Real artists will take the time to create a business around what their craft.
Today I’m sharing with you some of the books that have helped me along my creative and entrepreneurial journey. Some of these books are what got me started down this path of art and commerce, and others are ones I have found helpful along my journey. If you’re an artist looking to build a business with your craft, I think you’ll find these books really helpful.
I also want to invite you to join the Nion Life Community over on Facebook. There you’ll find likeminded creatives and an place where you can ask questions, get inspired, and collaborate.
You have to figure out the puzzle pieces to put together the life that you want.
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/eight-books-for-creative-entrepreneurs” title=”8 Must Reads for Creative Entrepreneurs” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/131_8MustReads_NIONradio-2.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]
Real artists will take the time to create a business around what their craft.
Today I’m sharing with you some of the books that have helped me along my creative and entrepreneurial journey. Some of these books are what got me started down this path of art and commerce, and others are ones I have found helpful along my journey. If you’re an artist looking to build a business with your craft, I think you’ll find these books really helpful.
I also want to invite you to join the Nion Life Community over on Facebook. There you’ll find likeminded creatives and an place where you can ask questions, get inspired, and collaborate.
You have to figure out the puzzle pieces to put together the life that you want.
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/eight-books-for-creative-entrepreneurs” title=”8 Must Reads for Creative Entrepreneurs” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/131_8MustReads_NIONradio-2.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]







Real artists will take the time to create a business around what their craft.
Today I’m sharing with you some of the books that have helped me along my creative and entrepreneurial journey. Some of these books are what got me started down this path of art and commerce, and others are ones I have found helpful along my journey. If you’re an artist looking to build a business with your craft, I think you’ll find these books really helpful.
I also want to invite you to join the Nion Life Community over on Facebook. There you’ll find likeminded creatives and an place where you can ask questions, get inspired, and collaborate.
You have to figure out the puzzle pieces to put together the life that you want.
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/eight-books-for-creative-entrepreneurs” title=”8 Must Reads for Creative Entrepreneurs” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/131_8MustReads_NIONradio-2.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]

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Emanate is a creative-direction-led photography experience for entrepreneurs, speakers, and thought leaders in a moment of expansion. This isn’t about better photos. It’s about aligning how you’re seen with who you’ve become. For seasons of rebrand, visibility, and next-level leadership.
Magnetic Authority is a self-guided container for people who feel visible, but not fully anchored.
If your message keeps shifting, your brand feels inconsistent, or your presence doesn’t match your capability yet. This is where you build the foundation before you scale.
For founders, creatives, and leaders who want a trusted long-term partner. This isn’t coaching or traditional consulting.
It’s an ongoing creative partnership focused on bringing your personal brand identity to life.
Your brand. Your website. Your visuals.
All shaped as a direct extension of who you are. The work also includes a bespoke process of identifying and aligning the right experts when needed, so nothing gets built out of sync with your core.
Quiet. Precise. Highly Selective.

For two decades I made other people’s brands coherent while my own waited. Here is the Brand Intelligence Engine I built to finally close that gap.

The Brand Intelligence Engine is an AI personal brand system that builds the complete infrastructure of a premium brand in three phases. Here’s exactly what happens inside, what it produces, and who it’s built for.

Your content strategy is not working because the problem isn’t content. It’s what’s underneath it. When your brand lacks identity and visual translation, posting more just amplifies incoherence. Here’s the trap and how to escape it.

This personal brand audit takes two minutes and reveals exactly where your brand is broken. Four questions, one for each layer of brand intelligence. Most people fail at least two. Here’s the diagnostic.

Your personal brand identity is not you. It’s a translation of you. When you confuse the two, you either freeze up or perform. Neither builds authority. Here’s the distinction that changes how you show up online.

The biggest personal brand photography investment mistake isn’t underspending on photos. It’s investing $50,000 in coaching, ads, and masterminds while spending $500 on visual identity. Here’s what that costs you and how to fix the order.

I spent 20 years photographing personal brands. I watched brilliant people stay invisible because they skipped the layers nobody talks about. So I built the Brand Intelligence Engine to fix it. Here’s the full story.

Your AI content sounds generic because the AI doesn’t know who you are. It’s not a tool problem. It’s an input problem. Without your identity, voice, and brand intelligence loaded, every AI produces the same bland output. Here’s how to fix it.

Creativity as intelligence is the idea that creative work isn’t about expressing who you already are. It’s about constructing who you’re becoming. Most people treat creativity as output. It’s actually architecture. Here’s why that changes everything.

The personal brand identity gap is the distance between your expertise and your visibility. When who you are doesn’t match how you’re seen online, it’s not a marketing problem. It’s a coherence problem. Here’s how to close it.

Most personal brands skip visual translation entirely. They jump from identity straight to content. But brand identity before website, before content, before the sales page is the order that actually works. Here’s the layer you’re missing.

Most personal brand strategy frameworks skip the foundation. Brand intelligence is built in four layers: Identity, Visual Translation, Content, and Business. Here’s why starting at layer three is the reason your brand feels off.
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.