Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Linda Larsen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Linda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” in secondary school. I felt the pressure of not disappointing my yearbook title. At a young age, I thought success was defined as a doctor. I diligently completed my pre-meds in college, only to stare at the online registration for the Kaplan prep course to take the medical exam. At that moment I determined I was seeking the wrong dream.
In search of success, I discovered I had a knack for sales. I supported myself since the age of 14. I worked in sales for 20 years. A career that included 15 promotions through multiple corporations, managing four different teams, and hitting banner numbers.
My last love was spearheading the K12 start-up department at Instructure. As employee #93, I hired a team of 34 reps and brought in over $36 Million in revenue, it felt fabulous. Most entrepreneurs would say “Keep going and continue bringing home a six-figure salary.”
Regardless, I somehow felt something was missing in my life.
It was at this point, that I watched the film Joy. It’s a story inspired by the life events of Joy Mangano. A repeated scene in the movie has Joy’s inner child, saying “17 years…we’ve been hiding.” This dream is the catalyst that helps Joy break out of her monotonous 9-5 life and pursue her inventive passions. This pivotal moment helped me realize my dream was just getting started.
I felt for 20 years I’ve been hiding. To me, success is not defined by a title or money, instead, it’s finding a way to live by doing what you love. It won’t be easy, but it will be living. It’s stepping into the talents given to you at birth and fulfilling the destiny you were created to follow. I took a leap of faith and said farewell to the corporate world to pursue my creative passions.
Linda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I created A Dash of Adorable to provide custom crafts for team-building events. I motivate groups with uplifting art sessions. I craft virtually with countries globally and in person around the greater Seattle area. The custom-created craft kits utilize all mediums like paint, wood, macramé, embroidery, vinyl, and more. The sky is the limit to the types of crafts I provide. The goal during each session is to empower each person with the confidence to create the art and the inspiration to keep moving forward in life.
My main clients include but are not limited to Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. I prepare craft kits in the amounts of 50 to 2000 per order. Everything is run from my creative home office in Washington State.
Here is a statement example I share with my clients to describe the problem I’m trying to solve for them:
Are you stressed searching for ideas to elevate meetings? A Dash of Adorable uplifts events with custom crafts. Kits include hands-on instruction filled with art tips and motivation. Relax as you boost your colleagues’ morale while they bond through a joyfully entertaining creative session.
Beyond the art, the goal is to inspire each person with the strength to overcome life’s obstacles. Empowering stories and messages are intertwined to provide everyone the passion to keep moving forward.
Life is hard and full of unexpected hurdles. Through a sparkly hug, each person will be reminded to believe in themselves and never ever give up!
XOXO,
Linda
Here is an example link to products I provide to my clients: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AlBmbsjWw1u–5BUGuS2lmHtrEchWd3tKlr_SR37RoQ/edit?usp=sharing
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A creative brain contains the capacity to make many things. The problem is too many things. When I started A Dash of Adorable, I wanted to do “ALL THE THINGS.” I launched providing top-to-bottom event planning: decorations, crafts, treats, invites, floral arrangements, and more. I made and did it all. One morning, when I was up at 3 am baking cupcakes for an event that I also had to decorate with backdrops at 9 am I realized I took on too much. My fuel was running low and I had to scale back.
I immediately stopped providing treats. And one by one I reduced my services down to custom crafts. I even specialized in my target audience from private parties and weddings to corporate team-building events. I feared that if I only offered one thing I would become irrelevant. But the exact opposite happened. Being specialized in one thing allowed me to focus my energy. It allowed me to create a unique niche for my services. It brought in more business than I could ever imagine.
Instead of being a competitor to an event planner, a florist, or a catering service, I now complemented their services. I allowed my client contacts to elevate what they were already providing to their clients. There is a saying, “When you’re good at everything, you are good at nothing.” One of the most important lessons I had to unlearn was that there are riches in the niches. Specializing yourself is what elevates you.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
You always hear the saying “If you do what you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”
That saying is false, my rewording is the following, “If you do what you love, you will work harder than you ever have in your life, but you will fight because your heart and soul are intertwined into your passion, and you will find a way to come out successful in the end.”
A Dash of Adorable was a huge success when I transitioned the business to corporate events. I focused initially on custom life-size decor pieces (imagine 12-foot Jurassic Park Gates or a Moana Canoe). I had business scheduled and booked out for the entire year and the Pandemic hit. In March 2020, within two weeks of the COVID lockdown, all of my 2020 events were canceled. The event industry was hit first because all of my business involved gatherings of more than 500 participants. I was devastated and had to transition.
I shifted to custom crafts for virtual team-building events. It became popular and spread like wildfire. Once employees returned to the office, I provided hybrid events and evolved back to in-person.
But nothing could have prepared me for what I call “Pandemic 2.0.” At the end of 2022, Corporate companies experienced massive layoffs. My main clients, like Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft laid off over 40,000 employees. And immediately, due to budget cuts, they had to push all of their scheduled events out from 2022 into the latter of 2023. And once again the business fell from under me. It was a harder impact than the initial 2020 shutdown.
I had to rebuild again, transition, and find backup revenue in other businesses to sustain myself and my family. It became a battle falling into depression at the same time. I had to overcome allowing the declining income in my bank account to dictate my worth.
I persevered through that storm to experience it again towards the middle of 2024 with another round of corporation layoffs from Boeing and other top clients (I named the 3rd time “2022 Déjà Vu”).
When you own your own business, the good days are excellent and the bad days are devastating. You can go from one day, having $20,000 in invoices waiting to be paid to the immediate next day all those invoices are pushed out 3-6 months and you have $0.
But when you do something you love, you find a way to pick yourself back up. You discover a new way to weather the storm and navigate options to keep moving forward.
There is a quote Jim Carrey shared years ago when he spoke at a graduation ceremony. He shared how his father chose an accountant job instead of a comedian to have a “safe income.” But when his father’s company went bankrupt and he got laid off, Jim learned an important lesson, “You’re going to fail in life, might as well fail while doing what you love.”
This statement alone is the catalyst that fuels my resilience through the lowest valleys. It is why I push forward, I LOVE bringing joy to others through art.
Here is a video, article, and podcast describing my journey:
Glowforge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Kd-FlbkZY
Local Paper: https://skagittalk.com/2021/09/21/how-you-can-get-a-dash-of-adorable-in-mount-vernon/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/linda-larsen-with-a-dash-of-adorable/id1531400917?i=1000494622425
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.adoadorable.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/adashofadorable
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/ADashOfAdorable
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindanlarsen?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/ADashOfAdorable
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adashofadorable9386
Image Credits
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