This image was generated with the assistance of DALL-E, a generative AI image generating tool with prompting done by Melissa (this is the first AI generated image she has ever created - it took her nearly 25 minutes to get the images she wanted :D)

Editor’s Note: Some links in this article may be affiliate links. Full disclosure is located at the end of the article.

This episode is brought to you by Fine Lime Illustrations

This week, Melissa and Heather do a brief recap of what they did in their creative businesses in 2023 and what they are focusing on for 2024.

But at the heart of the episode we get into the trends we're paying attention to in our creative businesses - including a very frank (and possibly surprising?) discussion about generative AI and how we feel about it.

2024 has the potential to be a huge year of change for a lot of working creatives - whether we like it or not!

Support the show

Did you know you can now directly support the podcast and help us keep creating great content you want to listen to and get access to bonus subscriber episodes?

You can support the show via Buzzsprout (our podcasting host) or Patreon. The benefits are exactly the same - all you have to do is choose your preferred platform!

Support us via Buzzsprout.

Support us via Patreon

This Episode Is For…

This episode is for creatives who...

like to hear about what others are working on in their creative businesses (because we're both nosy parkers lol)
are wondering what they need to focus on or be aware of in 2024
are feeling very nervous and unsettled by the use of AI

If you just want the links to the resources mentioned in this episode, scroll down to the bottom.

Listen To the Episode

Here’s a link to this week’s episode. You can also listen via the player below or on your favourite podcast app (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, I Heart Radio, Overcast and more). Just search for And She Looked Up!

Transcript & Chapter Markers

You can find a full transcript and chapter markers here. Just click on the episode title for all the juicy details!

In this episode we discuss:

what we did in 2023 in our creative businesses
what we’re hoping to do in 2024 in our creative businesses
how the very best years are often also the very worst years (and the waves that are created by the losses and gains)
the balance between creating work that’s commercially viable and finding or making the time to play and experiment
how we’re both opening ourselves up to experimentation and collaboration for 2024 and how community will continue to be a huge focus for both of us
the slow and steady journey of building a business that’s actually profitable and sustainable
working on the basics in our business and doing them well
working on transparency and authenticity in our businesses
AI - which is not a trend. It’s here to stay!
the importance of understanding how AI works and what it can do - even if we don’t choose to actively use it in our work - and understanding the rights and ownership of our work
using AI as a tool to allow us to double down on being human
infusing our humanity into our work and how creating with our hands has the potential to make our work more unique and more valuable
Using tools to elevate our artwork and make it quality over mediocre quantity

Mentioned In This Episode:

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Support the Podcast

Wondering how you can support the podcast? Here are some great ways you can support the podcast!

leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.
subscribe or follow the podcast on your favourite podcast app
follow us on your favorite social media platform:
Sign up for our newsletter (see below)
Purchase your set of And She Looked Up motivational stickers made just for female creative entrepreneurs!

We’re On YouTube!

You can now listen to the podcast on YouTube! We’re in the process of uploading our entire archive onto YouTube, one episode a day, so you can listen there. Once we’re caught up, new episodes will be uploaded every Friday!