Angela Ferrari is an artist, children's book author/ illustrator based in Portland Maine. She is the creator and host of the Story Spectacular podcast.
Angela grew up in the mountains of western Maine. Living in a rural setting, she developed a talent for finding creative ways to play and captivate her imagination.
After graduating with a BA in studio art from The University of Maine, Angela moved to Portland. She was accepted into the Assets for Artists program which focused on business finance for creative entrepreneurs. After completing the required training, Angela received matching grant funds for working capital. She then became a successful painter.
She has since expanded her artistic endeavors, writing and illustrating three children's books: Digger's Daily Routine, An Extraordinary Book & What Do You See. She has also done illustration and created book cover art for multiple other authors. Most recently Angela has launched Story Spectacular, a children's story podcast. The show features original stories and classic retellings.
The Notes
- Angela is not a parent herself, but she is definitely a kid at heart and has a lot of friends and family with kids surrounding her.
- She has so many interests – and her podcast is a way in which she can incorporate all of her different passions and creativity. She sings, writes and scores music, acts out character voices, and more. The Podcast is different every time.
- Her parents were very influential and she identifies the biggest lesson she learned from her dad was how to combine work with play. Now, Angela leverages that lesson as an adult to make her time working more enjoyable. She always tries to tackle the less fun tasks early in the morning, and then save the fun stuff for later in the day. The biggest lesson she learned from her mom was gratitude. Instead of dwelling on the things that she didn't have (like that American Girl doll as a kid), she identified the things she was lucky to have.
- Angela has always known that she was passionate about art and she pursued art in both high school and college. After college, she was comfortable and confident with her art skills, but it took some time for her to figure out the business side of things. (Which is true for a lot of entrepreneurs!)
“Tackle the worst, first” ~Angela Ferrari
- One thing that really helped Angela was to connect with a mentor from her local business development center. She found the center just searching for free/cheap local resources. She also joined a group called Assets for Artists which provided opportunities and supports specifically for creative entrepreneurs. Angela has found value in having a combination of online supports and “real life” supports helpful – so that she has mentors she can connect with in person – not just from behind her computer.
- With so much going on, Angela finds it helpful (and really, essential) to hold herself to a pretty strict routine. She sticks to her consistent routine which includes carving out time for herself as both a physical and creative outlet.
- Money is a tool that will allow you to do the things you need to do. Whether you have a lot or you have a little, it's going to be a stress.
- Angela loves the differences between telling an audio story and telling a video story. Without pictures, kids are able to really exercise their imaginations when listening to audio stories, like on her Podcast!
Meet Angela Ferrari
Angela Ferrari is an artist, children's book author/ illustrator based in Portland Maine. She is the creator and host of the Story Spectacular podcast.
Angela grew up in the mountains of western Maine. Living in a rural setting, she developed a talent for finding creative ways to play and captivate her imagination.
After graduating with a BA in studio art from The University of Maine, Angela moved to Portland. She was accepted into the Assets for Artists program which focused on business finance for creative entrepreneurs. After completing the required training, Angela received matching grant funds for working capital. She then became a successful painter.
She has since expanded her artistic endeavors, writing and illustrating three children's books: Digger's Daily Routine, An Extraordinary Book & What Do You See. Most recently Angela has launched Story Spectacular, a children's story podcast. The show features original stories and classic retellings.
Listen to an excerpt from Angela's story, Digger's Daily Routine
Find Angela
Angela's Recommendations & Links
- American Girl Dolls
- Assets for Artists
- “Simple Habit” meditation app
- Evernote
- Every Little Thing – Hosted by Flora Lichtman
- The $100 MBA Podcast
Last Show
In the previous episode, Monique Parker joined us to discuss empowering and equipping young people to live independent lives as successful adults. As entrepreneurs, we can't produce the profit and success we desire if we are stressed about our kids academic, personal life, & future plans after graduation… it's a can't miss interview – so if you did miss it, go back and check it out!
Next Show
Our next episode is an interview with Alyssa Truman. Alyssa always knew she wanted to be a mom, and she turned to direct sales as a way to bring in some extra money. 12 years later, she's still with the same direct sales company and has lots of valuable tips, tricks, and advice surrounding balancing family and business. Whether you're a direct sales rep, thinking of joining a direct sales company, or an entirely different type of entrepreneur – Alyssa's interview provides a ton of value for all parent-entrepreneurs!