187 – Finding Courage Through Art with Frances Castro of Francesita by Frances

Hi there.

You're listening to gift biz on rapt episode 187 people were

reacting towards it and saying,

this is great,

this is awesome,

and I'm like,

Whoa. At Tinton,

gifters, bakers,

crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

Whether you have an established business or looking to start one

now you are in the right place.

This is gift to biz unwrapped,

helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,

resources, and the support you need to grow your gift biz.

Here is your host gift biz gal,

Sue moon Heights.

Hi there Sue,

and I'm thrilled that you're joining me today because I have

a little bit of a different episode and guest for you,

but before we get into all of that,

I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook

group called gift biz breeze.

It's a place where we all gather and our community to

support each other.

I've got a really fun post in there.

That's my favorite of the week.

I have to say where I invite all of you to

share what you're doing,

to show pictures of your product to what you're working on

for the week,

to get reaction from other people and just for fun because

we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody in

the community is making.

My favorite post every single week without doubt,

wait, what aren't you part of the group already?

If not,

make sure to jump over to Facebook and search for the

group gift biz breeze.

Don't delay.

Come join us in gift biz breeze today and seriously,

you're going to want to jump in if you aren't there

already specially right now because I have a certain special holiday

promo for you that's only happening in the breeze.

It's an opportunity for you to share your creations with other

people and get some holiday sales.

That's all I'm saying here.

Details await you in the breeze.

Okay, so let me tell you about Francis,

our guests today.

We met just by happenstance and as you often do when

you meet somebody new,

you just have some small talk pesky a little bit about

what you're about,

what you're doing,

why you're at a particular event,

et cetera.

Well, it ended up,

I found out that she is an up and coming artist

and I gave her a little bit of a challenge.

She not only took on the challenge but circled back to

me and told me what she did and I thought it

would be so interesting to talk to somebody who's just starting

their journey,

but is coming with a wealth of knowledge and experience from

other areas.

So she has a lot of things that she can show

us and teach us and talk with us about that she's

now applying to this new budding business of hers.

So without any further comment on my side,

let's get into the interview with Francis Today.

I am so excited to introduce you to Francis Castro.

Francis is in the process of starting her own business.

Her dream is to make a living income with her art.

It's such an exciting time when you're starting your business.

Her company is going to be called by Francis.

Francis works on canvas and upcycles furniture.

Actually she'll tackle just about anything that will take paint.

Bright colors and whimsical themes are fundamental to her artwork as

she has been influenced by having lived in central America for

several decades.

Francis, his personal goal is to transmit sunshine through every piece

she sells.

Oh my gosh,

I love that visual.

Francis, welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcast.

Thank you.

I'm so excited to be here today and share a little

bit about my art.

Yes, I love the fact that I'm catching you right in

the beginning.

I think this is going to be such an interesting conversation

and even for people who have gotten started just to hear

from you and the energy and the excitement of when you're

creating something fresh,

I think is going to be so enlightening for everybody so

I can not wait to get to that.

But before we do,

it's a tradition here for me to ask you about a

motivational candle.

So if you were to describe yourself by color and quote,

what would a candle look like that speaks all Francis?

My candle definitely would be red.

Red is a vibrant color full of vitality,

and it represents me on a personal,

deep level because it signifies determination,

courage, and an interesting word that I found while I was

searching to know the significance of the color red.

It means survival.

Ooh. And why is survival important to you?

It's a part of my narrative.

In fact,

art came into my life through a life changing event that

I really wasn't expecting,

but it taught me about courage.

And that's another thing that is important in my art.

And that brings me to my quote.

And you never expect for me to bring a quote from

this person.

But John Wayne actually said something that has stuck with me

from the very first time I ever saw it.

And he said that courage is being scared to death but

saddling up anyway.

Isn't that great?

I love it.

Yes. I've never heard that either.

You're right.

You just go through and you do it anyway.

That's courage.

Scared. But going forward.

That is completely courage.

I agree with you.

So talk to us a little bit about how art came

into your life,

where you always,

even as a little girl,

loving art and that creative side.

Yes, from a small child,

I loved my crayons and my watercolors.

I grew up in Tucson,

Arizona and they had an art contest in the newspaper.

And one of my drawings,

which was about the cactus and the Southwest,

you know,

motif. I entered it and I was actually picked and I

was so proud of myself.

I must've been about nine or 10 and throughout my high

school years and college,

I was always interested in anything that had to do with

arts and crafts.

I was always at the craft stores and I moved to

but I wasn't painting.

I was just crafting,

making things.

And I was so influenced by the textiles and the artisans

that are there.

There's great artwork to be found in what the Mala,

they're wonderful textiles.

And it continued to develop in me this desire to paint.

But I didn't have any paints yet.

So were you just testing out different mediums and this was

just maybe your experimental time of,

you know,

what did you really love?

You knew you were a creator of some sort and an

artist of some sort,

but you were trying to like different mediums and different styles

and all that.

cheap acrylics.

I sent one of the people that worked for me because

I had a business.

I ran a boutique hotel on what them all up and

I bought some cheap acrylics and I got some bottles and

I started painting the bottles because I wanted to see if

I could do that,

if I could work that medium.

And I fell in love with it.

And then my life gave what I would call a 180

degree turn that I wasn't expecting.

And I found myself back in the United States in September

new life.

And that was not easy.

I was kind of in a state of shock trying to

register because things happen,

life happens.

And it was my turn to face a challenge.

But one of the greatest things that can happen to a

person is when you're faced with adversity,

you can find opportunity to transform into something new.

And I started going to art therapy classes and that was

the very first time that I came across canvas and I

started doing paintings and I fell in love with it.

I felt like that was something that was healing my soul.

And I started trading my art for money because I wouldn't

call it a business,

but people were actually liking my stuff.

I would post it on Facebook and everybody would go,

Oh well are you selling that?

And I go,

well, not really.

And then they say,

I want to buy it.

And I was like,

you really want to buy my art?

And then I thought,

wow, this is an Avenue that I never ever considered.

But at the time I was back in school at the

university of Arizona cause I had went back to Tucson where

my family lives,

my parents and I went back to school.

So I didn't really have any time to work on my

art, but it was always in the back of my mind

and sometimes when I get stressed out from classes I get

a little canvas and I do it a little eight by

10 just to get that stress off of me.

And it's always worked because I find that art is a

mindful practice.

It keeps you in the present and it keeps you focused

on something cause you can't paint and have your mind flying

somewhere else.

Right. That's so interesting to me because there's two things that

you're talking about that I kind of see from people who

find and gravitate to a creative career at some point.

First off,

a lot of times it is where there's a point of

conflict in a life,

something happens that really upsets the Apple cart,

if you will.

And it forces you to think differently or see differently that

you might not have if everything had gone smoothly.

Exactly. So in a way,

although you know,

I don't know the story behind the situation,

but in a way I'm sure you would have rather not

had all of that term,

but it's brought you to potentially a better place.

So I suggest to people who are listening to think about

that too as they're going through their life and when something

is really traumatic and there's a point where you could change

to be open to some opportunities cause that's Francis what it

sounds like you did,

you were open to those opportunities.

Exactly. The other thing I just wanted to say real quickly

is you talk about art therapy.

You can probably speak to this way more than I can,

but I continue to hear how working with your hands and

creating something that's coming from within,

that's your sole cause.

It's your style.

It's your way of expression.

Can be so healing.

Yes, exactly.

I didn't even know art therapy existed.

I was in therapy sessions and my counselor,

she saw in me that creative spirit and she recommended art

therapy. She goes,

do you like to paint?

Do you like to sculpt?

Do you write poetry?

And I go,

well, I've always wanted to pay it.

I think I can do it.

And she was the one that sent me to these therapy

sessions with art.

I was there for a year painting and it was,

I went like three,

four times a week,

and definitely I felt that I had more healing from the

actual art than I did in the talking sessions.

Oh, interesting.

But in that you're healing yourself,

right? Because you're expressing yourself.

It's not someone necessarily talking you through everything.

Yes. I was able to express through the medium of acrylics

and the canvas what I was going through.

It was like a storybook.

As I look back because I have photos of all the

pieces that I created during that time,

and I can actually tell a story of my healing process

from the beginning to the end.

That's so interesting.

I don't want to discount that at all,

but I want to move on then now into you.

So you started creating,

you were putting them on Facebook just to show people what

you're up to.

Right. How shocked were you when some people came back and

said, Hey,

can I buy that from you?

I was completely shocked.

I thought that my work was okay.

I didn't think it was anything special.

I liked it because I love bright colors.

I love flowers,

I love whimsical motives and I liked things to be fun

and people were reacting towards it and saying,

this is great,

this is awesome.

And I'm like,

Whoa. And then you know,

some of my Facebook friends,

they said,

I want it,

will you send it to me?

And we had to discuss the price.

And so I was like,

what do I do?

How do I do this?

How do I go about charging something that I made and

I just spit out a price and they said,

Oh, I'll take it.

You know,

I found myself selling my art.

It was a mind blowing experience for me,

but it also created in me that question,

could I do this for a living?

Right. I mean it validated to you that other people wanted

what you could create.

Exactly. And now I'm starting to develop that idea.

I just opened up an Etsy shop just a few days

ago. I know.

I'm so excited about this.

I'm sorry,

I don't mean to interrupt you,

but can you go to where you flip the switch?

The time.

So this is like within the last several days a week,

I'm not sure,

but what was your mind when you flipped a switch and

said, okay,

I'm going to formalize this now and I'm starting a business.

When I met you at the concert that we were at

the summer in Ravinia,

I felt like that was assigned to me.

Really? So let's share with everybody what happened.

Do you want me to tell the story or do you

want to tell the story?

Go ahead and tell your side of the story and then

I'll add.

Okay. Okay,

good. We'll see how this works.

So my aunt was in town.

Shout out to Kristi and Rob,

if you're here listening to the podcast and you better be,

we went to Revinia to listen to the Chicago symphony.

This is an outdoor concert area right in my community,

but it draws in people from all over Chicago.

And by accident we got there too early.

So we had to wait in line for an hour in

this sweaty hot 90 degree weather or whatever it was then.

And you guys also came relatively,

I don't think you were waiting as long as we were,

but we're right in line together and you had the cutest

outfit on.

So we started talking,

I think we started with your shoes.

And so one thing led,

you know,

as conversations do,

and this just goes to show talk with people around you

because you never know what's going to happen.

So one thing led to another led to another and we

started talking and then we got started to get into your

story Francis and you pull out your phone and you show

me your furniture,

which is so beautiful.

I was like all over this.

So then of course me with the podcast and what I

do for a living and start asking you questions,

is this a business?

What are you doing?

They're like 7,000

could trillion questions and we left it that you were going

to continue doing what you're do sent.

You were going to send me some pictures and then we

would see how it developed.

And that has led to today when we're talking.

What are you going to add to the story Francis?

Well what I'm going to add is that up until that

point I wasn't really doing my art.

I had done a stool and I think I had done

a painting but I really wasn't thinking about going down that

Avenue cause I just moved to Chicago this year and I

getting settled.

But when I met you and you asked me are you

an artist?

And I think it had to do with my colorful outfit.

And I was like,

Whoa. And so I started answering your questions and then later

on I told my husband,

I said,

you know,

I feel like this is a sign that I should do

this. Oh,

I'm getting shivers over here.

I love this,

that I should actually go forward with doing my art.

And I told you that I would have like four or

five pieces done by the middle of September.

So by saying that out loud,

I was being held accountable to my own promise.

And I started working on different projects.

I had painted a chair,

I did a jewelry box,

I did a couple of other things and I said,

I've got to do this.

And I started looking into Etsy.

I haven't been on social media for quite a while.

So opening up the Etsy was something big.

And now I'm thinking,

Oh, I should go on to Pinterest and start putting my

stuff out there.

And, and then I started listening to your podcast and getting

ideas from different people and seeing how I could actually make

the sustainable living,

creating something from my hands that can bring,

like I said earlier,

a little bit of sunshine into each person's home that you

know, supports my business Well and sunshine into your life too

because you've already shared how much that helps you in terms

of just taking your internal and bringing it out and you

know, your happy colors and all of that too.

So it's rewarding on both ends for sure.

Have you already established and registered your business already?

So Francis SITA,

am I saying it right?

Yes. Francis Francis,

SITA by Francis is already registered as a business.

It's registered as a business on Etsy.

I opened a shop,

but I haven't done any business paperwork,

you know,

like outside of at state.

So that's something you'll definitely want to get done just for

government, you know,

all of that.

But let's talk about Etsy now.

What has been your experience and you just put this shop

up right?

I just put it up.

I had never even been on Etsy before.

I mean I've been off of social media for so long

that I have become like kind of like unacquainted with everything

that's going on now as far as online sales.

So you have a whole world of learning to get started

with. Yes,

exactly. But I do have experience in sales.

You know,

I did a lot of marketing and sales in what the

Mala with the businesses that I had,

I was very successful and so I think if I was

able to do it there,

Absolutely. And you're so personable.

I mean give biz listeners,

you can hear it just through her voice right here.

It's that magnified in person for sure.

So all right.

How did you find the process of setting up the shop?

Was the platform easy to manage through uploading photos,

getting everything established?

What was your experience there?

It was very easy.

It's black and white,

you know,

you just go on,

you open up your account,

you start uploading and the uploading process was very quick.

Everything is explained to you in minute detail and I think

I did it in like maybe under two hours.

Oh wow,

that's wonderful.

And so have you had any sales so far?

Not yet.

I put it up like maybe 48 hours ago.

Oh man.

Okay. So I need to go and do some research on

how to make my Etsy visible and that's why I felt

like I need to open up an Pinterest and start to

get back on social media to promote my online shop.

Absolutely. And you've got it exactly right.

You know on social media what you'll do is you'll drive

everybody over to your Etsy shop.

Exactly. Instagram too.

For sure.

Instagram, Yes.

I'm going to have to go back.

I've been like one of those people that I was on

social media for a long time when I lived in Guatemala

promoting the hotel,

promoting other businesses,

but I left All that behind and now it's like,

Oh, I've got to get started again.

Absolutely. And I'm sitting here and I wish all of you

who were listening could see this.

And the very first thing I said to Francis when we

connected here,

I do all my recordings over Skype but was,

Oh my gosh,

I love the visual that I'm looking at right now.

Right. The fantasy by Francis.

Just the imagery and you know,

I'm not sure if it's pink or purple.

It's a little combination of both,

but it's so brilliant and so bright and so happy and

I can see that all over social media just it's beautiful.

Francis isn't going to share the motivation and how she came

upon the colors of her logo.

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I love bright colors and it has to do with the

time that I lived in Guatemala.

Anyone that's listening on the podcast has been there,

will understand.

In fact,

they went,

I'm talking to the textures of the textiles and just the

colors, the bright,

beautiful, vivid colors.

I put them into my artwork.

And also I had mentioned a little bit when I wrote

to you about my grandmother.

She was a quilter and she was a crafter and she

did everything always with bright,

beautiful, vivid colors.

And I think color is something that livens up any space.

It brightens any mood when you see something just so bright

and cheery.

Some people say,

Oh, that's so cliche,

but I think it really does wonders for the soul.

I totally agree with you.

So let me ask you this,

as an artist and someone who clearly knows how to put

colors together,

is this a fuchsia or a purple or a combination of

both? Maybe.

It looks like It's a combination.

There's a few HSA and there was some blue that was

put in there to give that purple-ish tone.

Oh, gotcha.

Okay. So and give biz listeners,

you'll be able to go over to social media and see

this. Is this imagery on your Etsy page too?

Yes. Okay.

So you can go look you,

everybody who listens regularly knows there's a show notes page where

you'll have all the links.

But what I'm getting at and what I think would be

an interesting conversation is you use color and are surrounded by

color and have color in everything.

How did you then narrow in and decide what your colors

were going to be that were going to represent the business?

So the branding side I decided that I wanted to use,

my name is Frances Castro.

I'm of Hispanic descendant,

so I've wanted to tap into my culture and I wanted

to tap into what represents me and I feel like those

bright colors,

the fuchsias,

the reds,

the greens,

the purples,

the bright pinks,

the yellow,

that all is representative of like this,

I would call a woven fabric.

That is my life,

that the different compartments of who I am is being a

Latina. Having lived in Guatemala,

my love of art,

my love of color,

I wanted to bring that into what my pages so that

people could see a little bit of my personality through the

colors that I chose And you know,

along the way now those are the types of people who

will be attracted to you too because you've made a clear

statement. So people who love that and love that style and

love that feel are the people who are going to become

your customers.

It's that Folklorico folk art type of art.

Think of Frida Kahlo,

but it's not,

you know,

like Frida Kahlo,

but she loved color and I love color and I love

flowers and I love everything to just be with sun and

you know,

stars and moons and just whimsical.

Beautiful. Perfect.

Okay, so now I want to go a little bit inside

your thinking.

You've got your Etsy shop up,

you're waiting for that first sale,

which will probably be maybe even while we're courting the show.

You never know,

but what's your thinking?

Where is your mind right now?

It's doing research to get my business to begin to thrive.

To have a sustainable income and developing more ideas of what

I can do as far as business because something has to

be in demand.

So as I'm growing I can see through what people are

purchasing, what is the actual object that's going to be something

that will be a popular item that I can focus on,

like if that makes sense.

Like I do a lot of things,

you know,

I have the chairs,

I have the stools,

I have shelves,

I have jewelry boxes,

but I want to see if there's going to be a

certain object that I'm going to focus in on.

That seems to be the one that most people are gravitating

to in purchasing and are interested in.

Yes. That's fabulous because you're not putting something out there and

saying, okay,

this is what I have,

buy it.

You're saying let's put these things out there.

And then as you're saying research and then you're going to

just observe what are people purchasing the most,

you know,

what are they asking for?

Cause you might get calls and say,

Hey, I love this,

but could you do it in these colors?

Or could you make it smaller?

Exactly. You never know what's going to come of it.

So very interesting.

I love that.

And I also haven't heard through this whole dialogue,

just this recent part,

like what are you doing now?

Where's your mind?

Anything about it?

Reflecting on you as a person who you are,

you're going to wait and what the market wants from you,

but it doesn't influence who you are as a person.

So many times when people start a business,

they associate themselves as they're being too.

Whether the business is successful,

like if you hadn't sold anything,

even for the first week,

that doesn't matter.

You still need to drive an audience to your site.

But so many people would say,

Oh, I'm a failure.

Oh, it's not working.

Right? None of that.

You're in research mode.

It's a great example and we didn't talk about this before

the show,

but it's a great example.

It's fundamental.

When I ran the boutique hotel and what them all,

uh, one of the things that I learned is that I

might like something,

I might have a certain idea of how I wanted things

to be,

but I had to listen to my customers and take what

I wanted and he tried to mold that into what the

customer wants because obviously when we're offering goods we have to

focus on what our customer is looking for.

Perfectly stated.

Let's talk a little bit about your pricing.

So you kind of made up your Facebook purchase pricing because

you weren't expecting that that was coming out of the blue.

Now you hit a little bit more time to think as

you're setting up your Etsy shop.

How did you determine how you were going to price your

pieces there?

What I decided to do was take into account the time

that I spent on each item,

how much paint did I use if I purchase this item,

like as far as upcycled items,

the price that I paid for that,

and even including gasoline that I've used to acquire different items

and putting all that together and then dividing it up by

hours and then saying,

okay, this is my cost.

And then from there then I can make an estimate of

a price for each item And then put some margin in

on top of that too.

Yeah, definitely profit because you're going after the living income,

sustainable business.

Yeah. So I love that because you also included some of

the costs that people forget about,

which is the gasoline or if you're having paint sent to

you, let's say instead of going out and getting it,

what were the costs of shipping?

So you had all of that.

So those are a lot of hidden costs that people forget

about frequently and then they wonder why they're not making any

money because there may be just breaking.

Even what they make is what they sell it for,

but it's just a neutral transaction.

They're not making anything.

Yeah. You have to take that into account and then you

think about,

well, if I were working at a retail,

what would be my hourly wage?

Give myself a wage and include that to the estimate.

I will also say,

and I'll be curious about your opinion on this,

Francis, is you have taken art classes and spent a lot

of hours just on your own,

even from when you were little learning how to create the

techniques that you do and some people who are makers out

here are buying soldering equipment or other types of equipment where

they've had to not only invest in their tools but also

invest in learning how to use them professionally in the best

way. And that's valuable too.

That's worth a monetary line in the whole buildup of your

cost as well.

Exactly. Does that make sense?

Yes. That's something that you would have to take into account

also to be able to break even if you've invested in

any kind of equipment,

you need to break that down.

Well and I would imagine for you it's paint brushes,

paint brushes,

my paint,

cleaning your paint.

Yes, cleaning of your brushes,

like all of that is part of the cost of making

the product and at some point probably replacing your brushes.

I don't know how often they get to need to be

replaced. And then also the technique,

the time you've put in the training that you've had to

perfect your skill,

All that has to be taken into consideration.

And when you do that and then you put your price

on an object,

that money will be replenished and you can keep rotating and

you can keep moving that money,

making more product and selling it so that eventually you'll see

that growth,

if that makes sense.

I agree.

Okay. I'm going to put you on the spot here a

little bit with my next question.

You sound very confident.

You have had other businesses,

so you're an experienced business owner,

not necessarily with something that you create,

but you know the whole system of business,

et cetera.

Have you had any fear or doubt or worry despite your

courage? Every day.

Every day it's like I say to myself,

what am I doing?

What have I gotten myself into?

You know?

And then what's the next thing you say to yourself?

Well, I'm already in the middle of the tornado so I

can just lock through it.

I love that.

I'm just saddling up and going forward on that horse.

Just like John Wayne's said.

There you go.

And you know what?

It's faith in what you can do.

It's recognizing that just as you were talking about earlier,

even though it might be a little uncomfortable,

you just still do it.

You'd get up and you just go through with it.

You don't stop,

you don't give up.

I think a lot of people give up right when they're

on the cusp of a breakthrough.

Oh, good point.

Talk a little more about that.

I feel like a lot of people,

you know,

they set everything up.

They had a great idea,

they're all excited about it,

and then they see that it's just like there's nothing going

on. And then,

you know,

they say,

Oh, I'll wait a little bit longer and nothing's happening.

And then they just throw in the towel and maybe just

right around the corner they were going to meet somebody or

something was going to happen and they were going to have

that breakthrough,

but they gave up.

And anybody that does something that's worth something,

there's sacrifice involved.

And people who have had success usually are people who have

had lots of failures,

who had lots of doors,

slammed on their faces,

but they just kept going forward,

kept going forward and saying,

I've sent out a thousand applications while,

or I've been to hundreds of auditions.

You know,

you hear those stories all the time and I feel like

there's a lot of truth in that.

I see it in my own life.

When I went back to school,

you know,

I know this doesn't have to do with art,

but I went back to school and half of the time

that I was there I said,

what am I doing here?

And I just kept plowing through because you know,

I'm obviously not a 20 year old student and to be

in this world of young people and doing essays and papers

and research and I said,

how am I going to get through this?

Well I have to brag a little bit.

I plowed through and I graduated with a GPA of 3.95

I graduated Summa cum latte.

So, Wow,

congratulations. That's awesome.

Thank you.

So I feel like you're doing something.

Don't give up.

Don't give up on your dream.

Absolutely. It is heartbreaking when dreams get crushed and I see

it in two places,

I see it where people will just keep saying like they

want to start the business.

They are thinking of doing this,

they want to write that book,

you know whatever it is.

And it's always want,

want, want,

want and they never take the action.

And I think it's because of being fearful and quite honestly

when we were standing in that line,

Francis I wanted to see if you were going to follow

through. Well because I do meet a lot of people who

don't. They just always are talking and my heart breaks for

them because I know that they're not proceeding because of fear.

Something's holding them back in that way.

There's other things that can hold someone back too,

but most of the time they just don't believe in themselves

enough. Right.

And to your point,

you believe in yourself regardless,

and if it doesn't work right away,

you make adjustments.

You make changes,

whatever you need to do to get to that point of

success. So that's the first place I see it.

The second place is,

again, just as you're saying,

maybe it just hasn't worked the way they thought it was

going to and it's the fourth try or the fifth try.

But what if it's the sixth try that really lands it

right. You know,

and then at some point,

yes, if you're losing money over and over again,

at some point you have to do something different.

Don't just keep trying the same way and losing money the

same way.

Try something different to see what that magic potion is that's

going to make it work.

Exactly. I agree.

A hundred percent My husband said to me once that I

was in the gift basket business for awhile and he was

very supportive,

but I kind of think back and wonder if he really

thought it was gonna work or not.

It did.

It worked very well actually.

But yeah,

he's made a comment to me,

which I thought was really good and he said,

Sue, you know,

if you're not to sell these products,

it doesn't mean the products are bad.

It might mean the market just isn't there for you.

It's like taking it outside of who you are,

but it has to be the market because the market has

to like and want what you have.

So something else to consider as we're thinking about businesses,

you know,

for all of us,

that was really for all of our listeners as you talk

about research,

because that's what you're saying your into right now,

is researching what the market's going to want from you.

How you can adjust to accommodate the market,

which means you'll sell more researching,

registering the business,

you know,

all the business side and the creative side and social media.

Getting people over to your Etsy site,

where are you going to find your information?

When you say research,

what are you doing research wise?

I'm on Google,

I'm on YouTube.

Yes, Google has everything you want to know about anything and

I go on there and I delve into my subject and

then as I'm into one step deck I might focus in

on something that I saw on there and then it just

grows and grows and grows,

but I'm constantly on YouTube and Google researching,

looking at what people are selling,

what people are making.

I do it on a daily basis because things are changing

so quickly and to be on top of it,

I look to see everything that is being produced by the

different crafters and artists and that also influences in me or

it sparks in me like,

wow, I see all this,

but I haven't seen anybody do any of this yet.

So it's analysis of your market and where you are and

how you can be different as well as resourcefulness on the

business end of what you need to move forward.

Yes, I use those.

That's basically what I'm using and I ensure like when I

get back onto the other social media sites then you know

I'll have even more information available to me.

Absolutely. I think you would be perfect for Instagram stories and

I'm not sure if you know all of what that is

yet, but I'm just going to leave it at that cause

that's a whole nother show.

But I want you to think about that cause you're so

good at presenting yourself cause I've seen you face to face

now and I'm hearing you talking here,

But that was something that I was actually thinking about because

one of the things that I see on YouTube or a

lot of DIY wise and so I thought wow,

maybe I could do something that involves my art,

but also having a platform where I could actually talk to

my audience.

That's something that crossed my mind.

I think you're perfect for it just by personality.

Not everyone is,

but I think it could just so flow for you.

Not everyone is made to do that.

I always tell people too,

because I think they should be out there and showing who's

behind the art that they create.

But you're just a natural.

So a little idea for you to contemplate and it sounds

like you already are.

So what would be your recommendation for someone who is thinking

that? Yeah,

they're doing some stuff on the side.

They really enjoy it.

They've had a little nibbles from maybe family and friends,

you know,

just like you did back when.

Right. So they've had some interest in their product.

What would you say to somebody who is contemplating making the

switch and turn it in into a business?

I would tell them to dream.

And when I say dream,

I'm saying put in that determination.

Use that resourcefulness,

your energy,

your attitude,

and your management dream and do it.

Go for it.

Thank you so much Francis.

That was wonderful.

And now on behalf of myself and my listeners,

I'd like to invite you to dare to dream.

I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.

It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.

So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable

Heights that you would wish to obtain.

Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.

What is inside your box?

I would love to write a memoir that includes my art.

That would be a visual experience of sharing what I've gone

through in my development as a artist and as a person

and I would love to do a Ted talk.

Oh my gosh,

those are two super cool things To actually put together.

Everything that you've gone through,

it's kind of like an autobiography,

but in an artist's D way I guess I would say.

Have you been thinking about that for awhile?

I've been thinking about this for years,

but as I develop these artistic skills that I didn't know

I had,

I started to dream about creating something that would include my

art with what I gone through as a person and Professionally

Included some kind of media.

I'm not sure you know,

if it would be a coffee table book or small book,

who knows,

but I want to write a book,

my art,

I want it to be a memoir and I always dreamed

about doing a Ted talk.

There you go.

Well, first off on the book part,

you know it all starts with the idea.

So what?

It actually ends up being in physical life is one thing,

but it has to start with the idea.

So that is really exciting.

And your Ted talk,

you already know the topic.

I would talk about how art changed my life.

I want to include my artwork in my Ted talk and

how was therapeutic in my healing from a situation in my

life that was life changing.

Oh my gosh.

It would be directed towards anyone who has come into a

situation, whether it be personal,

it could also be natural disaster.

Anything that turns your life around and that you can use

different mediums and art can be one of them to get

you back on that road to recovery because it was,

for me,

it changed my life.

That sounds like that would be such a potent talk.

Will you circle back with me when you do that?

Because I know you will establish that you take action when

you have an idea you do it.

But yeah definitely let me know because I'll want to let

all our listeners know about it too.

Oh I will.

And you know one of the things I want to say

is in order for something to come true,

a dream to become reality,

you have to speak it out loud first.

Yes. It's more powerful than we think.

I really believe that that when we actually put it in

a voice,

not just think it but actually put the words in.

Just like you were saying,

I don't even need to expand on it cause you did

a great job with that.

So all right,

so you're going to let us know about that.

And then also can you tell us where is the single

best place for anyone who wants to see your art?

To see a little bit more about what you're up to

and the logo.

Cause we've been talking about how bright and beautiful your logo

is. Where's a good place for them to go?

You can visit my shop on Etsy.

It's called Francis SITA by Francis and you can see everything

that I'm doing.

Wonderful and so then also on the show notes page give

biz listeners,

you know this already.

I'll have links to social media sites because we already know

that you're going to start working on all of those right

and then and then the Etsy site and all of that

will be right over on the show notes page.

Francis, I am just so impressed with you from the moment

I met you in line who knew like I had no

idea all the things that you have going on and I'm

thrilled that you took action.

I'm thrilled that you reconnected with me and are actually doing

it and I am so excited to watch you progress.

Thanks for being here right at this point in your journey

because I think a lot of our listeners all right the

same place you are so they can really relate.

It's really valuable for them to be able to see as

you're starting and growing something new.

So again,

thank you for sharing everything with us today.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you very much for having me on your show.

It was great.

Before we all move on to our other activities of the

day, I want to make sure you know about my newly

released free master class.

It's called how to turn your hobby into a business.

How do you know if this is for you?

Well, if you're starting a business right now,

you've gotten that dream,

but you're not sure what steps you should be taking.

This masterclass is for you if you're already in business,

but something just isn't clicking,

it's not bringing in the sales or it's just not performing

the way you think it should.

This masterclass is also for you to check it out.

Just go over to gift biz,

unwrapped.com forward slash masterclass.

I look forward to seeing you over there and of course