On October 1st, I’ll be officially moving all of the content from designinganmba.com to artistsandprofitmakers.com. I’ll still be sharing all the content you know and love, I’ll just be sharing it on the new Artists & Profit Makers blog. In fact, if you head over there now, you’ll find all of the old Designing an MBA posts, plus a few new ones!
After October 1st, the Designing an MBA site will forward directly to Artists & Profit Makers.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I’d like to talk about why I’m making the switch.
If you’ve ever worked or taken a class with me, you know that I’m always trying to talk people out of operating multiple websites. Inevitably, the conversation goes like this. Someone will say “I’m thinking about starting a new project…” or “I’ve got this idea for a new line…” And their follow-up question is always “Should I start another website?” (You can also insert Shopify store or Etsy shop in place of website.)
And nine times out of ten, my answer is always the same. Hell no! (The one out of ten is because they’re starting something so completely different, but for the most part, most projects aren’t as “different” in the eyes of our customers as they are to us.)
The reason I respond with a “hell no” is that running one website is hard enough. Running two adds a whole other level of challenge.
I would know.
Since late 2009, I’ve been running two sites. My eponymous jewelry line at meganauman.com (and the related Shopify store at shop.meganauman.com) and Designing an MBA. (Which was called Crafting an MBA back then.)
In 2018, I added a third site to the mix – my online mentorship and group coaching program, Artists and Profit Makers.
That doesn’t even count all the random additional domains I’ve registered over the years. Especially ones for specific classes, which I’m ashamed to admit I often gave their own website.
But I’m just one person (and I certainly don’t have an IT department) and over the years, I’ve started to realize this approach was unsustainable. My digital footprint, quite frankly, has been a mess.
So I started to reign it in.
I moved all of my classes and books over to my Shopify store, right alongside my jewelry and other art. Recently, I even moved my 1-on-1 Coaching packages there.
But even with moving everything else into one space, I knew Artists & Profit Makers would be a place of its own. The entire membership platform requires its own website. And quite frankly, that’s a space I’m really proud of. Over the last six years, I’ve poured myself into the membership side of A&PM. The amount of content within the program and the amount of love and energy that goes into the forums is staggering. (In the best way possible.)
Of all the things I’ve ever done in my business, A&PM is the thing I’m most proud of, the thing that gets me excited to go to work every single day. (Ironic, because before I started it, I was so insistent I wouldn’t start another membership program. Funny how that works.)
But all of this left Designing an MBA hanging in the breeze. It was basically just a portal. A place that directed people to where they could work with me. Yes, it was a portal with over a decade of incredible content. But from a business standpoint, it suddenly felt lost.
And then it broke. I won’t get into all the technical headaches I’ve experienced with this site over the last few years, but let’s just say there were many. Which made me reticent to write new content or drive people to the site.
I’ll admit, all of this had me really stalled out when it came to marketing. Here I was, pouring my heart and soul into the private spaces of Artists & Profit Makers, but I wasn’t doing anything to promote the program externally. Because I was thoroughly fed up with the website that I was supposed to be using to promote the program.
That’s when I decided to follow my own advice.
Because here’s the thing. Whenever someone asks me if they should have more than one website, after I say “hell no!” we usually take a step back. And I ask them if the audience for both projects overlaps. If the answer is yes – not perfectly, but enough – then it does not make sense to start another site.
And if it wasn’t obvious, the audience for Designing an MBA and the audience for Artists & Profit Makers is the same. It’s you!
That’s why I’m consolidating. That’s why, in addition to the private, members-only portion of Artists & Profit Makers, I’ll now be maintaining a public blog on that site, full of all the advice and think pieces you’ve come to expect from Designing an MBA!
What does this mean for you?
Honestly, not much. If you’re on my mailing list, you’ll keep getting emails. Over the next few weeks, you’ll just see them with updated branding. And if you try to go to designinganmba.com after October 1st, you’ll be sent directly to artistsandprofitmakers.com.
The only other change you can expect should be a positive one. I’ll admit I haven’t blogged as much as I would have liked the last few years. That’s a little bit to do with being mad at AI, but a lot to do with the challenges of my website that I haven’t had the energy to fix. But now that things are up and running smoothly, I’m looking forward to getting back to a more regular posting schedule.
Designing an MBA reflects my commitment to helping artists and makers grow their businesses in ways that feel good. And that won’t change now that I’m blogging under a new umbrella.
I couldn’t be more proud of the work I’ve done here at Designing an MBA. It’s been an amazing fifteen years here, and I’m looking forward to many more over at Artists & Profit Makers!
megan
megan auman
Designing an MBA
PS. If this feels like the end of an era (because in a way, it is), I’ve also put together a book featuring the best writing from Designing an MBA. You can grab it in my online store!
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