Jessica Dance on Building a Sustainable Creative Business

Jessica Dance is a UK-based artist, designer, and creative coach who has worked with brands including Vogue, Nike, Barbie, British Airways and Google. After years in the creative industry, she trained as a coach following a period of burnout, combining art, business and psychology to support creative entrepreneurs in building lives and businesses that are joyful, impactful and financially sustainable.

In this talk, Jessica shares what truly creates sustainable success for creatives: regulating the nervous system, reshaping limiting beliefs, and building strategy from a place of safety rather than fear. 

Burnout is a Signal

Jessica’s transition into coaching began at a point many creatives quietly recognise: complete burnout. After years of building a successful artistic career, she found herself exhausted, disconnected, and questioning the very work she once loved. 

What she realised is that burnout rarely comes from lack of talent or opportunity. It usually comes from building a business reactively instead of intentionally. Many creatives begin their careers organically — you’re good at something, people start commissioning you, the work snowballs. At first, it feels exciting. Then it becomes constant. And somewhere along the way, you stop checking whether the way you’re working actually suits you.

Over time, the pace becomes unsustainable. You may be earning, producing, delivering — yet internally feel depleted. As Jessica notes, many people reach a point years into their career where they think, “I can’t keep working like this.”

Burnout, in this context, becomes a message: something about the structure needs to change. Not your talent. Not your ambition. The foundation.

The Three Pillars of Sustainable Creative Business

Jessica structures her coaching around three core pillars: nervous system regulation, mindset work, and clear strategy.

Importantly, she emphasises that strategy must come last. Many creatives seek tactical solutions first — refining their niche, adjusting pricing, building new offers — but if the body is operating in survival mode, those strategies often collapse.

When your nervous system is dysregulated — chronically stressed, anxious, or in fight-or-flight — success can feel unsafe. You might subconsciously avoid visibility. You might procrastinate sending invoices. You might undercharge, even while knowing you deserve more. Not because you lack business intelligence, but because expansion doesn’t feel stable inside your body.

Jessica shares how a client implemented similar strategies with another coach in the past, yet only saw results after working on nervous system regulation first. The difference was not tactical; it was energetic. Once the body felt safe, the same actions led to different outcomes.

Alignment vs. Obligation

A key tension Jessica highlights is the difference between alignment and obligation.

Many creatives begin by accepting opportunities gratefully. And gratitude is important. But over time, if you stop steering the direction of your work, you can drift into projects that no longer reflect your deeper purpose. 

This is where “should” energy creeps in.
I should take this job.
I should be earning more by now.
I should follow that trend because it’s working for others.

When action is driven by comparison or external pressure, it often feels forced and draining. Even if the results look successful on paper, internally there’s friction.

Alignment, by contrast, does not eliminate effort — but it removes self-betrayal. When your actions align with your values and intuition, work feels expansive rather than contracting.

Jessica is careful not to romanticise this. Sometimes you will take a project simply because it pays the bills. The key is intentionality. If you know why you are choosing it and how it supports the bigger picture, it becomes a conscious decision rather than a trap.

The Courage to Pause

When someone feels overwhelmed by projects, Jessica does not immediately prescribe more action. Instead, she suggests pausing.

Even a short pause — time to journal, breathe, or reflect — allows you to reconnect with your internal state. She describes it as “dropping a pin on a map.” Before you can decide where to go next, you need clarity about where you currently stand.

Pausing can feel counterintuitive, especially when under pressure. The primitive brain prefers predictability, even if that predictability is uncomfortable. But constant motion keeps you disconnected from intuition.

Jessica encourages writing thoughts down by hand, noting that much of what we carry are stories rather than facts. Externalising thoughts creates distance. Distance creates clarity. And clarity allows you to respond rather than react.

Two Types of Discomfort

Growth is uncomfortable. Remaining stuck is uncomfortable too.

Jessica distinguishes between unproductive discomfort — staying in a situation that drains you without making changes — and productive discomfort — taking action that stretches you toward growth.

The difference lies in direction.

Unproductive discomfort keeps you circling frustration.
Productive discomfort builds capacity.

When you try something new, pitch a dream client, refine your offer, or raise your prices, there will be nerves. But each small expansion builds self-trust.

Jessica also points out that creatives often skip celebrating wins. Instead of acknowledging progress, they immediately raise the bar, reinforcing the belief that it is “never enough.” Sustainable growth requires integration — noticing what you accomplished and allowing it to land before moving forward.

Money, Value and Belief Systems

Money is rarely just about numbers. It carries stories.

Jessica explores how beliefs such as “it’s hard to make money as an artist” quietly shape outcomes. Beliefs influence feelings, feelings influence actions, and actions create results.

If you believe money is scarce in your field, you may hesitate to show up fully. That hesitation reinforces the belief.

Rather than forcing unrealistic positivity, Jessica encourages gradual belief shifts — moving from impossibility to possibility. Curiosity opens doors that certainty keeps shut.

She also challenges the equation of money with time and effort. There are only so many hours in a day; over-relying on effort leads to burnout. Money, she suggests, is better understood as a value exchange. When your work is aligned and clearly positioned, value expands beyond hours worked.

Most importantly, she separates pricing from worth. Your worth is inherent; it is not determined by your income. That distinction removes shame and creates space for strategic pricing decisions.

Practical Grounding During Uncertainty

When finances feel uncertain, Jessica does not advocate bypassing reality with optimism. She advises grounding through facts first — examining the numbers, creating a plan, and understanding your actual position.

Information creates stability. From that stability, clearer thinking emerges.

She also encourages naming the truth of the moment. Saying, “This feels hard right now,” validates the experience without spiralling into self-judgment.

This combination of practicality and emotional honesty prevents the downward spiral of fear.

Building From Safety

Throughout the conversation, one message remains consistent: safety precedes expansion.

When your nervous system feels safe, you think more creatively. You make decisions more clearly. You approach visibility and pricing with steadiness rather than urgency.

Creative success is not just about doing more. It is about creating from a regulated, aligned state.

When action flows from safety, it feels sustainable. And sustainability — not intensity — is what allows creativity to thrive long-term.