Meet Erica Goldstein

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erica Goldstein. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erica below.

Hi Erica, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
I love this question! My personal confidence is a byproduct of the way I was raised and the mindset of the women in my life that helped shaped me. From a very young age, my parents and grandparents always encouraged me to go after my dreams, pursue my enthusiasm for the arts, and embrace my energetic approach to life. They supported my passions and gave me opportunities to practice the things I loved (the arts!), even if it was slightly less popular than what most of my friends were doing (sports). They never tried to change my skillset, my personality, or my approach, but rather helped me lean in to the things that made me “me.” They built me up while teaching me how to stay humble and encourage others to be themselves, too. So, I’ve tried to create my whole business around that – helping others embrace their inner badass and personal confidents through bold and vibrant statement pieces of art.

Additionally, my mom and my Nana have a positive outlook and a sense of self like no other. They’re kind, compassionate, and always see the bright side of any situation, while also remaining realistic, outspoken, and strong in who they are. They have set such an incredible example for me as to what kind of woman I can be and how I can use my experiences and personal confidence to inspire others.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m Erica, the founder, artist, and brand strategist behind The Blank Canvas Co. My purpose and passion is to empower others, mainly women, through my creativity. I personally feel that it’s our duty as women to build each other up and create a safe space for growth, learning, confidence building, and personal exploration. I do this twofold.

First, through my creative studio, The Blank Canvas Co., which focuses on empowering your inner badass through bold and bright hand painted designs. I love to highlight positive words, phrases, and mantras throughout my work and use of vibrant, eye-catching colors, which you can find on my original paintings, prints, stickers, and more. Common phrases you can find in my artwork: Nevertheless She Persisted, Will Work For Equal Pay, and The Future is Female. I participate in pop-up events in Boston all year round, like the SoWa Market, Boston Women’s Market, and New England Open Market, and recently just finished a mini two-month brick and mortar experience at the Snowport (my first retail shop ever!).

Second, through my marketing consulting business. Although my painting is my passion, my professional background is in Business Marketing, where I’ve put the focus of my 10+ post-college years. Up until 2021, I was working full time in various marketing roles at SharkNinja (Product Marketing Manager), Arnold (Account Strategist), and Nutribullet (Senior Brand + Marketing Manager). After the pandemic, I took everything I learned from my full time roles and channeled it into my own personal consultant business, where I now serve as a marketing strategy & branding expert for my target audience helping small brands, makers, and women-owned businesses create and maintain a growing business that they feel proud to call their own. I support them logo and brand design work, social media strategy, and share my positive mindset and approach with them!

Getting to combine these two efforts – my art brand + my consulting brand – allows me to lean into both sides of my creative brain while building up others around me. It makes me feel whole!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful to my journey include: 1) MINDSET. Nothing I’ve gone for or accomplished in my life has been easy. It’s required grit, thought, and weighing many pros and cons along the way. But, what’s allowed me to get through the challenging moments and really excel is my mindset. I really try to approach every difficult choice and situation in my life and my business with positive and trust in the universe! Yoga and journaling helps me keep this consistent in my life on the daily.
2) TRUSTING MY GUT. I know this might sound cliché, but there’s no way I would’ve “gone for it” and really leaned into being my own fulltime boss if I hadn’t felt it was the right decision internally. I am not one for rash decisions. I really think everything I do through ad nauseum. I find when my body and mind really feel like something is right for me, I simply cannot look away or feel fulfilled until I at least try it.
3) WRITING, believe it or not! It’s been one of my most useful skills throughout my career. I use it administratively (email responses, communicating with my clients, etc.) and as a key component in my skillset (social media writing, pun writing for my greeting cards, signage, etc.).

If you are early on in your career and struggling with where to start or how to know whether or not to take the leap, I encourage you to dig deep. Reflect often and really ask yourself what will make you happy. You might not necessarily know right away how to get there, but I assure you, you’ll feel some type of excitement that you just cannot contain when you land on your “thing.” Also, don’t wait until you feel ready to start. You’ll never be 100% ready because it’s all new! That’s where that gut feel comes in handy.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
Finding the right balance for me when it comes to my time! I feel like I’ve really nailed the balance when it comes to my focuses (having both marketing + painting in the mix), but because I’m the sole manager of my schedule, I’ve found it difficult to create a split throughout the week where I feel focused during work hours while also making time for creativity, rest and self care. So often I get very excited about projects and events and overbook myself, which doesn’t allow me to stay present on any given task for too long. It also ends up burning me out! So this year, I’m working on time blocking my days, setting clear boundaries with my clients when it comes to my availability, and scheduling time for things that I need – like time to scroll Pinterest for painting inspo, time with my husband, and time to explore and travel.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Discover Earthlings and Kelsey Converse Photography

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of

Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Leadership Development
Finding Your Why

Not knowing why you are going wherever it is that you are going sounds silly,