Advice for when you're just starting out

Recently, I spoke to a young woman visiting my booth at a craft show who was just starting her art-based product business. She was still figuring out her creative style, what types of designs she wanted to create, and whether it was even possible to run this type of business full time. And like many folks in similar positions, she was aching to leave her corporate day job, but uncertain if she should take the leap.

When I was in this position (although within a teaching industry as my day job instead of corporate), here are some of the pieces of advice that I wish I could have given my younger self at the time.

I've been growing my art business slowly but consistently over the last 17 years, with several iterations of my art mediums, styles and subject matter that I think will continue to evolve over the next decade. This is natural.

When I started, I was drawing fine-line ink drawings of historical fashion illustrations, paired with quotes from Jane Austen, which I then printed, by hand, into cards and art prints on my mini Gocco printer. No color, just black and white, in spite of watercolor being my first love when it came to mediums. I started in the very early days of Etsy when it was truly a handmade marketplace, and while several new Jane Austen adaptations were entering the popular culture.

Within about five years or so, I decided to shift to my love of watercolor and nature and created my first set of greeting card designs with a more of a rural, homesteading theme. I was adamant on creating a collection of 20-30 new designs that would feel more cohesive and that I was sure would take off. I think only one or two of those remain in my line today.

Starting in about 2017, nearly ten years after plugging away at my art side hustle, I started painting what truly felt like me, botanical nature illustrations inspired by my home in the Pacific Northwest. And suddenly it felt like my business started taking off. I went from around a dozen wholesale accounts in 2018 to 100 by the beginning of 2020, and had finally chipped away at my creative style enough to get to the core of what was sustainable and personal enough to inspire me for the long run.

So within this slow and steady evolution, I was learning from my mistakes and through education along the way, waiting to invest in education until the timing was right for what I needed for the next phase of my business. I didn't have it all figured out, but the stakes were at the right level for me to learn from without giving up. I didn't try to jump too far ahead, I didn't have any overnight viral successes, and by the time I was running my business full time and then nearly immediately after the pandemic hit and temporarily took out two prongs of my revenue streams (wholesale and in-person craft shows) I was able to pivot just enough to keep myself afloat and growing through the uncertainty.

Learning from experience and taking baby steps forward to steps just far enough out of your comfort zone as a business owner is truly effective, even if it might feel a little scary in the moment. The first time I do a new trade show, even today, I'm always nervous and wondering if it was a waste of my time and investment. The second time I start to get my bearings, and the third time feels easy. Knowing that in order to get to the easy stage I just have to make my way through the uncertain first run is a comfort, that I'm taking a risk that will feel easier over time.

Within this slow growth, I can't stress enough how beneficial it was for me to keep my day job, even within the type of lower wage and high-touch industry of school teaching. Having the stability of health insurance covered by my job, a retirement match, vacation time to work on my business and that consistent paycheck gave me the flexibility to grow my business without a sense of panic or desperation to pay for my mortgage.

If you're able to do so within your job, once your business starts seeing some traction, consider negotiating part time work with your day job. That's what I did for my final year. I worked three days a week (the minimum I could do while still maintaining a portion of my health insurance coverage), attempted to just use my business income to pay for my budget and day-to-day necessities, and ramped up my retirement contributions with my job's paychecks. It was a good way to test out to see if I might actually be able to make running my business full time for me, and at the end of the school year I left with a bit more confidence that my business would truly be able to support my needs.

And finally, don't make things harder on yourself than they need to be. If you're comparing your business to seemingly viral successes of other artists you see on Instagram or Tiktok, maybe consider taking a break from social media to regulate your nervous system and give you creativity space to turn within.

Hone your craft, experiment with the styles or imagery that feels right to you, and make sure you're learning about the business components as well. Because running an art-based product business is maybe only 10-20% actually painting and designing, with the majority of the work being marketing, taxes, sales, customer service and writing. When you're starting out, it's a good idea to learn your way through these components and wait until you have a little more financial stability to start hiring things out. Just take your time, and avoid comparing your progress to that of anyone else. Grow at your own pace, and aim for long-term sustainability instead of quick wins.

If you're starting out, I would say take things slow and let it be easy. Keep your day job so that you don't have to worry about making your business financially support you while you're figuring out what works. Patience and persistence are some of the best skills you can develop through practice. Really take time to read, learn and research for yourself so that you can build a business that works best for you, specifically.

Take care,