Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in arts and crafts but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Xack Fischer, co-founder of Rainworks, located in Seattle, WA, USA.

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

Our business is Rainworks, and our mission is to give people a reason to smile on rainy days.

A "rainwork" is a piece of street art that is totally invisible on a sunny day but magically appears when it's raining. They are created by spraying our Invisible Spray through a stencil. When it starts raining, all the concrete turns darker, except in the spots where we sprayed. The contrast between the "wet" dark spots and the "dry" light spots is what creates the image.

Tell us about yourself

We started making rainworks around the city of Seattle back in 2014 as a way to cheer people up on rainy days. When our projects went viral inline, we started receiving hundreds of emails from other people who wanted to make their own rainworks. So we launched our business and started making it our mission to get this new artform into the hands of creators around the world.

Every day we are inspired by the amazing rainworks people create. We've seen people use them for special life moments like marriage proposals, gender reveals, birthday surprises, and more - and it just warms our hearts when we see rainworks incorporated into people's lives in such a touching way. Seeing the abundance of creativity within the medium of rainworks is definitely one of the most motivating things.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We've had a lot of moments that felt huge for us. Funding out Kickstarter, releasing Invisible Spray as a product, launching our mobile app, and making stencils available on our website were all big steps.

But overall, our biggest accomplishment is just providing people with a new way to express themselves and a fun way to surprise their friends. We find those moments of joy and mystery to be extremely meaningful.

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

One of the biggest things we struggle with is just the day-to-day grind involved in running a business. Holding ourselves accountable and staying motivated are constant challenges.

When we started rainworks, we weren't looking to run a business - we just wanted to try a cool idea, and it snowballed. So it's an ongoing effort to keep up with the business side of things - we'd rather be creating 24/7! But we've gotten better at it over time, and the joy we see rainworks bringing to people is certainly worth the effort!

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

  1. Follow your heart. Sometimes you see the potential in an idea that the rest of the world overlooks, and you need to have the courage to follow that instinct.
  2. Do the work, even when you don't want to. One of the hardest things about doing something you love for a living is changing your attitude towards it - treating your passion like a real job. This can be difficult when there's nobody else to hold you accountable, but it's super important.
  3. Tend to the garden you can reach. You can't grow into a mega-corporation overnight, and you can't fix every problem all at once. Think about what small steps you can take to get you a little closer to your goals. Progress can feel slow when you're going through it, but over time you'll see results.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

We love hearing from people who want to make rainworks, or who want to collaborate in some way! We love meeting like-minded people.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://rain.works/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/proudtoberainy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/proudtoberainy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/proudtoberainy

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.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.