Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dave White, Founder of The Office Art Guy, located in Ashburn, VA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The Office Art Guy sells funny accounting art prints and gifts for Accountants.
Tell us about yourself
I've worked as both an Accountant and a self-employed Artist for most of my career. One day in 2014, while driving home from my accounting job, many ideas came to me for painting humorous accounting-themed artworks. It was a way to combine my two talents. That is when The Office Art Guy was created to provide fun office art and gifts for Accountants. I also make paintings of scenes from my travels around the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., Latin America, and Spain, which I sell at artistdavewhite.etsy.com. The simple joy of painting is what motivates me, as well as the joy my customers experience through the artwork that I create.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
It's continuing to have faith in my businesses through the difficulties that life presents. This is possible not through making my businesses the top priority in my life but rather through putting God first, then my wife and kids, then helping others, and lastly, my businesses. I've been self-employed for 9 years now and learned the hard way that if I make my businesses the top priority, my family life will suffer and inevitably harm my businesses. Prioritize abiding in the Word of God and loving your family; then, being a business owner will be made easier.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
I imagine that this is different for each business owner, as we all have our own unique strengths, weaknesses, and life experiences! For me, it has been both a challenge and an immense blessing to manage an art business and an accounting business while having 3 kids that we homeschool, as well as family challenges. My wife and I were married for 12 years, then separated and divorced, and were then restored by the Holy Spirit, laid down our lives for Jesus Christ, and re-married. To keep a business going amidst the ups and downs of life can feel hard, but by giving it all up to God and drawing from his strength, it is made possible.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't do it just for money. The money will come, but it's not the top goal.
- Get your life priorities in order. God first, then your spouse (if you're married), then your kids, then the rest of your family, then helping others, then your business. Your business is on the list, but it's not first. Otherwise, the rest of your life will eventually fracture and start to fall apart.
- Pray every day.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://theofficeartguy.com/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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