My earliest memory of art as a childhood was of me painting 2 bright-eyed yellow birds when I was 5 years old. To this day, it hangs above the mirror in my room in my family home. I was surrounded by art growing up. My dad did oil paintings as a hobby so our living room was always filled with huge canvases, random pieces of fruit that he was using as subjects at the time and the strong smell of paint mixed with turpentine. 

 

As much as I loved the idea, however, a career in art was something I only dared to dream about. I had this image of a ‘struggling artist’ and I didn’t want that to be me. So I did the safe thing. I got a degree in Economics & Finance (yeah, for real) and entered the corporate world.

 

Fast forward a few years later to 2018, I was leading the marketing team of a fast-paced startup and making the sort of money I had been dreaming of for years. There was one problem though; I felt completely empty. I constantly felt anxious, was working long hours and worst of all, it was on something I wasn’t passionate about. So in February 2020, I finally left my job. 

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Great...so now what?

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I've always felt led to entrepreneurship for some reason but after a few failed attempts, I began to wonder if I was even cut out for it. Well, I guess I have God to thank for my stubbornness because I kept going for it anyway! And I'm glad I did. It's funny, though. Of all my business attempts, Tiny Dog Paintings was the only one that wasn't started with that intention. Today, “work” is basically me connecting with fellow dog lovers from all over the world and painting sweet portraits of their pups for them. Talk about a career change, amirite?!

 

Do I regret that it took me a decade to get here? No. I’m so grateful for all the experiences I gained as a marketer in my previous roles. It helped me to create an art business that has been able to sustain me for the past year. The best part is that it’s only the beginning!

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Moving forward, I hope to be able to serve my community not just through my art but through my past lessons, especially in the area of creative entrepreneurship. I want this little corner of the internet to be a safe space that anyone can come to learn how to start or grow their business, alongside me because hey, I'm on that same journey! If nothing else, I want to let them know that "Yup, I feel ya. Entrepreneurship is a strange roller coaster ride and sometimes you feel like you're back at square one but I promise you, you're not. You've taken a huge step forward. You just can't see it yet."

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If you're a fellow creative entrepreneur or aspire to be one, drop me an email at tinydogpaintings@gmail.com and let's connect! I'd love to hear from you!

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Xoxo, Ming

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