057. Evelyn Henson: How to Thrive in *Every* Season of Business

Every entrepreneur has experienced the panic that comes with a slow sales month. After 10 years in business, our latest podcast guest has learned to deal with the ebbs and flows to make the most out of every season.

Evelyn Henson is a watercolor artist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. She creates whimsical art designed to brighten people’s homes and bring them a little sunshine. Catching the eye of celebrities like Reese Witherspoon, Evelyn’s work has been featured by People Magazine, Southern Living, and Martha Stewart to name a few!

WILDFLOWER SHOWNOTES : shannaskidmore.com/evelyn-henson

📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Speaker 1 (00:00):

The fact that people even wanted to buy it. I remember thinking, oh my gosh, there's actually people that are interested in my work and want it on their wall. Like, what if I could just find more people like this that want the art than I could maybe actually do this?

Speaker 2 (00:17):

You are listening to Consider the Wildflowers the podcast episode 57. It has been such a treat to hear from a few entrepreneurs that are near and dear to my heart over the past few weeks. My students today concludes our four week student series, and I hope you've enjoyed hearing from these four business owners as much as I've enjoyed catching up with them. Today's guest is Evelyn Henson. Evelyn's whimsical art just screams southern nostalgia. It's no surprise celebrities like Reese Witherspoon took a liking to it early on. If you dig professional bios here goes brushed with a love for all things creative. Evelyn grew up in Columbus, Georgia where she always had an appreciation for art. She first discovered her love for painting when she attempted a floral still life as a Mother's Day gift in college. After that, she couldn't put down the paintbrush and opened an Etsy shop shortly after what started as a few art prints on Etsy slowly evolved into a colorful and happy brand featuring stationary gifts, wallpaper, and most recently textiles, and has been featured in Glamor Domino, red Book People and Southern Living with everything she Creates.

Speaker 2 (01:19):

Evelyn Hopes her art brings your home sunshine for years to come. Her studio is currently based in North Carolina now, I normally don't read student testimonials on the podcast, but Evelyn's story is so powerful and wanted to share. Evelyn took my business finance course, the Blueprint Model back in 2017, and here is what she had to say about her experience. I've been spinning my wheels for three years and I wasn't sure how to stop by helping me determine what my need is each month. The Blueprint Model course gave me permission to take a breath and slow down. It also inspired me to think about what direction I wanted my business to move and grow towards and how to set up more concrete goals to make my vision happen. Overall, I really just feel more organized and confident in what I'm doing. I would tell all my creative friends to sign up.

Speaker 2 (02:03):

The blueprint model gave me the tools I needed to structure my business, and I feel so much calmer as a result. While money is likely not what got you into business, understanding your numbers is a key part of staying in business and just making life more calm. If you're a small business owner looking to finally get a handle on your business finances, I would be honored to work with you. My signature course. The Blueprint model is a comprehensive guide to understanding the money side of your business, plus so much more from time management to mindset and bonus. It's not boring and really simple to follow. You can learn more@theblueprintmodel.com. Okay, let's dive into today's episode and learn how to thrive in every season of business despite the inevitable ebb and flow. Hey, it's Shanna, and this is Consider the Wildflowers, the podcast. For the past 15 plus years, I've had the honor to hear thousands of stories from entrepreneurs around the world.

Speaker 2 (02:51):

As a former Fortune 100 financial advisor turned business consultant, I have a unique opportunity to see the reel behind the highlight reel. I'm talking profit and loss statements, unpaid taxes, moments of burnout, and those of utter victory, or as my husband says, the content everyone is wondering but not many are talking about. And now I'm bringing these private conversations to you. Hear the untold stories of how industry leaders, founders, and up and coming entrepreneurs got their start, the experiences that shaped them and the journey to building the brands they have today. Stories that will inspire and reignite encourage to redefine success and build a life and business on your own terms. Welcome Wildflower. I'm so glad you're here. Hi, Evelyn. Welcome to the show.

Speaker 1 (03:31):

Hi, Shanna. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (03:34):

This is so exciting,

Speaker 1 (03:35):

So excited to be here.

Speaker 2 (03:37):

We haven't got to catch up in six years, five years too long,

Speaker 1 (03:42):

A long time.

Speaker 2 (03:43):

We have so much to talk about. Okay. For everyone who may not know you yet, you guys just buckle up and hang on. Evelyn's the best. Tell everybody what you do and then we're going to just kind of talk through your journey of entrepreneurship.

Speaker 1 (03:58):

Okay. Hi, I'm Evelyn Henson. I am a watercolor artist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. So I paint whimsical and colorful art and gift items. So I started with art prints and now I sell everything from mugs to stationary and recently wallpaper and fabric.

Speaker 2 (04:23):

I'm so pumped about the wallpaper.

Speaker 1 (04:24):

Yes, I

Speaker 2 (04:25):

Can't even, it's

Speaker 1 (04:25):

Very fun.

Speaker 2 (04:26):

I can't even, Evelyn, we got to work together in, I went back and looked 2017.

Speaker 1 (04:34):

Oh wow. That feels like a long time ago.

Speaker 2 (04:36):

I know. I really think that it was 2017 when you took the blooper model and how far along were you in your business at that point?

Speaker 1 (04:45):

I started working as an artist in May, 2013. Right out of college I opened an Etsy shop and I think about a year in it started to become something that I could do full-time, at least at that time, compared to the jobs that I was looking at as a post-grad. So at that point I had probably been doing it for three-ish years.

Speaker 2 (05:10):

Yeah, okay. This is exciting. Alright, tell everybody just your journey before business. I mean, did you go to art school? Did you know you wanted to own a business? How did you get into business?

Speaker 1 (05:22):

I didn't know that being an artist was a thing, but I was always really creative as a kid. So my mom would cultivate that by sending me to different art camps. So I went to everything from jewelry making camp to decapo camp, anything she could find in the local Columbus, Georgia newspaper she would send me off to. And I was always doing creative things in my room. One thing I really loved doing was making patterns on Microsoft Paint, which was I guess the nineties version of Photoshop at that time. So only a specific of people are going to know what that is, but I would make patterns.

Speaker 2 (05:59):

I'm here for it.

Speaker 1 (06:00):

Yeah, I would make patterns on that and I would make birthday cards for friends with those or I would put them on my binder covers and class and things like that. So I always had a love for it. I just didn't know that. I didn't know, I guess I never really thought about the fact that there were people that were designing cards for Hallmark or painting the patterns of the bedspreads that I liked in P B T or whatever it was. So when I got to college, I went to a liberal arts school just because I didn't really know, I didn't have a full vision of what I wanted to do, so that felt like a good place to land. I did think about going to art school, but at that time I just, my idea of an artist was so different because we didn't have Instagram showing you different examples of women painting in so many different ways.

Speaker 1 (06:47):

I didn't understand there are so many avenues that you can be an artist, but the only one that I really saw was I had this idea that you would have to be a starving artist in New York City. So I didn't fully understand that it was something that I could do. So I didn't pursue art. I did end up majoring in, I started to take an art class. I went to Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. I did think I was going to design my own major where I doubled in education and art to maybe pursue art education, but I actually got so intimidated by the art classes. I was too young I think, and just didn't have enough confidence at the time to pursue it. And I always loved art history. My mom volunteered at our local museum when I was a kid, and I remember she would always bring me with her and I was always just so enamored by art in the different paintings. I could just stare at them for hours. So I ended up majoring in art history and my parents really encouraged that because my mom was like, oh, you can work in an art museum. That will be perfect. So that was kind of what I thought I was going to do with art. And when I graduated, I thought that I would work in art museum still, and I just kind of painted on the side and just started an Etsy shop just thinking it would be something on my resume.

Speaker 2 (08:03):

So that was 2013?

Speaker 1 (08:04):

Yes.

Speaker 2 (08:05):

Okay. So you got a job out of college? Nope. No. Okay. The Etsy shop was funding your life?

Speaker 1 (08:14):

Yes. So after I graduated, so like I said, I thought I was going to work an art museum and I was applying for different internships and entry level jobs at different museums and just was sending them out and not hearing anything back. So I was living at home with my parents in Columbus, Georgia, and I started an Etsy shop just thinking it would add something to my resume. And I also had a large body of work. I had been painting a lot just for fun on my own, just painting things that I was saying on Pinterest and just experimenting with different things. But I had so much art that I just thought, okay, well I might as well sell this until I get a real job and maybe it'll add something to my resume to show that I'm an entrepreneur and I'm hardworking and a self-starter. And then since no one was hiring me, it just sort of, and a lot of the jobs I was applying for were they weren't paying you, they were paying you next to nothing, and I still wasn't getting them.

Speaker 2 (09:14):

Speaker 1 (09:15):

As the Etsy shop started, kept sort of slowly growing, it just sort of started to make sense that maybe I just started thinking more about maybe I can be an artist and having that seed planted in my brain, I just decided that I would stay home with my parents and they were nice enough to let me stay home with them while I figured out if I could make it work. But yeah, I just decided to pursue it once I saw that there was potential,

Speaker 1 (09:43):

And actually the reason I thought there was potential was because the first weekend I opened it and listed all the paintings, I almost sold out. And granted I wasn't selling them for a lot. I mean, I think I sold original art for $50 or something just completely absurd and ridiculous low. But the fact that people even wanted to buy it, I remember thinking, oh my gosh, there's actually people that are interested in my work and want it on their wall. What if I could just find more people like this that want the art than I could maybe actually do this? So that gave me the confidence to try and pursue it and just see.

Speaker 2 (10:27):

Okay. Now tell me about the growth. So you said in 2014, by 2014 you were paying yourself, this is a salary job. I mean this, I'm making significant money. So what were you offering? How did you figure out your pricing? What went well and what did not go well in those early years?

Speaker 1 (10:46):

I think art is, it's probably similar to a lot of your photography clients in that it's kind of the wild west in terms of pricing. It's so hard to figure out what to price. Whenever I reach out to a photographer, it's like I never know what number I'm going to get back. So that was really challenging at first was figuring out how do I price original art when I've only been doing this for a year, questioning and doubting whether if I could charge as much as everyone else. So that was probably the hardest part, was pricing out original work, which the first few years was always way, way, way too low. But what helped the growth wasn't the original art was that I started offering art prints because art prints allowed me to sell my art at a price point that the consumer was more attractive to the consumer. So art prints, once I started doing art prints, I started seeing a lot of growth and I was lucky at the time that I was able to get a lot of organic growth through Pinterest and Instagram because it was the peak of Pinterest I feel like,

Speaker 1 (11:47):

And Instagram was just starting to become a thing. So it started just with my sorority college network out of college, and then they were telling their friends and their friends were telling their friends, and I was able to see a lot of slow growth with that network, especially because all of them were looking for art at an affordable price point to hang in their first apartments or their dorm room or whatever it was. And I also figured out that a lot of them, people like things that feel personalized. So one of the first prints that I sold was mat prints of different cities, and I started seeing a lot of success with those, and once I realized that was something that I could create more of, I think that was probably the biggest thing that allowed it to grow was just paying attention to what people were buying and then, okay, how do I replicate this for our people in different cities?

Speaker 2 (12:43):

Yeah, this is so good and so organic. I love hearing just what our work starts with our warm audience and then it grows. Did you stay on Etsy? Did you launch your own website? When did you see, yeah, just walk me through the continued growth of the company.

Speaker 1 (13:00):

Yeah, so I started the Etsy shop. I opened in May, 2013, and I think in December, 2013 I switched over to Shopify and I kept the Etsy shop open for about a year and just ran both of 'em. I tried to direct all the traffic to evelyn henson.com though just because I knew I wanted that to be the U R L that people remembered because ultimately I knew I wanted the business. Once I realized I was going to do this full time, I wanted there to be an evelyn henson.com and not just Etsy, but Etsy was great because it gave me, I found a lot of customers through

Speaker 2 (13:35):

Their

Speaker 1 (13:35):

Network as well, so I didn't hate Etsy. It was more that I just knew I needed to have a website that everything was on. So I did that about eight or nine months later. I'm still on Shopify now.

Speaker 2 (13:48):

Yeah. Do you feel like the business running a business came naturally to you? What was easy, what was not easy?

Speaker 1 (13:57):

I don't know that I would say running a business comes naturally to me. I think I'm very organized and hardworking and that comes naturally and I'm willing to learn. I remember watching a lot of YouTube videos and listening to a lot of audio books the first few years, trying to figure out what I could do to market myself better and how success hearing stories from other artists about how they grew their business. So I feel like I was just really open to learning.

Speaker 2 (14:32):

Yeah, I'm totally off scripting it, but I want to hear, I feel like when I look at you and your business, it has grown. It grew quickly. You got a lot of traction, but you may not feel that way. So I would love to hear Evelyn, do you feel like the growth of the company just felt very organic at a good pace at that moment? When we get outside of our warm market where we actually have to have a brand and a presence and people that, I think it gets harder. So did you ever see any bumps in the road where people weren't buying things or you weren't making the money you wanted? Just I would be interested to hear, has it always been pretty easy? Has it grown just slow and steady or

Speaker 1 (15:19):

I would say it's mostly been slow and steady. So I did make a lot of sales the first weekend that I opened the Etsy shop, and then it was crickets for about three months before I started seeing actual, or maybe three or four months before I started seeing actual sales. I would say maybe I was getting a few sales a week at most in the weeks that followed, but what kept me going was just that having that first weekend in the back of my head that at one point I was there and if I kept working hard enough, maybe I could get back there if I just found the right people and priced things out a little bit better so that it made more sense. But it also, I think with a lot of creative careers, there are high seasons and low seasons, so getting used to the ebbs and flows also took a little bit of time. There are certain months, at least for me, that just don't sell as well. Obviously you have November and December, obviously really great months when you work in retail because everyone's buying gifts, but then there are months where you see significantly lower sales, and I think I've just gotten a little bit more used to the way it ebbs and flows over time.

Speaker 2 (16:30):

Yeah, yeah. Okay, so let's fast forward 2017. You're in your third, fourth year of business. You sign up to take the blueprint model. What made you want to take a finance class or business course? Did you feel like there was something missing or that you just wanted to learn? I'd love to hear why did you sign up? I mean,

Speaker 1 (16:53):

I'm not a math person at all. That was always my worst subject in school, and I always feel like I just have so much. Even now, I feel like I just always will have something new to learn with finance and business, and I'm always eager to learn how I can be doing it better, and I knew at that point in 2017, I was doing this for three years. I was just so curious about how I could run things better. How can I pay attention to bestsellers and make them better than they are? What am I pouring my energy into where I'm spending time spinning my wheels, places that I don't need to be?

Speaker 2 (17:27):

Speaker 1 (17:28):

Was just so curious how I could take advantage of the numbers and use that to drive more growth. I just knew that at that point there I was working so hard that I was spitting my wheels in a lot of places that weren't actually generating things, and I knew if I understood the numbers a little bit better, I would see where I was wasting my energy.

Speaker 2 (17:48):

Yeah. How do you feel like in the years that have followed and as your business has gotten more mature, as you've done this longer, how have you found, like you said, spinning your wheels on things that maybe aren't moving you forward? What do you feel like in these last few years you've done really well to grow the company and how have you seen just the way you run your company change?

Speaker 1 (18:13):

I think I've been a little more confident with pricing. One challenge that I still in some ways struggle with is starting this at 2022 to 23. I price things out really, really, really low because I just didn't know any better at that age and I was thinking about, okay, well what can my friends spend money on when I should have been pricing the art a lot higher? And I think I feel a lot more confident and calmer knowing that I can price things higher and I'm more confident in how I package that and advertise that to the consumer. Time has just taught me to be a little bit more calmer with the way things ebb and flow to be calmer with responding. I don't have to have my email on 24 7. It's okay to just check it one to two times a day. Not everything has to be a S A P and giving myself the space to take time off

Speaker 2 (19:13):

Such a hard lesson to learn.

Speaker 1 (19:15):

Yeah, I know. I've been setting my, this is the first year I've set my away email off more than once, which is so crazy. I should be able to do that all the time. Just little things like that that sound easy from the outside.

Speaker 2 (19:30):

Yeah, it just feels like day by day you work. I would love to hear, I know I'm totally off scripting, but what is your motivator now? 10 years? I mean, this is your 10th year, right? In business?

Speaker 1 (19:44):

Yes. 10 years.

Speaker 2 (19:47):

That's amazing. What gets you excited now? What is it, do you like hitting bigger financial goals? Do you love that you're able to pay yourself a salary? Is it to do different types of work? What has kept you going for 10 years?

Speaker 1 (20:04):

I just want to keep doing this year after year. I love painting so much, and I think what keeps me going is connecting with people and painting something that brightens their home or their gift giving and just becomes a piece of sunshine in their homes for

Speaker 2 (20:20):

Years

Speaker 1 (20:21):

To come. Especially now with wallpaper and fabric. I just get so excited seeing someone install that in a bathroom or their nursery or wherever it is. I think just I'm just so inspired and motivated by the connections you can make with people through painting.

Speaker 2 (20:38):

Yeah, I love that. Okay, Evelyn, looking back, do you see any significant turning points in your business where you saw really big growth or you pivoted and stopped doing let go of something and started doing something else? Were there any big turning points in your business? Looking back, you can kind of be like, yeah, this was a moment.

Speaker 1 (21:05):

I think going off of Etsy and onto the website, that was a moment realizing that people liked art, that felt personalized and special and kind of had reminded them of their own memories, just sort of helped direct me in what I needed to paint. Realizing that original art could be priced and should be priced higher. That was definitely a turning moment. Learning how to wholesale with boutiques also opened up a new stream of revenue for me and also from a marketing standpoint. Another turning point probably was I had one Christmas where I was in Southern Living Magazine and that brought a significant amount of sales that Christmas I remember.

Speaker 2 (21:54):

And you were in Draper James.

Speaker 1 (21:55):

Oh yeah, that too. Gosh, I miss the early, I feel like I had such an easier time connecting with different brands five years ago than I do now,

Speaker 2 (22:05):

But

Speaker 1 (22:05):

I did love connecting with Draper James as well, just because it's so loud on Instagram now. I felt like I was able to get more traction with different brands like five years ago.

Speaker 2 (22:16):

I want to talk about the numbers, but I do, Evelyn, since it was brought up, I do want to talk to you quickly about marketing, and I feel like you and I started our business the same year. Isn't that funny? 2015.

Speaker 1 (22:29):

Oh my gosh, that's so wild.

Speaker 2 (22:30):

I know, and it really was a different era of

Speaker 1 (22:34):

Instagram,

Speaker 2 (22:35):

And I love that you also brought up Pinterest, but I feel like from an outsider looking in, you grew a good community on Instagram. How have you seen your business shift in the last few years? As you mentioned as Instagram maybe has gotten a lot more loud, and is there anything that you have done on the marketing side to continue to build your influence?

Speaker 1 (22:58):

Yeah, it was such a different world in 2013 especially because back then I could send something to an influencer for free and they were just excited to post it on their feed. That would never happen now, and that allowed me to really grow and develop a bigger community on Instagram than I can now, and the shifts have just slowed down that growth a little bit, but I still, it still is such a great place to cultivate connections, at least for me. I think it's different for every business, and there are also so many different ways that you can market your business outside of just Instagram. I think I actually see the most sales just through email, so I've always had an email list and I think that's another great way to connect with people and market your business.

Speaker 2 (23:44):

I saw a lot of people who started around the same time as me who grew a large audience on Instagram, and they really, really saw a downturn in sales. Some people really saw uptick in sales, but a lot of other people saw a downturn in sales the way Instagram has changed, and so I think in some ways it's probably discouraging, but hopefully encouraging for people who started their business after 2020

Speaker 1 (24:11):

That

Speaker 2 (24:13):

It is louder. But did you feel that effect in your business?

Speaker 1 (24:20):

I definitely felt like I used to get more. The interaction was just so different five years ago. I felt like I got such good immediate feedback and could really tailor the products

Speaker 2 (24:33):

Based

Speaker 1 (24:33):

On the communication I was getting on Instagram. The likes and comments and the dms really helped and encouraged me. It's really encouraging and fuels my creativity when I know that someone is connecting with the work. So it is been a hard adjustment to not expect or not get that encouragement as much anymore just because it does inspire me when I know that something I'm painting is connecting with somebody. So it's just been an adjustment

Speaker 2 (25:02):

And I love that. It sounds like you already had other avenues in place, like your email list or

Speaker 1 (25:08):

Pinterest,

Speaker 2 (25:08):

So that all of your marketing wasn't kind of tied to this one,

Speaker 1 (25:12):

Right? Well, I think platform, we saw how Facebook kind of fizzled out from it's initial excitement, so I always had in the back of my mind that Instagram would eventually, the excitement would eventually simmer down in a similar way. That was always kind of in the back of my mind, but it still has been interesting navigating how it's changed when it is a number one source of traffic.

Speaker 2 (25:36):

Traffic. Yeah. Oh, for sure. Oh my goodness. I quit Instagram in 2017, and so I missed out on the 20 18, 20 19 amazingness of Instagram. But I think I just tend to be a slow adopter and a slow learner, so I'm thankful for branching out because at the time Instagram was 70% of our marketing efforts. Wow, that's wild.

Speaker 1 (26:03):

It's probably peaceful not being on it.

Speaker 2 (26:06):

It really is. It truly is. But yeah, like you said, you have to work hard in other areas.

Speaker 1 (26:12):

Yes, for sure.

Speaker 2 (26:12):

To offset maybe the changes in Instagram. I started that in 2017, but it's hard.

Speaker 1 (26:22):

Yes, for sure. It's hard.

Speaker 2 (26:24):

Okay, let's talk a little bit about the numbers.

Speaker 1 (26:26):

Let's

Speaker 2 (26:26):

Dig in. What would you say your relationship is with money? Is money something that came in numbers easily to you? I know you mentioned you weren't really a math person, but in the business, was that something you learned easily? Did it come naturally was hard? Just kind of talk through your relationship with money and numbers.

Speaker 1 (26:48):

I think what is my relationship with money? I wouldn't say that it stresses me out. I wouldn't say that I get excited about numbers either. I think in the beginning especially, it was a lot of calling my dad and asking him for input and advice and feedback. It was a lot of reading and listening and learning to how to pay attention to the cost and then price accordingly from there. So I think my relationship with money is just a learning experience that I have to work hard to learn how to do in a way that's really profitable for me.

Speaker 2 (27:29):

Yeah. How have you managed with paying your own bills? Your business has supported you from day one, what are you glad about with that? And then also maybe share one or two struggles that have come with, I mean your life relies on your business

Speaker 1 (27:49):

To pay the bills. Yeah, I think that can be really stressful, especially in the beginning. I think I'm lucky that I did this right out of college before I knew how great some of the consistencies that come with a more corporate job would have. I don't know what it's like to have a company pay for my health insurance, so those bills are just, that's my norm. I don't really know any different,

Speaker 2 (28:13):

Speaker 1 (28:13):

In some ways I guess I don't under, I'm glad I didn't have to make that adjustment. I think that would've been really challenging.

Speaker 2 (28:21):

I would be interested, Evelyn, of how you've learned, again, I'm totally making this so hard on you.

Speaker 1 (28:28):

No, not at all.

Speaker 2 (28:29):

Paying your bills and paying yourself, and I know through the blueprint model you learned a lot about pricing and the fundamentals of business, but living that out and applying it every day, how have you learned to manage the ebbs and flows of natural business? I mean high seasons and low seasons versus needing to pay yourself every month?

Speaker 1 (28:51):

Yeah, I mean, in the beginning, like I said, I was living with my parents, so I was in a fortunate place where I was more in save mode. And I think also being, even when I moved out and got my first apartment, that bill was really intimidating at first, but you take that, I took that one on and then I think the next year maybe I was required to get my own health insurance or I think whenever I turned 26. So it was just kind of adapting to one bill at a time

Speaker 2 (29:18):

And

Speaker 1 (29:19):

Taking them on slowly made it a little less intimidating. And I also think I'm one of those people that is not a spender. I was raised to always save and be very frugal, which is probably a helpful mindset to have when you have your own business because I just didn't have a lot of expenses at the time other than I was 23. I just had my apartment and maybe a phone bill and food bills. So that made it a little bit easier too. And I think I was also really fortunate that I was seeing a little bit more and more growth each year really slowly. That helped me maintain a little bit of sanity as I got to a more sustainable number.

Speaker 2 (30:04):

I think that's so helpful to hear because starting a business when you are the sole income earner and a family of four is very different. Not to downplay your season of life, but for anything and anything, taking it one step at a time is so much easier than just like here it all is. Good luck. I remember my first year in business, I had to make 60,000. Kyle was in school and I would do anything and everything. I think there's beauty in being forced

Speaker 1 (30:40):

Speaker 2 (30:40):

Have a big goal, but I think learning how to manage the ebbs and flows of business is helpful when it's like that's why in the beginning of my business and early on in our marriage, we paid off debt as quickly as we could not because we're just like, oh, we're so awesome. We play off debt. It was honestly because we were scared. I want to live on as little as possible just in case the business has a bad month, and that's really, and that's going to happen. It's going to happen. So I love that. What would you say is the best thing you have learned about money?

Speaker 1 (31:17):

Oh, that's a good question. I think I had an answer to this two hours ago and I forgot what it was. I think that having a budget is really helpful and having goals to work towards, to set goals to work towards probably and do your best to reach the goal, but to not pull your hair out. If you don't meet the goal, you can always meet it next year.

Speaker 2 (31:42):

Yeah. How have you seen your business shift over the past 10 years? It sounds like you moved cities and have you ever seen your business where there's seasons where you needed to slow down or has it just been pretty steady growth for 10 years?

Speaker 1 (32:02):

It's been pretty steady growth when I look back, but which just I think helps me be a little bit calmer because I have so many seasons where I'm panicking and feeling really stressed for a few weeks. I always feel that way for some reason every January, not as much lately, but as I was growing, I always think, is this going to be the year that things fall apart? And I think time has shown me to be a little bit calmer with that

Speaker 2 (32:29):

Just

Speaker 1 (32:29):

Because December is such a high, and then you come down to January and it's a little bit lower, just learning to be a little bit calmer with the way it ebbs and flows.

Speaker 2 (32:39):

Yeah, those low seasons are always so tough mentally, even if you're prepared for them. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (32:45):

That's

Speaker 2 (32:45):

So helpful. Okay, one last question before we go into a quick fire round.

Speaker 2 (32:50):

You mentioned earlier about learning to take time off and rest and creating maybe some boundaries. So how would you say, since starting your business at such a young age, doing it now for 10 years, how have you found that balance or harmony and building your business, doing work you like, but also building a life outside of your business? I think it's so easy to kind of eat, breathe, sleep your business all the time and work when you can work as much as you want to do that. So what are some ways that you have found the right pace for you?

Speaker 1 (33:33):

Yeah, I mean, I was very eat, sleep, Evelyn Henson Art for the first few years especially because that was just the goal that I had to make it full time and I was going to work as hard as I could to make that happen. So it was really hard to chip away at that. I think just in time, giving myself long weekend breaks here and there, maybe going on vacation, but still checking my emails the next year and then eventually putting on my autoresponder and realizing that it's not a big deal. People want you to go on vacation and take time off and you need that for yourself too, or you're going to run yourself into the ground. And I think learning those lessons over time have been good for my soul.

Speaker 2 (34:14):

Yeah. Yeah. That's so good. And

Speaker 1 (34:16):

Unfortunately, I learned them the hard way because I did send myself into a tizzy several times. It was just for completely unnecessary. So I'm glad that I've learned in time that it's okay to slow down and take time off and your customers want you to relax on the beach and it's totally fine.

Speaker 2 (34:37):

Do you feel like that was hard for you to learn?

Speaker 1 (34:39):

Yes, only because this was a 24 7 thing for me. I wasn't doing anything else. The first one to two years I would work on Saturdays I was working, I would put my computer in bed with me. That was also the Girl Boss era 2013. And the atmosphere at least that I felt on Instagram was very work, work, work. And I was also raised to be a hard worker. Laziness was always frowned upon in the house that I grew up in,

Speaker 2 (35:09):

Speaker 1 (35:09):

It was hard for me to slow down and learn that rest is okay and necessary.

Speaker 2 (35:17):

I'm all about when you just said the girl boss era. Yeah, but I think there's two things, time constraints and financial need

Speaker 1 (35:28):

That

Speaker 2 (35:29):

Honestly from my 15 years of doing this, I think feel like a burden, but are in a lot of ways a blessing.

Speaker 1 (35:38):

Yes.

Speaker 2 (35:39):

And like you said, working all the time is a habit that's hard to break, especially if you don't. So having no time constraints in some ways can be tough to put to maintain your life too. So thank you for sharing that. I know so many struggle with working all the time and feeling like you need to.

Speaker 1 (36:05):

Yes.

Speaker 2 (36:06):

Yeah. Okay. Let's go into a quick fire.

Speaker 1 (36:09):

Okay.

Speaker 2 (36:09):

What is one thing you would be embarrassed if people knew?

Speaker 1 (36:15):

I mispronounce words a lot in an embarrassing way, and I also don't know how to use cruise control in my car. I don't know if the newer cars have that, but I've never been able to figure that out.

Speaker 2 (36:29):

I just saw this person, I don't even know how to, it was, I think it was on TikTok or something. I don't even have TikTok, so I don't know how I saw this, but yeah, she was talking about not knowing how to use,

Speaker 1 (36:40):

Oh, it's not just me,

Speaker 2 (36:42):

It's not just you.

Speaker 1 (36:42):

They didn't teach me in driving school, and people always say that to me when I'm on the road and I'm like, I just have no idea.

Speaker 2 (36:47):

And it just made me laugh because we have a new-ish car to us. I mean, we've had it now for, I mean, goodness, three years, but two years. And I was driving it after seeing that TikTok and I was like, wait, I don't actually know how to turn the cruise control on in this car.

Speaker 1 (37:02):

I have no idea where it is.

Speaker 2 (37:05):

That's hilarious. Okay. You're not alone. You're not alone. Good.

Speaker 1 (37:08):

Glad to know.

Speaker 2 (37:08):

All right. Any regrets or wish you could do over moments?

Speaker 1 (37:11):

Not really. I mean, going back to what we just talked about, I wish I could slow down more a little bit the first few years, and I wish I had gone to Taylor Swift more than once this past year.

Speaker 2 (37:22):

Oh man. Jealous.

Speaker 1 (37:23):

That was money well spent.

Speaker 2 (37:26):

Okay. Big win or pinch me moment.

Speaker 1 (37:29):

Launching fabric this year for sure.

Speaker 2 (37:31):

Exciting. Best advice or just really good advice that you have received?

Speaker 1 (37:37):

My dad always said to me, all you can do is your best, so I always carry that with me.

Speaker 2 (37:42):

I love that. That's good. Okay, last quick fire and then we'll send it off. What are you working on now or one resource that you would like to share?

Speaker 1 (37:52):

I'm currently working on a dog series for the holidays. I have a personalized dog series on my website that I painted. I probably did this eight years ago. It was something I did very early on in business and I'm currently working on adding new dogs to it, so you'll have to check back on my website in mid-October and you'll be able to put your dog on a mug or a print for all these different things for Christmas.

Speaker 2 (38:19):

So fun. Evelyn, I love your work and the word you use whimsical is so much how I would describe the work that you do. I know why Reese Witherspoon and Southern Living love, it feels like it should be in a Nancy movie, so I love that you're doing, let's put your dog on a mug. I'm going to get that for Kyle for Christmas. Thanks for joining us today. It's always fun to catch up with you and hear from a former student as well. We haven't gotten to work together in a long time, and I just have gotten to watch from the sidelines as your business has grown, and that you just keep the love of what you do at the center of what you do. And that's not easy. In 10 years, I think it's easy to let kind of shiny object syndrome push you in one way or the other, and I just think that you consistently do work you love and it's fun to watch.

Speaker 1 (39:19):

Thank you, and thank you for having me on.

Speaker 2 (39:23):

Let's send it off with what would you tell yourself on day one of launching your Etsy shop? No one's hiring you. What are you looking back? What would you tell yourself now

Speaker 1 (39:36):

To keep going and don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle.

Speaker 2 (39:44):

Love it. Thanks, Evelyn.

Speaker 1 (39:46):

Thank you.

Speaker 2 (39:47):

Hey, wildflower, you just finished another episode of Consider the Wildflowers the podcast. Head over to consider the wildflowers podcast.com for show notes, resource links, and to learn how you can connect with Evelyn. A Little sunshine from our Wildflower of the week. Kelsey over at Sugar Flowers by Kelsey Cakes. Kelsey says, perfect blend of life and business. I love getting a peek behind the scenes at other entrepreneurs and the businesses they run, and this podcast is no exception. Shanna knows her stuff when it comes to business finances, but she wouldn't let you forget to make a living while you're making a life. To borrow a phrase from Dolly Parton, and I really appreciate that Shanna's guests are sharing the nitty gritty details behind their businesses that we all have to deal with, but we don't all talk about. It's so relatable. Thanks for the love, Ms. Kelsey, and a big thank you to each of you who have taken a minute to send over a review. If you love the show, we would love to hear from you. Head over to Apple podcast app, scroll to the bottom, and click write a review to send some sunshine our way and a chance to be featured on an upcoming episode. One final thought for today from Seth Godin. Be in a hurry to create work that people would miss if it were gone. As always, thank you for listening. I'll see you next time.

Consider the Wildflowers

057. Evelyn Henson: How to Thrive in *Every* Season of Business

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057. Evelyn Henson: How to Thrive in Every Season of Business