A 4 Workshop series designed to help Creatives improve their finances, organization, business and marketing skills
Thrive in 2025 was created to support creatives of any discipline to shore themselves up against this extremely difficult time. With the performing and visual arts industries experiencing extreme challenges, we want to provide guidance and resources to help you find your footing.
In this four workshop series, we will give you practical advice and resources to take control of your finances, your work, your home and your schedule.
You will learn how to better manage your money, how to build reliable income sources, how to market your skills and art, and how to get and stay organized in your work and life.
The series will be taught by two experienced artists, educators and entrepreneurs with over 50 years of experience between them. Each workshop will cover specific topics and will offer concise and up-to-date information that you can use right away.
WORKSHOP #1: Budgeting for Creatives
Monday, February 17th at 1pm EST
Learn an effective method to organize your finances using a simple spreadsheet system. You’ll learn how to set financial goals, track your spending, plan for long and short term savings and develop your financial wellness.
All participants will receive their own copy of the Budgeting Spreadsheets that they can customize for their own use.
*No tax or investing advice will be given at this session. This is purely a workshop on budgeting!**
Taught by Brenda Earle Stokes
WORKSHOP #2: Building Agility & Impact Into Your Business
Friday, February 28th at 11am EST
When things change in our world we can be prepared to respond rather than simply reacting. If you have ever made an emergency exit plan, or put together a 'preparedness kit' for a weather related event, this workshop will similarly help you put things in place for your business so that when markets, demand, or industry shifts occur, you will be prepared.
You will learn:
Map Reading - Business cycles and systems to support those cycles
Orienteering - Response Options for your business when facing change
Staying Afloat - Revenue Options and Managing the Income Portfolio
'Tacking' for Business - Planning Ahead and Moving Forward
Taught by Melissa Slocum
WORKSHOP #3: Low Cost Marketing
Friday, March 7th at 11am EST
If the thought of promoting your work has you feeling overwhelmed, this session is for you! You will learn how to set up a marketing infrastructure that will help to get your work out into the world and earn more income.
You will learn:
- How to choose the right platforms to showcase your work
- How to best express your branding and message
- How to set up a website, lead capture and newsletter
- How to organize your social media marketing
- You will walk away with action steps and a collection of suggested resources that you can use immediately.
Taught by Brenda Earle Stokes
WORKSHOP #4: Personal Organization
Friday, March 14th at 11am EST
Tired of feeling disorganized in your home and work? In this session, you will learn a simple system to declutter and organize your physical and virtual spaces.
You will learn:
How to declutter your space one small step at a time to avoid overwhelm
- How to deal with the onslaught of digital clutter
- How to develop systems to keep you on top of your schedule, your paperwork and your errands
- How to develop a more minimalist mindset
Taught by Brenda Earle Stokes
WORKSHOP DETAILS
All workshops will be run live via Zoom. (The link will be emailed to you when you sign up)
REPLAYS and any printables/resources will be available online for several months after the series runs.
FACEBOOK COMMUNITY
There will be a Facebook community group set up to provide continued support and advice to anyone who needs it. You will get an invitation once you are enrolled.
COST
The cost for the entire series is $25 and all process will go to Musicares*
The purpose of these workshops is to help artists and no money will be kept by the workshop leaders.
If cost is an issue for you, please reach out to [email protected] and she will send you a coupon code to access these workshops for free.
Curriculum
Your instructor - Brenda Earle Stokes
Brenda Earle Stokes is a pianist, singer, composer, educator and entrepreneur based in New York City. Over the past 20 years she has worked internationally as a performer and educator and is considered one of the top experts in her field. She runs two successful business - a busy private studio and an online platform called The Versatile Musician, which serves hundreds of students worldwide.
In her personal life, Brenda is a mom to a pre-teen and is committed to living a highly organized life based on sustainability and avoiding consumerism.
Your instructor - Melissa Slocum
Melissa has been teaching for 32 years, the past 16 from her own private piano studio.
She Supports and helps Grow Creatives so that Their Craft might more Profoundly Impact their Communities.
Musically, her passion is to provide individualized, quality lessons in a positive environment. She is the creator of Music Lesson Pathways, a course to help other music teachers LOVE teaching again by using Differentiated Instruction strategies to create musical pathways for their students. Ms. Slocum was a presenter at the Georgia Music Teachers Association Conference in 2024 on the topic of Building the Business Side of Your Music Business, and at the Virtual Conference in 2020 providing three sessions about teaching piano online and one session related to Music Lesson Pathways.
Melissa has been providing small business coaching for creative colleagues for the past few years based on her undergrad work in Organizational Communication and Business, and her own experience running successful businesses and working with nonprofits. She has a long history of leadership development, strategic fundraising, business development, organizational assessments, and more, for both profit and nonprofit organizations.
Melissa is also the creator and producer of the Podcast, "Sounds of Encouragement" designed to help support and encourage Creatives.
Currently, Melissa lives in the Atlanta, GA area with her husband, and their rescue dog, Doc.
All proceeds from the Thrive in 2025 Workshop series will benefit the Musicares Organization.
MusiCares provides a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need... treating each case with integrity and confidentiality.