Ann Upton is a wife and mother to 5 children. Ann and her family spent the last 7 years in Hawaii, where she fell in love with the island and the Aloha spirit. After moving away from Oahu in 2017 for work, Ann channeled her feelings about Hawaii into her art. Inspired by the ocean and the peace and calmness of the water, Ann aims to bring that energy into her resin and acrylic pieces. She hopes that when you see a piece of her work, you feel the spirit and Aloha of the island.
What is your entrepreneur story? How did you come about building your business?
My family and I are from Hawaii. It’s where I met my husband, got married, had our children, and it’s what gave me my life. The aloha spirit is what guides me and my family, even now after moving off-island. My art career was born from this aloha spirit and started after a hospitalization. 2 years ago I spent a week in the ICU due to complications from Lyme disease and started painting as a form of therapy. I was in chronic daily pain and spent most of my day in bed. The more I painted, the better I felt, and the more I was able to get out of bed. I sold my first piece a month later, and from there never stopped. I posted my work online, shared my story, my heart, and shared my connection with Hawaii through my art. All of my work is based on our Hawaii home, and it’s my greatest hope that my art is not just beautiful but an inspiration.
In terms of building my business, I feel like my story is somewhat unique. I never intended for this to be a business, and instead viewed it as rehab. I was a stay at home mom with no professional art background, so a career wasn’t something I was looking for, but instead was something that found me.
Social media was how my business grew, however, it was all organic. I simply shared my work and people responded. I talked to my clients, I answered questions, I posted videos of the process and it simply grew. The more work I did, the better I felt, and the more my Instagram grew.
I sell all my work online and grew from 0 to 100,000 followers in the first 16 months, and now 2 years later am at almost 175,000.
The next step in my business though is opening a gallery and studio. My family decided last month to take this business forward and open a gallery and studio in our small town. My husband is a 100% disabled Army veteran, and we hope that this family-run business can be something we run together for years to come.
What is your business model and how were you able to grow so fast?
My business model is simple, treat everyone like they matter, and share love + aloha in everything I do. I truly believe that my art is a metaphor for life and that I’m sharing my life as much as I am my art. When people support me they are doing so for the whole picture, not just a piece of art. I think this same philosophy is also what allowed me to grow so quickly. People resonated with me because I am them. I am the stay at home mom. I am a person fighting chronic illness. I’m a parent of 5 young children. A lot of people saw aspects of themselves in what I”m doing, and I think they connected with that. You will never grow in any business if what you are doing isn’t real, and I hope that everything I do, and everything you see from me is real. And if that translates into growth, that’s great — but that was never the purpose of this.
Can you give me an overview of who you are, what is your educational or overall background? What are some of your achievements?
My background is in the culinary world and not the art world. I went to college at the University of Arkansas and graduated with honors with a degree in Hospitality Restaurant management. I, however, worked as a baker and pastry chef during and after college, and my first love was in pastry. I worked in various bakeries doing everything from classic French pastries to cakes, bread, and cupcakes. I have always been creative, but before I got sick I had never painted before.
Outside of this my passion and life were dedicated to my family. I’m a mom to 5 children, ages 13, 11, 5, 5, and 3, and we are a military family. My husband spent 22 years in the active duty army, deploying 5 times, so my life was in support of our family. When Ron retired from the Army we moved out of Hawaii and our new life began.
What have you learned through your experiences as an entrepreneur that can be used by aspiring business individuals?
I think the most important thing to take from business and life is to lead with love. It doesn’t matter what type of business you are in, what you are doing, what you are selling, or who you are — -if you aren’t leading with love then you won’t be successful. There is more to life than making a profit, and living and leading with love and integrity is the very best thing you can strive for. I truly believe that if you show love, you will be given it in return — and that is what I have seen from my clients throughout the last 2 years.
What makes your business so unique and successful?
I think what makes me unique and successful is that so many people see themselves in me. Like I mentioned earlier I’m a mom, wife, I live with a chronic illness, chronic pain, and am balancing life just like everyone else. I believe I am real. I think this resonates with people and it inspires them. They think If she can do it with Lyme Disease and 5 kids then I can try it too. I hear from people every single day to tell me that I have inspired them to start painting, or to take up a hobby — and that to be is more valuable than anything. Knowing that I am making a positive impact on someone else’s life is more valuable than any sale.
What have you learned through your journey as an entrepreneur?
One word, time. That you get exactly what you put into it, and without time, you won’t get anything. When I started this as a hobby I put very little time into it. And as it grew into a full-time job, time was what I invested most of. Time away from my kids, my husband, my family. It meant weekends packing and shipping items. Weeknights went from hanging out with my husband, to late-night studio work to get my commissions done. I’ve learned that above all else time is our most precious commodity, and you have to find a balance between what you are willing to give and sacrifice to make your business work.
What skills and attributes make you as successful as you are?
Love and aloha. I sign the back of every piece of mine with “Love+Aloha” because that is truly the heart of what I do, and truly what I think makes me successful. This is a journey for me, and one that is playing out through ocean art. Outside of that, it’s sheer work and determination, and unwillingness to let my body win. I live in a massive amount of chronic pain, and giving my body and brain something to focus on keeps the pain manageable. The brain is a very powerful tool, and I truly believe that working is what has allowed me to keep that in check. There is a fine balance between work and overwork, and it’s something that I have learned the hard way to balance. Ultimately art saved me. Connecting Hawaii and art was the best thing that ever happened to me, and both of those things gave me my life back.
Why is online business, marketing, etc important?
In terms of business, social media and an online presence is the only way to go. my business wouldn’t have been possible without my social media presence. I was fortunate to grow organically, and to now 100% of my sales have come from Instagram. This online growth is what has made it possible for me to reach for the dream of opening an art gallery and studio.
Currently, we are just starting the process of building out an old historic building in Athens AL, where I will be able to work and display my art locally. Outside of this, I’ll also be able to teach classes in person, host exhibitions and other artists, and be a beacon in our local community.
Because this is a small family run business I’m doing a Kickstarter to support this endeavor. It’s an enormous leap of faith to go from working over my garage to a 3000sqft gallery and studio, but I’m so excited for the opportunity.
Is there anything, in particular, you’d like me to add to the articles?
Yes. The main thing I want you to highlight in the article is that I have a Kickstarter going right now that is to fund our art gallery and studio in our home town. I want to be able to bring that Aloha Spirit and that inspiration to people in my town. Being able to teach people in person and encourage others through art is amazing. Also, if you could watch my video and look at the whole Kickstarter page. I want the focus to be supporting me in getting my studio off the ground. I only have 18 days left in the campaign and need to hit my funding goal.