Today’s episode is for everyone that was told you can’t make money doing what you love, especially as an artist. (I have a feeling this is the majority of us!) The myth of the starving artist is one of the biggest misconceptions there is about creativity. I was told my entire life that I could never make a living with my creative hobbies. But my guest today, Aimée Hoover, has made a successful career as an extraordinary fine artist for 20 years, painting contemporary portraits of animals. Her paintings are in collections all around the world, seen in galleries and exhibitions, and featured in countless magazine articles. In this episode, Aimée tells us how she accidentally stumbled upon her niche painting portraits of pets 20 years ago, built her business as a side hustle painting in her living room, and how she’s been able to sustain a long lasting career creating exactly what she loves to make. She talks about the point in her career when pleasing clients left her lost and burned out, and how she shut down a successful, profitable business to find joy in her work again. Aimée also shares how to build self confidence and resilience in your work, especially in this day of social media when it’s so easy to feel like you’re not good enough. You’ll also find out why I call Aimée a social media and marketing genius!   Mentioned in this episode: How Aimée accidentally stumbled upon her niche painting pet portraits 20 years ago How she transitioned from a side hustle to full time business How she learned the business of being an artist (and it wasn’t from school!) How to overcome the “compare and despair” of Instagram and social media Why I call Aimée a social media and marketing genius How to build your confidence in your work as a creative person, even when you feel like you’re not good enough The point in her career when she felt completely lost, burned out and wanted to quit everything Why filling your creative well is so important when you have a creative career Aimée’s tips for how to get started as a creative entrepreneur The power in just being yourself and creating work that’s important to you     CONNECT WITH AIMÉE: Website | Instagram     CONNECT WITH CREATIVITY SCHOOL: Thank you so much for listening! Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and connect with me online! Instagram | Twitter | Facebook If you have any questions or comments for the show, click here.