Your creativity is worth more than you're charging for it.
A no-fluff business playbook for artists, designers and creators who are done undercharging and ready to build consistent income.
The Business of Creative Arts was adopted into the curriculum of five Lithuanian academic institutions — including Vilnius University — as a guide to creative entrepreneurship.
All prices are listed in EUR — if you pay in a different currency, your bank will convert it automatically at the current exchange rate.
Featured in European media
Sound familiar?
You work incredibly hard. But your income doesn't show it.
Most creative people are told the same lie: that talent alone is enough. That if your work is good, the sales will come. That business is for "other people" - not artists, not makers, not you.
So you keep creating. You post. You price low so people will buy. You wonder why other creators seem to figure it out when you can't.
The problem isn't you. It's that no one ever gave you the actual strategy.
I don't know how to price my work without scaring people away
I'm posting constantly but no one is buying
I want to turn this into a real business but I don't know where to start
I've tried everything and I still feel like I'm starting over every month
I know I'm talented - why can't I make this work?
Inside the book
8 chapters. 13 exercises. One clear plan.
This creative entrepreneurship book is built around action, not theory. Every chapter is designed to be read with a pen in hand, complete the exercises, and you leave each chapter with something you can actually use tomorrow. The euro value beside each chapter is the consulting equivalent of the strategy it contains — what a one-hour session with a creative business coach typically costs to deliver the same answer.
Dismantles the myth that business and creativity don't mix. You'll understand why art schools failed you, and exactly what to do about it. Entrepreneurship is a skill, not a personality type.
The difference between a dream and a goal is a written plan with deadlines. You'll use the Dream-to-Reality Matrix to turn vague ambitions into a 12-month action plan you'll actually follow.
How to protect your creative hours without burning out. Time-blocking for creators, how to build consistency without crushing spontaneity, and the scheduling tools that actually work.
Your audience will only choose you over everyone else if they understand why you're different. A guided exercise in finding — and articulating — your creative edge.
Stop avoiding this. Understanding who else is in your space isn't intimidating — it's one of the clearest shortcuts to positioning your work where it will actually sell.
The chapter most readers flip to first. How to calculate your true minimum price, how to charge what your work is worth, and how to stop apologising every time a buyer asks "how much?"
Every creator knows this feeling. This chapter names it, normalises it, and gives you the practical tools to move forward anyway — so fear stops quietly running your business.
The anti-procrastination chapter. Your next steps, clearly defined — so you close the book and actually begin, instead of filing it under "someday".
The €197 stacked value, line by line
What you'll walk away with
A business not just a beautiful practice.
By the time you finish the last exercise, you won't just have ideas. You'll have:
- A clear strategy for your creative business - written down, with deadlines
- Your unique positioning, defined in a sentence you can actually say out loud
- A competitor map of your space and where you fit - and stand out
- Your pricing calculated correctly, from a place of confidence not apology
- A time plan that protects your creative hours
- A client relationship strategy that builds repeat buyers and true fans
- Your 13 exercises completed - a personal business playbook, in your own handwriting
- The mental framework to start - and keep going when it gets hard
Is this for me?
If you make something, this is for you.
This book was written for every kind of creator who has ever wondered if turning their passion into a business is actually possible. It is. And you don't need a business degree to figure it out.
Visual Artists
Embroiderers & Textile Artists
Designers & Illustrators
Photographers & Videographers
Makers & Crafters
Writers & Content Creators
Musicians & Performers
Anyone building a creative brand
About the author
From welfare‑level income to dressing celebrities at Cannes and teaching 1,800+ creators –
this is the business plan she had to figure out the hard way.
In 2013, I was a single mother in Vilnius living on a welfare payment of 425 Lithuanian litas - the equivalent of about 120€ a month. I had no mentor, no manual, no money. I had creativity, stubbornness, and the absolute refusal to believe that this was it.
Everyone around me said it wouldn't work. My grandmother told me to go get a real job. My friends said no one would buy handmade things when stores were cheaper. I didn't listen. Not because I was reckless, but because I had no alternative that felt worth choosing.
Over the next decade, I built an internationally recognized creative business - dressing celebrities at Cannes, placing 2nd at the Hand & Lock Prize in London, founding the first haute couture embroidery school in the Baltic States, and teaching over 1,800 students how to do what they love and earn from it.
I also lost nearly everything twice - once to hackers, once to burnout. This book is the plan I wish I'd had from the beginning. Not theory. Not inspiration. A real, tested strategy - built from 13 years of mistakes, recoveries, and lessons that actually worked.
"Sales are not rocket science. Anyone can do it - with the right strategy and the consistency to follow through."
“Strength is born not from success, but from the ability to rise after failures.”
- Valeria Fic Brase
Why read this book?
What readers are saying
School of Couture students
Already mastering embroidery?
Now build the business around it.
Learning the technique is only half the work. The other half - pricing your commissions, finding your clients, building a brand, knowing when to say no - that's what this book covers.
30% of people who've completed the Business of Creative Arts course have gone on to launch their own brands. 20% left jobs they didn't love. The rest are taking their first steps. All of them started where you are.
START MAKING FIRST STEPS TODAYAs featured in
The book the media talked about.
After painful experiences, she turned to her mission and wrote the book she wishes had existed when she started.
Lithuanian lifestyle magazine Stilius featured Valeria in a full multi-page interview tracing her journey from welfare-level beginnings to international recognition, and the personal health crisis that finally pushed her to write this book. "My mission is educational," she told the magazine. "To be an ambassador for creators. To show society what they are capable of."
"A crowd of friends and famous faces" came to the Vilnius launch.
Lithuania's largest national newspaper lrytas.lt covered the Vilnius book presentation, reporting that readers, public figures, and well-known faces came to meet Valeria. Five presentations followed across the country.
The Business of Creative Arts is now part of the official curriculum at five Lithuanian academic institutions — including Vilnius University used as a practical guide to creative entrepreneurship.
The business book art schools don't teach now in the programs of five universities and colleges.
The Business of Creative Arts was adopted into educational programs by Vilnius University, Vilnius College, Kaunas College, Utena College, and Siauliai College — used as a practical guide to creative entrepreneurship for students across Lithuania.
The complete creator toolkit
Pair the book with your embroidery training to build something complete.
Learn the craft
Master Haute Couture embroidery at School of Couture — the techniques used by Chanel, Dior & Balmain.
Build the strategy
Read The Business of Creative Arts, complete the 13 exercises, and walk away with your personal business plan.
Launch your brand
Combine new skills with a real business strategy — and build something you can earn from for life.
Choose your format
Get the book
Available in digital and print. Both editions include the complete book and all 13 exercises — the same strategy inside, start to finish. The digital e-book runs 119 pages; the signed print edition is a 125-page paperback you can hold, keep, and write straight into.
Digital E-Book
- ✓119 digital pages
- ✓PDF + EPUB formats
- ✓13 practical exercises & worksheets
- ✓Instant access after purchase
- ✓Secure checkout via Kajabi Payments
Signed Print Edition
- ✓125 printed pages
- ✓Signed paperback with PDF + EPUB included
- ✓13 exercises — write directly in the book
- ✓Personal dedication from the author
- ✓Worldwide shipping via Etsy
Questions
Before you decide
Why is the book listed at 197€ if it costs 12.99€?
How is the 197€ value distributed across the book?
Is this book only for embroiderers or textile artists?
I'm a complete beginner. Is this too advanced for me?
How is this different from other business books for creatives?
Is this a serious, credible business resource or just another "follow your passion" book?
What format does the e-book come in?
Can I get a refund?
Is the checkout secure?
Your creativity has value.
It's time to start charging for it.
119 pages. 13 step‑by‑step exercises. A clear plan to go from ‘I make things’ to ‘I run a creative business’.
DOWNLOAD THE E-BOOK — 12,99 €
