64 Three Truths That Will Change The Way You See Your Doodles
SHOW NOTES: If you've ever looked at your own doodles and quietly decided they aren't good enough, this episode is for you. I share the story of learning tennis with the "wrong hand" and the years I spent believing I simply wasn't talented, until I saw what was actually going on. It's the same...
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E63. Overcoming Creative Procrastination: 3 Shifts to Start Today
SHOW NOTES: How long have you been whispering the word someday ? Someday when you have more time, someday when things finally settle down, or someday when you feel just a little bit more creative, confident, or "ready" ? If you are tired of putting your creative dreams on the back burner, this...
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E62. What 158 Women Proved Last Week
SHOW NOTES: If you’ve ever opened Adobe Illustrator only to immediately want to close your laptop in sheer panic — this episode is for you. I’m breaking down the incredible momentum from our most recent Doodles cohort to share exactly what 158 creative women just proved about conquering tech...
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E61. Overcoming Creative Guilt: 3 Permissions to Pursue Your Art
SHOW NOTES: If you have been waiting for someone to hand you a permission slip to finally say yes to your creative dreams, consider this episode your official sign. I’m pulling back the curtain on a quiet morning in my garden to share why choosing to invest time, energy, and resources into your…
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E60. 3 Truths Quilters Discover When They Learn About Surface Pattern Design
SHOW NOTES: If you have ever stood in your favorite fabric store or scrolled endlessly online looking for the perfect print, only to leave empty-handed because it simply didn't exist—this episode is for you. I am pulling back the curtain on a beautiful secret: if you have spent years or decades...
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E59. 3 Steps to Conquer Adobe Illustrator When Tech Feels Scary
SHOW NOTES: If opening Adobe Illustrator makes your chest tighten, your palms sweaty, or your mind spin with overwhelm—this episode is for you. I’m pulling back the curtain on my own terrifying experience being thrown into a French immersion school as an eight-year-old child to share exactly why...
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E58. 3 Reasons It's Not Too Late to Start Your Creative Side-Hustle
SHOW NOTES: If you've ever whispered to yourself that you're too old to start something creative, this episode is for you — and I'm not letting you off the hook that easily. I'm sharing my own story of being laid off in my late 50s, and how one box of art supplies from my husband Tom completely...
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E57 She Retired at 60 & Landed Her First Fabric License - Here's How
SHOW NOTES: As a child, she was told to stick to “crafty things”. Fast forward to now. She’s retired and just landed her first fabric licensing deal. Here's exactly how she did it, and how you can too. The rise of AI-generated art has done something unexpected: it's made your hand-drawn designs...
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E56 Why AI Gives You Generic Answers (and How to Fix It)
SHOW NOTES: If the constant noise around artificial intelligence has you feeling behind, overwhelmed, or like you’ve already missed the boat — this episode is for you. I’m pulling back the curtain on the urgency trap I fell into myself and sharing exactly why creative women like us are more ready...
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E55. Why 241 Women Didn’t Show Up (And Why You Might Be One of Them)
Show Notes: In this episode, I'm getting honest about something that's hard to admit. Recently, I paid for an in-person mastermind meeting, registered to attend, and I didn't go. Why is this relevant? Last week, 241 women did the same thing to Doodles Coaching Week. Whether you showed up or not,...
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E54. Create Your Own Fabric Designs in Just 5 Days
SHOW NOTES: In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on my From Doodles to Dollars® Coaching Week to show you exactly how to transform a simple sketch into a professional, repeating pattern. Whether you want to design your own fabric for quilting, create unique wrapping paper, or explore new...
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53. 3 Things That Changed When This Watercolor Artist Learned Pattern Design
Show Notes: A watercolor artist in a 40-person Swedish village used one new skill to turn a single thistle painting into pillows, tea towels, tote bags — and a line of linen dresses. Maria Ahl-Zanier is a watercolor artist living in a tiny village in southern Sweden. She had a thriving creative...
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52. Why I'm Practically Giving Away This Training (It’s only $10 Bucks!)
SHOW NOTES: Why does the From Doodles to Dollars® Coaching Week cost just $10? I get real about the intentional philosophy behind the price — and what's actually waiting for you inside. If you've ever wondered whether a $10 course can really be worth your time, this episode is for you. 🔑 In This...
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51. I Almost Quit My Creative Business (Here's What Happened)
Show Notes: Have you ever stood in a fabric store aisle and thought — why can't I ever find exactly what I need? In this episode, I'm sharing the story of a season when I nearly walked away from my creative business entirely — and the one skill that changed everything. We'll talk about the social...
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50. 7 Ways Creatives Turn Doodles into Income
SHOW NOTES Kyle Young sold over $1,000 in products at a church craft fair in just three hours — and she'd only recently started exploring surface pattern design. In this episode, Anne walks through seven real ways creative women are earning income from their simple doodles, featuring nine…
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49. Why I Shared So Many Emails Lately. Like A Lot. A Lot
SHOW NOTES: Did you wonder why you received so many emails during Bonnie Christine's Immersion launch? Today I'm pulling back the curtain on affiliate marketing. What it is, how I approach it, and why it can become an important part of your creative business. I break affiliate marketing into…
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48. Spring Cleaning For Your Mind. Trash 5 Mindset Blocks That Hold You Back
SHOW NOTES What's really standing between you and the creative life you want? It's not your age, your talent, or your tech skills — it's a collection of lies you've been carrying around for years. In this episode, let’s gets honest about the five mindset traps that keep creative women stuck. I...
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47. Is Bonnie Christine's Immersion Program Worth It?
Show Notes. This year marks my eighth year blocking off my calendar for Bonnie Christine's Surface Design Immersion program, but this year feels completely different. Bonnie has reimagined her signature program from the ground up, and I'm excited to tell you this new approach is exactly what we...
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46. Print & Pattern Revival - A FREE Workshop with Bonnie Christine
SHOW NOTES: Eight years ago, I discovered Bonnie Christine and surface pattern design—and it changed everything. Today I'm inviting you to join Bonnie's free Print & Pattern Revival workshop (Feb 11-16) where she'll teach you how to create seamless repeating patterns and understand how the…
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45. The One Thing Every Creative Needs in February
Episode Description: Seventeen browser tabs open. Three YouTube tutorials playing at once. Four courses in your cart. And yet... you still haven't finished that one pattern you started three weeks ago. Sound familiar? In this episode, Anne shares why her Creative Business Mastermind is spending…
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44. This Changed Everything. How I Discovered Surface Pattern Design
Episode Description What if you discovered a creative career path that lets you see your designs on fabric, wrapping paper, and products worldwide? Listen to how I accidentally discovered surface pattern design in 2018 and how it transformed from a curiosity into a six-figure business. Whether...
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43. When You Don't Feel Ready For January, Do This
EPISODE DESCRIPTION Feeling like you didn't make enough progress last year? Struggling with January's "fresh start" energy when you're just plain tired? This episode is for you. I'm sharing the story of Janet Hild, a textile designer and Creative Business Mastermind member who accomplished three...
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42. When the Tank Is Empty, Listen. New Ideas Will Emerge
Show Notes: January often comes with pressure to feel motivated, organized, and ready to charge ahead. But what if that’s not the season you’re in? In this episode, I’m sharing a more honest start to the year. I talk about entering my eighth year of business, navigating caregiving and health...
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41: Start Messy. Why Your First Repeating Pattern Doesn't Need To Be Perfect
Show Notes Start messy! I want you to think about your first pattern like your first pancake. You know how the first pancake is always wonky? Too thick, too thin, weird shape, probably stuck to the pan? But you don't stop making breakfast. You adjust the heat, perfect your pour, and by the third...
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40: Birthday Permission Slips
Show Notes Ready for an embarrassing story that relates to my birthday? How about demanding to celebrate my birthday on my Saint's Day in July (because December 30th felt lost between holidays). What You'll Learn Why the shame we carry about our younger selves (wanting "too much," starting "too...
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39: Happy Holidays + Pantone Color of The Year
Show Notes It’s two days before Christmas. Let’s celebrate and talk about Pantone's perfectly timed announcement of Cloud Dancer as the 2026 Color of the Year. You may thinking, it’s just… WHITE! But I explore why this softest shade of white represents exactly what we need right now – not empty...
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38: The Importance of Creative Rest
Show Notes Publishing this podcast on a Sunday perfectly captures the challenge: As entrepreneurs, we work a lot! Entrepreneurial exhaustion is real and sometimes it's actually harder to rest as a creative business owner because there is always something to do. In this episode, I share how my…
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37: 2026 Goals That Work
Show Notes. After learning the hard way during a disastrous Paris trip where I was stuck on late-night Zoom calls instead of enjoying family dinners, let’s dive into my favorite way to plan for the year ahead. I’ll share why starting with life first and building business goals second actually…
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36: How to Capture Your 2025 Wins
Show Notes. In this episode, I share my 8-year journey of learning how to effectively review and plan for business growth. I’ll reveal why skipping your year-end review is the biggest mistake you can make, even when your tracking wasn't perfect, and I’ll share my game-changing Post-it note system...
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35: Giving Thanks to The Teachers Who Shape Our Style
Show Notes: In this Thanksgiving week episode, I share the story of how my mother and I used to alternate hosting family holidays, and what I learned from her warm and inviting approach to hospitality. My mother was a fabulous hostess who had an incredible gift for making people feel completely…
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34: Your Creative Dreams Aren't Too Big
Show Notes In this episode, I share my personal journey from corporate employee to creative entrepreneur, and the overwhelming feeling of facing a dream that seemed impossibly large compared to my starting point. After 30 years of following someone else's strategic vision, I found myself wantin…
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33: The Power of Creative Communities & Why We're Better Together
Show Notes: In this episode, I share my journey from corporate job loss and creative isolation to discovering the transformative power of a creative community through a local co-working space. I explore why the myth of the solitary artist is actually harmful to working creatives and how an...
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32: Creative Seasons & Why November is Perfect for Reflection
Show Notes: In this episode, I explore how planning your Thanksgiving tablescape is actually a comprehensive creative exercise that showcases every artistic talent you possess. I share why November's natural rhythm of harvest and gathering creates the perfect environment for artistic reflection,...
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31. From Hobby to Business - When & How to Make the Leap
Show Notes: In this episode, I share the story of how getting laid off from my corporate job led me to discover my first online art class and ultimately changed my entire perspective on creative businesses. I explore the biggest fear that stops most creative people from monetizing their work –…
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30. The Art of Creative Expression & How to Trust Your Artistic Voice
Show Notes In this practical episode, I share my own struggles with creative confidence, including my confession about collecting beautiful sketchbooks I'm afraid to use. I explore why real creative confidence isn't the absence of doubt but the willingness to create despite it, especially as we...
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29. How a Watercolor Artist in Sweden Tripled Her Business
Show Notes In this inspiring episode, Anne shares the remarkable transformation story of Maria Ahl-Zanier, a Swedish watercolor artist who built a thriving multi-stream business from her grandparents converted general store. Through Maria's journey from struggling artist to successful…
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28. Celebrating These PDA Graduates & Their Extraordinary Growth
Show Notes In this inspiring episode, we celebrate the graduation of Pattern Design Academy students who transformed from complete beginners into confident pattern designers in just nine weeks. Listen to powerful insights about the mindset shifts that separate struggling creatives from thriving...
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27. Start Planning for Black Friday Now
Show Notes: Ready to turn your creativity into revenue this holiday season? In this episode, I walk you through a simple checklist to prepare your creative business for Black Friday—without overwhelm. From picking the right promo to prepping your products, you’ll walk away with clarity,...
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26. Try a Craft Fair This Holiday Season
Show Notes: Craft fairs can be a fantastic way to get your art out into the world—especially during the busy holiday season. In this episode, I share the story of my first craft fair (spoiler alert: it was a big success!) and walk through some key things to keep in mind as you prepare for your…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Need help navigating through life after getting laid off from your job or as you approach retirement? Join Anne La Follette, former corporate Vice President, who reinvented herself in her late 50s after getting laid off from a job she loved. Becoming a successful creative entrepreneur from scratch was no easy feat. Anne brings her “can do” attitude and warm heart to support you in achieving your creative dreams at any age. Tune in for practical, step by step advice, whether you’re just dipping your toes into the entrepreneurial waters or you’ve got an established creative business that needs some “spark”. Welcome the The Creative Business Spark podcast where: It’s Never Too Late To Create®.
HOSTED BY
Anne LaFollette
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Creative Business Spark have?
Creative Business Spark currently has 76 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Creative Business Spark about?
Need help navigating through life after getting laid off from your job or as you approach retirement? Join Anne La Follette, former corporate Vice President, who reinvented herself in her late 50s after getting laid off from a job she loved. Becoming a successful creative entrepreneur from scratch...
How often does Creative Business Spark release new episodes?
Creative Business Spark has 76 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Creative Business Spark?
You can listen to Creative Business Spark on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Creative Business Spark?
Creative Business Spark is created and hosted by Anne LaFollette.
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