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Episode 212 - Do these things to bring your business full time
824 Plays1 year ago
This week's episode features artist, Caleb Curtisi, of Curtisi Co. Caleb is a woodworker and I met Caleb earlier this year in Arizona, while visiting some friends out at Showit HQ. It was fascinating learning about his business. While he spent years working on his craft, he's only taken his business full time, this past year. From the outside looking in, it seems like he's avoided many pitfalls that many new business owners fall into.
As always, links and resources can be found in the show notes. Check 'em out at https://daveyandkrista.com/bring-business-full-time-btb212/. And if you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review over at Apple Podcasts.
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Transcript
Introduction and Caleb's Woodworking Journey
00:00:00
Speaker
So a lot of it has been trial and error. And the other thing is I have not been woodworking that long. Like I started in 2020. And so I'm still learning techniques as I go. And I think something's gonna take me X and it takes me five X. And it's like, oh, that was not a good price for that. And so it definitely is trial and error. And I learned by the end of the project, I should have charged more or less for this.
00:00:28
Speaker
You're listening to the Brands That Book Show, a podcast for creative entrepreneurs who want practical tips and strategies for building engaging brands, crafting high converting websites, and creating reliable lead generation systems for their businesses. I'm your host, Davy Jones, co-founder of two agencies, a brand and website design agency, Davy & Krista, and the digital advertising agency, Till Agency. And I ask questions so you can find answers.
00:00:58
Speaker
This week's episode features artist, Caleb Cortisi of CortisiCo. Caleb's a woodworker and I met Caleb earlier this year in Arizona while visiting some friends out at Show It headquarters. And it was fascinating learning about his business. While he spent years working on his craft, he's only taken his business full time this past year. And from the outside looking in,
00:01:19
Speaker
it seems like he's avoided so many pitfalls that many new business owners fall into. So I wanted to ask him more about things like how he took his business full time, where he found his first few clients and how he continues to regularly find clients, how he developed his pricing strategy. I think this is really interesting. Caleb's work is not cheap. So I wanted to find out how he had the confidence to price himself at a luxury level right out of the gate. I think pricing in particular is something that so many creative people struggle with.
00:01:48
Speaker
when they get started. So it's interesting to hear about how Caleb approached it. And it doesn't really matter what industry you're in. If you're looking to take your business full time, then there are all sorts of lessons that can be learned from Caleb's experience. I think he has really dialed in focusing on those areas of business that produce results. And if you run a business, you know that there are so many different areas where you could give attention, figuring out what areas actually move the needle. Super important, especially early on.
00:02:18
Speaker
As always, links and resources can be found in the show notes. Check them out at davianchrista.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review over at Apple Podcasts.
From Pastoring to Crafting
00:02:28
Speaker
Now, onto the episode. Well, Caleb, I'm thrilled to be here, all right?
00:02:33
Speaker
And we have a special episode because if you're listening to this, you don't know this, but we're at the Show It office right now. And it is a treat to be here. It is, yeah. It's an amazing office. Shout out to Jefferson for getting us set up in their webinar room. But you can watch this on YouTube. So if you want to see what that looks like, if you want to see Caleb, join us over on YouTube. But I got the chance to meet Caleb a few weeks ago at this point. It feels longer.
00:02:58
Speaker
Yeah, feels much longer. Yeah, right. And so it's the last time I was out in Arizona. And, you know, we played some pitbull together, hit it off, started following you on Instagram. And I knew of your company. And I'm going to share this in the show notes.
00:03:11
Speaker
But if you get a chance, go to the show notes, watch the reel of them bringing this conference table in to the show at office. And it's a conference table that Caleb built. All right. So I'd seen that, you know, way in advance. I'd heard of you from Todd. So I'm excited about the opportunity to chat with you. But I, when we got home, Krista was with me for that trip. And when we got home, you know, she'd see my Instagram. She'd be like, who are you DMing right now?
00:03:35
Speaker
And like every time I'd be like, Oh, Caleb, you know, I'm like, it's like my new best friend. And she, she goes, does he know that? I was like, he doesn't matter. So anyways, excited chat. Definitely the first woodworker that I've ever interviewed. And I'm really excited to chat about how you started your business. I'm really excited to chat about pricing in particular, because I think there's just so many pricing mistakes that people make as they start their business.
00:04:03
Speaker
And I feel like you've avoided them, you know, for the most part. I'm sure maybe from your perspective, you're like, I'd like to think I have. There's definitely times I haven't, but for the most part, I think I've done all right. Yeah. Well, I'll stop talking. Tell us a little bit about yourself. First, do you know any other woodworkers?
00:04:19
Speaker
No, not really. I mean, like obviously of them, you know, and there's a, I actually follow a few on Instagram, but we've never had one on the podcast before. Okay. So yeah. Well, it's an honor to be the first. Yeah. Yeah. Well, tell us a little bit about how you started your business, what you were doing beforehand and what that transition looked like. So I was full-time pastoring for about 10 years. That's what I was doing first. And in 2020, the pandemic came and I, we had a house in downtown Gilbert here and
00:04:48
Speaker
because I'm a genius, I knew the market was about to die. So I was like, let's sell. And obviously that is facetious because the market really took off shortly after that, but we sold and bought again quickly. And it was a major upgrade. And so praise the Lord for his timing, not mine. But at that point we needed a new dining table. Cause we had sold, we didn't want to bring our old junky one to the
Establishing a Workshop and Pursuing Full-time Woodworking
00:05:12
Speaker
new house. It was like, this was like our realistic dream house. Like we could live in this forever and
00:05:17
Speaker
we could not find our dream furniture. And so I was like, let's just, we looked and looked and looked. We shopped all around and I was like, I could just make one. I took wood shop, wood tech in ninth grade and hadn't done a thing with it since. Which is a while ago at this point. Yeah. Yeah. This was like a, I don't know. I can't do the math.
00:05:37
Speaker
But I had totally forgotten about Woodshop, essentially. I really liked it in ninth grade. My mom was like, you're so good at this. You should do this for a career. And I was like, you're my mom. What does that count for? You think I'm good at everything. And so anyway, we designed a table or I found plans online. We didn't really design that one. And I borrowed tools from a friend, like went to his workshop and I made this table and it was hideous. It was actually, it was okay, but it was really farmhousey and there's tons of like,
00:06:08
Speaker
cracks in between the planks and it was made with framing lumber. And the way it turned out was fine, but it wasn't like, it wasn't amazing, but I love the process of building it. And there was so much satisfaction in like, I need this. And then we needed, we're furnishing at this new house, you know, and we needed a credenza for our living room. And this time I decided, okay, I'm going to buy real hardwood. I devoured YouTube tutorials.
00:06:33
Speaker
And then had another friend help me who was a little more serious about woodworking. And he has a hobby like in his side yard. And I made this credenza and then the finished product, it took forever, like months and months of work and it was like $700. So at this point, you're not saving money, you're making your own furniture. I guess maybe you are, but I was so proud of how it turned out. Like I still, it's still in there today. And I looked at it every day and I felt like this makes my life better. Like I was in, my life is enriched by the beauty that
00:07:02
Speaker
And me and my wife designed it together and made these decisions. And, and then it came out and I can look at it now and see that there's mistakes. I do this different, but I'm still really proud of it. And then we needed bedroom furniture and guess what? We didn't look anywhere. I'm just like, I'm going to make it. And I started just posting to my personal Instagram like, Hey, check out my new hobby. I'm proud of this. Like it didn't take long when people started making orders. I don't know what to do with that. Like I.
00:07:30
Speaker
But then I thought, well, I could buy more tools if I make stuff for other people. Then I took the profit from those and bought more tools and started having a workshop of my own. Yeah. So at this point, people are starting to notice the stuff that you're doing and they want you to make them furniture. You're really just working out of your friends sort of off of his tools at this point for the most part. I bought some really basic tools that I felt like I needed to and then was like upgrading as I started.
00:08:00
Speaker
Yeah. So I took over like a portion of the garage. Yeah. We have a three car garage. And so I took over just like the extra bay. Sure. And then it didn't take long before I took over my own spot, you know, and it just keeps creeping. The more stuff you buy, the more lumber you have in the garage. Like, and so now it's a three car workshop and my wife is amazing and really supportive. She's like, she gave up her, this is Arizona and in the summer she parked in the driveway. And so, yeah, now I have,
00:08:28
Speaker
I work out of the garage still at this three car workshop. Yeah. And at this point, are you considering leaving your youth pastor position or? At that point, I wasn't really sure. There was like months of torment and trying to decide what I want to do. And obviously I'm a person of faith working at the church and I'm trying to discern calling at that point. Like I've done this for 10 years.
00:08:52
Speaker
I love the church. I love the people here. I don't know if I should leave this, but at the same time, like the passion for creating and me becoming an artist was like just growing and growing and like all my free time went to woodworking. And so I'd cut like a lot of social life. I'd cut a lot of hobbies. Like it was just like I would work and I would woodwork. And through months of prayer and discerning, I felt like I heard from the Lord
00:09:19
Speaker
you just do what you want to do. Either way is right. You're free to make this decision. I've given you desires and you can follow that. Once I finally made the decision, I had so much peace about it moving forward and telling the church. I told the church right away and just ended up staying there another six months to finish well.
00:09:40
Speaker
It worked out really, really well. And what about your wife at this point? Is she like, you're kind of crazy for doing this? Or at this point, is she like, yeah, this is, you know, you were obviously very gifted here. And she's like, if I was in your shoes, I could never do that. Like that's way too much risk. It's too scary to, to leave a job that's consistent and secured and
00:10:00
Speaker
do this thing where if you don't sell anything, you don't sell anything and you have to decide everything yourself and it's too much freedom to be your own boss.
Brand Building and Artistic Vision
00:10:08
Speaker
But isn't that funny? That's like one of the hardest things about being your own boss. There's a lot of freedom. You know, you have to make all the decisions. Yeah. Nobody's telling you when to work and all that. It's no one else's fault. So, but at the same time she was super supportive and she's like, I see your gifting and I believe in you. I believe you can do this. Here's my parking spot. Yeah.
00:10:28
Speaker
So she was super supportive in the whole process and encouraging me to pursue going full time. Yeah. So in the beginning, it sounds like, you know, people are noticing what you're doing on Instagram. They were starting to place orders. You were using that profit to upgrade your tools. You know, at what point did you get, like in the beginning, how'd you even sort kind of pricing and things like that? Like, what did that look like? Is it just like, oh, well, this is still kind of a hobby for now. And so how'd you sort through that?
00:10:55
Speaker
Yeah, that was really tricky because I would go on these Facebook groups of other woodworkers and they would have models for how they price things. And I'm like, how are you surviving if you're doing this for a career? Like if you're just doing three times the materials, like it doesn't make any sense to me. And I have a mutual friend, Andy and Charity Maurer approached me and they had this. This is a really cool story. They from Charity's childhood house.
00:11:19
Speaker
they had this huge Aleppo pine tree that was getting cut down and they had saved a huge slab from it. And they came to me and said, will you make a mantle for our fireplace? Like, this is a special piece for us. Would you, we see that you're woodworking and we like your work. Like, would you make this for us? And how much would you charge? And I was like, I don't know what I would charge. And I was thinking more about it and charity had created a,
00:11:46
Speaker
successful luxury photography business. And I thought, man, I don't have any brand. I don't have any reputation, like besides that we're friends that I don't even know if they would approach me about this, but they have this thing to offer. And I have this thing to offer. I said, I'll do it at cost of whatever the materials cost. If you teach me how to build a brand. Okay. And because I like, I knew the only way I could make a living in woodworking is to reach a luxury market.
00:12:16
Speaker
And she had done that. And I'm like, I don't know how to reach these people who are not in my circles. So meeting with them was so incredibly helpful. First on just like an emotional, courageous point of view. I told them what I was feeling and thinking, and they were so encouraging. We feel those same things. We can't find pieces that speak to us. And we want something special for our space.
00:12:43
Speaker
I would love to have a courtesy code table or like that kind of thing. And so I feel like the belief they had in me and my vision was super helpful. And then the practical advice of you're not competing on or what, what do you want to compete on? And making it really clear, like I'm not competing on pricing. That's not going to be my competitive edge ever. Cause Ashley furniture, Ikea, like everything is going to be less expensive than what I make. Yeah.
00:13:12
Speaker
there's no way to make a living in that. But what I can really compete on is experience and then quality. And so what value do I see in that? And I think it's way more than three times materials and viewing myself more as an artist than as a woodworker or handyman. Like that's not what I'm doing. I'm creating art and I think it's a gift. So I'm really grateful for it.
00:13:38
Speaker
And I'm grateful to be able to share it with other people. And so thinking of pricing in that way too, it's not just going to be a formula for materials. It's going to be what value am I bringing to them? Yeah. How cool is it to receive that advice so early on in your business as well? Yeah. And I think that's one of the things that stuck out to me about your story as I met you is that a lot of people, I think what they do in the beginning is like, well, I don't
00:14:04
Speaker
I haven't been doing this long. And as a result, they think they have to quote unquote pay their dues as if they have to start cheap and build their way up. And that's just not the case. And I think you demonstrate that. And then that other piece, maybe you can speak to this a little bit as well.
00:14:19
Speaker
You know, I was asking, okay, so, you know, what do you refer to yourself as? You were dressed up as a carpenter or a woodworker. You had mentioned artists, so maybe you could speak to why you refer to yourself as an artist. Yeah, because I think there's lots of functional reasons to do carpentry and woodworking, but why I'm passionate about woodworking is because it is art to me.
00:14:44
Speaker
flow of the grain and it's organic and there's something really humble about it. Like it's a piece of wood and there's something really humble about woodworking in general. It's like I'm going to the garage and I'm gonna glue one piece to another piece. But there's also something really glorious about it. There's something that transcends the normal little actions that I'm doing. Every step feels mundane and feels kind of like tedious, but the result ends up being something really glorious and beautiful and
00:15:14
Speaker
That's what draws me to it. And I don't want to just make whatever anyone else is making. I really like sculptural pieces. I really like for someone to see a table and know there's something organic about that shape. I can't just go buy that somewhere. That's custom. You look at the show at table and there's something that's the intentionality about it that feels different.
00:15:37
Speaker
and fits this space. And fits the space. Yeah, that's right. So I do think that looking at my work as an artist has helped me too. Like I stay motivated more that way too. Yeah. Yeah. That's so interesting. So it's not only about, you know, how you position your brand, but it's helpful for you as well. Yeah. Yeah. So going back to finding clients, it sounds like your first few clients came pretty organically. You share it in social media.
00:16:00
Speaker
Did you ever hit a point where, you know, maybe organic wasn't working as much or that you felt like you had to market your business a little bit more? Like, I guess, how do you go about continuing to find clients? Yeah. I never felt like organic wasn't working, thankfully. And part of that is because my work is slow. It's like, it doesn't, I can't make a conference table over a day or even a week. It's like, I don't need that many projects to stay busy. Yeah.
00:16:27
Speaker
But there was a point where I was like, I think I can reach for a different level of projects if I'm more intentional about my audience. Yeah. What did that process look like? Yeah. So I started thinking about who would be my key partners and interior designers is the natural one. Like because someone who wants to furnish a multimillion dollar house probably doesn't do it themselves.
Client Engagement and Marketing Strategies
00:16:49
Speaker
They hire someone else. And so I wanted to get in with the person they hire, which is interior designers. So I started.
00:16:56
Speaker
just following them on Instagram, seeing their style, seeing if we'd be compatible. And eventually, I just started messaging. I'd find their email, I'd stalk their website, I'd find their email address, I'd DM them if they followed me back, I would reach out to them via email, and I reached out to so, so many of them in the beginning, and a lot of them didn't respond, but a handful did, and I would just meet with them and say, here's what I'm doing.
00:17:24
Speaker
can I serve you at all? I want to do more of this. And they were thrilled. The ones that were willing to meet were like excited about it. And like, yeah, we always need more. We love to offer something unique to our customers and so our clients. And part of that for me is like, I know at that point I have to serve them, make them the star. Like I'm not trying to cut them out and
00:17:46
Speaker
reach the client. I'm like, how do I serve the interior designer, make them look amazing? Yeah. Cause you know, there'll be a continual source. Right. Yeah. And I did at the beginning do like kind of a foot in the door philosophy where I took on projects that now I wouldn't take on. Sure. But because I wanted to work with them and show them like, here's an example of my service. Here's what I offer. Like I do.
00:18:09
Speaker
videos for in the shop that are directly for the clients. And so people aren't getting that elsewhere. I feel like that's one of the ways I'm competing is on service and like Dan and Laura, here are your benches that I'm working on. Here's the techniques that I'm using. I'm so excited to get these to you. Yeah.
00:18:26
Speaker
I love it because I get to share my craft and people don't realize all the intentionality that goes into creating something. And then they love it because they get to see their piece being made and the intentionality behind it too. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's amazing how methodical and intentional you've been as you bring your business. I mean, those are all things that we talk a lot about on the podcast, you know, and it's okay in the beginning to take on maybe some projects you wanted to build some goodwill.
00:18:52
Speaker
You know, but I think a lot of times new business owners, and I've fallen into this trap, you know, across different businesses that I've started, which is thinking like, Oh, well, if I just share a lot, you know, people will come to me, you know, and forgetting like, it's okay to reach out to people and that a lot of people you reach out to, they may not respond, but those that will, my guess is that the relationships that you have built have led to other relationships. Yes, absolutely. And then I'll bring some kind of small gift just as a thank you for their, for them being willing to meet with me.
00:19:22
Speaker
I'll bring a bud vase or something. And that has led to other people seeing, they'll go to the interior designers house and be like, Hey, where did you get that? And then that leads to more commissions like, and that's a strategic gift though, because you don't want to just get them anything like has your logo on it or something like this is right up their alley. It's like abstract and organic and beautiful. And they proudly showed off in their house. And then it's like, they're going to tell people about the thing that they like. Yeah.
00:19:49
Speaker
Yeah, and you'd also do a good job of just sharing in general.
00:19:53
Speaker
even before we started this podcast, you were like sharing on social media and I was like, I never remember to do this. So I'm thankful for that. I mean, I just got back from a retreat for a show with design partners. I took zero photos. I was like, Chris, I'm so sorry. So that's something that you do well. I mean, I think just in general sharing to social media. But one of the things that you also do is you have a newsletter. And actually, I think the first time
00:20:19
Speaker
Well, the first time I saw one of your bud bases was at Todd and Elise's house. But after that, I see them at least monthly on your newsletter. And that's something else I wanted to talk to you about. That's something that you've obviously started early in your business. And I think that a lot of service-based businesses that we talk to, they're not always clear about, okay, well, how can I make this work for my business? It's maybe a little bit more obvious for somebody who's doing e-commerce, they're running some sort of online business at scale.
00:20:47
Speaker
But for a service based business, sometimes people are like, how do I get people to sign up? What does that look like? So I'd love for you to speak to, you know, how you've used newsletters in your business, what kind of value that's brought to your business as well. Yeah, I feel very fortunate that people want to know what I'm doing. And so for a while, there's I have a
00:21:05
Speaker
through church, there's a group of people that are much older and that aren't using Instagram and they're like, what are you up to? And I tell them like, I'm on Instagram and I share things regularly and it means nothing to them, but they want to know. And so that was actually part of the reason I started the newsletter because they wanted to keep up with me and I genuinely want to share with them. So that's one of the reasons it's value for sure is like, I get sales from the newsletter, but also I have thoughts about life and
00:21:35
Speaker
beauty and woodworking and how they all go together. And I want to share those. It goes back to mission statement, right? Like the, I want to put beauty in people's path. Like I think what we give our attention to shapes our soul. And so I want to put beautiful things in front of people. And I like try to do that with my life, but also with my work. And so the same thing is true with my newsletter. How can I add beauty to their life in their inbox, like beauty to their inbox and
00:22:02
Speaker
It's really practical way. I can't talk to everybody every day, but I can send out this thoughtful email and I have, of course there's marketing things in there. I get to share my work. I get to share thoughts about life. I do see sales from it. It's planting business seeds, but the surprise to me throughout it has been, it forces me to recap my month. It's like a forced self-reflection exercise.
00:22:26
Speaker
of things that are going well. I end up feeling so grateful by the end of it. Man, this person supported me here. My friend grabbed his truck and we moved lumber together. These shop upgrades are happening. I also do giveaways in there.
00:22:44
Speaker
Not everyone can afford my work because I'm not competing on pricing, but they want to support me and I want to be able to give back.
Challenges and Artistic Choices
00:22:52
Speaker
And so I do regularly every newsletter I give away or you can enter to give away.
00:22:57
Speaker
And so it's a place where I can give back. It's like, it's had so much value that I don't even think I know all the value that it brings. Well, I have to imagine, and you know, just again, you know, I think going back to what you're saying about your brand at the beginning and you being an artist, you know, I think this helps build your brand, you know, especially just those reflections, right? I think it's an opportunity for you to educate people about
00:23:18
Speaker
how they ought to be thinking about furniture. There's probably people who are just attracted to your work and the beautiful things that you create and maybe can't put two words exactly what that is. So it's cool reading your newsletter and being like, oh yeah, okay, so that's what that is. And furniture is one of those things where it's like people need it more than once. And so it makes total sense to continue building a customer list because down the line, even if you've built a great hutch or something for somebody, down the line when they need something else,
00:23:48
Speaker
You're top of mind there. But again, just one of those things where it just sounds like early on, you know, you started something that I think can bring value to a lot of people's businesses. And so I thought that was so interesting. You know, it's like of all, you know, if you put businesses in front of me and said, you know, which one do you think is more likely to start a newsletter? You know, probably wanted to do this one, but you do it so well. One other thing on that is I had somebody tell me like people buy things from people they know they like and they trust.
00:24:16
Speaker
I was like, duh, of course. But a lot, if you don't know that someone's doing something, then they're not going to think of you. And so it's another way just to put myself out there of like, hey, I'm doing this.
00:24:30
Speaker
Maybe if you read this, they're like, I can't control if people like me or not. But I'm proving I'm trustworthy, I think by being consistent too. Yeah. 100%. And I think, you know, email builds trust in a way that maybe social media doesn't, you know, social media, obviously important. You do it well. There is that older crown that it are probably to a certain extent, ideal customers, you know, that can afford your work, right? Where it makes sense to have email.
00:24:53
Speaker
But I think beyond that too, and again, something that we talk about on the podcast a lot is social media, depending on the algorithm and whatnot, I may or may not see what you post, right? Even though I follow you, right? And I'm pretty much DMing you every time you post, right? I'll miss a post, you know, just as the nature of the beast, right? But email, I pretty much have to go through my email to archive that right now. So it's just a way to really get in front of somebody for sure. Well, I'd love to talk maybe a little bit more about pricing. If you have anything to add to that conversation,
00:25:23
Speaker
I know we talked a lot about pricing already. I guess one of the questions I want to ask is about, has it been difficult to price different items? Because it's not like you're an artist that only builds tables. You know what I'm saying? It's like you built a beautiful cutting board.
00:25:42
Speaker
Right. I mean, like this thing was a beast. It was huge. Right. And I'll post that real in the show notes as well. So people can see what we're talking about. So is it difficult to go from pricing like that item to maybe a bigger item like the show conference table, for instance, you know? Yes, it's absolutely difficult. And I don't have a formula. It's, I, so a lot of it has been trial and error. Sure. And
00:26:05
Speaker
The other thing is I have not been woodworking that long. Like I started in 2020. And so I'm still learning techniques as I go. And I think something's going to take me X and it takes me five X. Oh, that was not a good price for that. And so it definitely is trial and error. And
00:26:26
Speaker
I learned by the end of the project, I should have charged more or less for this. And so I think now I just err on the side of charging more. And because I have a lot of orders, I'm like not trying to drum up business. It has worked out. And I'm okay saying no to more things because again, I'm not competing on quantity. I'm trying to get
00:26:48
Speaker
high quality projects because that's what I want to pour my heart and soul into. I'm a limited person and so I need to limit my project. So it's saying no a lot has helped with my pricing a lot. That's awesome and you know it makes me think you mentioned Andy and Charity Maurer towards beginning this episode and both Andy and Charity have actually been on the podcast. So if you're listening
00:27:08
Speaker
interested in learning more about them definitely check out those episodes Andy in particular has been very influential one of the things that I feel like he's taught me is the value of saying no and how to do that well and he actually has some templates too so maybe I'll throw those in the show notes too but tell me a little bit about saying no to a project like what are the some of the things
00:27:27
Speaker
that maybe you'd say no to or some reasons why you might say no to a project. Yeah. So a big part is that first, the mission statement, beauty in their path. And are they asking for a piece of art or are they asking for something just functional? And that's almost an easy, I don't have to even think about it, but the answer is no. I don't want to make shelves. I don't want to do your vanities. So that's an easy one to say no to.
00:27:53
Speaker
I think that makes sense. I mean, I think it does come back to understanding why you're doing what you're doing. And if it's outside of that, you know what I'm saying? No. And I think that's so important. It is just so impressive to me. I mean, three years in business, basically, you know, I guess maybe this is your fourth year. Well, I went full time in June. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, a few months full time. And it just feels like you have so many things dialed in, you know?
00:28:18
Speaker
Yeah. And I like, I'm looking back at, I kind of like did some reflection leading up to this and I, it feels like I walked backwards into a lot of it. So I'm not claiming to be a genius by any sense, but it's been providential. It feels like each step, like I'm running into the mowers and them asking and coaching me and the Watson's like them coaching me like inadvertently.
Reflections and Future Directions
00:28:42
Speaker
And it just like, Oh yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. That makes sense. And it feels like,
00:28:48
Speaker
I'm grateful. Like it's been a gift. Yeah. Yeah. And you know what? Like, I mean, I know for my story, looking back, it's like,
00:28:55
Speaker
Man, I feel like any success I've had is just because God's put just great people in front of me, you know? Yeah. And like in my path and I've been able to learn from them, you know? And then most of the mistakes that I've made are totally of my own. Yeah. Well, before we sign off here, one of the things that I want to know is just like, what has been the biggest gift or challenge or learning from starting this business? Yeah. One of the biggest challenges is this
00:29:25
Speaker
idea that I'm not really an artist. Like you can't really do that. It's this imposter syndrome that people talk about regularly. And that's like a real thing. And I hate the phrase fake it till you make it. Cause that just feels so inauthentic. Like I just have to pretend I'm something until people buy it. And I saw somewhere someone said face it till you make it. And like that resonated because there's tensions in your life. There's going to be challenges in your life. Like you're going to need to be resilient.
00:29:55
Speaker
And you, if you're going to just avoid them, nothing's going to happen. So like you need to face that until you actually are the expert in your field until you actually do have a brand. And so just continually coming back to face the tension instead of avoiding it and running away from it has been the huge lesson and a huge gift. Yeah. Well, I think that's such a great piece of advice to end on. If people want to follow along, if they want to sign up for your newsletter, you know, where can they find you?
00:30:22
Speaker
Curtissico.com is my website and then also at Curtissico on Instagram. And there's links to my newsletter and those who can jump in on the giveaways and I'd love to respond to them. I like to hear back from people on the newsletter. I want it to feel like a conversation, like I'm sharing my life. I want you to share your reflections too. So I'd love to hear from you if you're following along and those are good places to find me.
00:30:46
Speaker
Yeah, awesome. And I'll make sure that all of those links are in the show notes. If you're driving or running or whatever, check out the show notes for links to that episode. Thanks again, Caleb. Yeah, my pleasure. Thank you, Davey. Thanks for tuning in to the Brands at Bookshelf. 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 DaveyandChrista.com.