Quitting Her Day Job To Become A 6 Figure Illustrator | Lisa Congdon's Success Story

Brian Hood (0:00)

This is the 6 Figure Creative Podcast, Episode 187

Welcome to the 6 Figure Creative Podcast, where our mission is to help you turn your creative passions into a stable, reliable income. If you're in audio, video, design, photography, or really any other creative field, and you just want to learn from other successful creatives, you're in the right place.

Welcome back to another episode of the 6 Figure Creative Podcast. I'm your host, Brian Hood. I'm here with my big, bald, beautiful co-host in his nice lavender, purple, pinky hoodie. Christopher J. Graham, how are you doing today, Chris?

Christopher J. Graham (0:33)

I'm really good because we have an exceptional interview today. So exceptional, in fact, that you are visibly nervous, and I'm excited about that. I've never seen you nervous before.

Brian Hood (0:44)

Yeah, I'm a little out of my league today. Just a really quickly intro of the guest, we have Lisa Congdon on the interview.

Say hey to everyone, Lisa.

Lisa Congdon (0:52)

Hey, everyone.

Brian Hood (0:55)

Yeah, so the reason I'm a little bit nervous is because we found Lisa on, I believe it was the Creative Elements Podcast, who hosted that as one of our past guests on the show.

Friend of yours, Chris.

And we found you on the podcast, and we had to get you on, and then I started actually doing research into what you've accomplished, what all you've done. And I've prepared the longest intro I've ever had for a guest right now, just to give our audience some context, because if you're not in the illustrator design space, you may not know Lisa. My background is in music production, so I was not fully aware of everything that she's done. It's terrifying. I'm just gonna read it really quick. So she is first and foremost an illustrator, an illustrator or designer. She's worked with Target, Amazon, Crate and Barrel, REI, Martha Stewart Living. So that's just the tip of the iceberg for everyone. So she's also the author of at least 10 books, the least that I could find, some of which are named, Whatever You Are, Be A Good One, amazing book title. Art Incorporated, the essential guide to building your career as an artist. So she's got the business acumen to talk about that stuff.

A book called A Glorious Freedom, older women leading extraordinary lives. Love that book title as well. Finding Your Artistic Voice, the essential guide to working your creative magic. These book titles just get better and better with everyone.

You're a podcaster. As of last April, you have a podcast called The Lisa Congdon Sessions. So everyone go open the app and listen to that and subscribe to that. And you've got an online store selling physical products, everything from like book prints, books, puzzles, journals, desk accessories, housework items, stickers and tattoos. Like so many just physical products, and you have online classes you sell as well. To top it off, you are named one of the 50 most inspiring people in companies, but people according to industry creatives published by Adweek. So all of this, by the way, and this is the coolest thing that I saw was you didn't actually even start seeing success and start getting traction until you were almost 40 years old.

So anyone listening right now, that's just since she was almost 40 years old, she's accomplished all that since then. So Lisa, now anyone can see why I'm kind of nervous now, because it's hard to, I don't know, I can't put you in a box, Lisa. There's no box to put you in. So we're gonna try to like unpack you and focus in on a couple of major things that I think you can help our audience achieve. But now welcome to the show that people know exactly what they're getting themselves into.

Lisa Congdon (2:57)

Thank you. That was the most brilliant introduction I've ever had.

Brian Hood (3:03)

Oh, that was my goal. That was my goal. All right, so when we bring guests on the show, I always, as a host, I always try to think of superpowers. Like, what is their superpower? When I found you, I immediately spotted the superpower is like, it's pretty obvious. Like you have found this way to take this incredible skill that you have created, which is illustration design, and you've monetized it in ways that most people don't even dream of doing.

And I want to dive into this transition you made. You started in illustration. It was more of a, I believe, a passion. You were just trying to learn the skill of design, and it slowly but surely flourished into an actual business.