If I want to paint all day in my PJs, I can. Mostly, I can be there for my children when they need me. No one understands my son the way I do, and I get to spend every moment with him that I can. If we need to go to the zoo for the day, we go to the zoo — I will paint tomorrow. If my daughter needs me, I package orders during nap time. I have the freedom and flexibility that I could never have with a regular job.

I offer all my first-time buyers a special coupon code. Anyone who buys from me three times or more gets a permanent coupon code for being a regular customer. I really appreciate the people who support my work, and I want their third or fourth visit to be just as good as their first.

It’s hard to be taken seriously as an artist — no one believes you can make a living, even though people do it every day. People ask me when I will open a “real shop.”  I politely tell them that online I can reach people around the world and network while drinking my coffee and being with my kids — that beats a “real shop” any day.

It’s also sometimes difficult to see where my business ends and my home life begins. I spend all day catering to the kids and my shop. Thank goodness my husband cooks and cleans, or we would be in trouble.

Jessica Grundy

(Source: etsy.com)