Interview with Ekaterina Popova and Alicia Puig
Ekaterina Popova (left) and Alicia Puig (right)
We are honored to share our most recent interview with you, this time with not one, but two dynamic, badass ladies of the art world, Ekaterina (Kat) Popova and Alicia Puig! You may know them for their individual accomplishments as an artist, or arts writer, but together, they are the brains behind Create! Magazine, Create! Podcast, PxP Contemporary, The Complete Smartist Guide, and their most recent book, The Creative Business Handbook. Many thanks to Kat and Alicia for their time, candid answers, and willingness to be interviewed! Read on to learn more about their latest book, tips on time management, navigating friendship and business, and so much more!
Pretty Girls Making Cool Shit: Welcome! Would you like to introduce yourselves?
Alicia Puig: Hi! I’m Alicia Puig, the CEO, curator & co-founder of PxP Contemporary online gallery, the Director of Business Operations at Create! Magazine, and an arts writer. Along with Kat, I also guest host the Create! Podcast and we’ve written two books together: The Complete Smartist Guide and The Creative Business Handbook!
Ekaterina Popova: I am Ekaterina Popova (Kat), artist and founder of Create! Magazine and Art Queens! I love creating as well as supporting others on this journey.
PGMCS: You have both accomplished so much within your art careers, gallery representation, the magazine and podcast, an online art gallery, working with international galleries, art coach, and authors! How do you manage or prioritize your time? What would you tell an artist struggling with time management?
AP: A really simple, practical tip is to put your phone face down while you’re working or ideally, in another room for at least a few hours. It’s so easy to get distracted by it!
Otherwise, my general advice is to have whatever organizer works for you. I live by a color-coded rolling to-do list where I add *everything* I need to get done on it. I prioritize the tasks by color (i.e. red is most urgent) and delete the tasks once they’re complete. Then, I also use iCal to record dates (and times with time zones) of meetings, podcast recordings, deadlines, speaking engagements, etc. When I know what times are already booked during the day, I can plan how to use the rest of my hours to get done what I need to! But honestly, we’re all still figuring this out - there’s no hack.
One big thing I’m getting better at is giving myself grace when I don’t finish as many things as I thought I would. I saw a great post the other day that said something along the lines of ‘You’re doing much more than you think you are. Close the laptop, you did enough today’. That’s a sentiment I’m definitely embracing in 2023.
EP: I am always working to improve my time management skills, but I know there is no one-size-fits-all solution. To help me stay focused, I like to dedicate specific days to administrative tasks and coaching, while keeping other days open for creativity. When I try to do too much at once, I often feel overwhelmed and unproductive.
In addition to these strategies, I find practical tools like the Full Focus Planner, Evernote, and Google Calendar to be incredibly helpful for setting tasks and goals.
Alicia Puig
PGMCS: We loved your first book, The Complete Smartist Guide, and are so excited to read your upcoming book, The Creative Business Handbook! What can you share about the new book?
AP: Well first, thank you! I don’t think we ever imagined just how many artists would resonate with our first book. It’s now been almost four years since we released it and it’s still going strong!
For my part, I would say that - like TCSG - The Creative Business Handbook is meant to walk you through all of the steps of starting any creative business. We’re with you from the very beginning of discussing what do we even mean by ‘creative business’ and providing examples of what that may look like, all the way to scaling and growing your company. It’s packed with action steps and resources, but I’m especially proud of the interviewees we were able to secure for this book. We’ve really got some heavy hitters like Danielle Krysa, Cara Alwill, Ken Harman Hashimoto, Sari Shryack, and so many more!
EP: My intention for this book is to showcase how artists and creatives can excel at building businesses. When I first started, I felt insecure about this aspect, but I now believe it created opportunities for me as an artist. I hope our readers can see the potential that comes with creating their own business and understand that it can change their life in beautiful ways!
PGMCS: If someone is unsure which of your books may be best suited for them at their current stage in their art career, what would you tell them to help them make a decision?
AP: The first book is really geared towards artists while the second one is for all creative entrepreneurs. While the new book has strategies that can certainly be used for an artist wanting to sell their work, it’s more meant for those who want to take the next step and start a business. Perhaps they want to be a coach or a blogger, run a magazine, consult in a creative field, or build a platform to teach workshops. There are endless options to explore.
Ekaterina Popova
PGMCS: Kat, we just saw on social media that you are accepting 1:1 coaching clients for the summer as well! Can you share about what it is like working with you as a coach?
EP: Absolutely! I LOVE working with clients one-on-one, particularly those who need deeper support in developing a vision and action plan for their creative business or art. I work with a small group of artists, leaders, and creative entrepreneurs each year, helping them establish businesses, gain clarity on their artist brand, and overcome obstacles and limiting beliefs. I have been coaching for several years, but I recently obtained my master's coaching certification from Yes Supply, which enables me to offer even more techniques to my clients.
PGMCS: How do you maintain your strong friendship while working on businesses and so many projects together?
AP: I think having a friendship for years before we ever worked together professionally has made a big difference. There’s also a lot of mutual respect and definitely open communication. We talk a lot and about everything - I’ve jokingly said we probably have one of the longest-running Instagram DM threads.
Unfortunately, we’ve also gone through some very intense situations together. Not everyone in the art world is nice, which is why having any friend who knows when to put their ego aside and be a true cheerleader for you is priceless. But perhaps the best answer is that we also just seek to have fun! That’s one of the reasons why writing this new book was so important to us. We want to show people you can build a business and lead a life you enjoy while doing it.
EP: I agree with everything Alicia shared, but I also think we do a great job casually checking in with each other each day. We have an ongoing chat about business and send each other silly memes and jokes. It's so important to have someone who understands your challenges. But having a buddy to celebrate the big wins with is even better!
PGMCS: Can you tell us about any other new projects?
AP: We always have a million ideas brewing. There are a few ideas of what our next books and courses will be, and we’ve been thinking about hosting our first major event like a retreat or conference. For now, we do know that there is going to be an amazing group exhibition that is a collaboration between PxP and Create! this July in Philadelphia at Paradigm Gallery’s new art building. We can’t wait for that! For PxP, I will also be showing at an art fair this fall and I’m starting to consider options for what 2024 might look like as well.
EP: Lots of exciting things are always happening in our world virtually through Create! Magazine as well as Art Queens, but I've been really leaning into our local community since our Paradigm Gallery partnership and we can't wait to spend more time with artists in person!
Ekaterina Popova (left) and Alicia Puig (right)
PGMCS: What is the best thing about your job?
EP: The best thing about building your own creative business is the freedom, community, and unlimited potential. Every day we have an opportunity to create whatever we want, which is why we keep going!
AP: The flexibility I can give myself on when I work and where I work as well as what projects or collaborations I choose to take on. And, most importantly, getting to be a champion of incredible emerging artists! I love hearing and sharing their stories, helping them make a breakthrough in their writing or business, and especially when I make sales for them.
PGMCS: What is the worst thing about your job?
AP: Sometimes being a solopreneur is exactly as lonely as it sounds. It took me longer than it should have to join a membership group for other women entrepreneurs (WAWO) so I could feel more connected. You also have to make all of the decisions and when you make mistakes, it’s all on you. This necessitates a certain level of mental toughness. That’s why it’s helpful to have a community of people who can give you advice or just be there to commiserate.
EP: The worst part is the rollercoaster of emotions. There are highs and lows, and sometimes the lows can be devastating. I have learned that it is important to stay neutral in difficult situations, such as slow months or failed projects. By doing so, it becomes easier to move forward and appreciate the journey in the long run.
PGMCS: Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?
EP: Don't quit. Commit to your art no matter what and take the pressure off the timeline. It will give you ease and keep you going when so many people give up.
AP: Artists place a lot of pressure on themselves when it comes to social media so try and find ways to release that. It’s a tool and only one way of marketing your work (and not even the one most likely to convert sales - that’s email). Focusing on other things like building a professional website, making connections, growing an email list, and seeking out opportunities to show your art will likely do much more for your art career than gaining 10k or even 100k followers would.
Besides that, this is probably a good time to remind artists that our book The Complete Smartist Guide is an incredible resource for those getting started and we also have an affordable online course called The Smartist School that is a comprehensive program for learning all about the business of being an artist.
PGMCS: Once again, many thanks to Alicia and Kat for taking the time to connect with us and sharing these great insights!
Need more? Be sure to check out Create! Magazine and PxP Contemporary. Learn more about The Complete Smartist Guide here and shop The Creative Business Handbook on Amazon
Find Kat online at her website or Instagram
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