Elle Smith is an artist who has followed her heart to pursue her dreams, read her inspirational interview below and be encouraged to live a life of your dreams.
Please
tell us what is a typical business day for you?
Well, I do not think there is
anything like a typical business day when you work alone. Usually, my day will
start with a long list of planned tasks for the day, which I will
systematically tackle. However, I have come to appreciate that things may not pan
out as first expected, and that there is always a tomorrow, or the next day to
achieve those goals.
There is always much
administrative work to address, involving speaking with people on the
telephone. This is actually part of the task list that I actually enjoy as I
find people very interesting, and these interactions even on a business basis
can be very enlightening and a learning curve.
A great deal of my time is
spent on social media and interaction with my fan base, which is in the region
of some 65,000 people. Even I do not appreciate the enormity of this number, as
it has grown very rapidly. I guess having worked within finance that I have
come to normalise large numbers.
However, it is quite a
challenge to manage social media for such a large fan base. I do have some help
now, but I still ensure that I personally interact with my fan base on the
various platforms; as to me this is very important. These people or “friends”
have supported me on my journey, and sometimes even the criticism has been the
thing to push me to work harder. It is often moving to me, and humbling to hear
the stories of people that I have “touched” with my creative works. Even the
other day, someone opened up to me about some abuse they had suffered as a
child. It was through a poem that I had written, which had resonated with them
and offered understanding to the deep wounds they feel.
I try to include some element
of creativity in each day; however whilst I am developing the business, it has
meant that my creative time has reduced. Clearly, I love to paint and write
poetry especially if the inspiration is given to me. My mind is a furtive place
for imagination and alternative perspectives, so I especially enjoy developing
ideas. Sometimes this is easy as I connect with the topic, but not always. I
have at times had to go on a rapid learning curve, but that’s good as I enjoy
learning about new topics.
My day is always busy, not
just in physical terms but intellectually too. My head is often flooded with
new ideas and thoughts constantly. I must admit this is challenging to manage,
so I now tend to reach for a sheet of paper or my I-pad to note down those
thoughts. Usually the day starts very early and goes on into the early hours,
when I enjoy the silence of the night as there is a clarity of thought at that
time, provided I can stay awake.
What
made you start the business and how did you get started?
The path to this business was
a strange one indeed. I have always been very creative, even in my commercial career,
as I would always visualize problem solving differently to others. My actual
artistic side was present to a lesser degree as well, and probably only
manifest itself in terms of fashion and cooking.
People would often say “You
should really get into that as a career”, but I had been brought up to believe
that being creative would never amount to anything. Thus, I never explored my
creative side probably for financial and social reasons.
I was inspired by someone to
explore art a few years ago. Equally, I had probably at that point served
enough years in the world of finance and academia. I suffered a bad injury from
a car accident, which also had other ramifications to my health. I was in fact,
advised that I could have been paralysed from that accident. However, not being
one to give up, I decided to fight on and overcome those injuries, which still
cause me problems but I live with this daily.
It was totally accidental that
I discovered I could paint, and I now realise that if I put my mind to a task,
there is not much that I cannot achieve.
What
would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to
date?
My greatest accomplishment is
probably that I have built a brand without any help of others, and as I was
reminded this brand is about me. It is still surreal to hear people saying how
fascinated and interested they are…in ME!
What has been your biggest challenge in business so
far?
Well, doing this
alone is on a certain level a mammoth achievement, but it is also extremely
hard. Financial stability is always a concern, as I do not have that support
mechanism. I would love to have a mentor and that support around me, who knows
maybe it will come in the future as the business grows.
What are your future plans for the business?
I have so many
future plans, including joining the literary world. I have started to write a
book, which has a great concept behind it but it is stalled, as I need a team
around me to bring this to fruition in the right way. Clearly, this is new
territory for me and as always, I will not do the project unless I can do it
justice.
Recently. I
created a fashion item, which is simply stunning. This is more the territory
that I feel comfortable with. This new bolero scarf even surprised me, as
seeing your design in 3D is so different from an on-screen impression of what
it will look like. I was truly overwhelmed to see my scarf in reality.
One of my goals is
to touch everyone with creativity, and I would like to exhibit my art in a
unique way. Quite what this will entail, I have no idea but maybe some day soon
this will be possible as the business grows. There are so many people who
cannot access conventional exhibitions, that this would be a great project to
host.
If you had to do it all over again, what would
you do differently?
The only aspect
that I would like to have changed is perhaps the financial pressure of doing
this alone.
Why is it so important to inspire young women in
particular to follow their dreams?
I think the times
that we live in are very different and there are many challenges for young
people. One of these challenges is belief and self-worth. There is a lack of
role models and people willing to inspire the young that every door is open to
them.
There is much
undiscovered talent around the globe, where individuals never explore their
dreams, as the external pressures are too great. Even my personal story is one
that would fascinate and motivate the young, given the obstacles and hurdles
that I have overcome.
Women still sadly
face inequality on several levels, so inspiring them to overcome such hurdles
would be a great thing to do. Of course I am biased but women do bring strength
and empathy that is quite unique as it is instinctive. It would be wonderful to
inspire young women to see that their dreams are achievable.
What advice would you give to somebody who wants to
start a business in your industry?
I do not want to
give some vague advice, but to say that it is possible to do, but not easy. You
must believe in yourself every step of the way, even when the challenges occur
and they will. You need to remind yourself that you are amazing and that you
will succeed. Determination is definitely a key factor to success. However, you
must realise that success is unlikely to come overnight, and in the form you
expect as often we set our sights too high. Success is relative to your
perspective of life.
What or who inspires you in business and why?
Well, there are
several people who inspire me. Firstly, my mother who was an amazing person in
her own right as she had an inner strength that was phenomenal. The person that
made me awaken to my creative side is also an inspiration to me. They have a
natural ability to nurture and inspire everyone around them by challenging
thoughts and ideas. This in itself is a rare talent.
Of course, there
are many conventional characters like Richard Branson, where his inspiration is
about his ethics too. I like that his Virgin brand has an honesty factor about
it, and is not just solely about money.
What
is your favourite inspirational quote?
“Live as if you were to die
tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Mahatma Ghandi
Elle Smith
07512 028893
I found Elle Smith as talented, professional, creative and passionate.
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