Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Natalie Mitchell, founder of Sette Design, located in Saint Helena, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Sette Design is a painting and design business. I am an expert painter, teacher, and color consultant. I paint interiors and exteriors for residential and commercial spaces, plus furniture and art, as well I teach courses on painting techniques and living the creative life. My customers are businesses and homeowners, art patrons, and my students are creative types advancing their skills and dreams.
Tell us about yourself
I am obsessed with art and design. I love to transform spaces and furniture. I have always worked in the creative field, from building lamps to painting lines of pottery. I started Sette Design in 2007. I was living in Italy and found myself a single mom with two young daughters, and I had to figure out how to take care of them and pay the rent. When I was a little girl, my mother put me to sleep by pretend painting me with the tip of her long braid. We called it The Magic Paint Brush. So I started Sette Design by pulling out a whole basket of Magic Paint Brushes and got to work. My motivation then and now is to take care of my girls and to bring beauty to the environment of my family and clients. It is amazing what fun it is to work together to figure out how we can create a space that brings the energy of health, prosperity, and joy.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I am incredibly proud of my art and the effect it has. I paint clouds, and the execution and subject matter of my paintings give a message of peace and hope. This is hard to accomplish in our often dark and changing world. I sell my paintings online and now have them in all the major cities in the U.S. I like to visualize that each person who stops to look might then feel a sensation of ahhhh, everything is actually full of beauty and possibility.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Being consistent. This is something I'm still working on.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- You must follow your passion. Running a business is too exhausting if you aren't completely obsessed with what you are trying to create.
- Graph your income. It fires you up. I do this monthly and change color as the gross income rises. Pearson's Law states, "When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported back, the rate of improvement accelerates.
- Give back. Pick a cause you want to support financially if you just don't feel you have the money to give up your time. If you can't do that, try listening.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.settedesignshop.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/settedesign/
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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