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Episode 228 - Saying "Yes" and Doing Things Scared
554 Plays6 months ago
Today we're chatting with artist, Stephanie Gaffney, about saying yes and doing things scared. Stephanie's boldness and jumping into her business absolutely blew me away, and as someone who is still learning to manage my fear, I really loved this conversation.
As always, links and resources can be found in the show notes. Check ’em out at https://daveyandkrista.com/saying-yes-doing-things-scared-btb228. And if you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review over at Apple Podcasts.
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
We all had to do something for the first time. We all had to sell for the first time. We all had to create, write a speech. We all had to do it for the first time and it was most likely terrible. You always have to do something for the first time and embrace the falter.
00:00:18
Speaker
You're listening to The Brands That Book Show, a podcast for creative entrepreneurs who want practical tips and strategies to build engaging brands and craft high converting websites. We're your hosts, Davey and Krista, co-founders of a brand and website design agency specializing in visual brand design and show it websites. You're listening to The Brands That Book Show.
Meet Stephanie Gaffney
00:00:40
Speaker
In today's episode, I'm chatting with artist Stephanie Gaffney about saying yes and doing things scared. Stephanie, the artist behind the Torregosa brand, is a fine artist based in New Orleans, Louisiana, whose specialist is in live wedding painting and portraiture. Stephanie is a wife and a mother of three who travels around the globe to perform and paint onsite at weddings. She also offers a membership and online education for other live wedding artists through one-on-one coaching and her course, The Wedding Painters Blueprint.
00:01:09
Speaker
Stephanie's boldness at jumping into her business absolutely blew me away. And as someone who is still learning to manage my fear, I really loved this conversation. I'm excited for you guys to listen. And so now on to the episode.
00:01:23
Speaker
Stuffy, I am so excited to have you joining me on the podcast today. You and I had a conversation a few weeks ago for your mastermind group, and I really enjoyed talking with you. And so I'm excited to share your knowledge and your expertise in art and business with everybody who listens to our podcast today. That's so exciting. I love your podcast and the information that you're so generous in giving your listeners
00:01:51
Speaker
And then also the charisma like between you and Davey. It's what made me follow the podcast so many years ago. So what an honor to be here. Thank you.
00:02:00
Speaker
Yeah, thank you. So I would love for you to kind of lead with your story. So you are a, I've introduced you off camera too, but you're a fine art wedding painter, right? And that's how you would describe it. And you also now teach other artists to run their business. But how did you even get started in painting live paintings at weddings? Because I feel like that's a kind of unique thing and it hasn't been around forever.
00:02:24
Speaker
So I've always been an artist, like from an early age, it's something, you know, little kids, you could tell when somebody is able to draw something and it, and it looks like the butterfly or whatever. So, you know, I've been an artist my entire life. I would like doodle and trace and copy and like create things from my mind and like my whole childhood.
Breaking Artist Stereotypes
00:02:46
Speaker
So I started out drawing because that was a little bit more.
00:02:49
Speaker
controlling, you know, drawing with a pencil, it was one color, you could face it, you had, you know, it was a little bit more of a controlled substance. And then in high school, I kind of started exploring with like acrylic paint,
00:03:03
Speaker
And then in college, I started playing around with oils professionally. I'm an artist. I sell my artwork. But in terms of being formally trained, I'm not really. So I took one. I was a graphic design major. I know you were, too. And I was encouraged down that road by people that I looked up to, my parents, advisors, who were really just trying to think more logically. As a kid, I wasn't like, oh, I'm going to be a painter. I'm going to be an artist.
00:03:33
Speaker
I just did, I just drew, I just painted, and then got a degree in something that was applicable, you know? Yeah. I feel like there's such a common misconception that, especially with my parents, probably your parents and older generations, that I'm the starving artist. And it's so hard for people to imagine that somebody could make a living and a good living selling their art. Yeah, because it's hard to imagine
00:04:02
Speaker
It's a little bit easier these days thanks to Instagram, thanks to social explosion of accounts. It's like people make their entire living on the exposure they've gotten online. Back in the day, back when you and I were in college, but also when our parents were in the world, when they were working, the concept of
00:04:24
Speaker
making a living, earning a paycheck, just by creating paintings or creating drawings, unless you were an architect, what were your options? And these days you absolutely have more opportunity all over the world. You know, there's influencers and creators. And so, you know, it's not their fault. It was just, you know, what was it 15 years
Discovery of Live Painting
00:04:44
Speaker
ago or whatever? That was just the time. And they meant well.
00:04:48
Speaker
And I learned a lot getting my degree. Did you? I mean, yeah, I still use it every day. Yeah. And I find ways to use it. You know, I'm helping people kind of figure out their branding and logos and websites and, you know, and I've been able to.
00:05:05
Speaker
create all of my design elements and promotional stuff for my website and my business. So it's coming handy for me personally, but it was a really good tool to have when I quit my job. So there's many ways that you can quit your job and I did it like cold turkey. And so I had this skill set and I was like, okay, well I wanted to paint and I'll tell my story a little bit, but
00:05:28
Speaker
For the first year or two, I was taking graphic design clients. I was doing logo rebranding. So this is like just out of college or this is like when you quit your other job? So out of college, in a nutshell, I got a degree in graphic design. I got a job working at an ad agency, so I was in charge of the visuals. Okay.
00:05:48
Speaker
logo redesigns for our clients, website designs. I kind of started piddling in developing, web developing, so that I could understand better. It was just like the opposite of an artist. It's like more of an engineer brain. It was, yeah. It was very fun, but basically I'm very extroverted and very talkative and I'm very much a people person. My boss was like,
00:06:13
Speaker
How can I harness this personality? So he put me in a networking group and he said, you know, we'll give you a commission for every client that you bring in. And I was 22 at the time and I was like, extra cash? Heck yeah, I'll do that. And so I joined a networking group and then very quickly
00:06:32
Speaker
became very invested in my client's journeys. Before long, I was not wanting to be behind the computer. I was not wanting to be that single cog in the wheel. I was checking on the other department saying, hey, how's the copy going? They're waiting on it because I was thinking of my client's experience.
00:06:56
Speaker
Then before long, I was clashing with my boss and I was like, man, this business, I'm not a business major, I'm not a market major, but it clicked. The simplicity of business, you have your own skill set and you find people who you can serve. You can make their life better, you can solve their problems, you raise up
00:07:18
Speaker
the person that you're serving if you just do a good job. And then they're happy to pay you. And they'll pay you. And refer you. And refer you. And it's just this cyclical thing. And so it clicked. And once it clicked, I never wanted to run a business. I didn't even want a career. My mom homeschooled me and my family. And so I have a very good relationship with my mom. And I admire her. And so my whole mindset when I was in college was, I'm going to be a mother.
00:07:46
Speaker
you know, whether I homeschool or not, I'm going to, I'm going to be a mother. I'm going to take care of the house. I don't want a career. I wasn't career driven. I wasn't driven by money. I was just like that. That seemed like a beautiful vocation, a beautiful thing for a woman to do. And then within a year and a half, I felt this, something clicked inside of me and I felt it, the desire to do my own thing. It drowned out.
00:08:13
Speaker
any fear that I had that I couldn't provide for myself, you know? And was it just you at this point? Like were you on your own, like living alone?
Starting from Scratch
00:08:23
Speaker
So yeah, tell me a little bit more about that because that's a huge leap. And I think that so many creatives, especially if they're in that spot where they are working full time, but they want to do something else, like it's hard to make that jump. So did you have like a safety net at all? Or was it really just like you like charging forward?
00:08:42
Speaker
Great question. It was me charging forward. I had a little bit of money in the account, in my bank account, like maybe three or $400. Oh, wow. Okay. Like a little bit, but I didn't have a safety net. And at first when I quit, I was thinking, you know, the, I love the company I worked for. I love the people I worked with and they said, well, could you, cause I quit. I said, I'm,
00:09:07
Speaker
sorry, I love doing this, but I really have to do this thing. I have to do this thing for myself. And they said, Oh, well, could you take one off clients? Could you projects like we could still use your help. And so I quit with the idea of, okay, well, I'll still have a little bit of work, a little bit of income, even if it's part time. And then when my last day, they had hired somebody. And so they said, we wish you the best of luck. We don't need you. Oh my goodness.
00:09:35
Speaker
safety net ripped open. Like you had to make it work or like you could not eat. Yep. I had rent. I was in an apartment. At the time I was living by myself with my dog, but I did get a roommate to help with the burden of rent. But at the time I was like, wow, okay, I need to make at least
00:09:55
Speaker
what was it? $900 for rent plus plus plus, you know, plus utilities plus meals. I had to pay for dog food. And then whenever I was, I was budgeting, I switched my dog's dog food. I said, if I'm suffering your stuff, we're going to struggle through this together. But the desire to really succeed in, in this goal, this, I was like, you know, I had a good relationship with my parents. I think I was fortunate. I am fortunate with that. So also,
00:10:25
Speaker
part of the support, I guess, the validation that, you know, you could try this. Like if you do it, great, you've made it. But if you can't pay rent and like you have to move back home and get another job, like I was, I was of the mind of, eh, if it doesn't work out, I'll just get a new job. You know, so it was, it was like this, there was a fear. There was a concern to pay the bills, but I looked at it like, I got 30 days, man. I got 30 days, each day is 24 hours.
00:10:55
Speaker
I can go knock on doors. I can paint pet portraits. I did a lot of pet portraits. It started. And so that's another reason why I think success found me a little bit sooner was that from the gate, I was of the mind of how can I make people happy? How can I use my paintings to make people happy?
00:11:12
Speaker
that was like my general mission and i did custom painting so like what's important to you you know do you have a dog like let me paint your dog so you left your job you're out on your own and you start reaching out to people to see if you can paint portraits is that like how everything evolved yeah it started with what do you want and i'll pay for you
00:11:34
Speaker
very broad, and then I was promoting that kind of thing. Like, I can paint whatever you want. And then a friend of mine was engaged and said, I want you to paint at my wedding. Like, I want you to paint, but I want you to paint at the wedding. And was that like a thing yet? Or is this like a new kind of like concept? I hadn't heard of it. I hadn't heard of it. This was 2015. I was like, let me see.
00:12:01
Speaker
Let me do the research and so I googled like live painting, painting at weddings and things like that, like random uneducated search words. And I saw a couple of people. There was a girl in New York, there was a girl in California, like five websites popped up and I did some research. I looked at their work and I looked at their pricing and I looked at what on earth they did. And I reached out to my friend and I was like, okay,
00:12:28
Speaker
I'll do it, but if it doesn't work out, if it isn't what you're expecting, then just be okay that I would redo it in the studio because I definitely feel confident being able to do stuff in the studio. I was so allured by the wedding industry in general at that time. It's like, wow, I did research on florists, I did research on cakes, how the prices of everything was really inflated.
00:12:56
Speaker
just because it's the wedding industry and it's bigger and better and more important. And so then I was like, oh, okay, well, here's an idea for a job that I can earn more doing. And so I booked her, which means she sent me a check and I blocked off the date for her wedding the next year. And then I immediately used my graphic design skills to create a little banner, a little brochure.
00:13:22
Speaker
And I said, now offering live wedding painting services. Like I hadn't done one yet. And I started promoting, hey, hire me for your wedding. Yeah, I could paint you a wedding. And I had to do a lot of educating. People had the same questions that I did.
Embracing New Experiences
00:13:37
Speaker
Like, what is this? And so I was like, oh, it's this really cool thing where there's a new team. And there's this beautiful keeps. I was able to practice about it.
00:13:49
Speaker
one of the hang ups, one of the fears people have is not only doing the thing for the first time, but how do you even talk about it? How do you even promote it? Like I certainly feel especially if you didn't have any examples of this type of work. Yeah. Like have you been doing portraits for a while or were portraits even new? Did you go from like dogs to weddings or was there like a few years of transition in there? There was maybe one or two paintings of people. Like for example, one of my uncles used to be an Elvis impersonator.
00:14:19
Speaker
and pull a little story. And so his wife had commissioned me to paint a picture of Elvis. And so this picture of Elvis that I had painted was in my portfolio. Like, look how cool this portrait came out. It just kind of showed my abilities. And so I teach other artists how to do live wedding paintings now. And one of the things that a lot of them haven't done one, you know? And so I think back and I'm like, just show what you have.
00:14:47
Speaker
Just give it what your painting style is and what you can do, even if it's just pet portraits. If you have only done sketches, try some paintings if you want to get into it and just kind of show what you can do, whatever. So the first three people that hired me before I had done one, so I booked my
00:15:04
Speaker
And then I proceeded to book two more people based on trust. And I guess my incredible charisma and selling because I sold them on this idea and you know, it's going to be great. Your guests are going to look, I really, you know, amped up the excitement. Could you have like recreated other friends wedding photos like to build up your portfolio for that? Yeah. So that's a great opportunity to build a portfolio and then also to kind of simulate the
00:15:34
Speaker
the live painting environment. I tell artists all the time, if you haven't done one and you don't know how fast you would be or you don't know what it would look like, stand up, clear everything, blare some music, and paint for four hours without stopping in your house.
00:15:48
Speaker
Like that's a great way to kind of simulate because you're creating a painting, but there is a very high pressure kind of heartbeat that happens whenever you're painting live. And you kind of have to simulate that a little bit, but yeah, create a portfolio from, and I'll tell people it's better if you can use a friend's photos. It's even better if you can use a photographer's photo.
00:16:10
Speaker
and collaborate with the photographer. But at the bare minimum, pull a picture off of Google or Pinterest, something beautiful and create it and build a portfolio and create content. If you're nervous because you don't know how to sell it or you've never done one, you don't have anything to show, answer those questions for yourself and give yourself the opportunity to have something to show. A lot of people feel nerves or fear because they've never done something.
00:16:39
Speaker
You do have some things in your control. You may not be able to book a wedding, but you can create a wedding painting. Yeah, and that is true regardless of whether you want to be a live wedding painter or a photographer. I decided to be a photographer. I just started shooting all of my friends, and I was like, I have never taken pictures, but can I just take photos of you and just start getting out there and build up that work?
00:17:03
Speaker
And like the same is true for somebody who wants to be a designer, like you could design like mock ups of like fake brands that don't exist or like redo a big major brand. So I think that also gives you that practice and probably helps you overcome the fear like you mentioned. Absolutely. And you know, and this never ends. So when you're first getting started, there's a lot of unknowns, there's a lot of imposter syndrome and, you know,
00:17:27
Speaker
do all of this definitely, but even if you get to a point in your career where you want to do something that you've never done before. So for example, I paint with acrylics when I'm painting live. They're easier to travel. I've been doing it for nine years now. They're faster to dry, right? So you're not smudging them. Yeah, they're faster to dry. You can layer. There's a little more forgiveness, like oils stay wet. But I use oils in the studio because I love working with them. They're very buttery.
00:17:54
Speaker
They blend well, it's just, I enjoy the process better. And so one thing that I'm trying to do now is paint with oils when I'm doing live painting. Now, because I don't, because I want to be transparent with my clients, I'm not just going to switch and not tell them. And I want them to know that this painting is done in acrylics. This painting is done in oils. There's a little bit of a difference, but truly, you know, it's all the same and it's wonderful, whatever. But I'm asking people, I'm offering to upgrade.
00:18:24
Speaker
I'm taking control over what I have control over. There's that saying, and I wanted to mention it, and I don't want to... I don't want to paraphrase, but we all know that little prayer. You know what it is. God grant me the grace to accept the things
00:18:43
Speaker
I cannot change. Yeah, which is from Alcoholics Anonymous. That is that prayer because you really do have to goodness and I wrote it down and it's in here. And it's so important. You know, there's some things that you have control over and there's some things that you don't have control over. It's called the serenity prayer. Can you read it? You pulled it up.
00:19:06
Speaker
Oh, God, Grant, does this threading need to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change, what can be changed, and the wisdom to know one from the other?
Overcoming Entrepreneurial Fears
00:19:13
Speaker
Absolutely. Yes, it is. So take what you have control over. I don't have pieces in my portfolio. So change that. I'm scared to talk about my services. So talk about your services. I'm scared to try this new medium. So try the new medium. There's some things in terms of feeling fear.
00:19:33
Speaker
in terms of saying yes and doing things scared like even if you're scared even if you're nervous and it's there's a so many unknowns like summoning the courage to say yeah i could do that yeah i could do that sure i'll do that and then pursuing learning how to do it and getting confident you know like gain confidence is gained sometimes we're given the opportunity
00:19:55
Speaker
Sometimes we have to create the opportunity to create and practice and build confidence. We all are up and walking around the world, right? But at a certain point we weren't walking. And so we get up and walk without thinking because we're pros at it. But when you're learning how to walk, you fall a lot. There's so much to figure it out. It takes so much focus. Riding a bike is the same thing. Read all the things, you know? So if there's something that you want to do, like in terms of running a business or being a working creative,
00:20:25
Speaker
if you're scared, if there's an unknown, we all, all of the best musicians, all of the best artists, the president, we all had to do something for the first time. We all had to sell for the first time. We all had to create, write a speech. We all had to do it for the first time and it was most likely terrible. You always have to do something for the first time and embrace
00:20:51
Speaker
the falter. Embrace the nose, the opportunities that you have where people decline. They decline to purchase. They don't hire you. They don't get back to you. All of these are notches in a post. You're growing. You're growing the whole time. It gives you the courage to say, well, I've done that before. I've talked about it before. It's just great.
00:21:15
Speaker
Okay, I am so impressed because I feel like you had this like courage from the beginning and I was the total opposite with you as far as starting my business. I worked my other corporate job for I think like three years and I wanted to save up six months of income and I think I was a wedding photographer that time and doing design as well and like I want to have a whole year's worth of weddings booked so that I have like the biggest safety net and I don't have to have any like risk
00:21:41
Speaker
And I feel like it's only been really recently that I've started to like not feel those fears and like realize that somebody saying no is not personal and then it's not the worst thing in the world and like even recently so I'm teaching a master class next week about how to start selling templates.
00:21:59
Speaker
And I had to go back and look at my first template shop and my first designs and like, Oh my gosh, these are awful. And it felt so scary to put them out in the world, but like I had to get started and I wouldn't be where I am now if I hadn't just started. And then same as with you, like, how did you feel showing up to your first wedding? Like, did you feel like, yes, I've got this or was it like a nerve wrecking? Terrifying.
00:22:20
Speaker
It was terrifying in a sense of I didn't have any idea I could not have prepared for what happened in the wedding, the lighting shifted. So I wasn't prepared. I just didn't know, you know, you got to do one you got to do a wedding like photograph a wedding to be like, I need an outline. I need to know where but I need a second shooter like I can't. And so you just
00:22:41
Speaker
do the best you can while you're there, and you just keep this like, I got it. It's all a control, even though you're freaking out on the inside. There's panic, there's, oh, yeah, it was terrifying, but I did something. So my goal, so also setting expectations. So I'm very much set a high expectation.
00:23:00
Speaker
And then understand that it's set the goal high, but understand that you do what you can do. So my goal was to have all these people in there and then all this detail. But really, I just wanted the whole canvas to be covered with paint. Okay. Like by the end of the day? By the end of the night. Yeah. Okay.
00:23:21
Speaker
I set an expectation that it was like, no matter what happens, you know, do your best, do something, like plan to do something big. Because if you're always kind of hanging on to, I can always take it back, then you get a little lazy with it. And so really set a goal for yourself, but then also know in your heart that worst case, I could just bring it home. Like worst case, I could start over. Worst case, it's, you know, as long as I show like this positive, this is so much fun. Isn't this beautiful? You don't like how you look. No big deal.
00:23:50
Speaker
It's very reassuring and that's part of the entertainment factor of live painting. You're doing a vulnerable task of creating the painting in front of all these people who you don't know. You're performing, which means you're trying to entertain. You're trying to impress them in a way.
00:24:08
Speaker
That's an incredible pressure on itself, even if you were just standing there. When you enter a room and you try to be liked, that's one thing, but when you're creating a painting, that process is very vulnerable because the painting goes through an ugly stage. Every painting goes through an ugly stage and you're being watched while you work through the kinks and smooth things out and get it right. You're messing up the bride's face.
00:24:30
Speaker
That's incredibly anxiety. They're like standing there watching you. I can't even imagine. The first couple of times I did that, it was really hard to do both. It was really hard to focus on what I was doing and kind of fade out the crowd behind me, but also be present. The first couple of weddings I did, I turned and was engaging with the guests and time just ran out. And so I was like, Oh, okay.
00:24:56
Speaker
learn that lesson. I need to figure out a way. So like now, and I tell people to do this when you're painting, if somebody comes up to talk to you because I'm a talker and I'm a people pleaser, I want to, I want to engage openly, but you keep your body closed. You keep your arm up on the canvas and you talk over your shoulder a little bit, but you kind of send a physical sign, you know, Hey, I'm doing this. Like I'll answer, I'll engage, but the conversation is limited to,
00:25:22
Speaker
pleasantries and stuff like that. And it helps you stay focused on what you're doing. And there's plenty of tricks that I picked up, but you mentioned your journey of transitioning to entrepreneurship came with much more preparedness. And that's a good thing. I don't recommend, you know, especially if you have a family to provide for, especially if you're, you know, further along in your adult life and you've got responsibilities, like I don't recommend just
00:25:49
Speaker
increasing the risk for you, increasing your, you know, like definitely protect yourself and definitely set up a nest egg and have bookings and do it part time if you can. And then understand, like set like a goal for when you'll quit and go full time. And for every person that's different. In my case, I was 23 years old. I was 23. I had rent and my dog. That was my responsibility. And so with that considered, but also my personality style, I'm,
00:26:19
Speaker
It sounds weird to say this, but I tend to be a lazy person. I tend to procrastinate and I tend to do when I have to. I need an accountability partner with everything because if I hold myself accountable, then it's just like dragging my heels just personally. I'm not perfect. When I quit and I had a little bit of money in my account,
00:26:40
Speaker
It was up to me. There was nobody writing my check. You know, when you have a job, you get a paycheck and you know, your hours kind of determine that and whatever. But somebody like there's, that's almost guaranteed when you have a job guaranteed until you lose your job. But yeah, unless you're not doing your job or you're out for a week and it's sick or whatever. Anyway, but when you're an entrepreneur, every penny, every penny you bring in, you know, the exchange of labor for money,
00:27:08
Speaker
It's like it vibrates. It's so apparent to you. And so you want, so you just hustle. So my lifestyle changed. You know, I was 23. I stopped hanging out with my friends that I had in college and a little bit afterward, not because I didn't like to, but because my desire to work, the hunger to create work, to sell, to hustle, you know, like that took over my desire to play. And over my life, you know, your life changes. You have to be ready for that. But the people I hang out with,
00:27:38
Speaker
very different types of people just because entrepreneurship, it is a lifestyle. It is as different from the regular person as like, if you drink and if you don't drink, you know, it's just that you live a different lifestyle and it's fulfilling
Realities of Entrepreneurship
00:27:52
Speaker
for those. Like I never felt like it was a huge sacrifice. I missed my friends, but I wanted to stay up and paint and put on, you know, law and order. I just wanted to create and do this thing that I, all of a sudden,
00:28:04
Speaker
found this incredible passion for. And every time you sell something, every time you get a commission, girl, it is so incredible. It's so fulfilling. It makes you want to work harder and harder, you know? Yeah. Do you feel like you, you started this business and it was just like a pill climb or do you ever still struggle with like self doubt or ever feel like, wow, like, I don't know if I can do this. Like I should go back to the other job or get another job. Cause I hear that like a decent amount from people too.
00:28:32
Speaker
The things outside of your control, the economy, that just makes it hard for everybody because that's out of your control. But the things that are in your control, like when I show up to a wedding, when I'm in a conversation with somebody who's interested in hiring me, how do I respond? The decisions I make moving forward really do inform my success in the matter. Every time you do something,
00:28:55
Speaker
Like anytime you ask for something, so asking for a job, asking for an interview on a podcast, asking for to be published in a magazine, asking for whatever, anything that you want and strive for. There's that fear that you won't get it. The fear of denial, the loss of income. Like it never really goes away. However, you know, it's just like walking like.
00:29:16
Speaker
you feel confident you can get from here to there because you've done it before. So when, you know, if you can look at the data and I'm not like a data person, but I really enjoy being a success driven artist. I guess I look at what's happened in the past and I look at evidence that I can succeed. So you get a commission, you do the job, they're happy. They tell their friends. That's a great, you know, pursuing, getting good reviews, pursuing, Hey, ask your friends, tell your friends, whatever.
00:29:42
Speaker
offering discounts, but for a reason, around Veterans Day, offer a discount for veterans or something like that. You look at the data and that will help. Now, if the data is showing you that nobody's booking you, it doesn't mean that you're not good enough. It just means that maybe you should shift, maybe
00:29:59
Speaker
You know, look at the market. Look at what people are asking for. Are you charging too much for where you are in your career? Or maybe you're offering pastel drawings for weddings, but people really want the paintings. You know, can you change your offerings to work for both of you? You know, like you, there's some things it's, it's a constant uphill battle, but evidence and your confidence level, it kind of like tempers that.
00:30:23
Speaker
And there was evidence, you know, like my very first, I was scraping by, I barely paid my bills, but I paid my bills. And that was like, yeah, I did it. I did it one more month. And then within like nine months.
00:30:35
Speaker
I did all these paintings that didn't sell right away. And then I signed up for an art show, like I was doing original paintings and selling them at art festivals. And it was because I'm an artist, you know, I didn't always just do commissions. You do have to do it. You have to be a yes, mate. And you have to say yes to everything. We started to get some traction to figure out what you like and, you know, build consistency. I used to bother me so much that I would look at other artists and consistency in their portfolio was so evident.
00:31:03
Speaker
It was so beautiful and I didn't see consistency in mine, but that's part of the process of you have to develop consistency by doing over a period of time. It's normal. That's normal. I did that first show and I sold a lot of stuff and I made a profit. I made a couple thousand dollars. It was the most money I had ever seen in one time. When you're a kid,
00:31:27
Speaker
like a pot of money feels unattainable, you know, and that was so motivating. And then immediately after that season, that festival was the Christmas season and I was promoting commissions. You know, are you looking for a gift for your mom? Does she have a dog? She would love a pet portrait, you know, like getting that emotional hook. I did a whole bunch of commissions. I did. I mean, in January, I think I had like $10,000 in my account.
00:31:55
Speaker
I cried. Krista, I cried. It was, first of all, more money than I ever thought possible. Second of all, I was on this trajectory to earn more than I was at my job. It was incredibly fulfilling to give these paintings and see what my mission was to make people happy. I was hitting it. I was hitting it. And I worked so hard.
00:32:15
Speaker
I mean, in order to do all those commissions, I didn't have a life from October to Christmas. I was delivering paintings on Christmas Eve. I worked so hard those first few years. Now that I'm a mother and I have children and I'm doing education and I'm traveling for weddings, I really try to ... I don't have to do commissions anymore if I don't want to. I do sometimes.
00:32:37
Speaker
You know, life, it's like this train. Imagine like a locomotive and it is parked. It's my favorite analogy. When you start your business, it takes so much energy to just get it going.
00:32:49
Speaker
But once you get going with consistent feeding that fire, it's easier. You know, like you're moving forward, like you're gaining traction. And then if at any point you stop, that's also the scary thing.
Building a Sustainable Business
00:33:02
Speaker
If at any point you stop, you stop trying, you stop posting, you stop taking it seriously, that locomotive will slow down and it really does take a lot more effort, like a lot of effort to get it going again.
00:33:13
Speaker
the effort the energy the sleepless nights the sacrifices you know the social sacrifices the lifestyle changes it is so much work but it is so possible.
00:33:23
Speaker
In my opinion, when you put like service first, you know, artists who sell their work, it takes a long time for them to, unless they go viral on Instagram, thank goodness for Instagram, making it easier for us artists out there. But you know, if you're a photographer and you're shooting your own work and you're showing your own work, it really does, you know, the people you're trying to connect with to purchase your work. It's just a smaller pool that if you were to shoot families, everybody's got a family, your client base is huge.
00:33:49
Speaker
So you don't have to consider that when you're running a business like what a people i have a few questions to ask yourself is there a desire for my services or products i had a little proof with the commission's request that i got in college when i was in college. I was painting for funds ease and somebody would say my dad loves to fish can you pay this fish i'll pay you.
00:34:09
Speaker
And I was like, I mean, yeah. And then I would paint something and then they'd love it. And then they'd paint, like, give me like $100 or $200. It wasn't outrageous, but it was like, put that in my pocket. I don't have to eat Taco Bell this week. I can't, I can't, you know, like it was just a little supplemental things. But anytime somebody said, you should paint full time, I was thinking, I mean, who's going to buy my work? Like you did, thank you. But I was so small thinking, you know, I wasn't, that fire had not been lit just yet. And it,
00:34:40
Speaker
When you have that desire, it is as obvious as like a smell in the air. It is so potent. It is so tangible that you can't ignore it and you almost have to do it. Nobody feels like pushed into a corner to be an entrepreneur necessarily. I hope that you don't. It's a passion-driven career. Whatever you sell, whatever product, whatever service, you have to want it. So is there a desire for your services?
00:35:09
Speaker
In Louisiana, I wouldn't necessarily do desert paintings. People want to be reminded of the things they love and their surroundings, the people that they love. If you're thinking, I want to start a business, I want to sell my work, is there a desire? Are other people and other companies doing well selling these things? Do you have competition?
00:35:31
Speaker
instead of saying, well, they do it, so I don't need to do it. We'll look at the desire that their clients and their customers have for their work, them as the competitor, the person you're trying to.
00:35:41
Speaker
do the same thing. If they're doing well, that means there's a desire. That means that there's a market for that. I had friends in college who were painting. They were in painting or fine art majors who were starting to gain traction in selling their work. And I also saw artists marketing their live painting skills. People were loving it enough. People were loving the wedding paintings and the commissions to pay big bucks. So, you know, there's different routes you can go. Am I really passionate about doing this? And am I committed to continuing to learn and get better and develop?
00:36:11
Speaker
I'm not good at photography. I have never felt driven to be a wedding photographer. I'm not passionate about it. I love to paint. I love to draw and I love people. So those passions kind of collide with custom painting services. Am I actually good? So this is the hardest question that you need to ask yourself. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it.
00:36:34
Speaker
if you're not good enough now, because you will develop. But I don't necessarily have an eye for photography. I took a photography class in college. I could see my work along. I missed the composition. I just missed it. That's not me. And so if I were to start pursuing, it would take me a lot of practice and a lot of desire to get better. Am I a good drawer?
00:36:57
Speaker
Do I want to draw realism or do I want to draw? And that's like probably such like a hard question to answer too, because so many people don't have an accurate view of their work and their talent. And it's not like, like, if you go ask your mom, like, am I a good photographer? Like, of course she's going to say yes. And like, if you ask your friends, like they're probably also going to say yes, because like, they don't want to like hurt your feelings. So I think you really have to like think hard about that one.
00:37:23
Speaker
And then get verbal affirmation from other people, like put it on Facebook, see what people say, put it on Instagram, see what clicks with people. If you're like anime or cartoon or character drawings or illustrations click, like resonate with people and they actually make you happier than doing like realism, like portraiture, do the thing that you're better at, you know, like, and then do portraiture for fun. But this is like, find your sweet spot, put your sweet spot in the world of creating and being a creative person.
00:37:51
Speaker
At what quantity, so like you're starting a business and you're like, what on earth do I do? How much, you know, in terms of like quantity, how many you do, are you going to do a lot of something or are you going to sell a lot of designed cups? Or are you going to do custom oil portraiture and you're going to do like one a month and it's going to be a thousand dollars, you know, like at what quantity or what level do you have to sell your work in order to make a living?
00:38:14
Speaker
So, you know, if you want to make jewelry, you kind of have to pursue festivals and I kind of have to do quantity because you can't charge an outrageous amount for earrings and things like that. And, you know, hire people and, you know, grow that way, but understand that you can't just make a living selling set of earrings per weekend or whatever. Whereas larger paintings or like photography, if, you know, like, can you make a living just doing newborn or family photos or is that supplemental?
00:38:43
Speaker
to the weddings or corporate jobs or whatever, commercial projects, things like that. You have control over that. Educate yourself on answering these questions. If you can honestly answer all of these questions in a positive way, then I believe that you can start that business. Everybody takes a different path to entrepreneurship. I happen to quit my nine to five cold turkey and let hunger and literally desperation just motivate me to work nonstop.
00:39:10
Speaker
that isn't necessarily the most responsible route to take. And so think about, you know, Christo would think about what would make it work for you, what comfort level you have to reach to like quit. So it's scary for everyone, but you know, it's possible. Yeah.
Teaching the Next Generation
00:39:26
Speaker
I loved this conversation. I feel like you are so inspiring and so I just feel in awe of that charisma that you have to just go forward and keep conquering fears in all these aspects of your business. So I hope that this podcast episode is so helpful for so many people today. Me too. It's very exciting. I tend to think of things much more positively and you could do it. You could do it. Take control over certain things and be humble and
00:39:55
Speaker
continue to learn. And I mean, yeah, you could do it. Yeah. So okay, if somebody wants to learn more about you and see your artwork, or maybe they're an artist who wants to learn how to do some of the business type aspects that you teach, where can they find you? Thank you. So my name is Stephanie Gaffney.
00:40:13
Speaker
But my business, the umbrella is Tora Grosa Fine Art. Tora Grosa is my maiden name. And you know, it's not just a made up word, but it's a cool word. So I like to tell people, you know, when I'm dead and gone, it'll be a household name. So Tora Grosa Fine Art. And we could include a link to it in the show notes. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. And then so I do live wedding painting. That's my main thing. And I do commissions. And now I teach other artists how to be live wedding painters because
00:40:39
Speaker
Ever since two thousand twenty a couple people went viral and now artists around the world are trying to give this a go and i've been doing this for almost a decade and i've got a lot of tricks and i've got a lot of advice and i created this online courses online world where we can expedite the process of you.
00:40:57
Speaker
killing it at weddings, you serving your clients to the best of your ability with like ironclad contracts, very professional communication strategies. And then like actually painting people in a way that's, you know, technically sound technically correct, proportionate, yeah, interesting compositions and staying true to, you know, like we go through the whole, the whole world of live painting and how to help you find success. And that course is called the wedding painters blueprint. And it can be found on my website tour, gross of fine
00:41:27
Speaker
and my Instagram is Torgris Fine Art. I'm active on Instagram. You can follow the wedding pictures blueprint on Instagram as well. Yeah, I'm everywhere. And we'll make sure that we include links to all of those things because I'm sure that you're such a good teacher to everyone who joins that course. So
00:41:44
Speaker
Yeah, thank you so much for joining me today, Stephanie. Thank you, Krista. This was so much fun. Thank you for letting me talk about painting and art and business and what an honor. I hope that your audience enjoys this episode. Yeah, I'm sure that they will. Thank you again. You're welcome. Have a good one.
00:42:01
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to the Brands of Book Show. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, and sharing this episode with others. For show notes and other resources, head on over to davianchrista.com.