Joyful Art Studio
“Going through the Solano Success Accelerator and working with the SBDC advisors has helped me to really solidify my goals and my purpose. I’m using tools and building important components that will support all the dynamics of my business.”
Joyful Art Studio believes in sharing creative gifts with others to bring the JOY of art to the community.
Owner Cristie Baron opened Joyful Art Studio in April of 2017 as a mobile art studio, hosting special events in classrooms, museums, and art galleries.
She opened her brick-and-mortar art studio in Vacaville in 2021 that provides workshops, youth camps, team building, night events, open studio hours, and classes to artists of all ages in mixed media, acrylic painting, watercolors, and wood signs. Joyful Art Studio is truly where creativity reigns.
While owner Cristie Baron is very grateful for her success, the growth came at a fast pace when the studio opened after the COVID pandemic.
In 2017, she was the sole proprietor with no employees. Her first employee came on board in 2021. By mid-2024, she has 12 part-time employees. Her employees include art teachers as well as an event coordinator.
When she was selected to participate in the Solano-Napa SBDC’s Solano Success Accelerator program for an opportunity to receive a $4,000 COVID-relief grant, she jumped at the chance to not only create a pitch deck for her business but also receive guidance on her business growth from Solano-Napa SBDC advisors.
As part of the accelerator program, she was paired with Solano-Napa SBDC advisor Carolynne Gamble. A fellow artist, Baron felt an instant connection with Gamble and the two have been meeting regularly throughout 2024.
We are like BFF’s!
Some of the advisors, I meet with once a month, but Carolynne (Gamble), I meet with almost every week. She listens and is not afraid to tell me where things need to change. She helps me to get the ball rolling, and she is my biggest accountability partner.
Cristie Baron
“She is amazing, we are like BFFs,” Baron said of Gamble. “I was clueless before and I feel like I should have an MBA now! I’ve taken all the tips and advice I’ve learned from her, and my other advisors and I use them as my accountability partners. I always make myself schedule my next appointment with them before I get off the phone because that helps me to set goals with myself.”
With Gamble’s assistance and encouragement, Baron connected with HR advisor Rhonda Bennett to create an employee handbook. She is also meeting with finance advisor John DeGaetano to solidify pricing for her services. She truly believes the free one-on-one advising with the Solano-Napa SBDC has saved her ‘thousands of dollars’.
“Some of the advisors, I meet with once a month, but Carolynne, I meet with almost every week. We connect really well and as an artist herself, she gets the art component and also the business. She listens and is not afraid to tell me where things need to change. She helps me to get the ball rolling and she is my biggest accountability partner.”
Baron completed the Solano Success program in early 2024 and received a $4,000 COVID-relief grant.
Utilizing the pitch deck she created in the accelerator, Baron put together a marketing campaign for Joyful Art Studio that she sent to school districts in the area. Even though it was near the end of the school year and most budgets for next year were already finalized, Baron secured four new contracts in just two months in the spring of 2024.
“I can’t even put a price on this. Going through the Solano Success accelerator and working with the SBDC advisors has helped me to really solidify my goals and my purpose, and how to put those things into action.
“I’ll be doing this until they kick me out! I’ve always had a learning mindset, and this is a way I can continue to help others and help my staff to grow. I’m using tools and building these important components that will support all the dynamics of my business.”
Learn more about Joyful Art Studio at https://joyfulartstudio.net/
