From Wall Street to Art Studio: How to Profit From Your Creativity (Without Starving)

Miriam Schulman swallowed the Kool-Aid.

The one that says artists can't make a living.

So she took the "practical route" and went to Wall Street.

But after surviving the 1993 World Trade Center bombing—and then watching 9/11 unfold while on maternity leave—she knew she couldn't go back.

Life was too short to keep working for a system that didn't value her humanity.

Today, Miriam is a self-representing artist for over 20 years, founder of The Inspiration Place, host of a top podcast for creative entrepreneurs, and author of "Artpreneur"—a book that's changing how creatives think about making money.

And here's the best part: Her strategies work for ANY creative business—not just artists.

In this episode, Miriam shares:

→ The dehumanization of Wall Street: Working through a terrorist attack because "you work no matter what" was the culture (and why she'll never go back)

→ Her #1 team value today: "Employees first" (the complete opposite of corporate culture)

→ How 9/11 became her sign from the universe: "That could have been me"—the moment she knew she had to walk away

→ The myth she had to unlearn: That you need fancy packaging, thousands of sales, or a "perfect" business before you can launch (spoiler: you don't)

→ The Belief Triad: Believe in yourself, your product, AND your client (most people miss that third one—and it's costing them sales)

→ Why you're being a "mean salesperson" without realizing it: Not offering your most expensive option because you assume they can't afford it? That's YOU deciding they're not worth it.

→ What your customer is ACTUALLY thinking when they hesitate: It's not "Is this worth it?" It's "Am I worth investing $10,000 in MYSELF?" (This shift changes EVERYTHING about how you sell.)

→ The L'Oréal hair dye lesson: They didn't sell ingredients. They sold "Because I'm worth it." THAT'S the message that moves people.

→ Embrace your inner weirdo: There's no money in the middle. If you're not polarizing, you're invisible. (1-3% will hate you, 1-3% will LOVE you—and that's exactly what you want.)

→ Pick ONE mountain: You can't get to the top if you're running three businesses at once. Master one thing at a time (even Picasso did this).

→ Her income journey: $8K the first year, $24K the second—it took years to hit $60K and beyond. Your business is a BABY. You have to nurture it.

→ Why your brain sabotages your dreams: It can't tell the difference between "leaving the cave and getting eaten by a tiger" and "starting a business." So it creates stories (not excuses—STORIES) to keep you safe.

→ TheWhat-If Parade flip: Spend as much time imagining the POSITIVE outcome as you do catastrophizing. At least balance it out.

Bottom line:

You don't need perfect branding, a fancy website, or thousands of followers.

You need to believe in your customer.

You need to embrace what makes you WEIRD.

And you need to pick ONE thing and master it.

Creativity isn't just for "artists." It's for ALL of us.

And yes, you CAN profit from it—without starving.

ABOUT MIRIAM SCHULMAN:

Miriam Schulman is the founder of The Inspiration Place, a podcast and coaching program for creative entrepreneurs. She's been a self-representing artist for over 20 years and is the author of "Artpreneur," which teaches creatives how to profit from their work using her Passion-to-Profit system. After leaving Wall Street post-9/11, she built a thriving art business and now coaches artists and creatives to do the same—without the starving artist struggle.

Website: TheInspirationPlace.com

Free Gift: Get Chapter 1 of "Artpreneur" free at SchulmanArt.com/belief

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