The Program

How the
Lab works.

Participants leave with a business model, a revenue plan, and the tools to run both, not a folder of ideas for later.

Four
phases.
Ten
weeks.

Structured around what artisans need: infrastructure, not inspiration.

01
Weeks 1–2
Recruitment
  • Recruit through city partner channels and select a cohort from the local creative community
  • Baseline assessment of each participant's current business stage
  • Audit of local arts resources so the curriculum fits the city
  • Pre-work materials distributed before the intensive begins
02
3 Days On-Site
Intensive
  • Entrepreneurial mindset and the founder's perspective
  • Business models and revenue streams for creative practitioners
  • Rights, licensing, and getting paid for your work
  • Modern tools, from distribution platforms to AI-assisted development
  • Sponsor products taught as working tools in the Artisan Business Toolkit
03
Weeks 3–8
Implementation
  • Structured sprints: release or promote a project, set up back-office operations
  • Weekly office hours and group coaching sessions
  • Participants work with the Artisan Business Toolkit
  • Peer accountability pairs and milestone check-ins
  • One-on-one coaching for participants who need it
04
Final Week
Showcase
  • Community showcase with partner branding, open to stakeholders, city officials, and local press
  • Participants present their business and the work they shipped during the program
  • Certificates endorsed by the program team and the city's cultural office
  • Alumni network activation and continued toolkit access

The program wraps in ten weeks.
What it leaves behind doesn't.

What sticks around is trained entrepreneurs, an alumni network, a toolkit, and a cohort that can already teach the next one. The Guild jumpstarts a local creative innovation center and then steps back, since growing it past that point is your city's call, one you'll be ready to make with real people, real knowledge, and a model that's already been tested once.

Duration
10 Weeks
Intensive
3-Day On-Site
Async Coaching
Weeks 3–8
Cost to Participants
Free
Cost to City
Free
For Cities & Arts Councils
Bring the Guild to your city.

Your city handles the door, we handle the rest. Going in, all we need is a venue introduction and access to your community channels.

Cities partnership →
For Sponsors
Become a founding partner.

Founding Sponsors help design the inaugural program, co-develop the toolkit, and decide how participants first meet your platform.

Corporate partnership →