Artist, Educator & Creative

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in fine arts but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with GENE Jimenez, Artist, Educator & Creative, located in Orange, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I'm an artist. I paint, photograph, illustrate, and create digitally and traditionally. I also am an independent comic book publisher and producer. My customers range from the comic book-loving kids to the corporations and organizations that just need to get something creative produced, to the fine art affluent aficionado, and everything in between.

Tell us about yourself

I have always been creative. I grew up watching my mother and grandfather make things from nothing. Painting planters, making decorations, building businesses, and making food from not much. I'm not sure how much people realize that your children are sponges to your life as a whole, and I was taught to just create things.

In that, I've always known I was going to be in a creative field. I think my biggest inspiration art-wise was the Sunday and daily comics in the newspaper. Berkeley Breathed, Charles Schultz, and Bill Watterson changed my life. Bloom County, the Peanuts, and Calvin & Hobbes, respectively, were simply drawn, had a meaningful voice, and brought smiles to the world. I thought if I could spend my life like that, that's a life well lived. As I got older, comic books became a passion, and I have recently gone back to that medium after 25 years away.

As far as motivation, there is something inside that keeps bubbling up. Like a fire, I dare not try to extinguish it. I am driven by it, and I allow it to guide me in my creative career, which I don't really see as a 'career' per se, but more like a lifestyle choice. I believe we are all born creative, and in the systems and communities that we grow up and are raised in, we either flourish that inborn creativity or we allow the beliefs and lives of others to impose their will upon us, and we eventually forget our creativity and ability to choose. It's difficult to see people, time after time, come to me in their adult life saying, "Oh, I used to be creative, then I stopped because I needed to find a 'real job,' or, 'I wish I could be an artist"…". Humans are actually born as artists. We are the only species on the planet born with the ability to create freely. We are taught not to be creative by our upbringings and societal systems that prey on the 'work for me so that I succeed' mentality, as opposed to the 'let's develop everyone's creativity for the good of all of us.' I have a hard time subscribing to that system, having worked intensely in it earlier in my life.

So then you have those like myself, as the youngest of 5 kids, who got the opportunity to just observe the others while also allowing my creativity to grow itself because I was rarely paid attention to. My older siblings taught me what not to create (in fear of being grounded), while my parents and grandparents taught me how to be creative. Meanwhile, you have other people who come from a completely non-creative environment and eventually need to explode out of it because that inner creativity must come out. Artists, I feel, never need the motivation to create. We just need space in our lives.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Well, having a 'creative business' at all. There are far too few creatives with a business that are centered on original creations. Most have a niche or a product to produce in a creative way, yes, but not the true freedom to create something from nothing and then offer it up for sale on a daily basis. I feel blessed and fortunate that people know me as an 'artist.' I have gotten to work with a lot of famous celebrities and people who I most likely would not have had the opportunity to ever come in contact with had I not chosen to establish myself as a creative. Most of what I've accomplished up til now I thought I would start working on AFTER I retired from a career. I made a choice 25yrs ago and went with it. My 'bucket list' of what I want to do creatively in my life is almost complete, you could say. I am constantly adding to the list, and then before I know it, the list has dwindled to a few in-completes.

Living as an artist is different than having a job where you are creative or make art. A job is great, and you can take days off, get paid regularly, etc. Living as an artist requires you to 'be' an artist; that is, your 'come from' is art. The moment you wake 'til you sleep is creative-driven. I think I have developed my life as a creative life, knowing that it's a daily, sometimes moment-to-moment, grind of what to create next: a painting, photographs, comic books, or graphic design. Yes, to all of those? Sometimes. And then you also get to be responsible to your community. Pay bills, and taxes, be gracious with your talents, be humble, and be respectful. And then the next day comes. Being an artist is not a skill; it's every breath in a creative life.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Probably the same thing as not owning a business. Paying bills, except your bills, are double because you may have a house and a studio. As a business owner, you also get the opportunity to pay more dues. This is a unique thing, and I think some business owners grossly fail at this. At this point of paying one's dues', a business usually is about 3-4years old, struggled, succeeded, and now faces a new challenge of moving forward or selling out and either calling it a day or 'getting a real job.' Most people don't realize that as a business owner, whatever the big hurdle to get over, is the same hurdle that always stops you in business and in life. I think creatives sell themselves short on how creative they can be in times like this. Allowing yourself to 'be an artist, especially in moments like this, is critical. Big bills? Not enough help? Not enough time? How would the person who created your business handle these issues on day 1 of your business when you were unstoppable? These challenges that are all too well known by most business owners are opportunities to grow oneself. To reinvent oneself so that whatever is in the way won't ever be in the way again. And it might! But you will have experience in overcoming such issues, and that is what makes businesses successful.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Jump. Sew your parachute on the way down. No really. If that fire inside is welling up, FIND A WAY to make it happen.
Listen to your INNER voice while seeing with your OUTER vision. This one is a bit challenging for most because of the society we live in. Most people want their own business for money or external pleasure. Those are fine, BUT if I had a nickel for how many lost, sad, hollow, or miserable 'well-off' business owners have come up to me saying, "yeah, I wanna be creative someday...". FOLLOW YOUR PASSION, not others' passions or even your family. This is always the tricky one when you choose to jump.
Failing is NOT Failure. I fail daily. Really. Your business will only be as successful as your resiliency. This is true in business and life. Know that you don't leave yourself at home and go to work. You are everywhere you are. Be there. Allow yourself to live the life YOU want, and be okay with ALL that comes with it, including the failures and successes. I have yet to hear, "I'm so glad I worked my ass off so that my boss made a lot of money, and I really saw none of it..." And, I have heard, "Today, I'm gonna go create something new." - because I say that to myself most days of my life now.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://artistgene.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistgene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artistgene/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genejimenez/

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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