We recently connected with Anna Klausmeyer and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Anna, thanks for joining us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

I was 15 years old. It was the kind of Wednesday night that had a teenager feeling desperate. I remember sitting small and hunched over in a plastic chair in the back row of a local church. My clothes were baggy and long and stretched over the backs of my hands, crumpled in my fists for comfort. I was uncomfortable, afraid and avoiding eye-contact at all costs, with a well of tears stinging the back of my eyes.

The congregation seemed decent and modern. They provided warm drinks and breakable snacks for a small midweek service. While the drummer smashed the cymbals and the lead singer passionately exhaled hymns, I sat among a room of strangers. All of us must have been seeking the grace of God. Maybe some of the others were like me, it was a better place to be than any alternatives.

What happened next is a moment I will never forget in my whole life. Like a dam pushed beyond its brink, my tears began falling. I leaned forward and held my head in my hands. I was having a moment. The spinning uncertainty in the confines of a young woman’s mind. Depression, anxiety and self-loathing; the trivial pieces to my own growth were making their presence felt now.

The tears fell like rain, soaking my sleeves and trickling down my hands; hitting the tops of my knees and shoes on their way to the floor. My energy flushed through my stomach and lungs, spilling out in liquid form and suppressed sobs. I had mostly drown out the music echoing between my ears, but just then I became aware of the footsteps coming up the aisle to my right. I clenched tightly in my jaw and stomach between fragmented inhales. Before I could feed my spinning mind, I felt a hand hit my shoulder. It was heavy, comforting. It couldn’t have been there for more than 3 seconds before it was gone. The footsteps continued on, their shadow falling across my tear stains as they faded behind me.

The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me lasted just enough time for one short breath. A momentary exchange of heart and soul that told me things would be okay. This kindness told me to keep going. This kindness has lived with me ever since and always will. I never knew you, I never saw your face. You gave love without a thought, without anything expected in return. I thank you so deeply for extending your hand that night, 15 years ago.

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

Anna Klausmeyer is owner of The Love Free Shop, a colorful art studio based in Denver, Colorado. Through canvas paintings, colorful prints, sculptures and ceramics, the work expresses the playfulness of inner child while regularly transfusing with the voyage through adulthood. The process of creating is therapy itself, bringing forth representations of strength and mental awareness. Sayings like “Stand Up For Everything You Have Worked For,” “Acknowledge the Bounty That Surrounds You,” and “Don’t Overthink It,” spill across vibrant colors and patterns. These are messages and reminders from a hopeful place and urge the continuance of creation and connection.

“I had dreams of building a business ever since I was young. Financial gain was never the objective looking back. I simply wanted to create and share and spend a lifetime doing that. What I learned over time was that building something out of passion was bound to have faults again and again. With that comes heartbreak and new opportunities. My recent painting “secret garden” is a culmination of where I walk with my art. Peace, safety and allowance. The entire career is process oriented, ever-evolving and changing into exactly what it is meant to be in any given moment of time. Never nearing perfection nor completion. Plenty of room for growth and imagination.”

Since the start of the business in 2015, The Love Free Shop has collaborated with over 35 charities both locally and worldwide in an effort to make a positive impact in the community and beyond. After several years, The Menstrual Supply Project was born: a home-grown fundraiser to supply low-income teens and adults with crucial supplies at no cost.

“A lot of business turns out to be energy exchange in the end. I created the studio out of passion and love, and because of the immense support I receive from others, the art flows freely where it’s meant to go and I can help provide my small corner of the world with a meaningful project that I love. Being able to find peace with the process is the greatest joy that I have ever experienced.”

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A really important lesson I had to unlearn was the stigma that came with being a business owner. 7 years ago when I wrote a business plan, I was under the innocent impression that I would be in complete control, even if bumps came up in the road. I would not only over-see but enjoy all operations, have well balanced and free-flowing access to my finances and create a sustainable, and stress-free lifestyle. – I’m actually laughing to myself writing this now because owning a business was at one point in time the complete opposite of everything I just mentioned. – The truth is, it’s not a 9-5. It’s a 5-9. It’s every weekend, it’s taxes, it’s admin. It’s sorting through logistics in your head while you should be enjoying time with friends and family. It’s stress and anxiety and sleepless nights. It’s hours spent on projects only to be paid in exposure and pieces of art made with love and intention that have sat in stacks and gathered dust.

In every sense of the word, owning a business is a challenge and a responsibility, but I believe that once those necessities are honored, it then becomes a freedom. I have immense respect for creatives and entrepreneurs that have broken barriers and pushed the limits, successfully growing a tangible project that was once a dream. I have the deepest admiration for those that took the barriers placed in their path as a gentle sign of redirection. And for every visionary that has an idea or a goal, I believe that absolutely anything is possible with hard work and dedication. Never, ever let go of your dreams.

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

I remember the day I sold my business so clearly. It was a breezy fall afternoon, I sat in a small parking lot in my 1991 Chevy Step Van, clutching the steering wheel and waiting for a vehicle to pull up beside me. I turned around and glanced one last time at the empty clothing rack and shelving units neatly bolted to the wooden walls I carefully painted by hand so many years ago. I closed my eyes and imagined the warm string lights hanging from the roof, soul music playing softly in the background and the fixtures lined with my colorful canvas paintings, prints and clothing. I heard an engine stop outside and opened my eyes to an empty shop in dim light. I trembled taking my papers off the passenger seat, gathering the title and bill of sale together. After a few quick logistics, I stood with my hands in my pockets and watched a colorful truck with the name of my business disappear behind the buildings and trees.

This was a moment I’ll never forget; both sadness and freedom swirling inside of me. I didn’t actually plan things this way. I was upset I felt like a failure, but relieved that I didn’t have to pretend any more. In the back of my mind I wondered if I did enough but I also knew there were so many forces making my next decision clear. It was a moment that broke me when I needed breaking, and helped me begin the process of putting myself back together again.

Not every business is going to end the same. Most times, it is a completion to a beginning. In some circumstances it may be an end goal for sustainment, or it may be a seed to a new start. The biggest lesson I could learn was to let go of control and allow things to happen naturally. Stay true to your morals, visions and boundaries. Work hard, be diligent. Stand up for everything you have worked for.

Contact Info:

• Website: etsy.com/shop/thelovefreeshop
• Instagram: instagram.com/thelovefreeshop
• Facebook: facebook.com/thelovefreeshop
• Twitter: twitter.com/thelovefreeshop