Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Teresa R. Funke Author/Speaker/Blogger. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Teresa R. Funke, thanks for joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
As the author of seven works of fiction for adults and children set in World War II, people often told me I should start a blog. But I knew the best bloggers wrote consistently, so I was determined not to launch until I knew I had an idea I could revisit weekly. One that I’d never grow tired of. Eight and a half years ago, I was mulling over a story a friend had told me. He was a mechanical engineer who had started a business in his basement. Whenever he’d get a new idea or a new client, he’d run up the stairs, fling the door open, and say to his wife, “I’m a goddamn genius!”
“Yes!” I thought. I know that feeling. I love it. It’s that moment when you get a “burst of brilliance” so powerful it fills you from your head to your toes with excitement and joy and power. It’s that moment before the inner critic and the outer critics chime in when you just KNOW your idea is genius. I wanted to explore how those moments affect us, motivate us, and drive us forward.
So I started a weekly blog called “Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life,” created a new website and new social media to support it, even trademarked the term “bursts of brilliance.” After five years I published the book, “Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life,” which is a compilation of the best posts from the first five years of the blog. Writing that weekly blog is still my favorite task each week. I write whatever inspires me that day, and I love hearing back from my followers that certain blogs landed just right for them.
Teresa R. Funke, 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?
Since the fifth grade, I wanted to be a writer. While I was encouraged in my writing by my parents and teachers, I was also warned that writing was not “a job,” and never would be. So I majored in history, knowing if I ever did write, I wanted to write about history. After college, I worked a couple of jobs I hated and thought, “Is this going to be my life? Am I going to have to do things I hate? Who says writing can’t be a job?” So I quit my last job and started a freelance writing business, not really knowing what that was.
I started out writing for newspapers and magazines, and later published short stories and personal essays in literary magazines. Then it was time to get serious about my first World War II novel, which led to six more! I became “The World War II Lady.”
At the same time, I started speaking and teaching about writing and self-publishing, which I have done quite successfully (I own my own press). I created many tools, videos, webinars, and courses–all of which are available on my website: www.teresafunke.com. I also started looking for unique ways writers like me could partner with other sectors, like business, government, schools, and faith communities, to do good in our local area. All of this paired well with my work as the blogger and author of “Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life.” I’m most proud of those community projects. Some are shown on my Giving Back page.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Though I’ve been in business as a writer/author/speaker/blogger for almost 31 years, I didn’t fully establish Teresa Funke & Company, LLC (TFC) until 2009. Part of the reason for that was wanting to further explore my long-held belief that artists of all kinds have so much more to offer our communities than people realize. We have talents that can be adapted in many ways, and so many skills learned from being solopreneurs and needing to be good at all levels of our business, including sales, marketing, project management, strategy, and more.
So I wrote into my mission statement that TFC would grow in conjunction with community service. As I said earlier, artists have the unique ability to work with numerous sectors: business, government, education, nonprofits, civic groups, faith communities, and more. In every one of my community projects, I’m looking for the win-win-win-win scenario, or what my husband calls my “win-win squared.” One of those wins is always me, not just because I sell my wares, but because I get so much pleasure out of solving problems and doing good. The other is my partner organization (usually a nonprofit). The other two are the businesses or individuals who help fund my projects and the people who benefit from the free products or service we all then provide for them.
Many people say they want to support artists, but they don’t know how. So sometimes we need to prompt them by suggesting they, say, buy our paintings to give away on their newsletter or hire us to write a clever history of their organization for their clients, or bring us in to play music as a special treat for their employees.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think non-creatives often do not realize that most professional (not hobby) artists are in business too. We have bills to pay and sometimes people who work for us. Even though we may not want to, we often need multiple revenue streams to keep our businesses afloat and help support our families. We work long and hard to achieve our 10,000 hours of mastery and we have skills that are highly tuned and valuable. That’s why you come to us.
So please, please do not try to talk us down on our fees. You wouldn’t do that to your plumber or car mechanic or bartender, so please don’t do it to us. We are careful in how we set our fees and we honor industry standards. Promising us “exposure” instead of pay is an empty promise, and any professional artist knows that. We might have done that in our early days, but now we know exposure almost never pays off. Please do come to us with your wildest hopes and dreams, though, because artists know how to make most of your crazy, brilliant ideas to fruition. We are just THAT creative. And if we can’t help you, we’ll be sure to send you to someone who can.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.teresafunke. com AND www.burstsofbrilliance.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teresa.r.funke/ AND https://www.instagram.com/bursts.of.brilliance/
- Facebook: teresafunkeandcompany AND https://www.facebook.com/burstsbrilliance
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresafunke/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/teresafunke AND https://twitter.com/BOBrilliance
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3qGOs8-GMt32xxX2Ubbtw
- Other: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Teresa-R-Funke/e/B004KAZFJC Medium: https://teresarfunke.medium.com/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/teresafunke/
Image Credits
None needed