Where creative entrepreneurship meets storytelling

Click here and I'll prove it with portfolios from 101 creative founders

May 06, 2024

Creative entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster.

Every day, you choose your level of difficulty.

Level 10: The hardest level. Going solo, not finding your tribe, not reaching out to mentors, not seeking opportunities to learn, not building sustainable workflows and systems in your business, not investing in your business, not taking care of yourself, not making time for the things and people that mean the most to you.

Or,

Level 1: The easiest level. Building your creative business with a support system of other founders, outsourcing when necessary, checking in with mentors regularly, connecting with others in your community, building systems and processes that work for you, investing in your professional development, making time for self-care, spending time doing things you enjoy with the people you love.

If you’re reading this — you're ready to bring things down a notch. You're not just looking for a quick money grab. You want to

  • make a career from your creative passions

  • build a calm business you love

  • give back to your community

  • have time freedom

I love that for you. 

But here's the problem

If you're looking to get to Level 1, there are a lot of obstacles in your way.

  • While women business owners represent 39.1% of U.S. firms, they only account for 9.2% of the workforce and 5.8% of revenue. (source)

  • Black/African American women are driving business creation, but they also close businesses at higher rates than other demographic segments. (source)

  • More than one-in-five Black adults in the United States say owning a business is essential to financial success, yet Black-owned businesses make up only 3% of all U.S. firms (source), and 96% of Black-owned businesses have no employees. (source)

  • Hispanic small business owners are facing more financial challenges, with 39.3% reporting difficulty accessing financing and 42.6% reporting cash flow issues. Additionally, they are more likely to use their personal savings to fund their businesses. (source)

  • Indigenous business owners make up less than 1% of all business owners and 37% of Indigenous-owned businesses were operating at a loss at the end of 2021. (source)

*if you’re not in any of the groups mentioned above, that’s okay. But please know,

That's why this newsletter community exists

I'm Angela Hollowell and I'm the founder of Rootful Media, home of films about the outdoors, environmental justice, social impact, and more. You might also know me as a YouTuber and host of the Honey & Hustle podcast – creative projects that have given me the opportunity to speak on stages across the East Coast (and hopefully the world, one day), an honor I don't take lightly.

Over the years I've interviewed hundreds of founders and creators alongside documenting my journey in creative entrepreneurship. I'm here to continue sharing their stories and dissecting new ones from names you'll likely recognize (like Issa Rae, Zane Lowe, Pinky Cole, Tyler, the Creator, and Justin Welsh) to help you gain actionable insights and ideas you can use right now. Community-building, audience-engaging, revenue-generating levels of insights that you won't find anywhere else online (I think).

As a show of good faith, here's the list of creative founder portfolios I promised, organized by creative niche.

Filmmakers

Podcasters

Designers

Writers

Photographers

Creative multihyphenates

P.S. Please share 💕 Send this post to other people who want to explore life on Level 1. Friends always make adventures more fun.

Please Hustle Responsibly,

🤙🏾✨

Here are some next steps if you'd like to implement what I shared today.

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