The Trials of Sandy and Being an Entrepreneur

Going through something like Sandy has a way of putting things in perspective, and we’re grateful that even though Katie still has no power, she has my warm home to visit for power and family time. Our hearts go out to everyone who has been devastated or is struggling and it made us think about other life struggles, this one not as dire, but still difficult: Those small business owners our presidential candidates keep talking about. We’re featuring four women who have their own business — BreckWorks illustrations, Angela’s Whimsy custom frames, custom Silhouettes by Lena and TrapWrap neck warmers. One of the reasons being an entrepreneur is so difficult is that regardless of your personality type, success depends not just on using your personality strengths, but also on pushing your personality’s weak attributes.

Running your own shop often means being extraverted enough to make the sale, while being introverted enough to spend a lot of time alone without going crazy, being able to see the big long term picture while attending to every small detail, making logical tough decisions while knowing when to be empathetic to customers and employees, being able to get things done in a timely manner while also being able to go with the flow. In short, to be a success, you’ve got to be really good at things that don’t necessarily come easy to you, or have a partner who compliments your shortcomings. I often joke that the best entrepreneur would be a hybrid of a Smart Freedom (NTP) and an extraverted Classic Freedom (ESFJ) because it would mean a marriage of truly inventive big ideas with practical follow through and customer care and then I realized that this is simply every personality trait married into one except introversion!

First up, BreckWorks illustrations created by PixiesDidIt! resident illustrator, Carol Breckenridge. She’s also our mother and we put her first not because nepotism is alive and well but because she’s had her own shop for longer than the rest of the ladies. Although the name BreckWorks is new, as is her website on Etsy, she’s been a freelance artist for most of her adult life. She has a wide range of prints available for sale but also does amazing custom work for very reasonable prices. She’s so talented and productive, the only reason she’s not a multi-millionaire from her artwork is as an introverted Organic Structure (INFJ), self promotion isn’t her strongest personality trait. Organic Structures are all about harmony and self promotion rarely feels harmonious, it feels like bragging. Only it’s not. Also, note that I said “strongest personality trait” because none of our personalities are absolute and clearly with her new shop, she’s working that self promotion muscle!

As a Classic (SJ), I’m drawn to a lot of things from times gone by like Silhouettes by Lena. Lena Bengston has been doing silhouettes by free hand paper cutting since 1976 so she has been a freelance artist doing this for almost as long as our mom. She’s a portrait painter and art teacher who learned how to do silhouettes. She used to do more local work as she can do silhouettes from a subject sitting in front of her. But now with the advent of digital photographs, she can quite easily do them online as well. I think these are pretty much the coolest things ever at such a reasonable price point. It’s guaranteed to tickle any Classics’ (SJ) heart but if the subject is a beloved then any personality type would appreciate her work.

Next up is Angela’s Whimsy who creates one of a kind custom frames that are indeed whimsical. But she can customize them to your taste if you’re a little more practical than whimsical or in Pixie-ese, a little more Classic (SJ), Fun Structure (STP) and Smart (NT) than Organic (NF) and Fun Freedom (SFP). Angela was a lawyer before starting up a business built around her creative side. Clearly, no lawyer can be a shrinking violet but it was tough for her at first to get her frames into stores. This endeavor can be tough because shops say “No thank you” more easily than they say “Yes” and she had shied away from asking until a friend told her about a shop up in Harlem where she knew the owner. Having a connection to the owner was all Angela needed to go pound the pavement, get her first store and move on to tougher introductions, which she did. Often it’s “F”s who have a tougher time with this sort of cold calling — Classic Freedoms (SFJs), Fun Freedoms (SFPs), Organics (NFs) — but more so introverted ones. Now remember, this doesn’t mean these folks can’t sell things successfully, it just means it takes a little more energy to get up the gumption!

Finally we have the uber practical entrepreneurial product, TrapWrap. It is an invention of necessity — the mother of most great inventions, n’est-ce pas? Founder Jennifer Moe was cold all of the time. Apparently warming up your trapezoid muscles (the ones below your neck and between your shoulders on your back) is one of the best ways to really warm you up. As a heating pad fan, the one thing that annoys me about the average heating pad is that it never reaches the trap muscles. This product solves this problem plus it’s weight on your trap muscles gently forces me to sit up straighter leading to less neck strain walking around or working on my computer. Now, you have to be okay with something around your neck — I have an Organic Freedom (NFP) friend who can’t even wear necklaces so this is not a product for her. But it’s a nifty product for anyone with stiff neck/shoulder or someone who is cold all of the time. Obviously any personality type could have these problems but I have this gut feeling that more practical types — Classic (SJ) and Funs (SP) plus possibly Organic Structures (NFJ) and Smart Structures (NTJ) would be interested in this item.