Embracing Authenticity: How to Be Your True Self in Your Business

The Authentic You

The term authentic is frequently mentioned on social media. Who do you aspire to be in your business? How genuine are you with yourself and your vision for your small business? To truly be authentic in any aspect of life, you might need to consider the advantages and disadvantages of your true self. Each of us has unique methods for managing our business, but how many of the rules you implement are truly your own, and how many are influenced by others' advice on running your business?

Only you are aware of what tasks you will handle effortlessly in your business and which ones you are likely to procrastinate on. For many, myself included, managing the tedious back-office work is challenging to find motivation for and consistently maintain. This doesn't imply laziness;

it simply means these tasks don't interest you, especially compared to the time you spend on creating your projects.

Unfortunately, handling back office tasks, including social media, consumes a lot of time. Therefore, I need to complete them quickly and consistently, as this is the only way to effectively monitor business performance and make necessary adjustments.

Do you have a strategy or method for managing these tasks, and are you truly clear about what you desire from your business?

To be genuine in any aspect of your business life, you might need to consider the advantages and disadvantages of who you truly are, rather than what the world suggests you should be. If you've never questioned what you desire from your business or whether you even want to transform your creative craft into a business, it's essential to ask yourself these questions.

How To Be Authentic in Your Business

The most effective way to understand this is by writing it down. Doing so provides a clearer perspective and allows time to contemplate your thoughts. We all have dreams, and often these dreams guide us towards starting a small business.

Imagine turning your creative talent from a hobby into something greater. But have you thought about how you'll operate and manage this business? Initially, there's the dream, and you believe you can realize it. Now, you require a strategy to make it happen. You have the dream, and now you need a method to achieve it. This involves setting goals to transform your dreams or hobby into a small business.

Now, you need a strategy or method to accomplish these goals. A fantastic way to search for a strategy to reach your goals is online. These days, you can find information on virtually anything online. Look for a plan or method that matches your skill level and is sustainable for you. Mel Robbins has an insightful video on transforming your dreams into reality. The video is titled "This Will Change Everything: How to Achieve Any Goal in 6 Simple Steps." https://youtu.be/fxJjAuG3qkQ?si=LhESYZRpVn0vgqO1

Seek out individuals whose business approach resonates with you and incorporate their strategies into your own set of goals. While you might be adopting another person's plan, you'll infuse it with your distinct style as you create your own business plan. If the term 'business plan' feels daunting, I will offer some suggestions to tackle that later in this article. Achieving your goals isn't always glamorous; you'll need to handle the tedious tasks as well. Yes, that includes the behind-the-scenes work and the paperwork.

Create Some Lists

A business plan is a written document that details your objectives, strategies, and how you intend to achieve them. If you're a creative individual, creating a business plan might be the last thing you want to do. They often seem overwhelming, and even if you've taken the time to complete one, you might never look at it again. I've been in that position. If you're interested in drafting a business plan but don't know where to begin, I have a business plan template available for free download on my blog from January 2024. Having been in business for some time, I know many creatives tend to keep a mental list, which makes it uncertain whether you know the current status of your small business. What I suggest, and plan to implement myself—even though I've already started my business plan—is to create a few lists to kick off the year.

It's essential to create a list of goals for your business. Goals are objectives you aim to achieve, such as hiring assistance for office tasks or expanding to a larger booth space. Following this, you should identify your revenue streams, which are the methods you'll use to generate income. Depending on your goals, you'll likely need multiple revenue streams. For instance, consider a furniture artist who sells beautifully painted furniture. This artist might also offer her preferred paint, brushes, and sealers. Additionally, she could sell wall art and small decorative items in her booth alongside her furniture. The artist might also conduct online tutorials to teach others how to paint furniture. As you can see, the artist has five different revenue streams and can analyze her sales data to determine if items like paint, brushes, and sealers aren't selling well. She might then decide to boost customer interest in these products, discontinue this revenue stream, focus on others, or introduce new revenue streams.

These are the two lists that will guide your monthly goals and revenues. From these lists, you can determine which goals and revenue are priorities for your business that month. For instance, using our furniture artist example, you might decide to create one large painted furniture piece each month, visit your booth twice a month to restock products and decor items, and paint two canvas paintings for wall art. You can further break this down into a weekly schedule if it helps you stay on track. Weekly to-do lists have their advantages. They help you remain focused, know where you need to be, and what tasks to work on, while also allowing you to schedule time for social media reels/videos, office tasks, and other necessary activities for the week. Focus on your top three priorities and aim to complete these first. Then, you can choose whether to move the rest of the list to the following week or let it go. Just remember not to keep postponing business chores. You know the ones—filing, bookkeeping, and other mundane tasks you dislike managing. Your going to also need to set up a filing system besides a drawer or shoebox you through receipts into. It can be as simple as a file for expenses, one for invoices and one for banking/finance if you use a credit card. Checkout my blog from last month for doing this and other little tasks to get yourself moving forward into 2025.

Bringing it all together

This is your business to shape according to your vision. You can achieve this by documenting your plan. Whether it's a business plan or using lists to stay motivated, you have the dream, and now you have goals to reach that dream. If you're unsure how to achieve these goals, research other small businesses online and on YouTube to learn how to start your specific creative business. Then, put this plan into action. Remember to handle the mundane office tasks to stay organized and prepared for tax season. Above all, don't quit. Keep practicing your creative craft as much as possible, and display your list of goals somewhere you'll see them every day. Perhaps your bathroom mirror will become your new goal board.

Freebies

This month's free downloads feature three lists: yearly goals, revenue streams, and a weekly to-do list. You can use them as provided or as a starting point to create your own personalized lists.

Tips/Books

Let's discuss substrates, commonly referred to as stretched canvas panels and boards. Many of us are familiar with the various types of substrates or supports for creating art, but if you're new to painting or aiming to enhance the quality of your art supplies, let's explore the options available.

Let's begin with those who are new to painting, particularly with acrylics or chalk paints. Many of us start by purchasing canvases from Michaels or Hobby Lobby, or if you're fortunate to live near an art supply store, we tend to choose smaller canvases or canvas panels that are available on sale or in bulk. This is an excellent starting point and offers great value for practice and initial sales. Online stores like https://www.jerrysartarama.com, https://www.dickblick.com, offer value-priced canvases and panels. Both offer free shipping after a certain purchase price. Jerrys is $59.00. During major sales at these online art supply stores, you can find excellent deals on bulk purchases. They often have sales simultaneously. I purchase from both Jerrys and Dick Blick, but I primarily order from Jerry's. In fact, I recently bought Golden Acrylic Paints at 41% off, so I usually buy most of my paint from them during this sale, typically at the end of the year. But I digress from the main topic.

As you become more serious about your new hobby or small business, and as your skills and sales grow, you'll likely want to upgrade the quality of some of your supplies to always deliver the best work. It's also enjoyable to explore different products. Eventually, you'll discover paint canvases or panels that you enjoy working with. Let's begin with the basics: economy stretched canvases. These are cost-effective canvases, typically made from cotton duck, with

the fabric stretched over wooden bars. They usually have a profile of about 5/8" and are meant to be framed. These canvases are generally pre-gessoed and ready for use. However, if your paint beads up on the canvas, it indicates a cheap sprayed gesso, and you'll need to let your paint dry and apply one or two coats of gesso for proper paint adherence. There are also inexpensive canvas panels where the cotton duck is stretched and attached to cardboard or hardboard. These are great for practice and selling your early artworks, though they may warp over time depending on the humidity where you live. If you prefer painting on canvas panels, consider trying acid-free C-bond Core panels, which, according to the manufacturer, will always remain flat. Jerry's Art Arama offers these as Soho Urban Artist cotton canvas all media panels, available in various sizes.

Let's proceed to one of my favorites: gallery wrap canvases. These canvases feature deeper profiles, typically ranging from about 1.5" to 2.250", providing extra depth. They are available in various sizes and do not require framing. Another favorite of mine, which I'm increasingly using, is cradled wood panels. There are several varieties, including Birchwood painting panels that are cradled, meaning they have wooden supports similar to a stretched canvas. You will need to apply several coats of

gesso to these before you begin painting.

Currently, my top choice for cradled panels is the various series of DaVinci panels. The larger sizes can be pricey, but I typically opt for sizes 11x14" and smaller. These panels are cradled and offer an ultra-smooth surface, which is excellent for portraits. I use them for my mixed media projects where I apply papers, as well as for artworks I create on watercolor paper that I then attach to the Ultra Smooth Da Vinci panel. Additionally, there are the pro medium textured gesso panel, the pro-resist grip textured gesso panel, and the professional liquid art multi-media panel.

If you're interested in trying these, Jerry's Art Arama offers a variety 4x6" bulk pack on sale for $8.99 (as long as the sale continues). I'm not affiliated with them, but you might want to check it out.

There are several other options I haven't mentioned due to lack of personal experience. These

include linen panels, which are usually gessoed for oil painting, toned canvas, encaustic board painting, and Claybord. Claybord consists of multimedia panels made from hardboard with a highly absorbent clay gesso ground, a technique dating back to the Renaissance. This surface is suitable for traditional materials, tools, and techniques, as well as mixed media and printing.

It may be time to get out and explore one of your art supplies that you haven't been paying much attention to. You may find an art painting substrate that makes your heart sing and painting a joy for you. Happy painting.

What I'm Working on

I'm running a bit behind in starting my year and still need to complete my business plan, but I'll also be concentrating on the list method mentioned earlier. I believe the weekly list will be highly beneficial for me. Like everyone, I have many goals. I want to accomplish more in less time, so I'm adjusting my studio to work on multiple smaller paintings simultaneously. This will enable me to create a series or several backgrounds at once. Another goal for this year is to paint a large piece; the biggest I've done so far is 18x24". I haven't decided what it will be yet, but it will be a new experience for me. A significant personal goal is to continue studying techniques and drawing. I often neglect drawing, so I probably need to schedule it. My final personal business goal is to paint using fewer brushstrokes. Here's to a successful business year ahead.

New on my Website

I am excited about my newly updated website and will be dedicating significant attention to it, especially as many are currently moving away from social media. I am keen to observe how

this will impact small businesses, considering the numerous changes and updates Facebook is making. As I introduce new ideas to my website, I want to inform you that I now have over a year's worth of monthly blogs, all of which remain relevant. Topics include creating a yearly business plan, color theory, and selecting the right size art for your wall. Some of my new artwork is showcased on my website, along with Posh Chalk decoupage papers and Woodubend moulds. I still have the sale on on specially selected items. The sale ends on January 31st. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. The latest painting added to my website.

Solitude

Buy Now