We stared in complete wonder when we found Mr. Lentz’s site. He’s a true Renaissance man living in the modern world. His true business skill is balancing all of his creative skills. We are so happy to share his wonderful advice with all of you because everyone running a creative business has a plethora of skills.
According to Mr. Lentz’s biography: I’m a photographer, designer, woodworker, writer, dreamer, thinker, pilot, rabbit breeder, illusionist, Spanish speaking surfer, and lover of all things made by people who make things the way they want to make them. I create and design functional items as well as those for your viewing pleasure – mostly out of reclaimed wood and upcycled materials from salvage yards. My aim has always been to find beauty and share it with others while making a profit to support my efforts. Recently my focus has shifted to a blog I created with the goal of inspiring others to inspire others. I am currently running my own successful freelance businesses in Motion Graphics, Photography, and Jewelry Design/creation.
We told you he was a Renaissance man. We hope you love the interview!
How can a creative heart with multiple interests combine all their passions into one business, the way you have done, without looking scattered or harming their branding?
One of the most challenging aspects of being interested in so many things, of constantly wanting to learn more, is of course finding a way to combine them all into one manageable lifestyle. For me this did not come so easily. For the longest time I had struggled with wanting to follow each passion by neglecting the others. In doing that I was constantly led down unfulfilling paths of sacrificing my creativity for the mollification of the majority. I finally realized that the only way to make sense of my passions was to do what felt natural, put my energy into each when each needed energy. Then put each interest all under one roof, my brand Mr. Lentz. From there – ignore what people tell you about only choosing one passion, because our society can get easily caught up in trying to make everyone be just like their neighbor. Instead – put heart into everything you do, get rid of everything you don’t do well or may not be fully enchanted by. And finally, appearance is everything. Choose a ‘voice’ that represents you and your business. This is the way you write about yourself online and in marketing materials, this is the color scheme that is consistent in everything that represents you, this is the type of photography that you take of your work or business or employees. Your ‘voice’ is something you should try and figure out early on and stick with, but also let evolve as you continue down your path.
How can someone who dreams of creating for a living turn their current cookie cutter products into something unique and not found elsewhere easily?
When I am looking to create something unique, I find that the best way is to balance a few things. First off – reading other artists’ blogs and scouring online galleries for ideas is a good way to turn your brain into mush. A little bit of outside spark from others can be great, but take those thoughts and go for a walk. Let your mind relax and stop thinking so hard about what ‘unique’ really is. The ideas will start to flow when you don’t put so many constraints on them. Let them come to you, write them down, then throw out the ones that don’t make sense.
What steps did you take as you added new skills and aspects to your business in order to transition successfully?
To be honest I have never really held a legitimate full-time job since my high school days of popping kettle corn at the baseball stadium. I have always believed that if I were creative enough and worked hard, I could make a living for myself doing what I loved. Here I am still, doing exactly what I want to be doing and loving it! Over the years I tend to transition into new interests, but I don’t leave my old passions and skills on the side of the road. Instead I work those skills to my advantage: I write my own art story blog, I designed the website, I photograph my products and design the marketing material, and when I get hungry – I cook up a pot of my own kettle corn, haha!
What inspires you to inspire others toward a creative business?
Take a look around. We are living in a country where people are waking up early, sitting in traffic, walking into their office and then spending the next nine hours in front of a computer screen doing trivial work. Did you know that before the Industrial Revolution occurred in the early 1800’s that the majority of people had an actual tangible skill, such as woodworking, blacksmithing, soap making etc? During the Industrial Revolution a few smart men realized that they wouldn’t have to pay their workers so much if they could find a way to take their tangible skill and split it up between multiple people. What you have now is the result of that thinking – employees, managers, bosses, head bosses, CEOs and presidents. I am inspired by the fact that there is this incredibly enormous potential for people to create fascinating art, invent intriguing devices, and solve some of the great problems in our world… if they just followed their heart. I want people to follow their heart, so in turn I must walk my talk first, then do what I can to expose people to this other world of creating.
Quality is obviously important to you. How can an artist convey that same importance to their customer and convince them of the value of the work?
I feel that if I create a quality product and I advertise it plainly and simply for what it is, then I will naturally attract those who are looking for that same quality. If someone would rather pay half the price, say for a photography project, then I say – ultimately we all get what we pay for. I realized a while back in my early design days that the more you try and convince someone of the value of your work, the less likely they will want to work with you. Now I just put my heart into my work and let my work speak for itself. So far it has been my best plan yet.
We told you he was skilled! Be sure to check out Mr. Lentz’s site and get inspired.
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