Ep. 10: Finding Clarity: Sandra Mejia on Narrowing Your Creative Focus

Summary

Art + Audience Episode 10 Summary: Finding Clarity with Sandra Mejia on Narrowing Your Creative Focus

In Episode 10 of the Art + Audience podcast, host Stacie Bloomfield engages in an insightful conversation with Sandra Mejia, a Colombian-born Canadian illustrator and pattern designer. The episode, titled "Finding Clarity: Sandra Mejia on Narrowing Your Creative Focus," delves into Sandra's artistic journey, the challenges of overexpansion in the art business, and the strategies she employed to regain focus and achieve success. Below is a detailed summary of their discussion.

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1. Introducing Sandra Mejia: From Corporate to Creative

Sandra Mejia shares her transition from a monotonous corporate job in Colombia to pursuing her passion for art. Feeling unfulfilled and experiencing physical ailments like migraines and vertigo, Sandra made a life-changing decision to quit her job, sell her car, and move to Argentina to explore her creative side. This bold move marked the beginning of her journey into illustration and pattern design.

Sandra Mejia [00:49]: "I decided to put my art on products. So I started with pillows and I started thinking like, oh, maybe I should have something else."

2. The Pressure to Succeed: Diversifying Without Strategy

Facing limited opportunities for illustrators in Colombia, Sandra began creating various products—pillows, mugs, notebooks, and crossbody bags—to monetize her art. However, this diversification without a clear strategy led her to overextend herself, resulting in wasted resources and diluted focus.

Sandra Mejia [09:18]: "I still felt the pressure to start making income because this was going to run out and also because I didn't want to be a failure after all these, like, people thinking like, oh, did you just throw away all your life's work?"

3. The Consequences of Overexpansion

Sandra reflects on the pitfalls of producing too many products simultaneously. Managing multiple manufacturers, dealing with inconsistent product quality, and grappling with various production processes consumed her time, energy, and finances without yielding substantial returns.

Sandra Mejia [13:33]: "I never gave it space to be that great, amazing thing, because I diluted my energy, my time, my money."

4. Regaining Focus Through Life Changes

Sandra's relocation to Canada was a turning point that compelled her to reassess and streamline her business. Settling in British Columbia, she identified her most successful product—cosmetic pouches—and concentrated her efforts on that niche. This strategic focus significantly improved her business outcomes.

Sandra Mejia [15:46]: "I had found my perfect product, which was little cosmetic pouches. And I was focusing just on that because they were selling like hotcakes."

5. The Role of Time Management and Tracking

Emphasizing the importance of time management, Sandra discusses how tracking her daily activities using tools like Clockify revealed inefficiencies and unproductive habits. This awareness enabled her to allocate her time more effectively towards activities that directly contributed to her business goals.

Sandra Mejia [18:28]: "I realized it's crazy the amount of time you wasting things that are not conductive to making profits in your business."

6. Embracing Failure and the Importance of Resilience

Sandra highlights that failure is an inherent part of the entrepreneurial journey. Instead of viewing setbacks as detrimental, she encourages artists to see them as learning opportunities. Resilience and the willingness to pivot are crucial for long-term success in the art business.

Sandra Mejia [26:39]: "Failure doesn't mean you're bad or you don't know what you're doing. Well, probably a bit. You don't know what you're doing, you're experimenting."

7. Building Multiple Income Streams Strategically

While advocating for multiple income streams to mitigate risks, Sandra advises starting with one or two solid foundations before expanding. Gradual growth allows artists to build expertise and ensure each revenue stream is sustainable and well-managed.

Sandra Mejia [24:55]: "So having multiple income streams just protects you from. If one fails, then you have a backup."

8. Final Advice: Define Your Success and Stay Flexible

Sandra advises artists to define their personal version of success rather than comparing themselves to others. Clear goal-setting and strategic planning are essential, but so is the flexibility to adapt and pivot when necessary.

Sandra Mejia [26:39]: "Determine what you want to do. Determine what, like, your version of success is... Then you have to assess objectively everything and be open to shifting."

9. Overcoming Excess Inventory and Learning from Mistakes

Addressing the issue of unsold inventory, Sandra recounts donating excess products to family and friends, viewing the experience as educational despite the financial loss. She underscores the importance of moving forward and learning from such mistakes to refine business strategies.

Sandra Mejia [28:28]: "I donated a bunch of stuff. And my mom has her personal stash... So yeah, that was, like, money that was wasted, but I feel like it was education, so."

10. Where to Find Sandra and Continue Learning

Sandra invites listeners to connect with her through her website Art by Sandra Mejia, where she offers classes, mentorship, and upcoming programs focused on finding creative focus. She emphasizes her commitment to helping fellow artists navigate their careers with less pain and more clarity.

Sandra Mejia [33:38]: "I have everything clear in my mind because I've been recording lately. So yeah, just join me. I have a newsletter that sends creative briefs every month for free and I have free procreate brushes."

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Conclusion

In this episode of Art + Audience, Sandra Mejia provides valuable insights into the importance of strategic focus in the art business. Her candid discussion on the challenges of overexpansion, the necessity of time management, and the resilience required to navigate failures serves as a guiding framework for artists striving to build sustainable and fulfilling careers. By sharing her personal experiences and lessons learned, Sandra empowers fellow artists to find clarity and cultivate a business that truly supports their creative passions.

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Notable Quotes:

• Sandra Mejia [07:15]: "You can't start out having 10 different strategies for 10 different products. Because first of all, if you're a beginner, you are learning as you go, and like you said, you're diluting your energy."

• Sandra Mejia [20:56]: "If that's your strategy and you say, oh, I'm going to put it there for exposure because somebody might actually find me... Then it's okay."

• Sandra Mejia [31:05]: "You have to assess objectively everything and be open to."

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For more insights and to connect with Sandra Mejia, visit her website and join her growing community of artists dedicated to achieving focused and profitable art businesses.

Transcript

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Hey friend. Are you ready to pitch your artwork for art licensing? Then I have the thing for you. Presenting my brand new art licensing pitch Playbook. This free email course gives you everything you need to start pitching your artwork for licensing while leveraging your already awesome work into the next level of profitability and possibility. I'm going to teach you the five biggest mistakes that keep artists from crafting irresistible pitch emails. Reaching out to their dream partners, pitching their work with confidence, gaining experience with collaborations, and building an art business that they love to run. So if you're ready to kickstart your art licensing business, visit artlicensingplaybook.com and I will send you my free 5 day email mini course. I can't wait for you to try it out. Bye.

[Sandra Mejia]

I still felt the pressure to start making income because this was going to run out and also because I didn't want to be a failure after all these, like, people thinking like, oh, did you just throw away all your life's work? So I started after I got paid for that design and there was nothing else. Like I couldn't find any more companies to hire me because people weren't hiring illustrators like that in Colombia. I decided to put my art on products. So I started with pillows and I started thinking like, oh, maybe I should have something else. So I started making mugs. Oh, and maybe notebooks. And I started making notebooks and oh, I saw this crossbody bag. So pretty, so I should make that too. And I started making so many products that I didn't realize it back then, but that was such a huge mistake. But it also taught me a lot of things.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Wouldn't it be nice if your art business loved you back? Hi, I'm Stacy Bloomfield. After years of trial and error and late night doodling, I went went from being a coffee shop manager to running a vibrant seven figure art business that I love. And now I'm on a mission to help more artists create an art business that they love too. So I invite you to find a cozy spot, pull out your favorite sketchbook, and listen in. It's never too late to chase your creative dreams. Welcome to the Art plus Audience podcast. Hello. Hello. Welcome back. Welcome to another episode of the Art plus Audience podcast. We're the podcast where we're trying to help you create an art business that loves you back. We're trying to take the fear out of business growth. And really I just want to talk to real people about their real businesses, their real stories and how they overcame obstacles so that you can learn from them. And maybe avoid some of the same mistakes. Or maybe you'll just hear someone share a story and you'll be like, man, they get me. I'm exactly where they're at. And it's good to know I'm not alone. So today, in order to do that, I'm so excited because I have invited a friend of mine, Sandra Mejia. Sandra is a Colombian born Canadian based illustrator and pattern designer. And remind me where you're at right now.

[Sandra Mejia]

I'm in Ottawa right now. So, like two hours away from Montreal, far from Toronto Drive.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

I took my family on the Anne of Green Gables dream vacation a couple of years ago. And we stopped in Montreal first. And so we got to see how beautiful that city is. It's like New York, but really clean. And everyone's like, bonjour, hello. And then we made our way all the way to Prince Edward island after that. So Canada is beautiful. What brought you to Canada?

[Sandra Mejia]

Oh, I married a Canadian years ago, so I moved to Canada.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Oh, perfect. Well, that's a good way to do it. I mean, Canada is gorgeous. I am a little jealous. It's beautiful in the summertime. It's quite hot here in Arkansas. But, you know, that's not what we're here to talk about, is the weather. We're here to talk about art and art business. So, Sandra, I met you, gosh, maybe it was about a year ago, because you and I are a part of an online group of artists who create work and we're trying to help other artists with their careers and help each other in our own business growth. Catsy actually introduced us to each other. And I've loved getting to know you and know your story more. And I just thought maybe you could tell everyone a little bit about your own journey before we dive in.

[Sandra Mejia]

Yeah. So again, I was born in Colombia and I lived there until 2014. And I had a boring corporate job. I'm a communicator and I specialize in project management. So one day I said like, no, I need to do something creative with my life. And I don't know what it is, but I quit my job, took my savings, sold my car, moved to Argentina and enrolled in an advertising class. And very soon I realized that's not what I wanted to do. And I wasn't very good at it. So I had so much free time. And Argentina's full of parks and beautiful, like, botanical gardens. So I would go and sit there or in a coffee shop and draw and just for fun, and I kept showing it to my family. And friends. And I started putting everything in a blog just so my family and friends could see it. And then a teacher from university that was now working in TV told me, like, oh, can I hire you to make a set illustration for the TV program I'm working on? And some illustrations. Like, I used to make fashion illustrations. And I'm like, what? People pay people to draw? So basically that's, like, what everything started. And I'm like, oh, my God, yes. And then there wasn't much of a market, this was way back in 2011 in Colombia for illustrations. And I decided to start making my own products and selling them so I could put my illustrations somewhere and sell them. And that's how I started my business.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Oh, my gosh. I love your story. Isn't it interesting how it feels like the visibility on illustration as a viable path for artists has, like, exploded over the past, like, 10 to 12 years. Haven't you felt that?

[Sandra Mejia]

Definitely. And now there's so much access to classes and resources and people you can contact. It's amazing.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Well, I love that you were able to kind of find your own way in. And you're like so many other art entrepreneurs that I talked to. You just knew you had to have a way to have a creative life. You didn't know what it would take. But, I mean, you did something really gutsy. I mean, you sold everything, and you just picked up a move. And how did you have that faith that it would work out?

[Sandra Mejia]

Well, I just had this very strong feeling that I was in the wrong place. And I said, anything from here has to be better. I liked the social aspect of my job because I work in nonprofits, and I will always love that part. But I knew I wasn't meant to be in an office. And I started getting migraines, and then I had vertigo, and everything went away the day I quit. So that day I knew I had done the right thing. And I'm like, I'm going to find a way. This is meant to be. And I was, like, afraid of finding a way. Like, how am I going to do this? But I don't know. Just putting myself out there and actually doing what was inside my heart and what I really love to do. Just the path started, like, coming and, like, showing itself, basically.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Sandra, what do you think it is for some people? Because that story is something I resonate with. When you're in the wrong place, sometimes your body will let you know before your brain knows. I feel that, too. In fact, I've just resolved something in my business that had been off, but I couldn't quantify what it was, but it was literally making me sick. And it happens and why can't we recognize it whenever it's happening? Like, oh, this is a signal that something's off and we need to make a change. What do you think?

[Sandra Mejia]

Yes, I think the financial part makes you very scared because like I had a job where I was probably going to go and be the director of a nonprofit after my boss retired. So I had gone to university and then to like a postgraduate degree. I've had spent so much money in these, so much time, so much effort. The thought of throwing all that away was like, no, maybe I'm just have a migraine because I don't know, I have a vitamin deficiency or something. And like you, you keep like making excuses. But I think the body is so powerful that when it starts like, okay, I'm going to make you really sick. You need to make a decision right now. And I think it's just the fear of the unknown and also of financial stability, which is very important.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Oh yeah. And you know, then what happens is let's say you get to the point where you're brave enough to make the leap and then you make the leap and then all of a sudden you're just staring at potentially no income at first if you go straight from a full time job to going all into creativity as your career. And then all of a sudden you're like, oh my gosh, I have no safety here and I'm going to throw myself into everything and throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. Right. Because you're so urgent and desperate to make sure that you didn't make a bad mistake. But then that has consequences too. And that actually is going to lead into what we're going to talk about today, which is something that you and I see a lot with people that we talk to when we're mentoring and coaching is the lack of focus that can happen, especially I think when the risk is high.

[Sandra Mejia]

Right, Exactly.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Yeah. So why don't we just dive right into that?

[Sandra Mejia]

Yes. So definitely you have like a ticking time bomb of for me it was like how much savings I have and basically urge to just start making money right away, like, oh, I need to do this and you start trying everything you can. I was very lucky. Like I didn't have kids and like my family fully supported me and I had had savings. I've always been super careful with like money. So I've always had my savings just in case something happened and this is what happened. So I still felt the pressure to start making income because this was going to run out. And also because I didn't want to be a failure after all these, like, people thinking like, oh, did you just throw away all your life's work? So I started after I got paid for that design and there was nothing else. Like I couldn't find any more companies to hire me because people weren't hiring illustrators like that in Columbia. I decided to put my art on products. So I started with pillows and I started thinking like, oh, maybe I should have something else. So I started making mugs. Oh, and maybe notebooks. And I started making notebooks and oh, I saw this crossbody bag. So pretty, so I should make that too. And I started making so many products that I didn't realize it back then, but that was such a huge mistake. But it also taught me a lot of things.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

So let's talk about when it's a mistake to make a lot of things at first and what you should do instead. Because, you know, people look at my business now, I'm 15 years into running a product based business and I have a kajillion products. And so it's really easy, especially if someone's learning from me, to be like, well, Stacy says to leverage her art, leverage it all over the place. And yes, but with strategy. Because for me, I didn't start with a million products. It actually started with like one product that, you know, once I made a couple of handmade things and I was like, okay, art prints. I started with art prints. Full disclosure, I don't sell nearly as many art prints now. But I was honing my style and learning to talk about my work and trying to find people who wanted to buy from me. And of course then I did into all these other products. So what is the point where you think there's too many products or too many things? Like, is it the actual product amount or is it the energy behind it, the rushed decision making? What is it for you?

[Sandra Mejia]

Yeah. To me it's both lack of strategy and the desire to do so many things at once so you can get to a certain point where you think you should be there right now, so you kind of want to rush it. So I felt like, oh, if I have this huge line of products, then I'll be more visible and people will buy it. I was still just experimenting with my style. What you said, I was still honing my art. I was probably not a good illustrator. I look back on those things and I'm like, oh, my God, people bought these. Some of them. Some I still like them. I hold them really close to my heart. But I'm like, yeah, I was still learning. The technical aspect wasn't so great. So I think the amount of products cost, a huge lack of money, energy, time. At some point, I wasn't even illustrating anymore because I was dealing with five or seven manufacturers, and because I was experimenting with each manufacturer, I was wasting a lot of money because I would go to somebody that would sew the bags, and they make a sample, and I'm like, great, let's make 50. And then I give them the money, and then they weren't as good as a sample. So all that was wasted. And then I had to go look for more, and I had to learn printing processes for fabric, for bags, and then printing processes for mugs, or printing processes for this other thing. Packaging labeling, like storage. So there's so many things you have to figure out with each product that it takes so much time that you're not able to focus on anything. And I don't think I was making anything right. Like, I would have had one product with amazing packaging, amazing marketing, amazing manufacturer. But I never gave it space to be that great, amazing thing, because I diluted my energy, my time, my money.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Ooh. You know, you said something in the middle of that that I just want to call out, because everything you're saying resonates, especially with what I'm seeing happen in our industry is people are making a lot of choices to dive into so many possibilities, because there's a lot of possibilities, but they don't have a strategy. So I'm in a. In a group with this leader. His name is Jeff Walker. A lot of people know him because he teaches about online courses, but he talks about what hope marketing is, and pretty much it is creating something without a strategy and just hoping that people are going to buy it. And how the. There's so much hope marketing out there where people are just like, okay, I'm going to make all the things, and then the business will happen. And it doesn't work that way. You have to have a strategy. And you can't start out having 10 different strategies for 10 different products. Because first of all, if you're a beginner, you are learning as you go, and like you said, you're diluting your energy. So what we really try to teach our artists now is, like, if you're going to go into products, I want you to at least define, like, one signature product. What is the one product that you want to be known for. And for us now, it's tea towels that my business, Gingerbread, we like to say that we have the best tea towels. Now, no one has actually given me an award that says we're the best tea towels, but dagnabbit, I want to be known for tea towels. In having something that you're focused on to become the best at and to understand the process then allows you to market and sell it so much easier, right?

[Sandra Mejia]

Definitely, yes. I don't even create products anymore. It doesn't mean you're pigeonholed into something like. It just means, like, when you solidify that side of your business or that product, then you can move on onto other things. Or at some point it might not even work. But like, you gave it your all, which is very different to like, I tried a bit like, so you gave 5% to it, so it didn't work. Yeah, maybe because you only gave it 5%.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Only gave it 5% instead of giving it your all. So let's talk about then what you did to regain focus. So you were at this place, place you'd spend a lot of money you're manufacturing. There probably was nothing wrong even with the products that you created. But again, without a strategy, you're just sitting on all this inventory. So what did you do and how did you refocus?

[Sandra Mejia]

Yes. So basically this is when I moved to Canada. I met somebody that lived here and I decided it'd be easier for me to move to Canada than for him to move to Colombia. So we got married in Canada and I moved to B.C. and it basically forced me to shift my focus on my business. At that point, I had found my perfect product, which was little cosmetic pouches. And I was focusing just on that because they were selling like hotcakes. So that proved me right. I had to focus on something, but it basically changed my whole outcome of my business. So I came to Canada. I couldn't work anywhere because I didn't have a working visa. You get like a sponsorship visa for certain time that could have been like two years. It was only like eight months because it came really fast. But all this time I'm like, well, I'm going to try to manufacture products in Canada. But it was so expensive here and there wasn't too many options. So I decided to just start creating patterns to submit to companies because I had learned about art licensing, so I can do this from somewhere. And that became my focus. But again, I was seeing all these people that had spoon flower shops and they Had Society six shops and there was all these avenues. And at the beginning I started submitting my art to companies and I started a spoonflower shop and then I started a Society seek shop. And I was trying to do all these things and it never like none of these size of the business really grew because I was doing too much.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Yeah. So let's talk about that for a moment because I feel like. And maybe you see this too because I mean, I know we both work with a lot of artists now who are trying to kind of find their own path. I think you do some coaching as well. And sometimes I feel like people want busy work and it makes them feel like they're making progress. And so yes, Spoonflower stores aren't necessarily a bad thing, especially if you make it your focus. And yes, having a Red Bubble or a Society 6 store isn't a bad thing if you have a strategy for it. But whenever people take their portfolio of art and they just willy nilly put it on everything. Again, misinterpreting what I mean by leverage your art because you know you need some strategy behind it. Then again, they're like, man, nothing's working for me. And sometimes I would love to know your take. Have you ever done like a time audit or when you were earlier on in your business and you were kind of like trying to figure out what to do? Sometimes I feel like people need to do a time audit of where they're actually putting their energy and how much work they're actually doing towards their goal. Have you ever seen that kind of be a challenge for people?

[Sandra Mejia]

Definitely. I talked about this in my newsletter last month because I've been using a program, I'm not affiliated with it, it's just called Clockify. And I use it because I work with certain clients on time based projects when it's like mockup design and stuff like that. And I decided like, oh, why am I tracking time? To see how much this project stake. And I have no idea how much my projects take. Like I can tell you how much pattern creation takes for me, but nothing else. And I started tracking like every. Like I would sit down in my office and start tracking and like I would track how long it took me to get lunch, how long it took me to do something around the house, like everything. And I realized it's crazy the amount of time you wasting things that are not conductive to making profits in your business. So if you're not like tracking these, you're missing out like because you're, you cannot create a strategy to, like, okay, I have to realign this. I have to take this away, and this is not working. And by doing this, I realized I was creating too much, like, art for the portfolio to license to companies. And this is not even something I'm, like, actively working on right now. Like, I have some licensing deals and I've been working a lot with companies on commissions. But the thing I have I want to put my energy right now more into is teaching. And I'm like, that's what I thought, but I wasn't putting the time on that. So it's crazy the things you will find if you actually track your time for a month.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

It's true. And it actually will help you figure out, like, well, what's your actual focus? So you say you want to do art licensing. Let's say that's what it is. But are you actually pitching your portfolio? I can't tell you how many times, like, I. And I've been. I've been there, too. I'll be like, man, I'm having a dry month. Things aren't happening. And I'm like, well, how many pitches have I actually sent out? Or, okay, for me, full disclosure, I actually have a spoon flower shop. I actually got a sale in it last week. And I was like, oh, my gosh, I forgot I had a spoon flower shop. I completely forgot I had it because I uploaded things once and I had no strategy behind it. And I just was like, why not? It's a place. Now, what's your take on this? If you do put your art on a spoon flower or a Society 6, but your intention there is not necessarily to make big bucks there, but for exposure, what do you think about that? Is that a strategy? Yes. No. Maybe. So I think it is.

[Sandra Mejia]

If that's your strategy and you say, oh, I'm going to put it there for exposure because somebody might actually find me. And you know that. Then you know how much energy you're going to allocate to that, how much time and what your expectations are. So that's like, consider, oh, I was going to spend two hours of marketing this day. And that was your marketing. That's your strategy. So it is okay. But everything, again, everything has to have an end goal. And everything you do needs to be, like, pushing you forward towards that goal. So, yeah, if that you think is going to make yourself more visible and it's going to be important for what you're wanting to achieve, great. But not because, like, oh, my God, maybe I can start making money right now. I saw Some people that make over six figures in Spoon Flower. So I'm going to put up five patterns. So yeah, I don't think that's how they made so much money because they probably spend all day working on that.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

It's true. In fact, I'm friends with one of those six figure earners, Mindy Young. A lot of people know her because she's an amazing educator and she's super great at Spoon Flower and teaches people how to actually have strategy if that's what you want in Spoonflower. And she spends a heck of a lot of time in Spoonflower work in that so that she can maximize it. And so this actually leads me to a question because another thing I see is, you know, you went from having a job to just going full time. I am open for art business and I have now all the time in the world to grow this business. And that actually leaves like so much time that it can lead to again, putting your energy in way too many places. And I've actually seen this before where people will kind of follow the path that you were on. They're like, okay, I was working full time, I went for it, Stacy. I quit my job and I'm full time going all in on my art business. And then eventually they're like feel bad, like I actually needed to go get a part time job and I have less time to work on my business. But then with that less time, they're getting way more done because all of a sudden their priorities shift and they're like, well, if I only have 5, 10 hours a week to work on my business, where am I going to focus? That's our key word today, focus. So that I can get the most out of this time. So I'd love for you to kind of talk about that and your, your take on it.

[Sandra Mejia]

Yes. First of all, I don't think anybody should feel bad if they quit their job. And now they're like realizing they need a part time job. This is a job that has been also sold a lot like a dream, because it is a dream, like and you can make a pattern and then it be licensed to do and trade companies and get royalties from it. But it's also something that takes time to build. So if in that time you don't have money and you have to take a part time job, then you don't have to be ashamed of that and then you have to be super organized. So as you were saying, Stacy? Yeah. Now this eight hour luxury day that you had to create some patterns and like you Know, maybe you're doing these and then you were looking online and stuff like that changes completely. Now you're like, oh, my God, I only have three hours every day to work on this. So I have to create one pattern and I have to upload it to Spoonflower. Let's say that's your focus. Or I need to submit this to a company. So you're obviously more focused and you're like, pumping things out faster.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

I think that it really does matter where we put our time and energy. That's what's going to grow. And sometimes whenever we have 40 hours a week, we're like, well, that gives me way more revenue streams to explore. And, you know, I love a good revenue stream. I got a bunch of them, but I didn't build them all up at once. I built them up over years and years and years. And so I want to make sure I'm being clear. I am not vilifying anyone having multiple income streams, but I think especially for those people early on, defining their goals and their focus, it's so important so that you can actually see that forward motion and some reward for the risk that you took. Right?

[Sandra Mejia]

Yes. I think you need to have multiple income streams. It's something that is going to protect you because putting all your eggs in one basket, it's risky. The economy is shifting and everything. So having multiple income streams just protects you from. If one fails, then you have a backup. But I think you need to start, like, building baby steps and, like, building solid foundations for that and start with one or two things you're doing and focus on that, grow it. Once that's grown, like, you know how that works. You have all the knowledge. It kind of runs in automatic. Obviously not, because as entrepreneurs, we have to do everything basically, but you know how it goes. So now you can start focusing on something else, putting more time, more energy, more money on that. Because also, like, the economic part, like the money part, if you start to invest in all of this business at once, then, like, it's really hard, especially if you're starting out and you don't have money or you have just a little bit of savings. So I think, yeah, building one solid stream and then like, growing to another one and then another one. Like, there's no cap on how many you want to have, but you want to make sure you're building a solid foundation.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Absolutely. So let's go back to you with your focus. You went from all the products to one product to a move that forced you to change your entire focus and now, when you're talking about, like, where am I spending my time? I said I want to grow my education platform, but am I actually spending time there? Where does that leave us now for you and where you're at? And how would you advise someone who's kind of a few steps behind you to keep going? Like, what would your advice to them be?

[Sandra Mejia]

Yes, well, I've tried many things. I've failed at things. Like failure doesn't mean you're bad or you don't know what you're doing. Well, probably a bit. You don't know what you're doing, you're experimenting. But it's not a bad thing. Like, from the failures, you learn something and you have to come back and be strong. You need to be strong in this business and resilient. And it's kind of such a fairytale business because it's making art, which is something like, fun and like, to me, magical. You're creating things that are in your mind and you're bringing them to the world. So it's kind of a fairytale business. But you need to have in the back of your mind that it is a business. It runs the same way as a bank. Like, it runs the same way as somebody selling shoes. It's a business. So to me, it's determine what you want to do. Determine what, like, your version of success is. Because you might want to, like, seven figure dollar company and you might want to have employees and you might want to be like the next huge thing and brand and be everywhere in the world. Or that might not be the thing for you. So you can't compare yourself to these other people. So determine what you really want to achieve, what's like, your version of success, and then think for these, I need to reach these goals and start with one and start building back from that. Like, what steps do I need to follow to reach those goals and focus on that. And if along the line you figure out, like, you made a mistake, you chose something that wasn't for you, then you can just pivot. But don't be scared to try things again. Like, figure out what you want to do so you can focus on that.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

So here's a burning question in my brain. What'd you do with all that product that you had that you weren't selling? Did you donate it? What did you do with it? Just going back.

[Sandra Mejia]

Oh, my God. If you go to my mom's house in Colombia, I still have, like, products that she hoards because this is what everybody gets for gifts, like, for this has been like. This was like 2014 that I moved to Canada. And there's still things. Like, you go to my dad's house, he has pillows. If you go to my uncle's house, he has pillows. Like, my whole family has a bunch of things. Like, my friends got stuff. I donated a bunch of stuff. And my mom has her personal stash of, oh, I love this braid. And this one and this one. So she has, like, a hundred cosmetic pouches because she loves them all. And I bring some to Canada. I give them as gifts. And, yeah, that was, like, money that was wasted, but I feel like it was education, so.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Well, you know, that happens. In fact, once. I'm going to tell a quick story because I've done a lot of products. Like we mentioned, I had a calendar that I could not sell at all. It was a perpetual calendar, so it wasn't dated. And I was like, this is great. I can sell this calendar. And we're talking years and years of them sitting on my shelf. So finally, and keep in mind, before anyone comes at me, my was renting a place that did not have a recycling area. We only had a regular trash can. Okay, so before you say, Stacy, you should have recycled. I know. And now we have recycling set up. I know someone will say something, something. But we had to put all the calendars in the dumpster. We did. It had been, like, three years. Turns out there's someone in town who runs a YouTube channel where they dumpster dive and take inventory from places, and they resell it on ebay. So I started getting traffic from this YouTube channel, and it was this guy. He's like, I dumpster dove behind this business called Ginger Bear. Ginger Bear. Ginger. But look at all these calendars. And they're retailing for this. They just threw away, like, 10, $10,000 worth of inventory if you go at the retail price. And so they were reselling them on. On ebay. I don't know if they ever actually sold because I couldn't sell them. Go. I hope for them they did. But it was really funny to me because instead of them being in, like, my. My mother's closet back home, this. This chap probably has been trying to sell them from his YouTube channel for a while. So, yeah, sometimes when we have things that we don't sell, we just eat the cost and learn from it. And it's true. People really struggle with feeling like there's a. The sunk cost that people put into things being like, oh, my gosh, I've invested in this thing. So I can't change my focus because I invested time and money into this thing and maybe a course and I have to go down with the ship because I have committed to this. So when is it okay to change your focus if that's your mentality?

[Sandra Mejia]

Yeah, well, I think you need to try things because you can't also just like, oh, I tried these for a month and it didn't work. Like, you need to know you gave it your all, you gave it time. Like, again, like for very little people, this business makes you a superstar from like one week to the next. Like some people like start and like, oh my God, I got a license. Like, lucky. And it happens. But most people, it's a path. So if you know you gave it your all, you gave it a chance, you gave it time, you marketed everything and you see that it's not working, it's not selling, it's not picking up, then you have to change something. And it can be a small thing. Like for me, for example, I was manufacturing products. I didn't say like, oh, manufacturing products doesn't work buy. I'm going to go do like book illustrations. It could just be a little shift or it could mean that, yeah, like this is not the market for you, so you need to assess. Also, like, if you keep making cute kids illustrations and you're going to these, I don't know, craft shows that are like high end design products and you're like, oh, I'm not selling anything. This is not for me. Like, maybe you're just mistaken and like you're putting your focus on a different market. That's not what you should be doing. So you have to really assess. Like, have you given it your all? Have you focused on, like, have you given it a true opportunity? And then like, do I shift something or do I just try something else and eat up the cost, the energy? Like, even with patterns, some people, like create a whole portfolio of patterns that doesn't cost money because it's just basically time. But even that time and energy you've allocated to that like makes you so attached to them. And sometimes just with a shift of color palette or like making like a little shift in your art, adding more detail or less detail or changing your medium will change everything. So it's impossible to give a formula. But yeah, I think you need to assess objectively everything and be open to.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Shifting, open to shifting. And that's what you do. If you are an entrepreneur and you're going to grow a business. Like, you've got to be open to shifting because that's just we're living in a world where things move fast and we move right along with it and we adapt. And that's what you've done during your career. And that's what I've done. And I'm the better for it. And I'm sure you are too. Well, Sandra, thanks so much for coming on today and sharing your experience about focus and having to shift and where can people find you if they want to learn more about you and how you help artists with their careers.

[Sandra Mejia]

Yes. So you can go to my website, which is Art by Sandra Mejia. M E J I a dot com and I have everything there. My classes, my mentorship. I'll actually be launching something very soon about how to like find focus. Which is why this like, interview like is perfect. I have everything clear in my mind because I've been recording lately. So yeah, just join me. I have a newsletter that sends creative briefs every month for free and I have free procreate brushes. And I just love growing the community and interacting with artists and helping everybody grow and share what I have learned. Because as I was self taught, I want to share everything I've been learning. So maybe I can make somebody's path less painful.

[Stacy Bloomfield]

Ooh. And that's the goal. A less painful path. Happy artists, beautiful work everywhere. Well, Sandra, thanks so much for being here. And everybody thanks for listening to this episode of Art plus Audience. Bye bye. Thanks so much for tuning in. Hey, could you do me a favor? Could you subscribe to this podcast and then share it with one of your best art friends? I'd really appreciate it. And then head on over to Instagram and follow me at the Leverage youe Art account and you can keep up with all of our future episodes. Thank you so much for your support. It means everything to have you here listening and learning.

[Sandra Mejia]

Bye.