Division wins

The Project: Branding Workshop filled the gaps that I had in my process, helping me improve the ways I navigate clients through strategy frameworks. Specifically, the exercises we went through to establish Look & Feel and Tone & Voice were a key piece to the puzzle! Strategy helps everyone, not just brand designers. This is about getting to the bottom of what your clients truly need. We are then able to serve them better within and beyond our craft, positioning ourselves as a partner in their story.

My first big win with Maker Division was being asked to film the Fest, an indie music festival in Florida … after seeing my capabilities deck and website, they contacted me and invited me to film! I'll never forget that feeling of making a genuine connection through a shared love of music. Cold outreach and Stephanie's guidance on making an email personalized and not trying to get a sale on the first email, but rather meeting someone and making a connection first.

Maker Division has transformed my creative business. I came into this in a completely different industry, and after tons of self reflection and learning from Ben, Zach, Stephanie, and several other members … I closed a $3k job and a $1.8k job to start my month of December. The community and the compassion within it. I've learned more from this program than I would have in years on my own, just from the community alone. Add in the coursework, and it truly is an accelerator...like leadfoot-on-the-gas type of accelerator. I love it here. Thank you Ben, Steph, Zach, and team so so so much. My confidence, skillset, business skills, life skills, and even my mental health, are better because of this community. Truly a gamechanger. I've never been part of something like it.

Now it's structured and actionable, it really feels like a system I can follow … What clicked for me is that I was already doing parts of this intuitively a few years ago, but I was missing the connections … This course ties everything together. Thank you for sharing this, it's gold. It made me realize how substantial this type of work actually is — it's not a small add-on, but a high-value process.

I landed a book cover design job from a pool of 30 other book designers with cold outreach using my brand spanking new capabilities deck. Learning about outreach and lead-gen has been one of the most insightful and transformative forces in my business. Marketing myself was completely opaque to me. Maker Division unlocked this critically important tool and I've gotten to see behind the curtain — It's embarrassing to say, but I had no idea how vital it was for survival. I received the industry rate from a self publishing author, which is rare in this current market. Best mentorship program I've ever joined.

I just landed 2x $17k projects, brought a cake to a marketing agency... and it got us a meeting with the founder to discuss future collaborations, ND got invited to a professional cinema event to talk about my gear rental company. Maker Division gave me the confidence, tools and knowledge to pitch my services and price them the right way! So far I landed a $5100 gig with a Quantum research facility and 2x $17k gig with a trade school. It's the best, most comprehensive and structured class on how to make money as a creative and the community is awesome 😎

I've learned so much from both the coaches and the community. They share knowledge that helped me go far and beyond what I could with self-study.

This afternoon, right before jumping on the weekly call, I received an email confirming a job I made a proposal for was going ahead. This job is the result of cold outreach to a Toronto-based advertising agency I reached out to 3 or so months ago. I had coffee with one of the co-founders and I've kept in touch since. It's a four-figure job, my biggest portrait project to date. Every now and then, I wonder if all the work and steps Steph & Ben make you do is worth it. But it is. So trust in the process.

I now feel supported by an incredible community. Having that network has been invaluable — it's helped me gain clarity in my business, refine my offerings, and understand how to attract the right clients … One of the biggest transformations has been in my confidence. I now fully own what I do. Everything was valuable, but the Outreach module and website redesign process had the biggest impact on me … The Outreach module gave me the tools and strategies to confidently connect with potential clients, something I had struggled with before. I joined because I felt lost in my business journey. I had the skills, but I didn't know how to turn them into a thriving business or where to even begin … Through Maker Division I not only gained the tools and strategies I needed but also learned how to reframe my mindset.

I would spend hours, days, and weeks thinking about the perfect strategy that would change my life. The truth is, you'll never achieve anything if you never take action … After joining Maker Division, my perspective started to shift from what I wanted to what my dream clients found valuable … it was the first time I felt like I was truly living my dream. Maker Division provided me with clarity … The real value is the mentality, confidence, and community unlocks it provides. Starting a business is scary. I couldn't imagine getting through it without the courses, staff, and community members that pushed me and inspired me every day.

After four months of consistently using the strategies from the Division to reach out to my target market, I landed a dream client for an illustration project! It’s given me a clear sense of direction for my career as an illustrator, and I now see the power of putting myself and my work out there to connect with potential clients... Maker Division works if you're willing to put in the work, trust the process, and follow the guidance provided.

I recently found myself almost completely out of work for the first time since I started freelancing full time nearly five years ago … Between insightful back and forth with other members, much needed coaching, and progression through the curriculum, I was able to reinvigorate my network and pack out my schedule. I closed a $15k project, my largest to date. A combination of the Power 150, email outreach, in-person networking strategies, and the onboarding/pricing systems outlined in M5. But honestly? The support of the group and coaches played a huge role in making me feel like I could do it in the first place. It's the first group that I've joined and felt genuine camaraderie through. No one's trying to sell you anything or make it about them—everyone just wants to help each other grow. It's a great place to be.

I have two major goals: To update my portfolio, which I've had a hard time with... and to be better at the business side of things. I have a good foundation. I'm in the early stages of the program, but I already increased my rate with a client where I was a bit hesitant to increase it. The friday calls are helpful to connect with other creatives and see what I can learn or give as input to and from others.

I got to close $6000 worth of projects by increasing my prices and standing my ground. Maker Division played the most important role — letting me believe in myself! … $6000 in a month! Biggest one for me. Giving me a clear roadmap – where most of us creatives are lost. The creative cocktail, understanding your markets and submarkets, building your capabilities deck and best of all, doing some special occasion networking stuff to build relationships! All good. Love the people here. Great talent. Ben, Steph and Lisa are so sweet!

I booked 2 photo shoots with a new client that connected through cold email. The capabilities deck was a great help, but the cold email process... made it very achievable and organized. I closed a 8K job. I am enjoying all the learning and organization Maker Division is providing, so many gold nuggets of information that can be easily applied to my company and I can see a tangible benefit from them. I am excited to keep going and improve my business.