I am not a business person.  In my heart, I am an artist. I am an artist whose medium is fabric and buttons and thread. I have always been this kind of artist, well, at least since first grade when I have my first memories of sewing with my Mom’s scraps and making potholders and learning how to knit and all that fun stuff.

So good, I am an artist.  That’s very romantic and fulfills my heart’s desire and all that, but I am also an artist who has bills like the rest of the world.  After all, I did just send my son off to college this year, and my husband did just purchase that 40 foot sailboat that he wants to sail around the world on, and we do have to live somewhere in the meantime so I have a place to store my fabric stash, so yes I have bills to pay.  Which leads to the ultimate question:  How can this non-business person who considers herself an artist make a living with fabric and buttons and thread?

Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer to this yet, just the journey I am on in the meantime. The journey consists of many years working for others, where I could leave the stress of the job behind each day and not have to do any marketing or worry about the bottom line. It continues with me transitioning out of working for others and starting my own business.  Of course the disadvantage to this is I have to do marketing and worry about the bottom line and carry the stress of trying to survive (much less grow) in small business.  Oh, and in the meantime I had to learn how to do marketing and figure out exactly what was on the bottom line. 

The journey got a whole lot easier and more fun when I joined Beehive Co-op last year. Yes, Beehive provides an outlet for emerging designers to sell their work in an upscale retail environment, but it also provides so much more.  The friendship and support is tremendous. Inspiration is everywhere. Just this blog alone is an amazing resource with fresh ideas and tips every week. I read them soak them up and add something new to my “to do” list (which started with “open a business checking account” and ambitiously ends with “write a book”).  And whenever I think that to do list is too long or too unwieldy, I find a Beehive friend who has felt the same way or has just crossed a similar item off her to do list and can provide some insight or solace.

So for my first Beeblog entry it was kind of inevitable that I had to gush a little about Beehive. I’m happy and proud to be a part of it.  Petra has created something unique and special. It’s a place for people like me to spread their wings and take off and learn how to turn a talent and passion into a business.  Because after all you have to make the choice, “do I want to make a living doing what I love, or do I want to keep my day job and have a hobby”.  For people like me, with no business experience, the Beehive is a great place to figure this out. It helps with the journey.

So, as I was driving my son to college last month I felt the need to take advantage of those last hours to give him as many little bits of advice as I could.  I told him not to spend all his money on art supplies or comic books and that I thought it was wonderful he was going to Art school, and no one supported him more than me, but to at least take a business class.  It would help him in the future.  Please, take just one business class. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.