How My Creative Entrepreneurial Journey Began
How My Creative Entrepreneurial Journey Began
The year 2016 has been probably one of my most difficult years. It had setbacks in work, loss of loved ones and it seemed like a never ending tunnel of changes. Not everything was bad, we did have some wins in 2016 and we have made it through. The end of such a rough year propelled me into deep reflection. One question that was brought up was How did my creative entrepreneurial journey begin?
Looking back at the creative
Looking back I think I have always been a creator. I used to write stories, create jewelry, pieces of art and so on I actually come from a long line of creatives, my grandfather was a jeweler and artist, my grandmother was an amazing dress maker, cook and so on. She could turn anything into a beautiful work of art. This was carried down to my mother who could do amazing things all her own, however this is not how she spends most of her time.
Personally
As a child I wrote and illustrated my own stories for fun. If I wasn’t so “shy” then I know I would have had a flair in the performing arts. However, in school around sixth grade all the way through high school I fell in love with visual arts, I drew, painted, and expressed myself in many mediums. I was actually awarded for my artistic efforts upon graduation. I also wrote many poems for our high school literary magazine. Many teachers who read short stories, poems, or personal essays said I had a way of expressing myself in writing. I did have online journals now known as blogging but it was more for personal expression than anything else. I created jewellery also while in high school and dreamed of a career in fashion. I respect all creative pursuits. For me I can’t imagine my life without creativity. Below you can see some of the works of art I have created.
Looking back at the entrepreneur
Since I was a child, the importance of making money was always stressed in my household. As the daughter of a single mother, money was tight. She never stifled my creative freedom but making money was a necessity. I have seen her struggle in her job, working for someone who doesn’t respect her or value her amazing hard work she delivers everyday. While her boss gets richer and richer she is lucky to make her pay check each week. That is not the life I want to live. While I am aware of the importance of having a job even if it is under someone who may or may not respect you. I believe in having a dream you work on in your spare time. I know as a mother how hard that is. The scale is so hard to keep balanced between everything. You have to do what you have to do to support yourself and your family. You also have to do what makes you feel alive. I believe in fulfilling your own dreams and doing things that will not only benefit you but change the life of others.
Personally
In grade school, somewhere around 5th grade I began selling small toys and even candy (think..spice girl lollipops) to fellow classmates. This was done stealthy at lunch and recess. In high school I sold art that I created. I also sold jewellery I made a craft fairs, vendor events and flea markets. While managing high school and college I provided child care for a few parents taking their children home from school, and providing activities for them to do as well as feed and keep them safe. This awakened my love of children. I helped with bake sales, providing sweet treats to sell for the psychology department at my college.
Life
I had “normal jobs” or as the majority of people put it, real jobs. I worked at the local supermarket and at local doctors offices doing filing and answer phones, which sucked the life out of me. I had a lot of fun talking to kids when doing my internship at my high school for guidance counsel it was a lot of fun. My actual dream then was to become a guidance counselor or a school psychologist. There is absolutely no creativity there, but at the time I was unaware that I needed creativity in my life. I became pregnant with Isabella right before my last year of college. It took me a little extra time to graduate but I did it and I did well earning a 3.5 GPA. Since then I got pregnant again with Anthony.
Presently
I have worked with a few direct sales companies which offer a freedom that lets me be the mom I want to be and provide a fairly steady income if you put in the work. I also started Blooming Brilliant shortly after having Isabella while learning all about early education, I wanted to share my journey, experience and all that I was learning with other moms. Being a young mom at the age of 21, I didn’t have many mom friends especially ones that were teaching their babies through play. It was a way for me to connect with like minded parents. It gave me an outlet from being out in the world to being home with a baby. Once I learned that my blog was a money producing platform I wanted it to grow. That is what I am doing now, and I love it. It brings all my passions together. I have art, literature, education and best of all my children right here on my blog.
The blog used to be called Young Mama’s Blog and this was one of our first images we had back on blogspot.
Let Us Know
Are you creative? How did your creative journey start? Are you an entrepreneur? How did your entrepreneurial journey begin? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear your stories.
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