We recently connected with Chance Quinn and have shared our conversation below.
Chance, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
As an Artist, it has been very difficult to structure a Business around “my little pictures.” When you’re in a field that has odds stacked against you, creativity becomes everything. A good friend of mine told me that I have to “garner demand,” for my Art, so I usually start there and see what I enjoy from that point. I have always loved Art, so that was my base, I constantly work on that as a whole, the composition, the tools, the perspectives, I study Art and Design nonstop. Then I figure out what parts I enjoy the most, whether its the geometry of a composition, lettering, portraits, cutting out wood, color or black and grey, and which ones I can actually accomplish given my resources. I recently started @chance.signs which is a SignPainting business, I love lettering, painting, and a nice lettering Quill as well as gold leaf, cutting wood and window painting. There’s also a new Business popping up everyday, and they need signs. There’s parts I enjoy doing, a demand, and I can manage the tasks given my resources. It also correlates with @chancequinntattoo, my Tattoo Business, and @chancequinnart, my Artist sole prop, as well as utilizing the same materials from @chancequinnfineart my Oil Painting business. To me a good Business idea involves something you love, something you can actually sell and is something that you can start with tools on hand. If I can start a Business with what I have, and upgrade later, I just might give it a shot. However the most important thing, is the Love, you have to Love the work involved. You have to be consumed and enjoying it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am an Artist. I Tattoo for a living, alongside that I paint portraits of people and pets. I paint Signs for businesses. I sell Still Life paintings and prints. I am a meticulous and diverse Artist who loves to work, and I always seem to need money, which regardless of the money I am making Art nonstop. I got into Art out of necessity, my childhood wasn’t ideal and I needed an escape. I always say, “I grew up in an ugly world, so I created pretty pictures to survive.” The main problem I solve for my clients is, I think, is Confidence. Whether it’s a cover-up Tattoo, a nice fresh Tattoo, a new Business Sign, or a fresh T-shirt I designed, I believe it is that “it” factor. There’s something about getting a True Artists attention, and letting them design your idea that adds something special to life. No matter what it is, my clients know that it was made by the hands of an Artist. One who has suffered for his craft, who is tortured by it, and survives by it. When we acquire these Arts, there’s a magic to it, a history. We buy Art, but we invest in the Confidence, in the feeling. I am most proud of my ability to communicate with and read a client. I study Human Behavior, because I love it, and I am a human. Also my upbringing, has added to this a great deal, but I can often tell when a client isn’t truly happy, whether its a small gesture, or a simple pause, and I am willing to address it. I am also willing to ask the questions that might make some uncomfortable, as I know that the information is vital. I also sacrificed a great deal of my life to this, both family and friends, and at times health, I am dedicated to the Arts, and that is where my pride lays.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
I like this question, because what’s funding? Im just a poor boy from a poor family. I built everything , and lost, and built, and lost, and am rebuilding literally everything from nothing. I ruined my credit, I counted pennies, I still skip meals, I don’t sleep at least one night a week, I stay in the worst hotels and I shop at the dollar store. Every single penny I make revolves through my businesses, my profits from one, go to supplies for the other, those profits go to education for the other. I definitely need to scale up and start delegating, but it ain’t easy. I fund my life with my passion. I once flew from Tucson, Arizona to Sioux Falls, South Dakota with a backpack of clothes, like $60, and one Tattoo Machine. I left with a brand new Pelican Case with a full Tattoo Set up in it, several handmade Tattoo machines and a lot more then $60. A lot more. When I was 18 I bought a Tattoo Kit for under $500, I bet I have generated $500,000 outta that investment, and that’s a low number because I am trying to be humble. Im currently working on funding a business with a paper clip, we all know that story. And I’m trying to get something going with $60 a buddy gave me. I create the wealth, I don’t need it to create. With that being said, I’m always interested in talking to Investors, I just don’t necessarily need em.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
A story about resilience huh?? I could go on and on. I have lived in Tattoo Shops and Art Studios, I have slept on bench’s, drank water instead of meals, and stood in front of my easel until my body no longer can. Ive seen my credit grow, and drop, my bills go unpaid, I’ve watched friends build families and buy houses, all while I stood by my dream. Alone. It’s a lonely solitary life hustling like this. Half the world thinks you’re crazy, the other half hates your discipline. And few can keep up. I’ve been “traveling” since march 2025, which is just a fancy way for us Artists to avoid saying we are homeless, and I’m still writing up business plans over filing out applications. My friends are sick of my resilience I am pretty sure, the few that are left that is. I believe in myself. Plain and simple. There is nothing I can’t accomplish, something’s I am unable to do today, but come talk to me in a year, I bet I got it. I can be the richest man in the room with a Quarter in my pocket, I learned how to survive as a child, I don’t much to survive. As long as my Art supplies are stocked, and I have what I need to Tattoo, I’ll be just fine. My stomachs growling right now, but there’s still wok to be done. And eating makes me sleepy.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @chancequinnart @chance.signs @chancequinntattoo @chancequinnfineart
