We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maya Juarez-Pena a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maya, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I used to think that if I started my business earlier I would be a lot much further along. However, would I have had the right mind set? Would I have had the experience to start? Who knows….I had ideas of starting a business in 2016, but was going to college and working a full time job. I knew I wasn’t happy and this wasn’t my purpose, to sit at a desk and be on a computer all day. Come to 2017, I got started on my business. Though not much came of it as I was about to graduate and still working full time. The following year I graduated, quit my job and spent the next two years focusing only on my business. That was the timing, not a moment sooner and it was perfect.

Maya, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started my business with a bunch of creative ideas, things I wanted to make. I decided on starting with dotillism. Making mandala paintings out of individual dots. I then tried alcohol ink art, acrylic paintings, quilling and resin. Burning through ideas until I realized I needed to start to focus my creations on fewer things. Today, I continue to create dot mandalas on wood canvas and candle holders. I also create resin bookmarks, coasters and trays. All inspired by nature.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In the beginning I thought that if I didn’t have thousands of followers, a lot of sales then this was all a waste of time, money and energy. I would see fellow artists on social media with thousands of followers, sales and doing amazing things with their businesses. I would feel like a failure. Through trusting of time and my skills I have learned that sales and followers are not everything. I see ow that those are all bonuses, but creating things that I love and enjoying that process is enough.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One story is not quite the case. There have been and fewer times now where I have had to learn to accept my timing as it is in the current moment. I have wanted to give up my business and go back to full time work for the money. My husband was always there to tell me not to give up, to keep pushing and keep trying. I would sulk for a day in the idea of quitting and that I failed my business, then get up and keep moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @_from_her_eyes_
• Facebook: @fromhereyesllc