Insider Business Advice for Creative Entrepreneurs

Hi, y'all!  I'm excited today to be sharing the answers to questions from real followers and readers!  I asked in a recent survey what y'all would ask me if you could ask just one question about business, and these were some I received.  Today, we're focusing on business and art!  If you have a question that you'd love to ask me, please feel free to comment here and I'll add it to my list for another post!

How many hours a week do you invest in The Redheaded Camel?

This is a tough question!  I am kind of always "on" in terms of working, since a lot of what I do is on my phone.  I am not always the best at unplugging.  Since I still work full-time, I run TRC in the evenings, early in the morning, and on weekends.  A weeknight usually includes 2-3 hours of work/painting, packing, designing, answering emails.  Weekends often include at least 5-6 hours of painting, packing, photographing, and designing.  I also work during my lunch break from my "real" job, which helps a lot!  In total, I'd estimate that I spend between 40-50 hours a week in the business, and probably an extra five planning, thinking, (and worrying, if I'm honest!) about business related things.

How do you write the way you do?

Friend, it has taken years of practice!  I always say that I don't write letters, I draw them, so I think that's the first thing to note.  Overall, I don't have a super great answer to this other than that I've worked to curate a signature style that is recognizable and fun and that I literally do it every day.  Just like with sports or exercising, it's a lot of muscle memory, so I have to do it regularly!  I have full sheets of blank paper with different styles of each letter to give myself an "inventory."  There's a whole back end of work that goes into writing (or drawing) letters this way! 

How did you decide this is what you wanted to do, and how did you pitch it to get your family involved?

To be honest, this whole adventure was a happy accident!  I never set out to be a business owner.  Literally, I started an Etsy shop with a logo I made in Microsoft Word and thought I'd make a couple hundred dollars that year.  With that said, I didn't ever really pitch the whole thing to my family either... they just kind of saw that I needed help and graciously jumped in with areas they could.  My mom helps pack orders and keep things organized and my dad cuts door hangers and cap toppers and drills holes in our wood items.  It honestly was probably more of a cry for help than a pitch!  You can read more about how TRC started here. 

Would you do it all again if you had the choice?

Heck yes!  I'll be honest - there are hard days.  I don't really fit in with other people my age and I don't have a ton of free time.  I also have thousands of friends online which is SO cool and get to play with sparkles like it's a real job (because it is!).  The good so far outweighs the bad that I would absolutely do it again.  I think if I had to start all over, I would be exhausted (those were hard, long days!) but it's totally worth every second.

Thank y'all for all your questions about business ownership and creative entrepreneurship!  It is so much fun to share about my journey and I hope that my answers to questions like these give you insight and hope about your own adventure in business ownership.  If you are a business owner or aspiring creative entrepreneur, I would love to help you navigate the challenges of small business!  I truly believe that we only have to be one step ahead to help someone else, and I so wish someone had been there with answers to questions I had when I first started this adventure!  If you're interested in business mentoring, let's chat!  Shoot me an email at sarah@theredheadedcamel.com.