WARNING: I’ve got my sassy pants on today……
I am a furniture artist. I am a business coach. I am a creative mentor. I am a content creator for a paint company. I am a business owner and a brand builder. I am an influencer. I am a wife. I am a mother. I wear many hats and I juggle many things. I do NOT “just paint furniture” for a living. And I certainly don’t have it all together. Now that we’ve cleared that up….
This doesn’t mean I get up in the morning, whenever I want to get up, go to the studio, whenever I want and start painting…whatever I want. Let me explain…
Being a furniture artist means I could be flipping a piece to sell; I could be painting a custom piece of furniture for a client that I’m working with; it could mean I’ve had to pull something from my inventory real quick because I’ve got a live coming up for the paint company I create for and I’ve got to “create content” for them OR I could be doing all three at the same time. There’s prepping, planning, painting, sealing, staging, setting up photography equipment, taking the pictures, editing the pictures, putting everything back up that I’ve pulled from my staging closet or any room from my house for that matter. And now I may have 3 projects in the making that I’ve got to get out of my studio before it busts at the seams. Listing the piece(s) for sale on SEVERAL platforms….OR planning a time for pick up that doesn’t interfere with a live, a group training, a conference call, a kids function, family time…
This business REQUIRES a social media presence…and a HEAVY one. I’ve got Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, Google Business, my website…. And where there’s social media, there’s messages. There’s posts with comments with questions. There’s a website with a “contact me” form. These require attention and responses. I have a membership group, which is my priority. These members actually pay me a monthly fee for my attention…the knowledge that I have to offer. If they have a question, they come first. Social Media Lives: There’s figuring out the content, the setup, the cleanup, downloading the video from Facebook so I can edit and then upload to YouTube (with SEO). The messages and comments from that. AND, I’ve got to make sure I’m not painting something that I’ve painted for my group…they get my tutorials free and they get them first. Sharing furniture reveals and lives to other groups to show techniques, as I am a content creator and influencer. I’ve got trainings to do in my membership group. Keeping up with what’s changing on social media to keep myself and my group members in the loop. Training them and training them and training them. Social media ads. Affiliate posts, membership posts, email lists, blog writing, advertising (furniture, group, paint affiliate). You see….there’s more than “just painting furniture” that’s involved in my world. PLUS, I have a family that requires attention. Oh, and the kids have tennis and band with practice every.single.day and I have a tornado of a toddler, so there’s that….. My husband works long hours sometimes. It’s busy here and there aren’t enough hours in the day and I do not have the mental capacity some days to keep up. I’m messy and unorganized at times. I forget things that NEEDED to get done (even with a dang calendar) *insert eye roll here*. I forget to eat. I sometimes can’t remember when the last time I showered….gross, but true.
Then you’ve got the yucky computer stuff. Profit and loss statements, taxes, business filings, billing, receipts, filing, etc. The stuff no one wants to do…but you’ve got to do the things because it will make your life a living hell at the end of the quarter or year if you put if off until then. I’m constantly brainstorming for new and fresh ideas for revenue streams, class planning, membership group trainings, group guest artists, group challenges, out of the box ideas for my business that no one else is doing. My membership co-owner and I pride ourselves in working SO HARD for our members…we truly care and want to help them as much as possible…especially now with the hardships everyone is seeing.
My day begins between 5am – 5:30am and I IMMEDIATELY start computer work as I drink my coffee while the kids are still sleeping while it’s quiet so I can focus. I typically end my day around 5 and I work non-stop through-out the day, only stopping to work as a mother/wife. I have to be committed to keeping a work schedule. Just because I am home, doesn’t mean I can goof-off and watch a movie when I wanna take a break. I wouldn’t do that if I was still in corporate America…I wouldn’t take personal phone calls and chat for an hour if I were still in my office…I certainly wouldn’t be entertaining company.
I take my job seriously. If you run a home-based business, YOU have to take your business seriously, or no one else will.
There’s a lot of little of little stuff I know I’m forgetting…but you get the picture…there’s a LOT. And, I don’t believe for a second that anyone who does this business, has everything together. Every aspect of their life: perfect. I don’t believe it. So if you’re thinking that you’ve gotta have it all together because I, or anyone else for that matter, appear to on social media…..wrong-o my friend. It’s messy, it’s hard, it can interfere with other aspects of your life at times, your personal life can interfere with your business at times…it can get blurred….and it’s OKAY, as long as you’re working at it to figure out all the things…. I’m wrapping up month 2 of being full time on this business and still learning. You start the next day fresh, and try again.
So, I ask. What do YOU do for a living? I guarantee, whether you tell me you’re an accountant, a teacher, a police officer, on a maintenance crew, construction, an engineer or run a multimillion dollar company…I know there is a LOT of behind the scenes work that I will never understand and have no clue about. You’re not “just a teacher/nurse/CEO/stay at home mom/etc.”….I KNOW it’s hard work and people don’t realize what it takes. And I KNOW that whatever it is that you’re doing, you’re striving to be better and do better and make it to the next level. Sooooo……
Work hard. Make it happen.