We were lucky to catch up with Josh Funk recently and have shared our conversation below.
Josh, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
For me, being happy running my own business meant finding balance. When you start a business, there is an initial happiness and excitement that comes with the ideas you had in your head coming to fruition, but that slowly starts to be replaced by stress. The stress of all the documentation, marketing, events, and gathering of needed resources and tools can start to overtake the happy feeling of being a new business owner. You start to worry about the longevity of the enterprise, if it really was a good idea in the beginning, or you start to change and adapt the original idea to something that you think might work better, or be more profitable, which decreases the happiness even further. In my own story, I started to realize I was buying less art, and more trinkets that were affordable and seem to sell the most at local events.
I noticed the happiness wearing away and realized it was because I was no longer doing what I originally set out to do. I love art, and I love spreading the love of art to others. So, I started learning more about art, collecting art books, going to art specific events to meet new artists, and it seemed like I was beginning again.
Now I have found a great balance of pursuing my passion for art, educating the community about the arts, and forming lasting connections between artists and clients. I am truly happy owning my own business, and I’m making sure to stay true to the original dream.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I established “MO Headies” in 2020 with the goal of providing Kansas City with access to high quality, glass art, but quickly evolved into curating art in all mediums. I discovered a vast community of art in the city, and surrounding areas, but there seemed to be a disconnect. There were many “pockets” of similar styles, mediums, or venues, that rarely extended outside of itself. Many people I spoke with had no idea some of these scenes existed. I wanted to change that, to connect all these streams of artists, musicians, chefs, and leaders of industry together. MO Headies has been working in the background to help connect and cultivate a rich arts community within the KC area. From helping to plan, fund, and coordinate events to bring all the artists and creators into a common space, to supporting as many local events, artists, and music shows as possible. All the while collecting beautiful works of art and collectibles to continue to inspire the creative aspects of people’s lives and to provide an alternative form of investment. One of my goals is to stimulate a thriving arts economy in Kansas City that not only supports artists, but helps to support the community in myriad forms as well.
Currently, MO Headies can be found on Instagram or at a booth at local events, with the ultimate goal of opening a gallery space and website in the near future. Follow us to help support the arts, and for educational resources and local event announcements.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The best tool for building MO Headies’ reputation and awareness has been creating/attending local events. When potential clients start to see you over and over again at different types of events and at different venues, it starts to create the connection between who you are and what product/service you provide. I have had people who have come up to my booth at 3 or 4 events before becoming an actual customer and making a purchase. They have said things like “man, I see you all over the city. You always have awesome art.” and then they make a purchase or follow us on social media, and share the page to other people who might be interested, which helps spread awareness even more.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
In 2020, I had the opportunity to purchase a piece of art from a reputable artist at an amazing price below market value. I wasn’t a huge fan of that specific piece, but I also knew the collector’s market for that artist was hot right then, and I had the funds, so I made the purchase. I was quickly able to find a client who was looking for that piece and made the sale. I then took the money from that sale and used it to buy two new pieces from different artists. When I was able to quickly find new homes for those pieces as well, I knew I had an awesome business opportunity to do something I loved, art curating, while making money. Since then I have used the funds from each sale to buy bigger, better, and more numerous pieces to build up an inventory worthy of a gallery. Thankfully, MO Headies is debt free and has never had to take out any loans to operate. I feel truly blessed to be able to do something that I love.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mo_headies/
Image Credits
Artists: 1: Relm, 2: Ian Jones, 3: MO Headies Image, 4: Morgan Sims, 5: Slinger x Wookerson