Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Donte Goodwin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Donte, thanks for joining us today. Let’s go back in time a bit – can you share a story of a time when you learned an important lesson during your education?
The greatest lesson I learned in my journey in life is you can do anything you put your mind to. I chose this topic of important/impactful lessons learned in school because it relates to this story! In my fourth grade class I was desk mates with a kid born with a disability. He didn’t let the disability become an excuse. He was born with only 2 fingers on one of his hands. One day I saw a drawing of his in class. The drawing was so detailed I couldn’t believe he had done it. As a outspoken curious kid I asked him did you draw that with your bad hand. He replied it’s not my bad hand and yes I did use this hand to draw the picture. I didn’t believe him until he grabbed the pencil and started to make me a believer. It just registered in my mind writing this that I remember him using that same hand to do everything. I remember him treating his so called “good hand” like it didn’t exist. This lesson that he taught me showed me that I could do anything I put my mind to. I immediately went home and started drawing and fell in love with art. With the mindset if he could do it so could I as twisted as that may sound. Now here I am today as a owner of a tattoo shop thanks to my childhood peer having this impact on my life. There are no excuses!
Donte, 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?
My name is Donte Goodwin I am a creator. I like to think of myself as a creative jack of all trades. I am an Artist! My works include tattoos, painting, custom clothing design and writing. I am a licensed to tattoo artist and owner of The Penmanship Tattoos. Here I provide customers with original and also replicate any tattoo idea they would like while making it my own. I also hand paint shoes and clothing. I bring my clients tattoo ideas to their skin to the best of my ability. I do them same when I design their shoes and clothing. My goal is to give my client a great experience and allow them to be apart of the creative process giving them a feel of what it’s like to be in my world as an artist. We are all creators and I feel when I allow clients to help me with this creative process it gives them a chance to see that gif themselves through me. The Penmanship is a brand for the people and I’m thankful I can play the mediator to help them bring out their creative side.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
They most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been by word of mouth and providing all clients with great service. I started seeing growth in my business when I made up in my mind to try to give my clients more than what they pay for. I would have clients come to me with their ideas and I would give them a price but at the same time I would take their idea and try to make it better for no additional cost. This made my clients trust me and helped my business growth authentically and word spread very fast.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I have a book that I recommend to anyone that asks me what helped you get where you are. The book is titled The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. The main lesson I learned in this book is the past already happened and the future doesn’t exist but is merely a figment of your imagination. The only thing that’s real is this very moment “the now”. Your future if it is to come is impacted by everything you do in this very moment right now. This way of thinking helps me make the best of my days and take advantage of my time. Allowing me to live with a sense of urgency and fully in the moment not thinking about the last or hoping for the future but putting my full potential and focus on this very moment in everything I do I become super focused
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Te_The_artist
- Facebook: Donte Goodwin