The struggle is real my friends. If you are retired from your job or career like I am or are getting closer to retirement, I'm sure the thought has crossed your mind as to what life will bring to you next. Retirement is one of the milestones in life. I feel that what retirement brings is getting some freedom back or being able to do what you want and when you want, meaning some think that you can do nothing because you have lots of time. Doing nothing becomes
boring for you, so you must find something to do with your time. If you were doing a creative side hustle of sewing, crafting, jewelry, artwork or furniture painting now is the time you think about doing more of your hobby or taking the side hustle and turning it into a full time business. You may have stepped in unprepared for what starting a small business entails and you become overwhelmed quickly with all the tasks and hats you must wear to grow your business. So the question is what do you want from your business? You can become overwhelmed by what you are told you should be doing to have a successful business. The one big factor you must take into consideration is your age. I know nobody wants to talk about getting older but it's going to happen to all of us. Starting a business after retirement or even if you're well past your 60's, there are just some things to consider before you start your adventure. It's great and a lot of fun to watch the gals that have groups and are in their 30's, 40's or 50's that are doing it all and it's amazing the thought they have put into it. They have inspired and taught you to expand your creativeness and how to build a business. They do have some advantages and disadvantages that are different from how you will go about your business. I can see were you can become overwhelmed with all the advise of what you must do to achieve a successful business. They are busy raising families, stretching their time between personal life and building their business. Age is on their side. They have more energy and strength and most likely more help from family members than you or I have. Many of us that are retired live on our own. They are still in their prime and have time on their side to build a large business that can be six or seven figures. Not that you can not build a six or seven figure business. It all depends on what you want from your business. This bring me to the purpose of this conversation with you. What do you want from your business? It's an important question and one you may want to explore before you start your business or if you are overwhelmed at the moment with your business what you might want to change to make your life better. All the help and guidance you receive is great if you have the energy, time, and commitment to go full time to develop a large business. I say go for it if that's your goal. Do you want to commit 40 plus hours to your business? How much product do you want to produce a month? How much can you really do plus keep up the shipping, paperwork, and all the little details that are involved in running a day to day business. So what do you want from your business? This becomes a very important question. What is your business goal? Just some extra money without a lot of business structure? Extra money to make ends meet in retirement? Everyone's needs are different. I started my business after my husband past. I needed something to do with my time. I've never been one to sit still very long. I thought I would paint furniture. So I started with furniture painting groups and then moved on to a few canvas painting groups. I quickly learned moving and hauling furniture around as I get older wasn't in my future. I had already been moving furniture for 20 plus years as an interior decorator. So it was easy for me to fall in live with canvas and brush. All of these groups helped me build a social network and also became overwhelming with all the information on what it takes to build an art business. Then 2020 came along and I did three huge masterclasses that took 6 to 8 weeks each. Talk about burn out, but I had a foundation for whatever I wanted to accomplish in my business. I downsized my home, I moved and I have done art classes and practiced everyday. After all of this and all the emotion of grief, moving and feeling I was starting over a thought occurred to me. It's my business. I can do it just my way. Success or failure could still guide me along with all the business knowledge I have gained through masterclasses and my previous business career and jobs. I realized along the way that I enjoy the way I'm growing my business. I'm not setting the world on fire, but I get to paint everyday and take all the tutorials that are important to me. I'm still growing my knowledge and skills. It has made my little business grow and I'm happy with the way it is growing at present. It doesn't mean however that I will let my business become status quo. You are in the same position. As opportunities come along you can consider them and you can decide what is right for your business. So you too can do a business on your terms. How big do you want your business to be? How many pieces of product can you produce realistically each week? How much time do you have to devote to paperwork, shipping and other office details? It's all up to you and what you want without overwhelming yourself. I am now growing my business in a way that works for me and so can you. You decide how many social platforms you want to build, then be consist with it. There are no rules that says you have to do them all. If you want just one do that one well and consistently.
Do your booth or brick and mortar, online business or a combination of what is important to you in your business. It's up to you because you still want a personal life and time to take care of your health. So I am still working on the question of what do I want from my business. I have worked through much of it and I know I'm heading in the right direction. You can too by just starting with that question. What do you want from your business? It can take away some of the overwhelm, do away with tasks that are wasting time or head you in a new direction you did not consider before. I hope these thoughts may be of help to you and make you think about what is important to you. XOXO
Tips and Tricks
Some things to know about acrylic paints that will help you make better choices when painting. Acrylics come in opaque,, translucent, and transparent colors. What the difference and why are they important?
Transparent colors allow the most light to pass through. They are used for creating washes and glazing to achieve color depth. Multiple layers of transparent color can achieve depth that can give the illusion of three dimension and luminescence creating areas of light showing through the paint.
Translucent colors allow some light to pass through. They can be used in the same way as transparent. They are best used in layering layers of paint such as glazes and washes. They help to build depth in your painting.
Opaque colors allow no light to pass through. Opaque colors do not allow light to pass through the color layer and offer the best coverage or hiding power. They are good for covering large areas of the canvas.
Note: the bottom left corner shows the symbols for translucent, transparent, and opaque colors. Professional artist acrylic paint will have some form of this information on their paint.
Books I Love
For those of you starting out in painting. It pays to learn how to draw and how to use and mix color. These are the two books that I started with. There are newer versions out there for both
books. Both are still available on Amazon and if you're lucky aa thrift book store. Drawing on the Right Brain and Colors are both by Betty Edwards.
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