Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Genesis Fowler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Genesis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Deciding to open my own tattoo shop has been a huge risk for me. For months I debated if it was too soon, as I’ve only been a Tattoo Artist for 4 years. Most Shop owners have atleast 6-10 years under their belt, or business management experience.

I came to the conclusion that I was severely under qualified, but that shouldn’t be a reason to give up. Instead I decided I’d have to learn quickly and unconventionally. Immediately I surrounded myself with other business owners, and people who could influence as well as educate me.

This business venture has been the most difficult project yet, but thus far it’s been very rewarding. In the process I’ve tested my limits, grown a community of people who not only support me, but genuinely want to see me go farther, and I’ve become the first legitimate business owner in my family!

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 grew up the oldest of 8, so everything was limited. This developed within me a need to create something from little to nothing.

I began crocheting at 8 years old, and when I was 14 I realized there’s more to crochet than just boring blankets. I taught myself how to make hats that I could sell at school, and over the years I learned to sew as well as develop patterns.

Creating clothing was a fun hobby, but my dream was to become a tattoo artist. When I turned 18 I walked into a shop to get my first tattoo, and left with an apprenticeship!

During the first two years as an apprentice, I did ALOT of free tattoos. Most people assumed I was sitting on a good chunk of change to be able to work for hardly anything and still pay my bills. Which wasn’t the case, I worked overnight at a grocery store and tattooed during the day. I loved tattooing so much that I wasn’t worried about the money, my main objective was to absorb as much knowledge as possible in order to be the best I could.

Looking back, I’m proud of myself for taking my passion so seriously and doing all that I could to immerse myself in the Tattoo Industry. I feel that everything I’ve done has enabled me to provide a unique & high quality experience to my clients.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Initially I assumed that the only way to fund a startup was with a loan or a grant, so naturally that’s where I began. After quite a few rejections I realized that acquiring capital through these methods was unrealistic for my situation.

I continued working and 90% of my income went towards my business. I kept costs low by reaching out to friends, family and even clients who had services I needed. My mother put down the security deposit for the shop and my grandmother donated money for equipment.

With all of these things combined I was barely scraping by until Square offered me a loan. I had been using Square POS for years now and at the perfect time they decided I was eligible for a small loan. The best part was I didn’t have to worry about making payments, they deducted a small percentage from each transaction until the loan was paid in full. Once it had been repaid they offered another slightly larger loan.

I was able to find my business with these methods and to this day I continue to accept loans from Square in order to fund present & future business needs.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

While I was an apprentice it was difficult for me to get new clients, everyone thought I would do a bad tattoo because I was new at it. It got me thinking, “how can I put myself & my work in front of more people?” The only thing available at the time was Tinder, so I decided to try it out.

I created a profile strictly promoting my tattoo services just to see if anyone was interested. Almost overnight I went from tattooing once a week to working everyday!

Eventually I was banned from Tinder for promoting services but the moral of the story is to work with what you’ve got, and think outside of the box.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.bttbbodyart.com Www.saucystyles.etsy.com
• Instagram: @Genesauce_

Image Credits
Cody Reed Terry @astrogiraffephotography @3b_tv