3 Year Old Art Business: Reflection
On July 7th, my art business turned three years old, which is exciting because sometimes I forget it's been three years. When comparing myself now to when I first started, I can definitely say that I've learned a lot and really built up the confidence I thought I'll never have.
Over these three years, I've gotten the chance to learn about branding through a psychological perspective and really hone in on who my target audience is. Though I still have to work on branding, I am happier with my brand now than I was at the beginning.
Fun fact: did you know I changed my logo two times? This current one is my third logo!
I've also gotten the chance to expand my products! In the beginning, I only sold art prints and stickers, and I thought that was all I would sell for the rest of my business career. Though little did I know that I would learn to design and provide various items to my customers. Such as blankets, shirts, cards, sticker sheets, Washi Tape, pins, and charms, and I am still seeking to expand into more types of products.
Due to wanting to expand products, I've also learned new skills and improved on others. For example, I've always made handmade cards. I went through a handmade card phase in middle school, where I would spend hours watching cardmaking videos, but never felt confident enough to make high-quality cards until I decided to introduce them to my shop. I got back into my love for cardmaking and made cards that feature my art! This is mind-blowing because I never imagined seeing my art on cards, so it was shocking to hold my own cards in my hand. Now that I am more confident, I am starting to work on different types of cards to provide my shoppers.
In regard to new skills, I learned how to make my own buttons. This is a mini skill, but it still means a lot to me that I learned, especially since I always wanted to have my own button pins. I also learned how to format digital files to fit manufacturer standards. Learning this skill was, and still is, hard because a lot of manufacturers want different formats and files. It can get overwhelming sometimes, but after taking some time to understand the requirements, I’ve gotten better at formatting (though still need help every once in a while).
Finally, I would say that the biggest improvement that I’ve seen is within myself. When I started my art business in 2020, I was extremely shy (in front of the camera; still shy in person, but it’s gotten better). I showed my face very little and try my best not to show my personality, voice, manners, etc., too much, but over the years, I let myself bleed into my content. I let my emotions influence my art more, I’ve done reels that require me to step into the video and felt more confident to reach out to people, and that’s a huge accomplishment for me. This boost in confidence has allowed me to do more projects and understand the best way for me to proceed with certain situations.
Overall, I have grown more connected with my job, and I am at a place where I know what I’m doing but, at the same time, have a future that is magically unknown. I’m looking forward to my third year and hopeful that by my fifth year, I can grow even more.
