Key Takeaways
- Why bankruptcy made Heidi feel like she had no control over her life – and why she’s no longer ashamed or embarrassed about that time of her life.
- The moment that changed everything, shot up Heidi’s confidence, and made her realize she could make money doing what she loved.
- Why Heidi felt guilty about wanting more than just a great teaching job – and the opportunity that led her into the world of teaching paint parties
- Why she started teaching other women how to make money doing paint parties of their own.
- The reason it’s okay to fail, even if it happens in public – and what Heidi wants you to think about as you envision your membership site instead of worrying about what happens if you don’t have immediate success.
Free Give
FREE Guide – Launch & Grow a Profitable Membership Site
Ready to reclaim your time and attract more monthly paying customers? Our step-by-step guide will show you how to build a membership site that turns your passion into recurring profit. Click here to download!Memorable Quote
“It’s just a matter of finding opportunities and taking them.” – Heidi Easley “Fail. Fail again. Get up. Try again. It doesn’t matter in the end.” – Heidi EasleyEpisode Resources
Transcript
Read The Transcript
Shelli: Heidi Easley, welcome to the It’s a TRIBE Thing Podcast. How are you?
Heidi: I’m great. How are you? Thanks for letting me be here.
Shelli: Oh, my goodness. I’m super excited to share your story. I find yours really personally inspiring for a series of reasons, but I wonder if you could start by sharing who you serve and how you came to be this membership site owner that you are now like what was your backstory and where did you start?
Heidi: So, my name is Heidi Easley. I’m the owner and founder of Texas Art and Soul and I teach women all over the world how to teach and start paint party businesses and mobile paint party businesses, but I didn’t always do that. I was an art teacher for ten years and over 10 years ago we lost our house, we lost everything, my husband lost his job, and I ended up finding myself like just like basically I felt like I was in a fetal position and I had no control over my life and I wasn’t even 30 yet. I always say bankruptcy to business owner before the age of 30. But before I was a business owner I actually was just so like depressed and so sad because I had failed so much and I did not realize, I guess, I didn’t realize life would be this hard. So, when we, you know, I had a new baby and like I painted her room all Tinkerbell theme and her name is Pixie like we’re obsessed with Tinkerbell. I was at the time. Thank goodness I didn’t get a tattoo of Tinkerbell on my hip or it’d be like all stretched out. Anyway, we have this. I painted her room.
Everything was good and then we end up losing a job and lost our house, lost our car. So, I think I changed cars three times in a matter of a year, and I didn’t tell anybody. I’m so embarrassed and I just started painting. I used art to heal. I always talk about how healing art is and so I took some spare wood for my sister’s house and we cut these little like just kind of rickety-looking surfboards and I was going to paint them. We lived on the beach at the time in Panama City Beach and we moved into an apartment and saw. I was like, “I’m just going to paint these and just try to heal like get my head out of this loser, stop feeling sorry for myself.” So, I started bringing these surfboards to school where I taught, and I taught at elementary school and I had about 850 kids come to my classroom every week. And so, I saw them. I was going to work during lunch, and they would see them, and they go, it’s usually, “Oh my gosh, can put my name on that? Oh my gosh, can I have that surfboard?” and I’m like, “No. This stuff I’m working on…” and about after the 150th kid said it, it really hit like, “Oh, my gosh, maybe I can sell these and help my family out of this crazy spell.”
Shelli: Yeah. You’re like, “Yeah. This is a thing.”
Heidi: Yes, exactly. And so, I talked to my husband and my mother-in-law, and of course, we didn’t have any money so she’s like, “You know, you’re going to need some help.” So, I took this surfboard and have like wet polyurethane on it. I mean, it was all like not perfect I scared to death. I had a meeting with this guy at Pier Park. If you’ve ever been to Panama City Beach, you probably have been to Pier Park which is amazing and I’m like, “Can I sell these at your fine mall establishment?” like I had no experience. I don’t know what I was doing and he’s like, “Yeah. I think you can make some money.” And so, we worked out a deal. My mother-in-law and stepdad, my husband literally like we had surfboards. We were selling out of wood. I mean, it was craziness. And so, we get ready to set up the first day and I’m like, “Okay. My life’s going to change. There’s going to be a better way. This is going to be great,” and then nobody is there like nobody, and I’m like, “This sucks. What happened? Nobody’s here to buy my surfboards that I worked months on,” after where my husband finally got another job and just thinking like how is this going to work?
And so, my mother-in-law senses my frustration and she’s, you know, what do you do when you’re broke before you’re 30, you’ve lost everything, you’ve gone bankrupt? You know, she’s like, “Come on, Heidi.” And I’m like, “What?” and she’s, “Let’s get a Buffalo Wild Wing and get a drink,” because that’s what you do when you’re done. You get somebody to buy you a drink. So, we walked over to Buffalo Wild Wings. It’s right across the street and I’m at the bar and I am drinking away. I’m just like, this is my plan B like I don’t have a plan C. What am I supposed to do? This is it. It’s over. At that age, you think that it’s done like I’m down for the count. There’s no way out. I’ve tried this life and it’s over. And I’m sitting there and I’m drinking another one and then the phone rings and this changes everything. And I answered my phone and my husband says, “Heidi, get over here. We have orders,” and he was manning the booth while I was at Buffalo Wild Wings getting tipsy and I’m like, “No, you’re lying. This life sucks. Nothing’s going to work,” and he’s like, “Heidi, get over here. We have orders.” And I’m like, “Oh my gosh.” So, I’m looking at my mother-in-law and she’s like, “Go, go.”
And so, I tipsily walked across the street and he’s looking at me. We had these paper tickets and this moment has defined everything and I’m going to try not to cry. We’re going to talk about it, but he has these paper tickets and he’s holding them up and it’s just like ticket after ticket after ticket and he’s like, “Heidi, get to painting. Get to painting.” And I’m like, “Oh my gosh, and at that moment it was like I was like on the floor, on my face,” and it was almost like Godlike scooped me up and not only did he scoop me up and say everything is going to be okay, but in that moment, he said, “You’re going to be able to do what you want forever which is paint, which is what I’ve done forever.” He’s like, “You’re not only going to be able to do what you want and love but you’re going to be able to make money off it.” And in that moment like I was laughing and painting that whole night and just thankful so thankful and it’s paved the way. It shot my confidence up that thinking like God’s got a plan for us no matter what. And so, fast forward, it’s moved on to many other things and, obviously, I can’t really sell wooden surfboards in North Texas but at that moment it has definitely changed my life forever.
Shelli: That’s incredible. So, you have gone on from painting surfboards and I think the quote I heard was like a thousand in two months or something crazy like that.
Heidi: Yeah. We went on to and just three days a week 12 hours, well, usually more than 12 hours a day, three days a week I painted over 1,000 hand-painted surfboards customized which I was the painter that can only paint one painting a year but I learned to paint fast because I knew every single $20 surfboard I sold was money in my bank and money towards my family’s future. And if it was raining, I had a friend, my dear best friends were Camel and Allison, if it was raining, we were in the back of our cars painting like I would stay up until 2 in the morning to finish orders the next day because I knew it was my way out.
Shelli: Well, it’s amazing to have the opportunity to do something you love and so you have turned that from that into teaching painting parties and from that into teaching women how to run, how to have mobile businesses teaching them how to teach painting parties. Can you talk about how you transition from the person who has this like pinnacle moment and you’re one phone call away from saying, “Hey, Heidi, guess what, like we have orders,” life just changed as of this minute to where you are now where you have a successful membership site and the way that you are doing life and doing business is completely different for you now. Can you talk about what that looked like crossing that bridge?
Heidi: Yeah. So, we moved back to Texas where we were from just the teaching salary was way better and just kind of raising our daughter and we were at that time Panama City Beach was kind of the spring break capital the world and so we didn’t want to raise our daughter just kind of in that environment so we moved back to North Texas and I was honestly, I mean, I was teaching in the best school district. I had a brand-new art room. I had an awesome quilm and I thought that’s what I wanted. I mean, I really thought like this is what I dreamed for, what I had asked for, and for a long time I felt guilty about wanting more because I had this feeling like I’m supposed to do more like I don’t know why but I had this gut feeling I’m supposed to do more. And I remember in my kitchen, I was crying to my husband and I know I got so emotional because I’m an artist-type creative person. I mean, we are.
Shelli: Also.
Heidi: We’re just more emotional. We feel more. And I remember in the kitchen going I don’t know why I feel this way. I don’t know why I’m supposed to do more, but I just know I am. And so, a lady asked me. She’s like, “Hey, have you ever done a paint party?” like she asked me. It was one of the fellow teachers and I had a picture of the paint party I did when I was in Florida and I was like, “You mean, like this?” and it’s me with a bunch of people holding our painting and she goes, “Yes. Can you do that? Can you do that for my church?” And I was like, yeah, sure. So, we set a date and my whole line is a profit every party like I’m all about teaching the women in my membership to have a profit from their very first party and there’s a whole thing that I teach them to make sure they do that. And so, we did our paint party and then I just kept doing them and then I kept getting more and more and then before I knew it, I had people coming to ask me that I started mentoring by telling them how to do it.
And I remember a friend of mine who’s still a really great friend and she actually helps me with a lot of my YouTube stuff, and she would go like, “I don’t understand. Why are you teaching me how to do this like won’t that take away business from you?” And I’m like, “My whole goal is sharing God’s love through art and I am only one person. I can only teach so many paint parties on my schedule,” and people all over the world teaching paint parties and showing love. You don’t even have to talk about God. You can just show love to other people and let them get out of tragic states or maybe they lost somebody and they just need a minute to like not think about that and paint something. We need more of those people so it ended up just turning into this me offering classes online to teach people and then it turned into this membership which now I can reach way more people through and duplicate my time.
[ANNOUNCEMENT]
Stu: So many people in all kinds of niche markets are leveraging their existing knowledge and influence and they’re transforming it into passive monthly income. This isn’t luck. This is a repeatable formula for producing a growing subscription income and if thousands of others can do it, you can too. To find out what type of membership site would be right for your business, visit GetTRIBEGuide.com. Go to GetTRIBEGuide.com and download it today. You’re awesome.
[INTERVIEW]
Shelli: So, are you teaching people how to have a business of teaching paint parties?
Heidi: Yes.
Shelli: That’s wonderful.
Heidi: So, they can go from like I have a lady in my membership who she’s a grandma and I loved talking about her. She’s so sweet. She had only painted five times before she started teaching paint parties, five times. She just had a passion. She just had – and that’s the thing I tell people. You don’t have to be, I mean, I don’t even have an art degree. I have my communication degree, my psychology degree. Don’t worry, I’ll have my certificates to teach art, so I was definitely legally teaching art in the schools, but you don’t have to have this art degree because we’re not teaching art classes. We’re creating this fun environment or kind of like a craft night. It’s a totally different way.
Shelli: Well, to your point, like on the outside, it looks like it’s quite simply just a painting class, but you know I’ve been listening to your story and as an artist myself, there is a certain amount of like getting to park your stress and getting to heal and getting to like almost be in a meditative state to just like sort of get out of life’s cycle for a bit and just like press pause for a hot minute and take some time for self-care and it’s not just an art class. It’s the opportunity to be able to take some time for yourself or the people who are participating but what I love about you is like from that moment when you were given that opportunity and you felt like no, not only can I do art as I love, but I can make a living doing this. You’re offering other people the opportunity to heal both by taking the paint class, but also you’re offering women the opportunity to create a business for themselves and change their family’s lives and be able to create in a way the same thing that you’ve created and to pay it forward in that way.
Heidi: Yeah. It’s totally changed my life. I always tell people I like paint parties that changed my life and one of the things, I’ve had a lot of crazy health scares and that’s another topic for another time but I remember two years ago going through so many tests because I thought I had a stroke and they found a hole in my heart and just craziness that happened and I remember I had a paint party that night and I asked the doctor, after all these tests they put me through, I’m like, “Can I still do the paint party tonight?” and he’s like, “Yeah, that’s fine. Just be careful. Don’t lift too much,” and I remember I was in this level of all of my own self-pity of what am I going through. I don’t know what the outcome is. I don’t really know what’s going on in my body. But as soon as I’m in a paint party, all of my worries disappear and I am about serving those women and I’m laughing, I’m having fun, I’m asking them what’s going on in their lives and it’s just good for the soul. So, those have been that maybe they’re not doing it for financial reasons. Like when I first started, yeah, it was also for extra money, but I was teaching full time in Texas at the time, so I didn’t technically need extra money. I wanted it but I didn’t really need it.
And so, the fact that sometimes people, yes, they come in and it makes a difference in their finances, obviously, to make a crapload of money teaching paint parties, but it also, I mean, really it’s great money but also for the person who just like is in a rut and they just want to socialize a little more. I always make a joke I’m like at Christmas. I’m invited to all the best parties. I have all the best food. I have all the best drinks because we’re invited to these fun social events and painting with a twist have totally paved the way for mobile paint party businesses because I’m always so grateful to them because it’s educating. People know what we offer already. It’s just a matter of finding those opportunities and then taking them.
Shelli: That’s incredible. Well, you said a couple things that sort of piqued me and out there listening to this chat, it will be thousands and thousands of people who either have an idea for a membership site or are thinking of something they maybe might like to try and one of the things you said that struck me when you’re doing the surfboards is you used to do one painting a year or whatever and what you said was you’re just painting the surfboards and it didn’t have to be perfect. They were not perfect. They just needed to get started. So, I’m curious to know like you’ve completely transformed from to your “bankrupt” to business owner. What you know to be true now about your membership site that you thought wasn’t possible in the beginning and what advice would you give somebody else who is in that position now?
Heidi: Man, oh my gosh. So, when you’re first starting, it feels like never going to happen, but what I kept imagining because I put myself with a strong goal, 200 people by my one-year anniversary which is coming at Mother’s Day. And so, I put myself a goal like if I could hit 200 people, that’s going to be life-changing. If I could hit 200 people and I just had this vision and I imagine that the whole time. What’s going to happen in one year? That was giving myself one year to get 200 people, and this last launch I was three people off from hitting 200 people and I thought, “Oh my gosh, when I hit my one year I’m going to be way over 200 like I’m going to be able to do it at 300.” And so, I think the big tip that I had for that is just imagining one year from now, and I also remember just studying like I was studying like nobody’s business. I would get at two hours early if necessary I would carve out times and checks in my day. I mean, I would literally just for six to eight weeks pretend like nothing else is happening and study, study, study. And I think it’s so important that we have to first visualize but then we have to take action, even if it’s not perfect, just like those surfboards.
I mean, they were wet. I mean, I had just sprayed them with polyurethane and they were rough and they were not the final thing that we put out for customers but it was the fact that I had to take action, and then I think having the confidence boost in knowing that God has our back and there was a whole plan for this. You know, now looking at my bankruptcy story, I smile. For many years, I didn’t talk about it. I was so embarrassed that I’m almost healed through talking about it and the reason I start talking about is one time, it was only a few years back I started talking openly about it and a person told me. I was like, “I just can’t say anything because I was still teaching school like what are those high schoolers going to think?” And I remember he looked at me and he was like, “You really think what’s happened to you is – I mean, what are they going to do? Go do drugs because you went bankrupt like you don’t have that much power over people.” And I thought to myself I’m like we are so – and it’s not just me. It’s everybody. We walk through this life thinking everything we’re doing is the center of their world. It’s not.
Creative Magic, I love that book so much. It talks about how just fail. Just do it and fail because people are going to notice for a second. They might notice if you failed totally like really crazy. They might notice for a few more seconds but they’re really going to go back to their own life. So, fail. Fail again. Then get up and try again. And when it gives you so much freedom when you think about that like, “Wait. I’m not the center of their life.” So, yeah, go do what you want to do. Go be who you want to go be because it doesn’t matter in the end. They’re focused on their stuff as they should be, you know, and it makes all the difference in the world.
Shelli: Well, I’m so inspired by your story, by your ability to listen for the signs and to ask for directions and to say yes. What is the one thing that you were afraid of before you started that you found not to be true once you did start?
Heidi: Oh man, that’s a good one. I think I was so afraid that it wouldn’t happen. I think starting a membership, I mean, it’s scary. You think nobody’s going to sign up, nobody’s going to want to be a part of that. Even in business, starting a business is scary. You know, you think, “Oh, are they going to like me?” I always think of that Saturday Night Live. Are people going to like me? But it really is, it’s like you put your heart out and I was just talking to my paint party headquarters members this morning and I said, “You can’t depend on your friends and family to make your business consistent and successful. That’s not what it’s about.” I had somebody post in the group that said something about that like, “You know, not even my mother-in-law is liking my stuff.” Well, she’s got a life. That’s not your customer and I think when we find out who our customers are and then we give it all we got, what I do and what I teach, none of my family is in my membership. They’re not teaching paint parties. It’s not their thing. But for those 200 people that are teaching paint parties, it is their thing. So, everything matters to them.
So, I think the big thing is don’t look at where you’re starting and obviously don’t prepare yourself to people but don’t look at where you’re starting. Look at where you’re going to be in one year if you were just to get the guts to take action and fail, and you have to fail through it. I mean, I’m just a year in. I can’t wait to see like I’m already projecting for next year and I think looking back even the bankruptcy thing going through it, I had no idea why I had to go through that. Obviously, I made some bad financial decisions, obviously, but looking through it now, I’m like, “Oh my gosh, that is what has driven me.” That moment staring at my husband with those tickets and knowing God is backing me and to give me that kind of confidence, anytime I’m low, anytime I’m down, I just for a half-second put myself standing there looking at my husband with those tickets and I go, “There’s a reason and it’s moving forward.” And so, I think knowing that and just imagining a year from now.
Shelli: I love it. So, just to recap for everybody, Heidi’s big take away is it’s great to visualize but you need visualization plus action. So, saying yes, prioritizing, and becoming a student of your craft. Heidi, easily, you’re amazing. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. If people are looking for you online and they want to join your membership, where is the easiest place for them to find you?
Heidi: The easiest place to find me is Texas Art and Soul and spelled A-N-D so TexasArtandSoul.com. You can also get a free gift there so just scroll down. You’re about to get my e-book 48 pages on exactly how to start a paint party business. It’ll get you going.
Shelli: Amazing. You’re a gift and we appreciate you. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Heidi: Thanks, Shelli, for having me.
