Is it difficult to start a business in the arts?
Our daughter Angelina was born in 2018 and we had already been in Germany for a year. We faced many difficult times and had to do many different jobs that we had never done before. In the morning we went to university, in the afternoon we worked in a Vietnamese restaurant and in the evening we played with Angelina. The night wasn't free because we drew and continued learning German. In the early days, when Sketchus was not yet born, we placed ads on various social media platforms and eBay classifieds to receive commissions for portrait drawings. This meant we were able to pursue our passion in Germany.
When the first order came, we hugged each other and cried with joy, because that was how we were able to gain a foothold in Germany. To our relief, further orders didn't take long to arrive.
Difficulty with art?
Major problems arose when building our customer base. One of them was a payment problem. Unfortunately, there were some customers who disappeared without paying as soon as they received their pictures.
Some of my friends advised me to set up an online shop so that payment processing could be convenient for both parties. I also used a few hours a day in my limited time to get to know online shops and design one myself.
Was it a sensible decision?
It was the decision that changed our lives. Customers could then order online, configure, pay for, recommend and rate a portrait themselves. The bottom line is that all of this works fully automatically and we have more time to draw pictures.
Portrait painting not only brought us back hope, love and beautiful memories. She brought other people happiness, love, joy and unforgettable moments for touching stories.
By the way, starting a business is not that difficult, but the difficulty lies in maintaining a business.
Thanks to customer feedback, we have gradually overcome the problems. All contributions, whether praise or criticism, have consistently helped us and we would still like to hear more.
If you would like to know how customers rate us, please read a few reviews.