Staying Indie Workshop is the combined effort of freelance graphic designer Joe Gauer and KC Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts executive director Dani Merrick. Joe has a decade's worth of experience working in personal finance before leaving his 9-to-5 to pursue the creative business he started with his wife, also a graphic designer. He specializes in budgeting, time and efficiency, and his own personal experience with opening and running a creative business.  Dani is a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City with an expert knowledge of tax law, tax policy and legal contracts, especially how they apply to self-employed artists.  She hosts workshops and seminars on tax and legal issues facing artists and entrepreneurs and also runs a legal clinic out of the UMKC School of Law. Running KCVLAA, a non-profit organization, has also taught her about arts and entrepreneurial grant programs in the state of Missouri.