My sister, Jamie and my good friend, Stephanie sat in my garage 4 years ago working though the sign making process. Like the basics of sign making. I had all the supplies all the determination and all the help, but what I didn't have was ALL the knowledge. I did not have a book on how to teach pallet painting! I did not know anyone who already taught it. All I had was the WILL to teach art to people. I am a firm believer in the creative process. I know it offers people WAY more than a few hours of craft time. I know it allows a creative outlet, a time to step away from their day to day stresses. The process works...it really does! And, the icing on the cake is that they get to take home something that they made and are PROUD of.
I was SOLD in my garage 4 years! I knew that the process was something that I wanted to share with other people.
The hard part came over the following year or so! I have never been one to step down from a challenge. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I knew how to run a profitable business. But, again....I didn't have a manual or a textbook....I had to teach myself LOTS along the way. I made mistakes. I made a lot of mistakes. I learned things from every event we held, and I remembered those things for the next time. We traveled to people's homes, to restaurants, to bars, to churches, to halls, to schools....you name it, we painted there!
We worked through the technology part of the business. You know, the website, the social media, the payments...ALL the details. We taught ourselves! Don't get me wrong, I had help, LOTS of help. I didn't do anything by myself, but when it came down to it this is MY BUSINESS and it was either going to succeed or it was going to fail. And, for my husband and I FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. We work hard. We work a lot of hours. We are self employed with 3 young kids...our businesses feed our family and pay the bills. And, boy do we LOVE the life that God has allowed us to create!
BUT, I still remember that day in my garage 4 years ago. I still remember the many hours of thinking and planning and working to FIGURE things out. It wasn't easy. I remember thinking....I wish I knew someone who has been through it. I wish I could call or email somebody who understood the business or the painting questions that I had. There were MANY times that I would have LOVED to run an idea by someone who had already done it or been there!
I know God has another plan for me. He made me a teacher. He has lead me down some very interesting paths, but one thing I know FOR SURE is that each path has led me to something new. Something wonderfully designed for me.
In the back of my mind over the last 4 years, I knew that I wanted to be "that person" for someone else. I want to be the person who helps other people achieve their goals and dreams. I know this is part of God's plan for me. It may take time...because honestly, everything is in God's time, but I will be ready when the time comes to share everything I know about teaching sign making classes and the business side of the job I LOVE.
I will be thoughtful and observant this year to ways that I can start to be more helpful to other creative entrepreneurs. To start, I have created a survey. I will be asking many people over the next few months to take this survey.
If you wouldn't mind, please take a few minutes to take this quick survey! I would be so grateful! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/S66DQ2H
As a FREEBIE, I have created a "Sign Making Event Checklist" for you! Maybe you aren't interested in sign making, that's totally ok! But, maybe along your way you will meet someone who is and you can tell them that you know a girl who can help them out!!!!
xoxo,
Monica
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