Creatives Meet Business (CMB) is a community for creatives of all walks to come together and learn from the business world so that they can have sustainability in their careers. While we know that monikers like “creative” and “artist” are already part of a creative’s portfolio, CMB helps add a few new titles to their resumé such as, “small business owner” and “entrepreneur.”
So what is CMB you ask? We’re an event and podcast series that helps empower Austin’s creative sector by connecting them with the various businesses who support them. At each event, we gather five professionals from a highlighted field for five roundtable discussions to share principles and practices from their industry.
CMB was founded by Ashland Viscosi, a unicorn of sorts, as she was actually born in Austin, Texas. Ashland has a background in film and production and works with several arts-based organizations in Austin. A proud graduate of the Leadership Austin Emerge program, she loves being a part of the Austin creative community. Her favorite things are people, conversations, cheese plates and brunch.
Through in-person or virtual meetings, we’ll help you set action to your intentions by developing a personalized goal plan. We’ll ask the tough questions when we meet and then report back to you with an action plan broken out into small, digestible bites.
Did you know we produce the annual Creatives Meet Business Experience (CMBXP)? Know what it is? CMBXP is more than a conference, it’s a community for artists, creatives, and the creative-minded. It features over 50 hands-on workshops on Business, Marketing, Skills Development, and Storytelling, one-on-one mentorships with industry experts on a variety of topics, and nightly themed happy hours. CMBXP 2020 is taking place September 24-26 in Austin, Texas.
Badges on sale in April!
Our podcast series helps empower members of the creative community through insights and tips about the business-side of being a creative -- in digestible bites. We cover a variety of topics to give you the business savvy you need to start or sustain your creative venture. Podcast available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher (and just about anywhere you go to listen to podcasts...).
Description: Three days with 50 hands-on workshops across four (4) programming tracks: Business, Marketing, Skills Development, Storytelling. Badges also include access to mentorship sessions and nightly themed happy hours.
Learn More
April 25th, 2017
This event was awesome! We welcomed phenomenal attendees and six (6) Professional Relationship pros to Google Fiber on 4/25/17. Conversations ranged from designing professional relationships to setting boundaries and saying no to walking away from a professional relationship (gracefully). Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). All of the conversations were recorded and will be released as podcast episodes on iTunes and Stitcher (subscribe so you don't miss any!)
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Managing (Professional) Relationships edition, hosted by The Creative Executive, held on 4/25/17, featured roundtable discussions with:
February 21, 2017
We welcomed a great crew of creatives from all walks along with six (6) Digital Marketing pros to Waller Ballroom on 2/21/17. Conversations ranged from managing your online reputation to blogging for SEO to understanding which analytics are actually applicable and why (and so much more). Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). All of the conversations were recorded and will be released as podcast episodes on iTunes and Stitcher (subscribe so you don't miss any!)
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Digital Marketing edition, hosted by Best Practice Media, held on 2/21/17, featured roundtable discussions with:
December 6th, 2016
We welcomed a great crew of creatives from all walks along with five (5) PR pros and a journalist to Spredfast on 12/6/16. Conversations ranged from finding your media home, to what makes a PR story compelling, all the way to influencer marketing and much more. Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). All of the conversations were recorded and will be released as podcast episodes on iTunes and Stitcher (subscribe so you don't miss any!)
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The PR edition, hosted by lookthinkmake, held on 12/6/16, featured roundtable discussions with:
October 18th, 2016
We welcomed a great crew of creatives from all walks along with six (6) Website pros at Atlassian on 10/18/16. These pros dropped some insane knowledge with topics ranging from picking the right platform to not overloading your audience with images. This event was perfectly suited for anyone who is...A) building their first website, B) wanting to maximize the potential of their website, or C) considering overhauling their site and starting anew. Does this apply to you and now you're thinking "dang, I wish I could have been there?" Good news, you still can be! All of the conversations were recorded and will be released as podcast episodes on iTunes and Stitcher (subscribe so you don't miss any!)
Jessica Alexander captured the lovely photos you see here in this gallery. If you want to see more, check out the album on Facebook.
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Website edition, hosted by General Assembly, held on 10/18/16, featured roundtable discussions with:
August 16, 2016
We welcomed a great crew of creatives from all walks along with six (6) Tax & Accounting pros at Dropbox Austin on 8/16/16. We're fairly certain that we unraveled the great mystery surrounding taxes and accounting. Wish you could have been part of the great unraveling? No worries! Check out the podcast, available on iTunes and Stitcher. This edition was NOT live recorded, but we have something most excellent (and on topic) in store for you.
David Brendan Hall chronicled the evening – photos available on our Facebook page:
It’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors (and connect with fellow creatives along the way!).
The Tax & Accounting edition, hosted by Chris Adams, Maxwell Locke & Ritter, LLP, held on 8/16/16, featured roundtable discussions with:
June 28, 2016
We welcomed a great crew of creatives from all walks along with 6 Social Media Experts at Vuka on 6/28/16. Each expert solved some of life's great (social media) questions. So sad you missed it? No worries! Check out the podcast, available on iTunes and Stitcher. If you prefer to catch-up visually, read Social Distillery's recap.
David Brendan Hall chronicled the evening – photos available on our Flickr page:
It’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Social Media edition, hosted by Social Distillery, held on 6/28/16, featured roundtable discussions with:
April 12, 2016
We welcomed a great crew of creatives from all walks along with 6 Financial Planners at WeWork Congress on 4/12/16. Each planner shared tips about making budgets you can stick to, tax and retirement planning and how to prepare yourself for tackling your next creative venture (and more). Wish you could have been there? We’ll have the podcast up and running in no time…
John Langford chronicled the evening – photos available on our Flickr page:
It’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Financial Planners edition, hosted by The Art of Finance, LLC, held on 4/12/16, featured roundtable discussions with:
June 20th, 2017
This event was awesome! We welcomed phenomenal attendees and six (6) Branding pros to T3 on 6/20/17. Conversations ranged from personal branding to designing for sales to standing out in a crowded market. Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). The conversations were recorded and will be released as podcast episodes on iTunes and Stitcher (subscribe so you don't miss any!)
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Branding edition, hosted by T3, held on 6/20/17, featured roundtable discussions with:
Photo Credit: David Brendan Hall Photography
August 15, 2017
This event was awesome! We welcomed phenomenal attendees and six (6) Fundraising pros to uShip on 8/15/17. Conversations ranged from owning your mission statement to prospecting to crowdfunding campaigns to thought leadership. Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). The conversations were recorded and will be released as podcast episodes on iTunes and Stitcher (subscribe so you don't miss any!)
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Fundraising edition, hosted by Sally Blue, held on 8/15/17, featured roundtable discussions with:
Photo Credit: David Brendan Hall Photography
11/14/17
We welcomed phenomenal attendees and five (5) Bootstrapping pros to Atmosphere Coworking on 11/14/17. Conversations covered all five (5) stages of the Bootstrap Entrepreneurship Process: You, Question, Ideation, Valley of Death, and Growth. Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). The conversations were recorded and transformed into podcast episodes. They're available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and anywhere you go to listen to podcasts. Subscribe so you don't miss any!
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Bootstrap edition, hosted by Bootstrap Austin, held on 11/14/17, featured roundtable discussions with:
Photo Credit: Ashlee Newman Photography
October 2, 2018
We welcomed phenomenal attendees and five (5) Productivity pros to Red Velvet Events on 10/2/18. Conversations ranged from managing your attention and not time to uncovering the truth behind multi-tasking to creating structure and facilitating change that sticks (and SO much more!). Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). The conversations were recorded and are transformed into podcast episodes available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher (and anywhere you go to listen to podcasts!). Search for "Creatives Meet Business Podcast" on your favorite podcast listening platform then subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes!
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Attention Management edition, hosted by Maura Nevel Thomas, held on 10/2/18, featured roundtable discussions with:
Photos by Annie Winsett, Crafting Exposure
June 26, 2018
We welcomed phenomenal attendees and five (5) Event Planning pros to The Refinery on 6/26/18. Conversations ranged from structuring a successful event to sponsorships to event marketing (and SO much more!). Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). The conversations were recorded and are transformed into podcast episodes available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher (and anywhere you go to listen to podcasts!). Search for "Creatives Meet Business Podcast" on your favorite podcast listening platform then subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes!
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Event Planning edition, hosted by The Refinery, held on 6/26/18, featured roundtable discussions with:
Photos by David Brendan Hall Photography
April 24, 2018
We welcomed phenomenal attendees and five (5) Brand Story pros to Galvanize on 4/24/18. Conversations ranged from understanding voice and tone to perfecting your elevator pitch. Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). The conversations were recorded and are transformed into podcast episodes available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher (and anywhere you go to listen to podcasts!). Search for "Creatives Meet Business Podcast" on your favorite podcast listening platform then subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes!
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Telling Your Brand Story edition, hosted by Greenleaf Book Group, held on 4/24/18, featured roundtable discussions with:
Photos by Ashlee Newman Photography
February 20, 2018
We welcomed phenomenal attendees and five (5) Goal Planning pros to Condé Nast on 2/20/18. Conversations ranged from separating business and personal goals to self care to financial goal planning to productivity hacks. Wish you could have been there? Good news, you still can be (in a way). The conversations were recorded and are transformed into podcast episodes available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher (and anywhere you go to listen to podcasts!). Search for "Creatives Meet Business Podcast" on your favorite podcast listening platform then subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes!
If you're new to who we are, you should know that it’s our mission at Creatives Meet Business to provide a valuable and meaningful service to creatives across all disciplines by helping them understand the business side of the industry and become more sustainable in their endeavors.
The Goal Planning edition, hosted by The Paper + Craft Pantry, held on 2/20/18, featured roundtable discussions with:
Photos by David Brendan Hall Photography