Custom Car Posters was actually more my Mom’s idea than my own. After purchasing a Fox Body Mustang, I went looking online for a piece of Art that depicted my particular car: a 1989 Fox Body Mustang GT in Red. When I couldn’t find anything that fit the bill, I decided to draw one for myself. Having completed that design along with another one for my 1951 Studebaker, I called it a day and was happy enough to have those two designs hanging on my wall.
A few weeks later, my Mom told me about an artist’s work she saw at a local art gallery. He depicted a Mustang being propelled through the air by a giant rocket blast in a style that was eerily similar to my own. Not to mention that the price tag for this particular piece of work was $5,000. With this in mind, I decided to see if anyone would be interested in purchasing any of my art. I drew 20 or so new cars designs and put them design up on Etsy for the world to see. As luck would have it, I had my first sale the very next day. Needless to say, I was elated and was literally jumping up and down with excitement. As a hobby artist, it never occurred to me that others would be interested in my work, yet here I was with my first sale in less than 24 hours. Spurred on by this first sale, I continued to add more designs as time would allow. The business continued to grow slowly but steadily as I added more designs. At this point, I still held down a regular day job as the Director of Finance for a Non-Profit Organization.
After 2 years, I reached a fork in the road where a decision needed to be made. On one hand, the business was showing a lot of potential, but couldn’t grow without my focused attention. On the other hand, I had a fantastic job working with great people towards an amazing cause. The factor that tipped the scales was my 1 year old son. I didn’t want to miss a moment of my son’s childhood, so I decided that the life of an entrepreneur would allow me the flexibility to parent on my own terms. Well it has been about 2 years now since committing to the business and I haven’t looked back. I get to spend time with my wife and son everyday while working on a business that I truly love. Seriously, what could be better than drawing cars for a living?
