Artist or problem-solver—which kind of creative studio should you build?

Steph and Ben approach their Solo Studios from very different directions. Ben is drawn to business, systems, education, products, and creatively solving problems. Steph wants to make personal work that creates emotion, conversation, and human connection.

In this candid episode, they challenge each other’s assumptions—and confront the temptation to believe that someone else’s studio is more legitimate, profitable, meaningful, or enjoyable than their own.

They also explore the opportunities hiding inside personal work. What if the concept in your portfolio became a real product, event, or business? What if you stopped apologizing for making something “silly” and started asking what it could become?

In this episode:

• Artist-led versus problem-solving studios

• Why creativity doesn’t always have to produce “art”

• The insecurities that exist on both sides

• Why teaching isn’t the only path to a Solo Studio

• Identifying the advantages and superpowers you take for granted

• Balancing creative expression with serious business decisions

• Promoting personal work without making everything about yourself

• Why copying another creator’s studio can lead you in the wrong direction

• Turning portfolio concepts into real products and experiences

• Building a studio around who you actually are

The goal isn’t to decide which studio model wins. It’s to recognize your natural strengths, interests, experiences, and obsessions—and build from those instead of constantly looking at someone else’s paper.

Explore Maker Division:

https://www.makerdivision.com/

CHAPTERS

00:00 What should your Solo Studio look like?

01:49 Why some creatives don’t feel like artists

02:46 Does creativity have to mean art?

05:04 Artist or problem-solver?

07:46 Two very different studio models

09:02 How Ben built a problem-solving studio

14:11 Is “silly” work still valuable?

16:28 Teaching isn’t the only path

20:00 Why Ben wouldn’t recommend following his path

23:00 Experience, repetition, and hidden advantages

26:12 Take inventory of your superpowers

27:41 Stop comparing your studio to everyone else’s

30:08 Balancing creativity and business

32:46 Making room for play

34:51 How Steph’s studio evolved

43:01 The courage to make—and promote—personal work

48:04 Accepting a business-focused studio

49:40 Building differentiated income streams

52:29 Shape your studio around what makes you different

54:56 What if your personal work became real?

57:46 If you can’t stop thinking about it, do it

What kind of studio are you building: artist, problem-solver, or something in between? Tell us in the comments.

Interested in joining Maker Division’s next Las Vegas retreat?

[https://www.makerdivision.com/m/maker-vegas]

Learn more about the Solo Studio:

[https://youtu.be/dZEd0l9zU8E?si=LlEJS3rsNgshPPc1]

You don’t need a huge audience — or a famous name — to create an in-person experience people will value.

In this episode, Steph and Ben pull back the curtain on planning profitable, small-group retreats and workshops for creatives. They share what they learned from Maker Division’s Las Vegas events, why intimate gatherings can be more transformative than large conferences, and how a retreat can become another income stream for your Solo Studio.

They also get honest about the work involved: choosing the right location, setting attendance thresholds, vetting participants, designing an experience around what people actually need — and preparing for those last-minute food allergies.

In this episode:

• Why five to twenty attendees may be the ideal retreat size

• How to validate an event with a small audience

• Retreats versus conferences — and what each does best

• How to make a small event financially viable

• Why teaching should be 20% delivery and 80% support

• How to lead a workshop without positioning yourself as a guru

• Turning your existing creative skills into an in-person experience

• Starting small, learning from the first event, and improving as you go

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not big enough to do this,” Steph and Ben want to challenge that. You don’t need to rent a hotel ballroom, hand out lanyards, or plan trust falls. Start with something useful, invite the right people, and see who shows up.

Interested in joining Maker Division’s next Las Vegas retreat?

[https://www.makerdivision.com/m/maker-vegas]

Learn more about the Solo Studio:

[https://youtu.be/dZEd0l9zU8E?si=LlEJS3rsNgshPPc1]

Should every creative pick a niche — or has that advice done more harm than good?

In this episode, Steph and Ben put their decade-plus experience helping creatives build and grow their practices on the record. They break down the important differences between specializing, niching, and positioning — and explain why treating them as interchangeable can lead to what they call the “niching nightmare.”

They also share their own experiences falling into profitable niches, why they eventually chose to leave them, and how niching can pull creatives away from the craft they originally loved.

Maker Division is coursework, coaching, and community for creatives building a business around their craft. Big fall ahead, including our retreat in Vegas on scaling your studio beyond clients. Everything gets announced to the newsletter first: https://www.makerdivision.com