We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chad Barela. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chad below.

Chad, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I started in the music world making little to no money. I did the typical starving artist thing. My only focus/priority/concern was just to make the best art that I could. Money wasn’t even on my mind and I was living on next to nothing for a good stretch of time. But then I got married and I couldn’t just sleep on couches anymore. I had to make a living and my priorities shifted. It was hard, because I’d committed so much of my life to the creative world that I had a hard time reconciling the two and knew I couldn’t just get a “normal” job. So I worked hard and got creative. My dad has always been an artist and growing up I’d watch him silversmithing in the garage. I thought, “why don’t I start making jewelry?” So I posted on my Instagram that I’d be making a piece for anyone interested and the response truly surprised and motivated me. After fulfilling those first orders, I was hooked. I love the craft, the process, the final product, and was very surprised that I could make money from something I loved. My dad gave me some of his old tools and I started to lean in. Never looked back.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I guess I did get into a bit of the introductory part of this question in the last one, so I’ll expand on the products/services part. I wear a lot of hats and have a lot of interests. My main and most simply stated form of income is designing and creating/crafting traditional Southwest turquoise jewelry. But in addition to that, I am a musician. A content creator, a designer, a photographer, and videographer. I like to explore and my interests are constantly changing. I’m obsessive, and try to master whatever it is that I’m interested in at the time. Jewelry making has been the most consistent umbrella of what allows me to make a living but also dive into all of these other interests to express them for the greater good of the business. It’s also what makes delegating hard for me. I’m particular, and have worked hard to understand these different mediums in order to best represent myself, my family, my business, and the things I care most about.

I’m most proud of the fact that I have been able to maintain my integrity in my personal beliefs. I’m proud of the fact that I’m obviously able to provide for my family, but on my terms, and without having to sacrifice the deeper parts of what I believe in the process. I see my brand as a vehicle to express what I understand to be the truth and that we have a support system that fuels that.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I’ve been utilizing an organizational tool called Notion to help me systemize and clarify my thinking. I wasn’t necessarily raised in a family that was super organized and I honestly didn’t understand the value in organization, systems, and schedules until I was already years into business burning the candle from both ends. I’ve been very impulsive in my work/inspiration/creation and while that’s worked for a time, I’d always eventually hit my own cap on capacity and end up feeling stuck or limited in what I could accomplish. Until recently I haven’t realized the power of discipline and organization. I think a lot about the balance of artistry and business-brain. It’s important to me to be free-flowing, inspiration motivated. But that mentality obviously interrupts the more structured, business priority. Figuring out how I can get those things to work in harmony is something I’m just beginning to figure out.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Jeremiah 29:7 “Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

That pretty much summarizes it. Through our business, we aim to inspire others toward a more significant purpose. We strive to leave mediocrity behind by producing high-quality products and content as well as, eventually, provide others with a unique working environment. We have found that inspiration, beauty, and excellence eventually cause a lasting inward reflection and outer working of intentional, meaningful, influential lives. In turn, the ripple effect has significant power in transforming entire cities for the better.

Contact Info:

• Website: chadbarela.com
• Instagram: @chadbarela
• Youtube: @thecommonco