Creative business setbacks can feel deeply personal. Losing a client, seeing a project fail, struggling with cash flow, facing lower bookings or watching your industry change can all create an emotional reaction. In this episode, we use the Kubler-Ross grief cycle as a practical business lens for freelancers, artists and creative business owners. The aim is not to treat business setbacks as medical grief, but to help you recognise emotional stages such as denial, anger, bargaining, self-doubt and acceptance, so you can adapt and keep moving forward.

About this episode

The Kubler-Ross grief cycle was originally used to describe emotional stages after loss. In this episode, we apply that model to the creative business journey. For creatives, setbacks often carry extra emotional weight. Your work is personal. Your ideas, skills and reputation are tied closely to what you create. When a client leaves, a commission is cancelled, funding disappears, or your market changes, it can feel like a rejection of you as well as the work. We break the grief cycle down stage by stage, using creative examples, so you can recognise what is happening, avoid getting stuck, and respond with clearer action.

Why this matters

Running a creative business is not only about talent. It is also about resilience, adaptability and financial awareness. If you ignore a setback, it can delay action. If you stay angry, it can drain your energy. If you bargain your worth away, it can damage your income. If self-doubt takes over, it can stop you from seeing the next step. Recognising these stages helps you respond instead of react. It gives you a way to pause, understand what you are feeling, and choose a practical way forward.

“The key takeaway, don’t get stuck. Keep moving forward, learn, adapt, and grow.”

Key points from this episode

Denial can delay action

Denial is often the first reaction when something goes wrong. You may tell yourself that a cancelled commission is just a one-off, that work will pick up soon, or that nothing really needs to change. That reaction is understandable, but it can be risky. If your industry is shifting, your audience is changing, or your income stream is weakening, waiting too long can make the problem worse. The sooner we recognise reality, the sooner we can adapt. That might mean exploring digital platforms, testing new revenue streams, changing how we showcase work, or reviewing where clients are coming from.

Anger can be useful if it is channelled

Creative work is personal. When your business is disrupted, it can feel like a personal attack. A musician earning very little through streaming platforms may understandably feel frustrated. An artist dealing with a cancelled project may feel unfairly treated. That anger is real, but staying there too long can lead to burnout and emotional strain. Used well, anger can drive change. It can push you to rethink how you distribute work, raise awareness, improve your offer, or take more control of your creative business model.

Bargaining can lead to poor decisions

Bargaining is the “what if I try this?” stage. For a freelance photographer, that may mean dropping prices when bookings fall. For a performer, it may mean accepting unpaid work because it promises profile or exposure. Sometimes a change in offer or pricing may be sensible. However, if you bargain away your worth without a clear strategy, you can end up exhausted with very little financial gain. This connects closely with how we think about unpaid creative work. Our episode on Getting Paid on Time is a useful next step if you want to protect your income and payment habits.

Self-doubt does not mean failure

The low point of the cycle can be difficult. A theatre company that loses funding may feel defeated. A designer with no clients may start questioning their career. A creative business owner may wonder whether they are good enough. That does not mean you have failed. It means something needs attention. Taking a step back, seeking mentorship, reviewing your numbers, exploring new income streams and asking for support can help you move from self-doubt into action. Our episode on How to cope with business failure gives wider support for handling business setbacks without letting them define you.

Acceptance means adapting, not giving up

Acceptance does not mean you agree with everything that has happened. It does not mean giving up either. It means recognising the reality of your situation and choosing your next move. An independent filmmaker may test short-form content. A painter may explore digital commissions. A creative business owner may rethink how people consume, buy or engage with their work. Creativity is about adaptability. Once we accept what has changed, we can look for new paths instead of staying stuck in old assumptions.

How creatives can use the grief cycle in business

The grief cycle gives you a way to name what may be happening emotionally during business change. Ask yourself:

• Am I ignoring something I need to face?
• Am I angry, and can I channel that into useful action?
• Am I discounting, overworking or bargaining away my value?
• Am I stuck in self-doubt instead of asking for help?
• Have I accepted what has changed, and what can I do next?

These questions do not remove the difficulty, but they help you move through it with more awareness.

FAQs

What is the grief cycle in business?

The grief cycle in business is a way of understanding emotional reactions to change, loss or setbacks. In a creative business, this might include losing a client, cancelled funding, lower bookings, a failed project or changes in how your audience buys creative work.

How does denial affect a creative business?

Denial can stop you from acting early. You may ignore lost income, changes in the market or signs that your current approach is no longer working. Recognising reality sooner gives you more time to adapt.

Why do creative setbacks feel so personal?

Creative work is often tied to identity, skill and personal expression. When a project fails or a client leaves, it can feel like a rejection of you as well as the work. That is why emotional awareness matters.

What should creatives avoid during the bargaining stage?

Avoid automatically lowering prices, accepting unpaid work or overpromising just to replace lost work quickly. Adaptation can be useful, but it should not come at the cost of your value, energy or financial stability.

What does acceptance mean in a creative business?

Acceptance means recognising what has changed and choosing a practical response. It may involve new platforms, different services, fresh income streams, collaboration, financial planning or a new way of reaching your audience.

Episode Timecodes

• 00:00 – The grief cycle and creative business
• 00:30 – How the model applies beyond personal loss
• 01:00 – Business setbacks that trigger emotional reactions
• 01:20 – Denial and the danger of delaying action
• 02:00 – Anger, frustration and creative disruption
• 02:50 – Bargaining, discounting and undervaluing your work
• 03:38 – Self-doubt after business setbacks
• 04:13 – Acceptance, adaptation and new creative paths
• 04:50 – Learning, adapting and moving forward
• 05:19 – Community, resources and financial planning support

Related episodes

• Closing Your Business: Managing the Emotional Impact
• How to cope with business failure
• Business distress: How to manage it

Key takeaway

Creative business setbacks can be painful, but they do not have to keep you stuck. Recognising the emotional stages of denial, anger, bargaining, self-doubt and acceptance can help you respond more clearly. You may not be able to control everything happening around you, but you can choose how you react, adapt and move forward. Stay resilient, stay creative, and keep turning passion into profit.

About the Podcast

The I Hate Numbers podcast, presented by Mahmood Reza, helps business owners understand accounting, tax, finance, profit, cash flow and business planning in a practical way. We simplify financial topics so you can make better decisions and feel more confident with your numbers. You can also watch more practical finance and tax support on the I Hate Numbers YouTube channel, or listen and follow on Apple Podcasts.

Further Support

Book: https://www.ihatenumbers.co.uk/i-hate-numbers-book/ Podcast: https://www.ihatenumbers.co.uk/i-hate-numbers-podcast/ Website: https://www.ihatenumbers.co.uk

Today, I'm going to be diving into something a little bit different, but it's absolutely relevant to your creative journey. It's the Kübler-Ross grief cycle, and how this applies to running your creative business. Now, you might be wondering quite naturally, "What does grief have to do with my business?" Well, stick with me, and I'll show you how this psychological model can help us navigate the ups and downs of being a freelancer or running a creative enterprise.

The Kübler-Ross grief cycle, brilliant model developed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, originally described the emotional stages that people experience after a loss. Now, here's the interesting part. These stages just don't apply to personal loss and personal grief. They also mirror the emotional journey we all go through in business, and it's a model that's widely applied.

Now, for creatives, this cycle often kicks in when things don't go as planned. Perhaps losing a client, a project not quite meeting expectations, financial struggles, or the change in the landscape you're facing as a creative. So I'm going to break this down stage by stage using creative examples. Now, stage one in the Kübler-Ross grief cycle is denial.

It's often the first reaction is that "This isn't happening" mindset. Imagine you're an artist and an illustrator, you've had a major commission cancelled. Now, instead of facing the impact, you might tell yourself, "Oh, it's just a fluke. My work is brilliant, it's great. Things will pick up soon." Now, this stage, understandable, is still dangerous because it can delay necessary action.

Maybe the industry is shifting, and maybe it's time to explore digital illustration trends, different platforms to showcase your work, or looking at new revenue streams. The quicker we recognise the reality, the sooner we can adapt. Stage number two in the grief cycle is anger. Let's be honest, creative work is personal, and when somebody disrupts our business, it can feel like a personal attack. Less so on the work, more on us as individuals.

If you're a musician struggling to sell your music because the streaming platforms are dominating, you understandably are going to get frustrated. You'll be thinking to yourself, "Why should I put my work online for pennies?" And this anger can be productive if channelled correctly. Many artists that I meet and come across use it to drive change, raise awareness, or perhaps re-look at the craft, re-look at how they're recording and distributing their music.

But staying in this stage too long can lead to burnout and emotional toil. Stage three is the bargaining stage. Now, this bargaining phase is like, "What if I try this stage?" If you're a freelance photographer struggling with bookings going down, you might start offering lower prices. You're thinking that discounting's going to bring you more work in.

But there's a risk attached to this. Undervaluing your art can lead to exhaustion and little financial gain. If you're a performer, that promise of that gig, that performance where you're not getting paid because you're going to add to profile, is also another dimension where your work can be undervalued.

Now, instead of bargaining your worth away, think of collaboration. Perhaps if you team up with other people in your space, went into new areas, diversified into maybe stock photography, video content, that could bring you some much needed business relief. Bargaining is a crossroads. It can either lead to smart adaptation or desperation if done poorly.

Stage number four is depression, and this is probably one of the toughest stages. It's the weight of setbacks will hit you hard, hit you like a sledgehammer on the side of your head. If you're a theatre company that's lost funding, whether it's through arts council, local authority, it's understandably going to make you feel defeated.

A graphic designer with no clients might question their career. And this stage often leads to self-doubt. But here's the thing, every creative professional experiences at some point. It doesn't mean you've failed, doesn't mean you're a failure, it just means things need to change. Taking a step back, seeking mentorship, exploring new income streams can help shift the mindset.

The final stage is acceptance. Now, acceptance doesn't mean giving up, doesn't mean you necessarily agree with what's going on, but it means you look to embrace change. A struggling independent filmmaker may consider pivoting to short-form content for online platforms. A painter, if that's your art form, might explore digital commissions instead of traditional gallery sales.

It's the shift in how people consume content we've got to recognise. Creativity is about adaptability, and once you accept the reality of your industry, you can innovate and discover and find new paths. So what can I say in conclusion? Well, there's a couple of things I want to throw into the mix. Number one, there's an old cliché, and by cliché it means it's true, that says you can't necessarily change what goes on around you in the world, but you can certainly change how you react to that.

Recognising the emotional stages from the Kübler-Ross grief cycle helps you navigate challenges in your own business. The key takeaway, don't get stuck. Keep moving forward, learn, adapt, and grow. Remember, you're not alone. Every creative entrepreneur goes through this cycle. The trick is to recognise, manage it, and use it to fuel success.

Please do check out the show notes. Join the Numbers Knowhow artist community. It's a specialised community just for artists and creatives. And thank you very much for tuning in. And if today's episode resonates with you in some way, share it with a fellow creative. And if you're looking for more guidance on managing the financial side of your creative work, check out Budgetwhizz, check out our resources.

This is a tool designed to make your financial planning easier. Until next time, stay resilient, stay creative, and keep turning passion into profit.