Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Art

Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Art

Running a business means that there are more to-dos than hours in a day. Since I began my journey as an entrepreneur, I’ve taken the time over the Holidays to reflect on the past year.

These precious, quiet hours allow me to reflect on the lessons that last 12 months had to share.  This year, the most “ah-ha!” moments go to my art classes. The lesson’s I learned while painting had a great impact on how I run my business.

I would love to say that I came up with these lessons myself, but the credit goes to my patient, creative, and soft-spoken painting teacher Isabelle Turcotte, who gently guided me through my artistic meltdowns.

Here are my 3 business and marketing takeaways from attending art classes:

1 – All mistakes, no matter how bad, can be fixed and I’ve made mistakes!

I’ve been by the sink washing out what I did during the class! I can’t say that I’m a great artist; I make A LOT of mistakes. What I’m really good at (because of Isabelle’s support, tips, and tricks) is correcting my mistakes, adjusting colors, textures, and brush strokes.

Business & Marketing takeaway: You will make mistakes. It’s ok. Surround yourself with knowledgeable and supportive professionals who allow you to learn from your mistakes, show you how to adjust your tactics and keep on growing!

2 – Mistakes allow you to find new opportunities.

After some of my “disasters” I found amazing discoveries that never would have seen the light if it wasn’t for these mistakes! These types of discoveries may be difficult to live through emotionally but the result can be an unpolished, fabulous idea.

Business & Marketing takeaway: Remember those mistakes? Take a second look at them, minus the emotions, and you just might find a diamond in the rough.

3- Don’t let your current abilities stop you.

As a general rule, when I start a new painting project – I have great ideas and absolutely NO clue how to implement them. I don’t let my current abilities stop me from starting. I know that Isabelle will help me figure it out along the way – she’s there to guide me.

Business & Marketing takeaway: Make sure that you are well surrounded. Have a clear picture of what your end goal is and make sure you have the professional support you need to help you get there. You don’t need to know it all, you just need to know what you don’t know and get help for the rest.

This year’s goal:

Integrating these wise words in a Zen way! It’s one thing to realize that mistakes are part of the journey and quite another to life through them… perhaps I’ll print out this blog post to remind myself 😉
Also, in addition to being a great teacher, Isabelle is a fabulous artist; please check out her work at:  http://www.isabelleturcotte.ca/pages/gallerie.htm

Your marketing facilitator,

Elke