TAMIU GEAR UP IV 2015 Essay Contest

The changes that I made with the help of GEAR UP helped me work on something that I'm rather proud of-my own personal art business. I decided that if I wanted to be successful, I should get an early start on my career. I can't do much, but I know how to draw. So, naturally, the best course of business action to prepare myself for the future would be to take commissions in exchange for money. I began an art brand; using a singular title to use across various social media platforms. I created a separate email account, used solely for professional activities, and to record correspondence between my customers. The basics of the business are that people see my art online, contact me, I hand them a list of my prices for custom art, and they then pay me to draw whatever they want, within reason. To better establish my brand, I've set up multiple accounts on various social media sites to better connect and communicate with my audience. Overall, everything has been running smoothly so far, and it's proven to be very organized and profitable. I'm very formal about my approach to this business-everything's as sorted out as possible. I keep track of every payment I receive, and request an invoice from the commissioner as a means of official data recording. To keep on good terms with my audience, I maintain a sense of transparency and openness to everyone by keeping my commission queue public. This allows my clients to see where they are on the queue, and see my general progress throughout time. The formality is mostly mechanical, though. As for the actual communication and public interaction, I engage in a more casual manner of connecting with the public and my clients. Twitter is an amazing platform for quick, short messages and communication, so I created an account to relate to my audience. Anyone can simply shoot me a question, and I can immediately respond with ease. To even further my public reputation, I occasionally surprise various random followers with free art, which impresses the other denizens of the internet to further boost the general opinion towards my business. Getting my school life together, organizing myself, and running a personal brand are all a very beneficial direct result of taking the advice of the GEAR UP representatives at my school. This educational organization should stay for many years to come, as it may change the lives of many more students along the way. - Jaime Rivera