Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in arts and handcrafts but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mark Levy, founder of Mark Levy Studio, located in Chatsworth, CA, USA.

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

Mark Levy Studio (MLS) works in all disciplines of architectural and decorative glass, including leaded, stained, etched, fused, slumped, and laminated glass. We carry on the traditions of the glass arts going back in history, as well as embracing the new opportunities that technology and innovation afford us, and focus on craftsmanship in a manner that assiduously rejects the commonplace. Our goals are and have been for over 40 years, to avoid the mundane, excel at all aspects of small business ownership, and treat our customers with the greatest respect and appreciation. The "Celebration of Light" is what we create with our works using a glass of all types.

Tell us about yourself

I was first introduced to stained glass in a high school elective class. The instructor, Ben Halpern, must have seen something in me that caught his eye; he encouraged me to spend more time learning the craft and often spent his off-hours and weekends teaching me the art form. I then took an independent study in the glass while in college studying architecture and business, which ended up side-tracking my studies. I started to receive private commissions and have not looked back since. As a frustrated architect, my design process and aesthetic are strongly rooted in an architectural approach to consider not only the glasswork but how it integrates and honors the particular space it occupies. My personal goal of always exceeding myself makes my collaborations with architects and private individuals and companies a true pleasure every day as I endeavor to bring the celebration of Light to their buildings. The commissions I accept all have one thing in common....to bring the glass arts into architecture and to have clients who have their expectations eclipsed.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

To have been able to make a great living doing what I love to do. That is a blessing of the highest caliber since how we get to spend our lives defines us. The balance of creativity and business acumen that are required in equal measure to make a success of business in The Arts continue to inspire me. The career I have is an unplanned one. The great people I have been fortunate to have encountered in that pursuit have all touched and enriched my life in enumerable ways. The book that was written on my works and career, "Windows From A Different Perspective," details how I see life as an extraordinary opportunity to express myself in the glass. The creative part of that is an equal partner with the small business practices. Always take time to broaden and expand your business skills, either through schooling, seminars, or books. You never stop learning unless you stop wanting to learn. Never be too positive you "know it all" to take advice. Anyone can be your teacher if you are open to learning.

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

At the end of the day, all of the accolades and goodwill that come your way as a small business owner have to be taken along with responsibilities for the problems and the unplanned issues that make up day-to-day events. To quote President Truman, "The Buck Stops Here."

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

  1. Always have a sense of humor that will go a LONG WAY to making life easier..."The reason that Angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly."
  2. Do what you love to do, and you will never "work" a day in your life.
  3. Never be afraid to take risks and put yourself on the line, as that mindset will always bring more benefits than it will bring harm.
  4. Keep investing your profits back into your business, both monetarily, and with the people you employ. Hire the best, especially those that excel in areas beyond your own skillsets.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

We live in a world of unplanned, unexpected events and situations. View those times as unavoidable rather than problems and grief. We can not choose what happens to us, but we are 100% in control of how we choose to respond. That power of choice is the greatest capability we have to live a rich and rewarding life, both in business and personally.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: http://www.marklevystudio.biz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.levy.927980
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glasshereglassthere/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklevystudio/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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