After 10 years in finance at Fortune 50 companies, Shannon Etnyre, MBA, said goodbye to her “comfortable salary and predictable chaos” to become an artist – but, not just to paint.
For Etnyre, being a painter wasn’t enough.
She wanted to show other artists how to create a passionate and profitable living, so she launched True North: Creative Business Planning.
But, branching out on her own didn’t come without personal challenges. Etnyre endured a miscarriage and saw her sister-turned-business-partner through Stage IV cancer.
The emotions weighed heavily on her shoulders.
“I turned to art to help center myself,” remembers Etnyre. “When a friend gave me What Should I Do with My Life by Po Bronson, I experienced an aha moment.”
She found a bridge between her expertise in business planning and passion for creativity.
“I realized I could help ‘creatives’ by putting business plans together for them,” she says.
She spent two years developing True North, a virtual meeting place where artists support, encourage, collaborate and share ideas.
Her key to success?
“I didn’t play it safe,” she says. “I made calculated risks. Some worked out and some didn’t.”
Etnyre leveraged lessons learned into advice for her clients.
She encourages women to bet on themselves and their dreams.
“If you have an ‘itch,’ scratch it.”
Are you on the verge of starting a business?
Bonus PINK Link: How Gigi Cupcakes founder Gigi Butler built a business on $33.
By Alison Richter
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