From passion to profitable: Celi Arias on building a business

The journey from creative passion to sustainable business is one that many entrepreneurs struggle to navigate. In a recent episode of the Dead Pixels Society podcast, Celi Arias, CEO and founder of Grown Ass Business, shared invaluable insights on how creatives can build businesses that don’t lead to burnout.

Arias’s path is a testament to the evolution many creatives experience. With a background in modern dance and fashion design, she started a fashion label in South America that taught her difficult but essential business lessons. “I made all the business mistakes you could imagine,” she shared candidly, describing times when she had “no home and was sleeping on an air mattress in my factory floor.” These experiences drove her to pursue an MBA, though she found even that formal education didn’t address the specific challenges creative entrepreneurs face.

What distinguishes a hobby from a true business? According to Arias, passion alone isn’t enough to sustain a business. While passion might be what draws creatives to start their ventures, it’s a “finicky lover” that can’t be relied upon during challenging times. Instead, successful creative entrepreneurs recognize business itself is “its own art form” with rules and structures that must be understood before they can be effectively bent or broken.

One of the most significant insights from the conversation was about preventing burnout, a common issue for creative business owners. Arias emphasized that burnout often begins when entrepreneurs lose sight of their end goals and find themselves “just working to work.” Without a clear direction—whether that’s a specific revenue target, lifestyle goal, or plan to sell the business—entrepreneurs can find themselves exhausted and questioning the purpose of their efforts.

“When you have a clear big goal in mind, it actually helps you become a better delegator,” Arias explained. Understanding what you’re working toward makes it easier to prioritize tasks, delegate responsibilities, and resist the “shiny object syndrome” that plagues many creative business owners. This syndrome—constantly chasing new trends, platforms, or strategies—can dilute focus and lead to burnout as entrepreneurs spread themselves too thin across multiple initiatives without making substantial progress in any one area.

Building what Arias calls a “grown ass business” means developing systems that allow the business to operate efficiently without the owner having to “pull all the levers.” This includes creating clear roles and responsibilities, establishing systematic approaches to marketing and operations, and being disciplined about where to focus energy. Even for solopreneurs, thinking in terms of departments and metrics can transform how they approach their business.

For creative entrepreneurs struggling with discipline, Arias offered practical advice: “I let everyone around me tell me to stop it if I’m trying to do too much.” This accountability can be crucial for creatives who naturally want to pursue multiple exciting ideas simultaneously.

The podcast conversation concluded with an important question creative entrepreneurs should ask themselves when feeling stuck: “Am I willing to change?” When business owners find themselves working harder but not seeing results, it’s often a sign that their approach needs to shift. Rather than immediately considering an exit, Arias suggests asking: “Am I open and willing to changing how I’m doing things?”

For photographers, printers, and other creative professionals in the imaging industry, these insights offer a roadmap to building businesses that remain fulfilling and sustainable in the long term. By understanding the distinction between passion and business, establishing clear goals, implementing systems, and being willing to adapt, creative entrepreneurs can avoid burnout while still remaining true to their artistic vision.