Michael Janda

Morepalooza 2026 in Pensacola is a wrap. 👇🏼Comment “I WANT IN” to get a link and join MCA for free & be the first to know when the next Morepalooza location is released! Oh my gosh… this trip was so freaking epic. @usnavyblueangels & the @afthunderbirds flew over our first beach morning like a warm Pensacola welcome. ☀️Weather was perfect. 🌊 Water felt amazing. 🍤 Food was unreal. But the best part, as always, was the people. There’s just something different about being face to face. Walls come down. Real relationships happen. Not surface-level. The kind that last. That’s what MCA has always been about. Workshops, ice baths, sound bath, beach hangs, dolphin cruise, parasailing… and a lot of real, human conversations in between. By the end, I was doing airport runs and honestly didn’t want it to end. Man. I love these people. If you want in on the next one, join the community for free at and you’ll be first to hear when we announce it. Or drop “I WANT IN” to get a link and join MCA for free to come to the the next one. #communityretreat #retreat #creativeretreat #pensacola

Looking back on Morepalooza 2025 in London, one thing is clear: the real magic came from the people. • Designers • Developers • Creators • Operational Leaders • Writers • Videographer/Photographers • Brand Specialists • PR Strategists • Freelancers • Agency Owners They all had one thing in common—they needed connection to real people doing life like they were. We made friends from all over the world. Over the course of the week, we gathered for a workshop, panel, and conversations that challenged how we think about creativity, technology, and community. We ate, we drank, we explored. Between structured sessions, spontaneous networking, and unplugging for a true retreat day—the energy was both inspiring and deeply human. This highlight video captures just a glimpse of the workshop day and what it felt like to be in the room — learning together, sharing openly, and finding new ways to collaborate. Drop “Morepalooza” to learn more and see the full recap of London 2025. Morepalooza Returns! But this time, stateside in sunny Pensacola, FL. April 15-19, don’t be the one with FOMO!!! #buisnessretreat #corporateretreat #writeitoff #freelancer #creative #graphicdesigner #developer

Comment “sanity” and I'll send you a link to check out my new book, Creative Business Sanity Systems! I have shared a ton of content over the past five years on social media, coaching sessions, live workshops and webinars, speaking engagements, and lessons in my community. This book is a compendium of the most valuable content I have all recrafted into a hyper-actionable, no-fluff, manual that will improve your creative business. Comment “sanity” to learn more! #freelancetips #creativeagency #creativeentrepreneurship #freelancer

Here is a low-risk way to bump your prices with legacy clients. This works: - It prepares the client for a price increase. - It gives them time to ponder it. - It sets a logical timeline for when they will see a price increase from you. There's a risk in just dramatically increasing your prices with legacy clients because they have a price expectation. Use this approach instead. #freelancetips #freelanceadvice #pricingforcreatives #creativeentrepreneurship

Stop sending me email marketing from your personal email account that was written by AI. I can't take it anymore. I don't want to unsubscribe because you're my friend, but every time I get a freaking email and I know it was written by AI, it makes me want to throw up. 🤮 I don't want to relegate you to the spam folder. I'm here to support and love you and help your business and cheer you on, but sending me the freaking emails from your personal email account that was written by AI has a massive disconnect. Lean into your authentic voice. Be you, talk like you. By the way, I voice dictate my descriptions for these posts as well. I'm all in on leaning into authenticity, and it's part of my whole turn on the camera and make content strategy I'm doing right now. Gotta stop overthinking this stuff. It's okay to share stuff that has errors or isn't super polished. #freelanceadvice #emailmarketingtips #aiwritingtool #copywritingtips

Let's talk about speed to market and using AI creative tools. One of our core responsibilities as creative entrepreneurs is to help our clients get to market as fast as possible. The faster you get to market, the more market share you can grab. Now, I'm not saying you go to market with absolute crap. I'm just saying we have to factor in that we need to get our clients to market as fast as possible, especially in today's accelerating world. If that is a core responsibility of us as designers, shouldn't we be using any and all tools that get our clients to market faster? What are your thoughts on the importance of speed to market and the use of AI design tools? By the way, I understand all the problems with AI design and all the ethical issues as they relate to the creative industry, so this isn't a place for you to bash on me. I'm trying to have open dialogue and share thoughts worth consideration because AI and the creative world that we work in is in a whole new paradigm from what it was 10 to 15 years ago. #aidesign #freelancetips #creativeagency #creativebusiness

I've got some more AI talk for all you creative freelancers and agency owners and designers and developers and video peeps and everybody else working in the creative space. Here's a little use case about some AI video that was used for a real estate agent. Let me know your thoughts in the comments on whether this is an acceptable use of AI or not. We need to have these conversations in the creative industry because AI is having an impact on our business and will continue to have an impact on our future businesses. Don't put your head in the sand. We got to figure out how to co-exist in a beneficial way and a strategic way for the creative entrepreneurs out there like you. #freelancetips #creativeagency #creativeentrepreneurship #aidesign

Are we cooked? Or are we cooking? 👇🏼Drop "WTHPOD" to get a link to the full episode! I sat down with Stef Hamerlinck @steffhamers to discuss the world of A.I, vs. Creatives and what the *real problem* is.

This is one of the reasons you're losing sales. You gotta figure out how to speak the right language to the right person. Talking about the right things is going to emotionally resonate with them and make them want to buy from you because they're going to see that you "get it". Take a minute at the start of a sales conversation and figure out what they care about most, then talk about that. #freelance tips #creativeagency #freelancer freelanceadvice

I'm ready for your thoughts. Is this usage of AI allowed? All the AI design haters out there, what are your thoughts? Is there any acceptable way to use AI for your creative needs? Or is everything off-limits? This type of approach would be dressing up a lesson with some visuals around a custom message. Are we allowed to use AI that way? What do you think? #aidesign #aidesigntools #chatgpt

I've regretted saying yes way more than I've ever regretted saying no to clients. This was one of the bigger losses that I had during my agency run. I should have just listened to the freakin' red flags. I don't make this mistake anymore. If you're gonna take on a risky client, scope it tight. Make sure every little freakin' detail is scoped so that you have the ability to push back. Beware of clients who are paying with their own personal money. Unless they're filthy rich, they are often operating at a high intensity level. #creativeagency #creativeentrepreneurship #freelancetips #freelanceadvice

Finding your community is... easier said than done. For a long time, it was hard for me to find a place where people truly understood me. I went through countless communities where people either didn't jive with me or told me I needed to fit into some box they were trying to put me in. I've been around people that didn't take me seriously because I'm "just a graphic designer." What if I told you that if you feel alone running your freelance graphic design business (or any other creative business), you don't have to be alone anymore? I found the More Creative Academy when I was in the beginning stages of moving from full-time freelancer to a marketing agency. I thought that I knew what I was doing, but I suddenly realized that I really didn't, and I didn't know what to do about it. When I took the leap of faith and joined MCA, I was greeted with not only a mentor who has been where I believe I want to go, but a WORLDWIDE network of absolutely amazing creatives who are just like me. So many of us are in so many different stages of our careers and are looking for camaraderie, support, and a place to fall back on when the business lows feel really low. ...A place to call home if we needed it.🩵 Last week, I had the opportunity to go to another Morepalooza, an MCA hosted Creative Retreat, and something clicked in me for the better. I felt like myself again. Plus, I made friendships that will last a lifetime. There are so many days where I struggle with my brain telling me that I'm not good enough. Because of this retreat, I know I have people at my call to help me slay those demons. All that said, if you're looking for somewhere to call home, I highly suggest coming to join us at MCA. The free tier just opened up this month, so there's no reason you can't just try it out. Whenever you're ready, you can join me in the Pro tier, where you get so many valuable assets for your growing business and access to so many more tight-knit relationships.🩵