The Holidays & Being a Small Business Owner

What did I learn from the process and what will I take with me?

This holiday season, I ventured into new territory and attempted to not only design new products but also solely run my site during the process. Now, this has not been an issue for me in the past, and in fact, I thrive with this sort of creative freedom so such an extent that I was so grateful to be able to do this for this project. But what did I take away from it all... in all simplicity, I took away some definite grit and perseverance.

From the observer's perspective you might see the dainty details and the highlight reel of my process work but what I really wanted to showcase in this post is the sheer effort and art process that goes into every piece I made. This, I think, has been really empowering to me as a creator to give myself grace and show others that it's so much more than the final product, so I hope you find some inspiration in this post :)

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Starting out strong

So obviously, I started with optimistic intentions. I was going to make holiday (neutral) cards that would be sold on my website and this really excited me! I had a lot of initial enthusiasm for the project and its trajectory because for the past few seasons, I've designed cards for my family's colleagues, friends, etc. I started with a few brainstorming sessions and got to painting and sketching within a few hours of the ideas coming to me. Sometimes my brain surprises me with the speed at which I can whip up these ideas from the ground up!

Now I know you're probably reading this and thinking, 'well...by the way she's writing this, something probably went really wrong' but that's not necessarily true. What I didn't expect was that the time and effort I'd be putting in was not the most sustainable model for me – I was not only independent but also operating out of my own student apartment and simultaneously, spending a lot of lovely quality time with my partner. This meant, moving forward, that I had to account for all my supplies being.... moveable...yes, even my massive gouache set. From campus to my house, to my partner's house, I was relying on my organizational skills being up to par and they were very much not (lol). The photo above was actually taken on my school campus as I took a well-needed card-making break for a quick photo!

Reels reels and more reels

In the process, I found myself really wanting to show others what I was up to, and with my somewhat-decent background in making reels, I opted for quick 'art vlogs'. One by one, I posted these on my account and gained a good amount of traction from followers and even non-followers.

This gave me (and my Imposter's Syndrome) a lot of hope! My brain was happy because I realized that people were actually interested in what I was creating - they were interested in the process work including the countless hours prepping, brainstorming, sketching, re-doing, and painting each of my pieces.

Making these little snippits, I found was a challenge to my online presence skills, something I'm planning to take into the New Year as well. More to come on my online skills that I've built – I've been really proud of the things I've picked up on my own and from other lovely creators in the art community.

But back to it...

Changing my perspective

After long hours of working on my holiday cards, I finally came to my senses (respectfully) when my partner thoughtfully encouraged me to look at the whole picture. As one of my biggest (if not the biggest) supporter in my day-to-day life, my partner has helped me through some big ups and downs in my business work. Emma, who I presume will read this, you have been a catalyst in coming to terms with myself as an artist and seeing myself as successful. I am thankful for you and your encouraging words, especially when I was ready to just stop working and inevitably, put myself behind on my workload for the next few days. I want to share what they said to be, in summary, because I think its a thoughtful perspective I'll take with me going forwards:

"Its not just about the final product because there's so much more that went into your art... you have done so much and you are so detailed... I know people will see that too"

Holding gratitude

I ultimately have some out of this experience with a new set of skills and a fresh idea of what it means to run my small business at a hectic time of year. With the support of amazing people, like my customers, my partner Emma, and my virtual art community, I feel grateful for what I was able to accomplish. All that being said, was it hard.... yes, absolutely. Did I leave myself a decent amount of time to prepare for my holiday stock... debatable! (lol). But I've learned some great things and from reading this little insider's perspective, hopefully you've been given some transparency as to what I do working for myself ;)

Sending lots of love this holiday season, I know it's not always the easiest time of year. Remember that you are seen, you are important, and you deserve to feel at peace any time of the year. I'm dearly thankful for you all ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

Take care,

xx Jade 🌱