Small Business Interview with Tanya Draws

Interviews are a great way to learn about people and their businesses. I don't know about you but I get inspired by those that are creative and work hard to have their own business.  Every couple of weeks I will strive to have a guest interview on my blog featuring either an artist or someone with an inspiring online business. Hearing how others conduct their company or design their work can give us ideas and help motivate us during those tough times. 

Today I am sharing an interview with you from a talented designer. 

1. What is the name of your business?
Tanya Draws

2. What was your motivation to start your own business?
I started this as a way to motivate myself to create more art, and to teach myself new skills in design. I had been pursuing freelance graphic design at the time, and thought designing the products at the print on demand Zazzle could be a great creative outlet. When people started buying my work, I knew it could be something more! I’ve been designing patterns and drawing ever since.

3. Can you provide me with a description of your business? 
I design cute, quirky and decorative patterns and illustrations for clothing, home decor and stationery. I create gifts that can be enjoyed by people of all ages - from animal puns, to decorative patterns that look great in the home. 

4. What are the advantages of this form of business ownership 
What I love about this form of business ownership is that I can focus on designing and do not have to worry about shipping products or stock levels. Its also purely online so I can really work on my shop at any time, anywhere.

5. How do your customers find your products? 
My art can be found at the online print on demand marketplaces Zazzle, RedBubble and DesignByHumans under the shop name Tanya Draws.

6. Where do you get your motivation when things are slow? 
When I’m slowing down creatively, what helps me is to go shopping! It sounds weird, but browsing a retail store to see what items they have in stock and what kind of colours, styles and designs are popular for the season is inspiring.

7. Is there anyone you look up to for business advice? 
One person I really look up to for business advice is my sister! She is younger than me…  but she goes shopping way more than me, and always knows what is popular. :) Her great eye for style and her love of awkward humour has definitely impacted my shop!

8. Do you do marketing for your business? 
I do mainly social media marketing for my business. I can be found on twitter and Instagram! I also have a blog to showcase my work. 

9.What will you be focusing on for the upcoming holidays? 
For the holidays, I’m working on building up a collection of Holiday themed stationery & photo greeting cards! I’ve also got a bunch of holiday themed patterns in the works that I hope to add to my shop in the next few weeks. 

10. Is there anything that you struggle with in your business? 
My biggest struggle has always been keeping my self doubt in check and maintaining a balance between being critical of my work, and striving to improve. I know that I’ve grown so much as a graphic designer and artist in the past 3 years and part of that is because I see things I could have done better in my work… however sometimes I can forget this and be too critical! As creatives, I think this happens a lot. Its important to see where you can improve but its equally important to keep the things you like about your work in mind, too.

I hope you enjoyed learning about Tanya Draws. This is one of my favorite patterns that she has created. You can find it on many different products in her shop. 

Red Poppy Pattern

Designs By Shell Interview

Ever heard of giving yourself an interview? I thought this was interesting in that it would answer many questions and perhaps help me to continue to work on and create new goals for my business. In doing so it may inspire and shed some light on how you conduct your own business and why you are in the place you find yourself. 

Let's Begin:

Designs by Shell - Digital Designer 

What was your motivation to start your own business? 

I have always been interested in art and drawing since I can remember. Always doodling on scrap paper when I had the chance and I loved to color as a child too!  This was probably the beginning of my inspiration. 

I had always talked about being able to work from home, although this business came after my children were all grown. 

One day my husband came home from work and handed me a 'Wired' magazine and said "there's a company in here called Zazzle that does Print on Demand and you might enjoy designing on their products." 

I did some research and looked into the company and decided to open an online shop and try my hand at designing and to see if working from home might be an option for me. 

What is your business about?  

My store's name is Designs by Shell.  I create designs for stationary items, gift items and apparel. I began using a paint program on my Samsung tablet and this is where I draw and create my designs. You may notice I also have photography images on many items and these are all my own pictures as well.  I draw many whimsical items but also like to create chic stylish designs for birthdays and weddings as well. 

Where is your business based?

The company Zazzle is based in San Hose, California. I personally live near Vancouver, B.C.

Tell us About Zazzle, the Print on Demand Company?

This company is a huge online marketplace for designers to sell their art. As a designer you publish your products on any of thousands of products that are available and set your royalty rate. All of the processing, payments and shipping are done by Zazzle. This allows artists to focus simply on designing and leaves them free of inventory. 

What has been the most effective way of customers finding your products? 

Social media and through several of my own websites has so far been the most successful method of sharing my products and designs.  Driving traffic to my website is still challenging and something I work on everyday. 


How do you stay motivated through the tough times? 

I love to be active so usually a good bike ride or fitness walk gets me rejuvenated and ready to work again. 

Can you offer any advice for other entrepreneurs? 

Stay the course. Be a 'fearless' learner. This was some great advice given to me and has helped me dive in when I felt like I didn't have the expertise or knowledge on hand but found out that I could learn. You will make mistakes but that's okay, shake it off and keep moving forward. 

What are the advantages of this form of business ownership? 

Flexibility for sure. Setting your own hours. 

What is the most challenging part of your business? 

I would have to say the marketing is the hardest part. SEO is challenging as Google is always changing the way sites are ranked. Marketing takes a consistent effort and time.

Well I hope you find this interesting and perhaps motivating too! When you have drive it's amazing what you can do! 

The Shop

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Quick Tips For Starting a Business

Everyone at some time or other likely has dreams of starting a business, working from home and being your own boss. Sounds pretty good, right. Actually it is no free ride, you still have to work hard, put in the time and hours necessary to keep things flowing and you become very creative at juggling and learning how to grow your business. Once you've decided you're willing to put in that time and energy and have a passion for what you're doing then it's time to get things rolling. 
Hopefully you've done all your prep work and market research at this point and have set up a game plan. There are few businesses that can be started without effort and money. So be sure you have a budget set up for start up costs, even a small will get you going! So now assuming you've done all your paperwork and are working hard at your business there are a few things that you'll always be doing to propel your business into the future and stay on top of things. 

1) Continual market research

2) Revisit your business plan often

3) Revise goals, small and large

4) Be prepared for bumps in the road but find ways to overcome them (entrepreneurs weren't built in a day)

5) You'll need a url and website, business whether brick and mortar or online really can't survive without one

6) Sell, sell and sell some more

7) Try new marketing techniques and methods as what may work for some businesses may not work for others

8) Business cards still work, always have them ready to give out

    Baking Theme Business Card Collection, Ready to Customize

Fitness Trainer Business Card Collection