Serena Lander - Tattoo Artist
In this episode, Tim sits down with Serena Lander — self-employed artist, tattoo artist, and owner of a multi-unit property — for a conversation about building a creative life on your own terms. Serena traces her path from tattooing as a teenager in British Columbia, when she was one of only a handful of women in the craft in North America, through nearly four decades of working entirely for herself. She talks openly about her ambivalent feelings towards money and the practical decisions that have shaped her financial life like keeping overhead low and investing in things she actually believes in. It's a conversation about finding your own version of financial stability without abandoning the values that drew you to a creative life in the first place.
Serena's question for Tim: Can you share some ideas about setting goals in life and trying to engage more enthusiastically with your finances? I wish there was a way to make it more sparkly for myself so that I would do it.
Key Takeaways:
- Serena started tattooing at 19 in British Columbia at a time when there were only a handful of women doing it in all of North America.
- She has spent her entire career working for herself, supported early on by keeping her overhead extremely low.
- Buying a house at the bottom of the market in 2011 and gradually subdividing it into four rental units has turned into a financial foundation she didn't originally plan for, with rental income now covering her mortgage.
- Serena reflects on the punk rock and alternative music community's cultural aversion to money, and how that narrative — money as part of the system, financial participation as selling out — has made it harder for people in those communities to build long-term stability.
- She finds it easier to engage with financial decisions when they are tangible and values-aligned, like adding solar panels to her house.
