Shownotes
Business Building Insights
- When faced with adversity, you have the opportunity to transform into something new.
- Art is a mindful practice. It keeps you in the present and focused on creating.
- Research how to make your business visible and begin to thrive.
- Focus on what your customer is looking for.
- Don’t stop. Don’t give up on your dreams.
- People who’ve found success usually are people who’ve also had a lot of failures.
- Be determined and resourceful. Also call upon your energy and attitude.
Contact Links
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Sign up for my FREE MASTERCLASS – How to Turn Your Hobby into a Business
Learn to make money doing what you love. You’re a gifter, baker, crafter, or maker … and you’re stuck in a day job. You’d love to turn your one-of-a-kind jewelry or heavenly chocolate into a profitable business, but you have no idea where to start. How the heck do people turn their creative business dreams into reality?
- Learn the ONE thing that will take you from ‘hobbyist’ to ‘pro’ in no time
- Discover the 5 crucial steps to give your business a solid foundation and set you up for massive growth
- Find out how to be 2 steps ahead in your business so that your customer starts chasing you!
If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you.
Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Hi there.
Speaker:You're listening to gift biz on rapt episode 187 people were
Speaker:reacting towards it and saying,
Speaker:this is great,
Speaker:this is awesome,
Speaker:and I'm like,
Speaker:Whoa. At Tinton,
Speaker:gifters, bakers,
Speaker:crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one
Speaker:now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there Sue,
Speaker:and I'm thrilled that you're joining me today because I have
Speaker:a little bit of a different episode and guest for you,
Speaker:but before we get into all of that,
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift biz breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:I've got a really fun post in there.
Speaker:That's my favorite of the week.
Speaker:I have to say where I invite all of you to
Speaker:share what you're doing,
Speaker:to show pictures of your product to what you're working on
Speaker:for the week,
Speaker:to get reaction from other people and just for fun because
Speaker:we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody in
Speaker:the community is making.
Speaker:My favorite post every single week without doubt,
Speaker:wait, what aren't you part of the group already?
Speaker:If not,
Speaker:make sure to jump over to Facebook and search for the
Speaker:group gift biz breeze.
Speaker:Don't delay.
Speaker:Come join us in gift biz breeze today and seriously,
Speaker:you're going to want to jump in if you aren't there
Speaker:already specially right now because I have a certain special holiday
Speaker:promo for you that's only happening in the breeze.
Speaker:It's an opportunity for you to share your creations with other
Speaker:people and get some holiday sales.
Speaker:That's all I'm saying here.
Speaker:Details await you in the breeze.
Speaker:Okay, so let me tell you about Francis,
Speaker:our guests today.
Speaker:We met just by happenstance and as you often do when
Speaker:you meet somebody new,
Speaker:you just have some small talk pesky a little bit about
Speaker:what you're about,
Speaker:what you're doing,
Speaker:why you're at a particular event,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:Well, it ended up,
Speaker:I found out that she is an up and coming artist
Speaker:and I gave her a little bit of a challenge.
Speaker:She not only took on the challenge but circled back to
Speaker:me and told me what she did and I thought it
Speaker:would be so interesting to talk to somebody who's just starting
Speaker:their journey,
Speaker:but is coming with a wealth of knowledge and experience from
Speaker:other areas.
Speaker:So she has a lot of things that she can show
Speaker:us and teach us and talk with us about that she's
Speaker:now applying to this new budding business of hers.
Speaker:So without any further comment on my side,
Speaker:let's get into the interview with Francis Today.
Speaker:I am so excited to introduce you to Francis Castro.
Speaker:Francis is in the process of starting her own business.
Speaker:Her dream is to make a living income with her art.
Speaker:It's such an exciting time when you're starting your business.
Speaker:Her company is going to be called
Francis works on canvas and upcycles furniture.
Speaker:Actually she'll tackle just about anything that will take paint.
Speaker:Bright colors and whimsical themes are fundamental to her artwork as
Speaker:she has been influenced by having lived in central America for
Speaker:several decades.
Speaker:Francis, his personal goal is to transmit sunshine through every piece
Speaker:she sells.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I love that visual.
Speaker:Francis, welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcast.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:I'm so excited to be here today and share a little
Speaker:bit about my art.
Speaker:Yes, I love the fact that I'm catching you right in
Speaker:the beginning.
Speaker:I think this is going to be such an interesting conversation
Speaker:and even for people who have gotten started just to hear
Speaker:from you and the energy and the excitement of when you're
Speaker:creating something fresh,
Speaker:I think is going to be so enlightening for everybody so
Speaker:I can not wait to get to that.
Speaker:But before we do,
Speaker:it's a tradition here for me to ask you about a
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to describe yourself by color and quote,
Speaker:what would a candle look like that speaks all Francis?
Speaker:My candle definitely would be red.
Speaker:Red is a vibrant color full of vitality,
Speaker:and it represents me on a personal,
Speaker:deep level because it signifies determination,
Speaker:courage, and an interesting word that I found while I was
Speaker:searching to know the significance of the color red.
Speaker:It means survival.
Speaker:Ooh. And why is survival important to you?
Speaker:It's a part of my narrative.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:art came into my life through a life changing event that
Speaker:I really wasn't expecting,
Speaker:but it taught me about courage.
Speaker:And that's another thing that is important in my art.
Speaker:And that brings me to my quote.
Speaker:And you never expect for me to bring a quote from
Speaker:this person.
Speaker:But John Wayne actually said something that has stuck with me
Speaker:from the very first time I ever saw it.
Speaker:And he said that courage is being scared to death but
Speaker:saddling up anyway.
Speaker:Isn't that great?
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:Yes. I've never heard that either.
Speaker:You're right.
Speaker:You just go through and you do it anyway.
Speaker:That's courage.
Speaker:Scared. But going forward.
Speaker:That is completely courage.
Speaker:I agree with you.
Speaker:So talk to us a little bit about how art came
Speaker:into your life,
Speaker:where you always,
Speaker:even as a little girl,
Speaker:loving art and that creative side.
Speaker:Yes, from a small child,
Speaker:I loved my crayons and my watercolors.
Speaker:I grew up in Tucson,
Speaker:Arizona and they had an art contest in the newspaper.
Speaker:And one of my drawings,
Speaker:which was about the cactus and the Southwest,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:motif. I entered it and I was actually picked and I
Speaker:was so proud of myself.
Speaker:I must've been about nine or 10 and throughout my high
Speaker:school years and college,
Speaker:I was always interested in anything that had to do with
Speaker:arts and crafts.
Speaker:I was always at the craft stores and I moved to
Speaker:Watson Mala in 1992 and I continued with my crafting,
Speaker:but I wasn't painting.
Speaker:I was just crafting,
Speaker:making things.
Speaker:And I was so influenced by the textiles and the artisans
Speaker:that are there.
Speaker:There's great artwork to be found in what the Mala,
Speaker:they're wonderful textiles.
Speaker:And it continued to develop in me this desire to paint.
Speaker:But I didn't have any paints yet.
Speaker:So were you just testing out different mediums and this was
Speaker:just maybe your experimental time of,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:what did you really love?
Speaker:You knew you were a creator of some sort and an
Speaker:artist of some sort,
Speaker:but you were trying to like different mediums and different styles
Speaker:and all that.
Speaker:Yes. And then in 2014 I finally decided to buy some
Speaker:cheap acrylics.
Speaker:I sent one of the people that worked for me because
Speaker:I had a business.
Speaker:I ran a boutique hotel on what them all up and
Speaker:I bought some cheap acrylics and I got some bottles and
Speaker:I started painting the bottles because I wanted to see if
Speaker:I could do that,
Speaker:if I could work that medium.
Speaker:And I fell in love with it.
Speaker:And then my life gave what I would call a 180
Speaker:degree turn that I wasn't expecting.
Speaker:And I found myself back in the United States in September
Speaker:of 2014 and I had to start from zero begin a
Speaker:new life.
Speaker:And that was not easy.
Speaker:I was kind of in a state of shock trying to
Speaker:register because things happen,
Speaker:life happens.
Speaker:And it was my turn to face a challenge.
Speaker:But one of the greatest things that can happen to a
Speaker:person is when you're faced with adversity,
Speaker:you can find opportunity to transform into something new.
Speaker:And I started going to art therapy classes and that was
Speaker:the very first time that I came across canvas and I
Speaker:started doing paintings and I fell in love with it.
Speaker:I felt like that was something that was healing my soul.
Speaker:And I started trading my art for money because I wouldn't
Speaker:call it a business,
Speaker:but people were actually liking my stuff.
Speaker:I would post it on Facebook and everybody would go,
Speaker:Oh well are you selling that?
Speaker:And I go,
Speaker:well, not really.
Speaker:And then they say,
Speaker:I want to buy it.
Speaker:And I was like,
Speaker:you really want to buy my art?
Speaker:And then I thought,
Speaker:wow, this is an Avenue that I never ever considered.
Speaker:But at the time I was back in school at the
Speaker:university of Arizona cause I had went back to Tucson where
Speaker:my family lives,
Speaker:my parents and I went back to school.
Speaker:So I didn't really have any time to work on my
Speaker:art, but it was always in the back of my mind
Speaker:and sometimes when I get stressed out from classes I get
Speaker:a little canvas and I do it a little eight by
Speaker:10 just to get that stress off of me.
Speaker:And it's always worked because I find that art is a
Speaker:mindful practice.
Speaker:It keeps you in the present and it keeps you focused
Speaker:on something cause you can't paint and have your mind flying
Speaker:somewhere else.
Speaker:Right. That's so interesting to me because there's two things that
Speaker:you're talking about that I kind of see from people who
Speaker:find and gravitate to a creative career at some point.
Speaker:First off,
Speaker:a lot of times it is where there's a point of
Speaker:conflict in a life,
Speaker:something happens that really upsets the Apple cart,
Speaker:if you will.
Speaker:And it forces you to think differently or see differently that
Speaker:you might not have if everything had gone smoothly.
Speaker:Exactly. So in a way,
Speaker:although you know,
Speaker:I don't know the story behind the situation,
Speaker:but in a way I'm sure you would have rather not
Speaker:had all of that term,
Speaker:but it's brought you to potentially a better place.
Speaker:So I suggest to people who are listening to think about
Speaker:that too as they're going through their life and when something
Speaker:is really traumatic and there's a point where you could change
Speaker:to be open to some opportunities cause that's Francis what it
Speaker:sounds like you did,
Speaker:you were open to those opportunities.
Speaker:Exactly. The other thing I just wanted to say real quickly
Speaker:is you talk about art therapy.
Speaker:You can probably speak to this way more than I can,
Speaker:but I continue to hear how working with your hands and
Speaker:creating something that's coming from within,
Speaker:that's your sole cause.
Speaker:It's your style.
Speaker:It's your way of expression.
Speaker:Can be so healing.
Speaker:Yes, exactly.
Speaker:I didn't even know art therapy existed.
Speaker:I was in therapy sessions and my counselor,
Speaker:she saw in me that creative spirit and she recommended art
Speaker:therapy. She goes,
Speaker:do you like to paint?
Speaker:Do you like to sculpt?
Speaker:Do you write poetry?
Speaker:And I go,
Speaker:well, I've always wanted to pay it.
Speaker:I think I can do it.
Speaker:And she was the one that sent me to these therapy
Speaker:sessions with art.
Speaker:I was there for a year painting and it was,
Speaker:I went like three,
Speaker:four times a week,
Speaker:and definitely I felt that I had more healing from the
Speaker:actual art than I did in the talking sessions.
Speaker:Oh, interesting.
Speaker:But in that you're healing yourself,
Speaker:right? Because you're expressing yourself.
Speaker:It's not someone necessarily talking you through everything.
Speaker:Yes. I was able to express through the medium of acrylics
Speaker:and the canvas what I was going through.
Speaker:It was like a storybook.
Speaker:As I look back because I have photos of all the
Speaker:pieces that I created during that time,
Speaker:and I can actually tell a story of my healing process
Speaker:from the beginning to the end.
Speaker:That's so interesting.
Speaker:I don't want to discount that at all,
Speaker:but I want to move on then now into you.
Speaker:So you started creating,
Speaker:you were putting them on Facebook just to show people what
Speaker:you're up to.
Speaker:Right. How shocked were you when some people came back and
Speaker:said, Hey,
Speaker:can I buy that from you?
Speaker:I was completely shocked.
Speaker:I thought that my work was okay.
Speaker:I didn't think it was anything special.
Speaker:I liked it because I love bright colors.
Speaker:I love flowers,
Speaker:I love whimsical motives and I liked things to be fun
Speaker:and people were reacting towards it and saying,
Speaker:this is great,
Speaker:this is awesome.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:Whoa. And then you know,
Speaker:some of my Facebook friends,
Speaker:they said,
Speaker:I want it,
Speaker:will you send it to me?
Speaker:And we had to discuss the price.
Speaker:And so I was like,
Speaker:what do I do?
Speaker:How do I do this?
Speaker:How do I go about charging something that I made and
Speaker:I just spit out a price and they said,
Speaker:Oh, I'll take it.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I found myself selling my art.
Speaker:It was a mind blowing experience for me,
Speaker:but it also created in me that question,
Speaker:could I do this for a living?
Speaker:Right. I mean it validated to you that other people wanted
Speaker:what you could create.
Speaker:Exactly. And now I'm starting to develop that idea.
Speaker:I just opened up an Etsy shop just a few days
Speaker:ago. I know.
Speaker:I'm so excited about this.
Speaker:I'm sorry,
Speaker:I don't mean to interrupt you,
Speaker:but can you go to where you flip the switch?
Speaker:The time.
Speaker:So this is like within the last several days a week,
Speaker:I'm not sure,
Speaker:but what was your mind when you flipped a switch and
Speaker:said, okay,
Speaker:I'm going to formalize this now and I'm starting a business.
Speaker:When I met you at the concert that we were at
Speaker:the summer in Ravinia,
Speaker:I felt like that was assigned to me.
Speaker:Really? So let's share with everybody what happened.
Speaker:Do you want me to tell the story or do you
Speaker:want to tell the story?
Speaker:Go ahead and tell your side of the story and then
Speaker:I'll add.
Speaker:Okay. Okay,
Speaker:good. We'll see how this works.
Speaker:So my aunt was in town.
Speaker:Shout out to Kristi and Rob,
Speaker:if you're here listening to the podcast and you better be,
Speaker:we went to Revinia to listen to the Chicago symphony.
Speaker:This is an outdoor concert area right in my community,
Speaker:but it draws in people from all over Chicago.
Speaker:And by accident we got there too early.
Speaker:So we had to wait in line for an hour in
Speaker:this sweaty hot 90 degree weather or whatever it was then.
Speaker:And you guys also came relatively,
Speaker:I don't think you were waiting as long as we were,
Speaker:but we're right in line together and you had the cutest
Speaker:outfit on.
Speaker:So we started talking,
Speaker:I think we started with your shoes.
Speaker:And so one thing led,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:as conversations do,
Speaker:and this just goes to show talk with people around you
Speaker:because you never know what's going to happen.
Speaker:So one thing led to another led to another and we
Speaker:started talking and then we got started to get into your
Speaker:story Francis and you pull out your phone and you show
Speaker:me your furniture,
Speaker:which is so beautiful.
Speaker:I was like all over this.
Speaker:So then of course me with the podcast and what I
Speaker:do for a living and start asking you questions,
Speaker:is this a business?
Speaker:What are you doing?
Speaker:They're like 7,000
Speaker:could trillion questions and we left it that you were going
Speaker:to continue doing what you're do sent.
Speaker:You were going to send me some pictures and then we
Speaker:would see how it developed.
Speaker:And that has led to today when we're talking.
Speaker:What are you going to add to the story Francis?
Speaker:Well what I'm going to add is that up until that
Speaker:point I wasn't really doing my art.
Speaker:I had done a stool and I think I had done
Speaker:a painting but I really wasn't thinking about going down that
Speaker:Avenue cause I just moved to Chicago this year and I
Speaker:getting settled.
Speaker:But when I met you and you asked me are you
Speaker:an artist?
Speaker:And I think it had to do with my colorful outfit.
Speaker:And I was like,
Speaker:Whoa. And so I started answering your questions and then later
Speaker:on I told my husband,
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I feel like this is a sign that I should do
Speaker:this. Oh,
Speaker:I'm getting shivers over here.
Speaker:I love this,
Speaker:that I should actually go forward with doing my art.
Speaker:And I told you that I would have like four or
Speaker:five pieces done by the middle of September.
Speaker:So by saying that out loud,
Speaker:I was being held accountable to my own promise.
Speaker:And I started working on different projects.
Speaker:I had painted a chair,
Speaker:I did a jewelry box,
Speaker:I did a couple of other things and I said,
Speaker:I've got to do this.
Speaker:And I started looking into Etsy.
Speaker:I haven't been on social media for quite a while.
Speaker:So opening up the Etsy was something big.
Speaker:And now I'm thinking,
Speaker:Oh, I should go on to Pinterest and start putting my
Speaker:stuff out there.
Speaker:And, and then I started listening to your podcast and getting
Speaker:ideas from different people and seeing how I could actually make
Speaker:the sustainable living,
Speaker:creating something from my hands that can bring,
Speaker:like I said earlier,
Speaker:a little bit of sunshine into each person's home that you
Speaker:know, supports my business Well and sunshine into your life too
Speaker:because you've already shared how much that helps you in terms
Speaker:of just taking your internal and bringing it out and you
Speaker:know, your happy colors and all of that too.
Speaker:So it's rewarding on both ends for sure.
Speaker:Have you already established and registered your business already?
Speaker:So Francis SITA,
Speaker:am I saying it right?
Speaker:Yes. Francis Francis,
Speaker:SITA by Francis is already registered as a business.
Speaker:It's registered as a business on Etsy.
Speaker:I opened a shop,
Speaker:but I haven't done any business paperwork,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like outside of at state.
Speaker:So that's something you'll definitely want to get done just for
Speaker:government, you know,
Speaker:all of that.
Speaker:But let's talk about Etsy now.
Speaker:What has been your experience and you just put this shop
Speaker:up right?
Speaker:I just put it up.
Speaker:I had never even been on Etsy before.
Speaker:I mean I've been off of social media for so long
Speaker:that I have become like kind of like unacquainted with everything
Speaker:that's going on now as far as online sales.
Speaker:So you have a whole world of learning to get started
Speaker:with. Yes,
Speaker:exactly. But I do have experience in sales.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I did a lot of marketing and sales in what the
Speaker:Mala with the businesses that I had,
Speaker:I was very successful and so I think if I was
Speaker:able to do it there,
Speaker:Absolutely. And you're so personable.
Speaker:I mean give biz listeners,
Speaker:you can hear it just through her voice right here.
Speaker:It's that magnified in person for sure.
Speaker:So all right.
Speaker:How did you find the process of setting up the shop?
Speaker:Was the platform easy to manage through uploading photos,
Speaker:getting everything established?
Speaker:What was your experience there?
Speaker:It was very easy.
Speaker:It's black and white,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you just go on,
Speaker:you open up your account,
Speaker:you start uploading and the uploading process was very quick.
Speaker:Everything is explained to you in minute detail and I think
Speaker:I did it in like maybe under two hours.
Speaker:Oh wow,
Speaker:that's wonderful.
Speaker:And so have you had any sales so far?
Speaker:Not yet.
Speaker:I put it up like maybe 48 hours ago.
Speaker:Oh man.
Speaker:Okay. So I need to go and do some research on
Speaker:how to make my Etsy visible and that's why I felt
Speaker:like I need to open up an Pinterest and start to
Speaker:get back on social media to promote my online shop.
Speaker:Absolutely. And you've got it exactly right.
Speaker:You know on social media what you'll do is you'll drive
Speaker:everybody over to your Etsy shop.
Speaker:Exactly. Instagram too.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:Instagram, Yes.
Speaker:I'm going to have to go back.
Speaker:I've been like one of those people that I was on
Speaker:social media for a long time when I lived in Guatemala
Speaker:promoting the hotel,
Speaker:promoting other businesses,
Speaker:but I left All that behind and now it's like,
Speaker:Oh, I've got to get started again.
Speaker:Absolutely. And I'm sitting here and I wish all of you
Speaker:who were listening could see this.
Speaker:And the very first thing I said to Francis when we
Speaker:connected here,
Speaker:I do all my recordings over Skype but was,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I love the visual that I'm looking at right now.
Speaker:Right. The fantasy by Francis.
Speaker:Just the imagery and you know,
Speaker:I'm not sure if it's pink or purple.
Speaker:It's a little combination of both,
Speaker:but it's so brilliant and so bright and so happy and
Speaker:I can see that all over social media just it's beautiful.
Speaker:Francis isn't going to share the motivation and how she came
Speaker:upon the colors of her logo.
Speaker:Right after a word from our sponsor.
Speaker:This podcast is made possible thanks to the support of the
Speaker:ribbon print company.
Speaker:Create custom ribbons right in your store.
Speaker:Craft studio in seconds.
Speaker:Visit the ribbon,
Speaker:print company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:I love bright colors and it has to do with the
Speaker:time that I lived in Guatemala.
Speaker:Anyone that's listening on the podcast has been there,
Speaker:will understand.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:they went,
Speaker:I'm talking to the textures of the textiles and just the
Speaker:colors, the bright,
Speaker:beautiful, vivid colors.
Speaker:I put them into my artwork.
Speaker:And also I had mentioned a little bit when I wrote
Speaker:to you about my grandmother.
Speaker:She was a quilter and she was a crafter and she
Speaker:did everything always with bright,
Speaker:beautiful, vivid colors.
Speaker:And I think color is something that livens up any space.
Speaker:It brightens any mood when you see something just so bright
Speaker:and cheery.
Speaker:Some people say,
Speaker:Oh, that's so cliche,
Speaker:but I think it really does wonders for the soul.
Speaker:I totally agree with you.
Speaker:So let me ask you this,
Speaker:as an artist and someone who clearly knows how to put
Speaker:colors together,
Speaker:is this a fuchsia or a purple or a combination of
Speaker:both? Maybe.
Speaker:It looks like It's a combination.
Speaker:There's a few HSA and there was some blue that was
Speaker:put in there to give that purple-ish tone.
Speaker:Oh, gotcha.
Speaker:Okay. So and give biz listeners,
Speaker:you'll be able to go over to social media and see
Speaker:this. Is this imagery on your Etsy page too?
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:So you can go look you,
Speaker:everybody who listens regularly knows there's a show notes page where
Speaker:you'll have all the links.
Speaker:But what I'm getting at and what I think would be
Speaker:an interesting conversation is you use color and are surrounded by
Speaker:color and have color in everything.
Speaker:How did you then narrow in and decide what your colors
Speaker:were going to be that were going to represent the business?
Speaker:So the branding side I decided that I wanted to use,
Speaker:my name is Frances Castro.
Speaker:I'm of Hispanic descendant,
Speaker:so I've wanted to tap into my culture and I wanted
Speaker:to tap into what represents me and I feel like those
Speaker:bright colors,
Speaker:the fuchsias,
Speaker:the reds,
Speaker:the greens,
Speaker:the purples,
Speaker:the bright pinks,
Speaker:the yellow,
Speaker:that all is representative of like this,
Speaker:I would call a woven fabric.
Speaker:That is my life,
Speaker:that the different compartments of who I am is being a
Speaker:Latina. Having lived in Guatemala,
Speaker:my love of art,
Speaker:my love of color,
Speaker:I wanted to bring that into what my pages so that
Speaker:people could see a little bit of my personality through the
Speaker:colors that I chose And you know,
Speaker:along the way now those are the types of people who
Speaker:will be attracted to you too because you've made a clear
Speaker:statement. So people who love that and love that style and
Speaker:love that feel are the people who are going to become
Speaker:your customers.
Speaker:It's that Folklorico folk art type of art.
Speaker:Think of Frida Kahlo,
Speaker:but it's not,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like Frida Kahlo,
Speaker:but she loved color and I love color and I love
Speaker:flowers and I love everything to just be with sun and
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:stars and moons and just whimsical.
Speaker:Beautiful. Perfect.
Speaker:Okay, so now I want to go a little bit inside
Speaker:your thinking.
Speaker:You've got your Etsy shop up,
Speaker:you're waiting for that first sale,
Speaker:which will probably be maybe even while we're courting the show.
Speaker:You never know,
Speaker:but what's your thinking?
Speaker:Where is your mind right now?
Speaker:It's doing research to get my business to begin to thrive.
Speaker:To have a sustainable income and developing more ideas of what
Speaker:I can do as far as business because something has to
Speaker:be in demand.
Speaker:So as I'm growing I can see through what people are
Speaker:purchasing, what is the actual object that's going to be something
Speaker:that will be a popular item that I can focus on,
Speaker:like if that makes sense.
Speaker:Like I do a lot of things,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I have the chairs,
Speaker:I have the stools,
Speaker:I have shelves,
Speaker:I have jewelry boxes,
Speaker:but I want to see if there's going to be a
Speaker:certain object that I'm going to focus in on.
Speaker:That seems to be the one that most people are gravitating
Speaker:to in purchasing and are interested in.
Speaker:Yes. That's fabulous because you're not putting something out there and
Speaker:saying, okay,
Speaker:this is what I have,
Speaker:buy it.
Speaker:You're saying let's put these things out there.
Speaker:And then as you're saying research and then you're going to
Speaker:just observe what are people purchasing the most,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:what are they asking for?
Speaker:Cause you might get calls and say,
Speaker:Hey, I love this,
Speaker:but could you do it in these colors?
Speaker:Or could you make it smaller?
Speaker:Exactly. You never know what's going to come of it.
Speaker:So very interesting.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:And I also haven't heard through this whole dialogue,
Speaker:just this recent part,
Speaker:like what are you doing now?
Speaker:Where's your mind?
Speaker:Anything about it?
Speaker:Reflecting on you as a person who you are,
Speaker:you're going to wait and what the market wants from you,
Speaker:but it doesn't influence who you are as a person.
Speaker:So many times when people start a business,
Speaker:they associate themselves as they're being too.
Speaker:Whether the business is successful,
Speaker:like if you hadn't sold anything,
Speaker:even for the first week,
Speaker:that doesn't matter.
Speaker:You still need to drive an audience to your site.
Speaker:But so many people would say,
Speaker:Oh, I'm a failure.
Speaker:Oh, it's not working.
Speaker:Right? None of that.
Speaker:You're in research mode.
Speaker:It's a great example and we didn't talk about this before
Speaker:the show,
Speaker:but it's a great example.
Speaker:It's fundamental.
Speaker:When I ran the boutique hotel and what them all,
Speaker:uh, one of the things that I learned is that I
Speaker:might like something,
Speaker:I might have a certain idea of how I wanted things
Speaker:to be,
Speaker:but I had to listen to my customers and take what
Speaker:I wanted and he tried to mold that into what the
Speaker:customer wants because obviously when we're offering goods we have to
Speaker:focus on what our customer is looking for.
Speaker:Perfectly stated.
Speaker:Let's talk a little bit about your pricing.
Speaker:So you kind of made up your Facebook purchase pricing because
Speaker:you weren't expecting that that was coming out of the blue.
Speaker:Now you hit a little bit more time to think as
Speaker:you're setting up your Etsy shop.
Speaker:How did you determine how you were going to price your
Speaker:pieces there?
Speaker:What I decided to do was take into account the time
Speaker:that I spent on each item,
Speaker:how much paint did I use if I purchase this item,
Speaker:like as far as upcycled items,
Speaker:the price that I paid for that,
Speaker:and even including gasoline that I've used to acquire different items
Speaker:and putting all that together and then dividing it up by
Speaker:hours and then saying,
Speaker:okay, this is my cost.
Speaker:And then from there then I can make an estimate of
Speaker:a price for each item And then put some margin in
Speaker:on top of that too.
Speaker:Yeah, definitely profit because you're going after the living income,
Speaker:sustainable business.
Speaker:Yeah. So I love that because you also included some of
Speaker:the costs that people forget about,
Speaker:which is the gasoline or if you're having paint sent to
Speaker:you, let's say instead of going out and getting it,
Speaker:what were the costs of shipping?
Speaker:So you had all of that.
Speaker:So those are a lot of hidden costs that people forget
Speaker:about frequently and then they wonder why they're not making any
Speaker:money because there may be just breaking.
Speaker:Even what they make is what they sell it for,
Speaker:but it's just a neutral transaction.
Speaker:They're not making anything.
Speaker:Yeah. You have to take that into account and then you
Speaker:think about,
Speaker:well, if I were working at a retail,
Speaker:what would be my hourly wage?
Speaker:Give myself a wage and include that to the estimate.
Speaker:I will also say,
Speaker:and I'll be curious about your opinion on this,
Speaker:Francis, is you have taken art classes and spent a lot
Speaker:of hours just on your own,
Speaker:even from when you were little learning how to create the
Speaker:techniques that you do and some people who are makers out
Speaker:here are buying soldering equipment or other types of equipment where
Speaker:they've had to not only invest in their tools but also
Speaker:invest in learning how to use them professionally in the best
Speaker:way. And that's valuable too.
Speaker:That's worth a monetary line in the whole buildup of your
Speaker:cost as well.
Speaker:Exactly. Does that make sense?
Speaker:Yes. That's something that you would have to take into account
Speaker:also to be able to break even if you've invested in
Speaker:any kind of equipment,
Speaker:you need to break that down.
Speaker:Well and I would imagine for you it's paint brushes,
Speaker:paint brushes,
Speaker:my paint,
Speaker:cleaning your paint.
Speaker:Yes, cleaning of your brushes,
Speaker:like all of that is part of the cost of making
Speaker:the product and at some point probably replacing your brushes.
Speaker:I don't know how often they get to need to be
Speaker:replaced. And then also the technique,
Speaker:the time you've put in the training that you've had to
Speaker:perfect your skill,
Speaker:All that has to be taken into consideration.
Speaker:And when you do that and then you put your price
Speaker:on an object,
Speaker:that money will be replenished and you can keep rotating and
Speaker:you can keep moving that money,
Speaker:making more product and selling it so that eventually you'll see
Speaker:that growth,
Speaker:if that makes sense.
Speaker:I agree.
Speaker:Okay. I'm going to put you on the spot here a
Speaker:little bit with my next question.
Speaker:You sound very confident.
Speaker:You have had other businesses,
Speaker:so you're an experienced business owner,
Speaker:not necessarily with something that you create,
Speaker:but you know the whole system of business,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:Have you had any fear or doubt or worry despite your
Speaker:courage? Every day.
Speaker:Every day it's like I say to myself,
Speaker:what am I doing?
Speaker:What have I gotten myself into?
Speaker:You know?
Speaker:And then what's the next thing you say to yourself?
Speaker:Well, I'm already in the middle of the tornado so I
Speaker:can just lock through it.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:I'm just saddling up and going forward on that horse.
Speaker:Just like John Wayne's said.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:And you know what?
Speaker:It's faith in what you can do.
Speaker:It's recognizing that just as you were talking about earlier,
Speaker:even though it might be a little uncomfortable,
Speaker:you just still do it.
Speaker:You'd get up and you just go through with it.
Speaker:You don't stop,
Speaker:you don't give up.
Speaker:I think a lot of people give up right when they're
Speaker:on the cusp of a breakthrough.
Speaker:Oh, good point.
Speaker:Talk a little more about that.
Speaker:I feel like a lot of people,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they set everything up.
Speaker:They had a great idea,
Speaker:they're all excited about it,
Speaker:and then they see that it's just like there's nothing going
Speaker:on. And then,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they say,
Speaker:Oh, I'll wait a little bit longer and nothing's happening.
Speaker:And then they just throw in the towel and maybe just
Speaker:right around the corner they were going to meet somebody or
Speaker:something was going to happen and they were going to have
Speaker:that breakthrough,
Speaker:but they gave up.
Speaker:And anybody that does something that's worth something,
Speaker:there's sacrifice involved.
Speaker:And people who have had success usually are people who have
Speaker:had lots of failures,
Speaker:who had lots of doors,
Speaker:slammed on their faces,
Speaker:but they just kept going forward,
Speaker:kept going forward and saying,
Speaker:I've sent out a thousand applications while,
Speaker:or I've been to hundreds of auditions.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you hear those stories all the time and I feel like
Speaker:there's a lot of truth in that.
Speaker:I see it in my own life.
Speaker:When I went back to school,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I know this doesn't have to do with art,
Speaker:but I went back to school and half of the time
Speaker:that I was there I said,
Speaker:what am I doing here?
Speaker:And I just kept plowing through because you know,
Speaker:I'm obviously not a 20 year old student and to be
Speaker:in this world of young people and doing essays and papers
Speaker:and research and I said,
Speaker:how am I going to get through this?
Speaker:Well I have to brag a little bit.
Speaker:I plowed through and I graduated with a GPA of 3.95
Speaker:I graduated Summa cum latte.
Speaker:So, Wow,
Speaker:congratulations. That's awesome.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:So I feel like you're doing something.
Speaker:Don't give up.
Speaker:Don't give up on your dream.
Speaker:Absolutely. It is heartbreaking when dreams get crushed and I see
Speaker:it in two places,
Speaker:I see it where people will just keep saying like they
Speaker:want to start the business.
Speaker:They are thinking of doing this,
Speaker:they want to write that book,
Speaker:you know whatever it is.
Speaker:And it's always want,
Speaker:want, want,
Speaker:want and they never take the action.
Speaker:And I think it's because of being fearful and quite honestly
Speaker:when we were standing in that line,
Speaker:Francis I wanted to see if you were going to follow
Speaker:through. Well because I do meet a lot of people who
Speaker:don't. They just always are talking and my heart breaks for
Speaker:them because I know that they're not proceeding because of fear.
Speaker:Something's holding them back in that way.
Speaker:There's other things that can hold someone back too,
Speaker:but most of the time they just don't believe in themselves
Speaker:enough. Right.
Speaker:And to your point,
Speaker:you believe in yourself regardless,
Speaker:and if it doesn't work right away,
Speaker:you make adjustments.
Speaker:You make changes,
Speaker:whatever you need to do to get to that point of
Speaker:success. So that's the first place I see it.
Speaker:The second place is,
Speaker:again, just as you're saying,
Speaker:maybe it just hasn't worked the way they thought it was
Speaker:going to and it's the fourth try or the fifth try.
Speaker:But what if it's the sixth try that really lands it
Speaker:right. You know,
Speaker:and then at some point,
Speaker:yes, if you're losing money over and over again,
Speaker:at some point you have to do something different.
Speaker:Don't just keep trying the same way and losing money the
Speaker:same way.
Speaker:Try something different to see what that magic potion is that's
Speaker:going to make it work.
Speaker:Exactly. I agree.
Speaker:A hundred percent My husband said to me once that I
Speaker:was in the gift basket business for awhile and he was
Speaker:very supportive,
Speaker:but I kind of think back and wonder if he really
Speaker:thought it was gonna work or not.
Speaker:It did.
Speaker:It worked very well actually.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:he's made a comment to me,
Speaker:which I thought was really good and he said,
Speaker:Sue, you know,
Speaker:if you're not to sell these products,
Speaker:it doesn't mean the products are bad.
Speaker:It might mean the market just isn't there for you.
Speaker:It's like taking it outside of who you are,
Speaker:but it has to be the market because the market has
Speaker:to like and want what you have.
Speaker:So something else to consider as we're thinking about businesses,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:for all of us,
Speaker:that was really for all of our listeners as you talk
Speaker:about research,
Speaker:because that's what you're saying your into right now,
Speaker:is researching what the market's going to want from you.
Speaker:How you can adjust to accommodate the market,
Speaker:which means you'll sell more researching,
Speaker:registering the business,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:all the business side and the creative side and social media.
Speaker:Getting people over to your Etsy site,
Speaker:where are you going to find your information?
Speaker:When you say research,
Speaker:what are you doing research wise?
Speaker:I'm on Google,
Speaker:I'm on YouTube.
Speaker:Yes, Google has everything you want to know about anything and
Speaker:I go on there and I delve into my subject and
Speaker:then as I'm into one step deck I might focus in
Speaker:on something that I saw on there and then it just
Speaker:grows and grows and grows,
Speaker:but I'm constantly on YouTube and Google researching,
Speaker:looking at what people are selling,
Speaker:what people are making.
Speaker:I do it on a daily basis because things are changing
Speaker:so quickly and to be on top of it,
Speaker:I look to see everything that is being produced by the
Speaker:different crafters and artists and that also influences in me or
Speaker:it sparks in me like,
Speaker:wow, I see all this,
Speaker:but I haven't seen anybody do any of this yet.
Speaker:So it's analysis of your market and where you are and
Speaker:how you can be different as well as resourcefulness on the
Speaker:business end of what you need to move forward.
Speaker:Yes, I use those.
Speaker:That's basically what I'm using and I ensure like when I
Speaker:get back onto the other social media sites then you know
Speaker:I'll have even more information available to me.
Speaker:Absolutely. I think you would be perfect for Instagram stories and
Speaker:I'm not sure if you know all of what that is
Speaker:yet, but I'm just going to leave it at that cause
Speaker:that's a whole nother show.
Speaker:But I want you to think about that cause you're so
Speaker:good at presenting yourself cause I've seen you face to face
Speaker:now and I'm hearing you talking here,
Speaker:But that was something that I was actually thinking about because
Speaker:one of the things that I see on YouTube or a
Speaker:lot of DIY wise and so I thought wow,
Speaker:maybe I could do something that involves my art,
Speaker:but also having a platform where I could actually talk to
Speaker:my audience.
Speaker:That's something that crossed my mind.
Speaker:I think you're perfect for it just by personality.
Speaker:Not everyone is,
Speaker:but I think it could just so flow for you.
Speaker:Not everyone is made to do that.
Speaker:I always tell people too,
Speaker:because I think they should be out there and showing who's
Speaker:behind the art that they create.
Speaker:But you're just a natural.
Speaker:So a little idea for you to contemplate and it sounds
Speaker:like you already are.
Speaker:So what would be your recommendation for someone who is thinking
Speaker:that? Yeah,
Speaker:they're doing some stuff on the side.
Speaker:They really enjoy it.
Speaker:They've had a little nibbles from maybe family and friends,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:just like you did back when.
Speaker:Right. So they've had some interest in their product.
Speaker:What would you say to somebody who is contemplating making the
Speaker:switch and turn it in into a business?
Speaker:I would tell them to dream.
Speaker:And when I say dream,
Speaker:I'm saying put in that determination.
Speaker:Use that resourcefulness,
Speaker:your energy,
Speaker:your attitude,
Speaker:and your management dream and do it.
Speaker:Go for it.
Speaker:Thank you so much Francis.
Speaker:That was wonderful.
Speaker:And now on behalf of myself and my listeners,
Speaker:I'd like to invite you to dare to dream.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable
Speaker:Heights that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside your box?
Speaker:I would love to write a memoir that includes my art.
Speaker:That would be a visual experience of sharing what I've gone
Speaker:through in my development as a artist and as a person
Speaker:and I would love to do a Ted talk.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:those are two super cool things To actually put together.
Speaker:Everything that you've gone through,
Speaker:it's kind of like an autobiography,
Speaker:but in an artist's D way I guess I would say.
Speaker:Have you been thinking about that for awhile?
Speaker:I've been thinking about this for years,
Speaker:but as I develop these artistic skills that I didn't know
Speaker:I had,
Speaker:I started to dream about creating something that would include my
Speaker:art with what I gone through as a person and Professionally
Speaker:Included some kind of media.
Speaker:I'm not sure you know,
Speaker:if it would be a coffee table book or small book,
Speaker:who knows,
Speaker:but I want to write a book,
Speaker:my art,
Speaker:I want it to be a memoir and I always dreamed
Speaker:about doing a Ted talk.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Well, first off on the book part,
Speaker:you know it all starts with the idea.
Speaker:So what?
Speaker:It actually ends up being in physical life is one thing,
Speaker:but it has to start with the idea.
Speaker:So that is really exciting.
Speaker:And your Ted talk,
Speaker:you already know the topic.
Speaker:I would talk about how art changed my life.
Speaker:I want to include my artwork in my Ted talk and
Speaker:how was therapeutic in my healing from a situation in my
Speaker:life that was life changing.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:It would be directed towards anyone who has come into a
Speaker:situation, whether it be personal,
Speaker:it could also be natural disaster.
Speaker:Anything that turns your life around and that you can use
Speaker:different mediums and art can be one of them to get
Speaker:you back on that road to recovery because it was,
Speaker:for me,
Speaker:it changed my life.
Speaker:That sounds like that would be such a potent talk.
Speaker:Will you circle back with me when you do that?
Speaker:Because I know you will establish that you take action when
Speaker:you have an idea you do it.
Speaker:But yeah definitely let me know because I'll want to let
Speaker:all our listeners know about it too.
Speaker:Oh I will.
Speaker:And you know one of the things I want to say
Speaker:is in order for something to come true,
Speaker:a dream to become reality,
Speaker:you have to speak it out loud first.
Speaker:Yes. It's more powerful than we think.
Speaker:I really believe that that when we actually put it in
Speaker:a voice,
Speaker:not just think it but actually put the words in.
Speaker:Just like you were saying,
Speaker:I don't even need to expand on it cause you did
Speaker:a great job with that.
Speaker:So all right,
Speaker:so you're going to let us know about that.
Speaker:And then also can you tell us where is the single
Speaker:best place for anyone who wants to see your art?
Speaker:To see a little bit more about what you're up to
Speaker:and the logo.
Speaker:Cause we've been talking about how bright and beautiful your logo
Speaker:is. Where's a good place for them to go?
Speaker:You can visit my shop on Etsy.
Speaker:It's called Francis SITA by Francis and you can see everything
Speaker:that I'm doing.
Speaker:Wonderful and so then also on the show notes page give
Speaker:biz listeners,
Speaker:you know this already.
Speaker:I'll have links to social media sites because we already know
Speaker:that you're going to start working on all of those right
Speaker:and then and then the Etsy site and all of that
Speaker:will be right over on the show notes page.
Speaker:Francis, I am just so impressed with you from the moment
Speaker:I met you in line who knew like I had no
Speaker:idea all the things that you have going on and I'm
Speaker:thrilled that you took action.
Speaker:I'm thrilled that you reconnected with me and are actually doing
Speaker:it and I am so excited to watch you progress.
Speaker:Thanks for being here right at this point in your journey
Speaker:because I think a lot of our listeners all right the
Speaker:same place you are so they can really relate.
Speaker:It's really valuable for them to be able to see as
Speaker:you're starting and growing something new.
Speaker:So again,
Speaker:thank you for sharing everything with us today.
Speaker:I really appreciate it.
Speaker:Thank you very much for having me on your show.
Speaker:It was great.
Speaker:Before we all move on to our other activities of the
Speaker:day, I want to make sure you know about my newly
Speaker:released free master class.
Speaker:It's called how to turn your hobby into a business.
Speaker:How do you know if this is for you?
Speaker:Well, if you're starting a business right now,
Speaker:you've gotten that dream,
Speaker:but you're not sure what steps you should be taking.
Speaker:This masterclass is for you if you're already in business,
Speaker:but something just isn't clicking,
Speaker:it's not bringing in the sales or it's just not performing
Speaker:the way you think it should.
Speaker:This masterclass is also for you to check it out.
Speaker:Just go over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash masterclass.
Speaker:I look forward to seeing you over there and of course
