Starting a furniture painting business can be an overwhelming experience. It was for me. Let’s talk about controlling overwhelm in a creative business and the three types of overwhelm I see the most.
When you start your business, everything is new and exciting, and you’re full of energy and enthusiasm! But then you also need to sell and keep up with all the things, and we tend to get overwhelmed.
Lack of Focus in your Furniture Painting Business
Creatives tend to lack focus and direction. Do you ever feel like this? I need to create things, hunt for the perfect piece to paint, then there’s painting the furniture, staging the furniture, taking photos of the furniture, and I gotta blog about it… BLOG? I don’t even have a blog. Don’t I need a website for that? Shouldn’t I be emailing too? Meltdown! ALL THE THINGS! Right? Do I need a camera, or can I use my phone?
I’m convinced that creatives are hardwired to have endless creative ideas because our minds never shut down. You can call it a BLESSING or a curse.
That same blessing of creative ideas sometimes carries over into our businesses, and we don’t have a clear direction. We want to do all the things. We have no shortage of creative ideas, but this can cause a lack of focus. The first time I heard the term “squirrel,” I laughed out loud. That was me!
We need clear directions, a way to get focused and get back on track from all the ideas in our heads.
When we learn of all the marketing we need to do in our business (social media, email, website, blogs, ads, info products, memberships, etc.), we tend to shut down and do nothing. OVERWHELM! We lack the focus we need to become successful.
We need to focus on one thing at a time, so we don’t feel like a tire spinning in the mud. You can’t get good traction without a clear focus, and it’s crucial to growing an online furniture painting business.
Lack of Creative Inspiration in your Furniture Painting Business
Creatives tend to lack inspiration when they become overwhelmed. They get stuck painting the same color over and overdoing the same thing over and over, and they don’t know how to break the cycle.
This is why you see so many furniture painting businesses cranking out 20 pieces of furniture a month… all in a cream color. It’s easy. Well, the color selection is easy. The work is HARD! No creativity needed, but isn’t that why you started this in the first place? To be creative?
For example, let’s talk about painting furniture. I was already painting furniture and selling it to the public to make money, but I never in a million years thought I could also teach someone what I know. That is valuable information, and people will pay for shortcuts to learn.
It took me a minute to realize this concept. Why not take what I love and help others and get paid for it. You see, when we’re so close to our business, sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. Helping others can be very inspirational, and that allows us to be free with our designs. Not just the boring same ole same ole.
Setting Boundaries in your Furniture Painting Business
When most creatives start, they are also working a 9-5 job; they come home tired, have to take care of the kids, figure out dinner, do another load of laundry, pack lunches for tomorrow, clean up the dishes, walk the dogs, etc. Does that sound like you?
What hours will you work? What hours will you be a wife, Mom, or Grandma? If you have to do these things after you get home, tell the family when you won’t be available, because you have a dream to follow. Explain to them that this is an important time in your life too and the work you do now will benefit the whole family in the long run.
When I work, I do nothing Mom, Wife, or Grandma-related. I don’t text, make phone calls, and no flipping laundry! Ha! My hubby does that! My hours of business are set in stone to everyone who knows me.
There are no lunches with the girlfriends, no outings that aren’t scheduled, no volunteering, I just shut it all out and focus on the furniture painting business!
But when I am on wife duty, I’m all in. No phone, no checking Facebook, no seeing what sold and what didn’t, no emails. Period.
Give Yourself Some Grace
AND at the end of the day, you have to give yourself some grace. We will never be able to do it all perfectly. That’s okay! So get used to a messy house, eating out or leftovers more frequently, and sacrificing that perfect yard (if gardening is your thing).
It’s amazing when you get clarity, momentum, and the sales for your creative furniture painting business start to happen.
Thanks for joining me today. If you’re stuck in a rut and just not sure what your next step is with your furniture painting business, feel free to email me at [email protected]. Blessings to you and your business.
Remember – focus, set those boundaries, surround yourself with like-minded creatives with a mindset for business, and give yourself some grace. You can do this!
xo, Do
