Ep 150: New Name, Same Focus
(Podcast & Business)
SUMMARY
150 episodes.
Three names. Two businesses. One book already out. Another one on the way.
And the most clarity I've ever had about what I'm here to do.
Episode 150 of the Chief Creative Podcast is a milestone — and it comes with some big news. Here's everything that's changing, why it's changing, and what you can expect going forward.
Why the Name Change
This podcast started as Five Questions with Dustin Pead, moved to Winning in Life Without Losing Your Mind, and then landed on Creativity Made Easy — which is the name most of you probably know.
Creativity Made Easy ran from episode 37 through episode 149. That's over 112 episodes. And the whole time, something never quite sat right with me about that name.
I kept telling clients and friends: I don't think this is the right title. The feedback I got was split — some said titles don't matter, it's the content. Others said it really spoke to the creative audience. But here's my honest take: I've been in the creative industry for almost 25 years. If someone told me they had an easy button for creativity, I'm not sure I'd want to press it. The name felt like it was cheapening the very thing I care most about.
The answer came from a client conversation. We were collaborating on a project and I mentioned I still wasn't happy with the podcast name. He said, simply, "Your business is called Chief Creative — why don't you just call it the Chief Creative Podcast?"
That was it. Simple, obvious, and exactly right.
Starting with episode 150, this podcast is officially the Chief Creative Podcast. The mission hasn't changed: equipping creative businesses to unleash their best work. The name finally matches.
The Rebrand: Chief Creative Partners
The name change doesn't stop with the podcast.
When I launched this business in 2023, I called it Chief Creative Consultants. The thinking at the time was that creative business owners needed a consultant — someone to hand them a strategy and send them on their way.
What I've learned over two and a half years of doing this work is that's not what they need at all. Creative business owners want someone to link arms with them. To come alongside them, build what they need, and stay in it for the long haul.
That's not consulting. That's partnership.
So Chief Creative Consultants is now Chief Creative Partners. My good friend and client PJ Towle of Forty:Three Creative is leading the full rebrand. The new home is chiefcreativepartners.com.
What Else Is Changing
The Newsletter
The newsletter is getting a full reimagination. Instead of a "here's what you missed" roundup, it's becoming a curated content experience — books, tools, ideas, and insights worth your time, with some of my own thinking woven in. Think Austin Kleon's newsletter or the Do Lectures. The goal is that when it hits your inbox, you're glad it's there.
The Websites
dustinpead.com is becoming the dedicated home for my books, speaking, and personal brand. Everything related to Chief Creative Partners — the podcast, frameworks, client work — will live at chiefcreativepartners.com.
The Book
My first book, Growing Upward: My Lifelong Journey with Mental Health, came out in 2025. It's a memoir about navigating mental health through the first 40 years of my life. You can find it at dustinpead.com/book.
This year, I'm writing my second book — and this one is built entirely around the mission of the Chief Creative Podcast and Chief Creative Partners.
It's called Creative Work.
The subtitle is still being refined, but it will center on the 10 systems every creative business needs to have. It'll be visually heavy, deeply practical, and straight to the point — no fluff.
Starting next episode, each episode will dig into one chapter. Over 12 episodes — an intro, 10 chapters, and a conclusion — we'll build the book together. Creative Work is planned for publication in 2027.
What Stays the Same
The format might evolve. The guests might change. The release cadence might shift to every other week for a season.
But one thing doesn't change: every episode of the Chief Creative Podcast will leave you with practical, actionable strategies you can take into your business right now. Not theory. Not conference-level ideas you can't afford to implement. Real frameworks, real methods, real tools — given away freely, every single time.
That's the commitment.
If you know someone who owns a creative business — whether they're a solopreneur in a home studio or running a team — send them this episode. Tell them you found a podcast that will light a fire in them to do their best work.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
⚡️ — The best content creation doesn't happen in isolation. Building Creative Work in public — chapter by chapter on the podcast — is both a creative process and a community one.
⚡️ — The name your business carries should reflect what you actually do for people — not what you thought you'd do when you started.
⚡️ — Sometimes the clearest answers are hiding in plain sight — and it takes someone outside your own head to find them.
NOTABLE QUOTES
💬 —"Chief Creative sits at the soul of who I am. It just took someone else pointing out the obvious to get me there."
💬 — "People aren't looking for a consultant. They're looking for someone to come along with them on the journey and build the things they need to support their vision."
💬 —"We're going to flush out every chapter of this book right here on the podcast, in real time."
EPISODE RESOURCES
⚡️ Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here
TRANSCRIPT
Creative work isn't accidental. It's intentional. This podcast equips creative business owners with the systems and processes that help them unleash their best work — helping you scale without sacrificing quality or burning out. Each episode explores practical strategies, real client stories, and proven methods for doing your best creative work. Because great creativity requires great operations. Let's get into it.
Welcome back, everybody. Episode 150 is finally here. Welcome to the Chief Creative Podcast. I've been waiting to share this with you for quite some time, and I'm really excited about this change. I want to take a few minutes this episode to explain why the change, talk about whether the format will be any different, talk about guests, talk about the release schedule, and close our time today with what other changes are in the works. And fair warning — there are a lot of changes in the works.
Let's start with why the change. Why the Chief Creative Podcast?
This podcast has had a few names since it first came along. When I started, it was Five Questions with Dustin Pead, where I asked every guest the same five questions. We talked about creativity, the Enneagram, team culture, systems and processes. We did that for maybe 10 or 12 episodes. Then I tried another name — Winning in Life Without Losing Your Mind. Super broad. And people started telling me: you need to take this into more of a niche audience.
The more I thought and prayed through that, I realized the creative professional is really who I'm after — specifically the one who tends to overcomplicate things when they can be simple. So after 36 episodes across two names, I landed on Creativity Made Easy. We ran with that name from episode 37 all the way through episode 149. That's 112 or 113 episodes, depending on how you count.
Through that whole stretch, we kept guests on the show. We worked out new processes and systems, figured out what was working and what wasn't. I even recorded episodes about something I thought worked — and then came back three months later to say, no, that didn't work. Actually, here's what does. So in a lot of ways, you've been learning alongside me through all of this.
But in my soul, I always felt that Creativity Made Easy still wasn't doing it justice. I kept telling clients and friends: I don't think this is the right title. They'd either say "titles don't matter, it's the content" — which I agree with to a point — or they'd say "I think it really hits the heart of the creative." But here's the thing: I consider myself a creative person. I've been in the creative industry for almost 25 years. And if someone told me they had an easy button for creativity, I don't know that I'd be eager to press it. It felt like it was cheapening the creative experience — making it too approachable in the wrong way. It just never sat right.
The answer came on a phone call with one of my clients. We were collaborating on a project and I mentioned I still wasn't sure about the podcast name. He said, "You know what I never understood? Your business is called Chief Creative — why don't you just call it the Chief Creative Podcast?" I was kind of mad that he came up with it before I did. But I was also really relieved, because Chief Creative sits at the soul of who I am.
So starting today — episode 150 — this podcast is the Chief Creative Podcast. We are equipping creative businesses to unleash their best work. And I am so glad you're here.
If you know someone who owns their own creative business — whether they're a solopreneur in a home studio or they have a team working alongside them — send this podcast to them. Tell them: I think I found a podcast that will light a fire in you to unleash your best work.
Now, will the format be any different? I'm always tinkering. But my promise to you — whether it's just me or there are guests on — is that every episode will leave you with practical, actionable strategies and methods you can take into your business right away. Not something you heard at a conference and thought "I can never do that because I don't have the budget." I'm going to give away every framework, every method, every template. That part of the format doesn't change.
Will there be more guests? I really hope so. If you own and operate your own creative business — even if it's just you, or you have a team of 20 or 30 — I would love to have you on the show. Reach out at dp@dustinpead.com or find me on Instagram at @dustinpead. I want to build a community of creative business owners who are equipping each other to unleash their best work.
Are we still releasing every week? You may have noticed the last couple of weeks haven't been weekly. Honestly, I've been heads down on some really new and exciting things. My commitment is still to weekly episodes, but I may need to shift to every other week for a season to make sure I'm delivering the best quality content possible. My commitment isn't to a release schedule — it's to making sure that when an episode drops, it's something worth your time.
Now — the part I'm most excited about. What else is changing?
Four things.
First, the newsletter. I love curating content and sharing things I find genuinely useful — books, music, apps, technology, restaurants, all of it. The newsletter is going to shift away from being a "in case you missed it" link dump and become something more like what Austin Kleon and the Do Lectures do — mostly curated content for the reader, with some of my own insight woven in. My goal is that when it hits your inbox, you're actually looking forward to it. I'm hoping to have a fresh version out by end of quarter.
Second — and this is the one I'm most excited about — we're rebranding. When I started this business in 2023, I launched it as Chief Creative Consultants. My wife, who is a graphic designer, helped with the initial look and feel. But the name "Chief Creative" never had its own home. It's been spread throughout dustinpead.com, and people kept asking: am I working with you personally, or am I working with your company?
My good friend and client PJ Towle of Forty:Three Creative is helping me with the full rebrand. And with that rebrand comes a name change: we're moving from Chief Creative Consultants to Chief Creative Partners. The reason is simple. When I started in 2023, I thought people wanted a consultant. What I've found over two and a half years is that creative business owners aren't looking for someone to hand them a strategy. They're looking for someone to link arms with them — to come alongside them and build what they need to support their vision. That's not consulting. That's partnership. So Chief Creative Partners it is. The new home is chiefcreativepartners.com.
Third — dustinpead.com is going to become the home for my books, speaking engagements, and personal brand content. Everything else will live at chiefcreativepartners.com.
Fourth — the book. This year, I'm writing my second book. My first book, Growing Upward: My Lifelong Journey with Mental Health, came out in 2025. It's a memoir about my first 40 years navigating mental health. You can find it at dustinpead.com/book.
This new book is different. It's called Creative Work, and it's built entirely around the mission of this podcast and Chief Creative Partners. The subtitle will be something along the lines of "10 systems every creative business needs to have." It's going to be visually heavy, super practical, and straight to the point — no fluff. We're already laying out the outline and the 10 topics.
Here's what makes this even more exciting: starting next episode, we're going to flesh out every chapter of that book right here on the podcast — in real time. Each episode will dig into one chapter. Over 12 episodes — an intro, 10 chapters, and a conclusion — we're going to write this book together. The plan is to publish Creative Work sometime in 2027.
That's the news. All of it. And I have more clarity right now — about my business, about this podcast, about why I'm here — than I have ever had. I get out of bed every single morning excited to serve my clients and share content like this, because I care deeply about creative work.
Thank you for being here. If you haven't subscribed yet, please do. If you're watching on YouTube, ring the bell. It really helps me know the content is landing. I'm thankful for my clients, my family, and my friends who've walked with me through all of this.
We're just getting started. And we are more on target than ever — equipping creative businesses to unleash their best work. I cannot wait to talk to you next time on the Chief Creative Podcast. Have a great week.