We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Whitney Belaire. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Whitney below.

Hi Whitney, thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I was able to leave my full time job and start working for myself in 2018 after having my son. I had built up clients over the years in my side hustle as an artist. When I left I was nervous because of the unknown pay. But I realized I was in control of how much I would make depending on how hard I would market myself. Social media was blowing up and I took full advantage. I make sure I’m in people’s sight daily. That way whenever they are ready to buy, they don’t forget me.

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

I have always been artistic since childhood so I knew that was my path. I was going to school for graphic design until I had to stop and take care of my body. I had developed an opiate dependency that had taken over my life and I needed to take my life back. I worked on my recovery with God and the 12 steps. My come-back felt big, like I could conquer anything after recovering such an aggressive addiction. So I built my art business first by turning goodwill items into new beautiful artworks. I grew my customer base by making sure they were always satisfied and providing top notch customer service. I provided custom artwork of any kind from shoes to bibles to wedding signs to wall murals and everything in between I allowed God to direct this path and I always prayed over my projects and the people ordering. Making sure that I’m doing this for Gods glory has always made the business more and more successful. We want to create wow factors in peoples homes and businesses and to create things you can’t find in stores. We want our clients to be able to give meaningful, heartfelt gifts for their loved ones. We want to create a joyful experience when working with us and not just a business transaction. We are relational and are dedicated to learning our clients vibes so we know how to make each project specific to them and something they will truly love.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2020 the nation was on lockdown from Covid-19. People were getting stimulus checks and sitting in their homes wanting to decorate. It seemed like the phrase of the time was “support local”. So from there my business was booming and growing at a rate I couldn’t physically handle. My business pivoted as my best friend Jaki came to be my partner. We had no idea how to combine an established business and there was really no books or many people to ask advice. We went carefully head first into this bff business merge and we have a blast working together. Sure we have had hiccups along the way but nothing we couldn’t work through. I hope to make a podcast or book about it someday to help other people know what to watch out for.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is simply creating something out of nothing with my hands. Sometimes I get so nervous with a difficult project but it always turns out to be something I’m proud of. Many times I don’t even know how I do it, I pray for creativity and for God to bless my hands. He shows up!

Contact Info:

• Website: WWw.freshprintsofbelaire.com
• Instagram: @fresh_prints_of_belaire
• Facebook: Fresh Prints of Belaire
• Other: TikTok @freshprintsofbelaire

Image Credits
Emily Figurelli