We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matthew Moore. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matthew below.
Matthew , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Work ethic isn’t something you’re born with, it’s built over time. Getting up a 4/5am on a regular basis may seem tough at first but when you notice the progress that comes with that decision, a decision to be more productive, it all becomes worth it. We’re only alive for so long, nothing is guaranteed, so I personally feel you should bring a fight within yourself to make the most amount of effort towards each day that you can. Time is a big factor as well and most of us have a goal we’re trying to hit in life. That goal can be hit sooner when more effort is made on a regular basis. But you have to want it.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
In 2015 I started to become fascinated with the art business. I had a friend who was an artist and he wasn’t really making a connection with local galleries. They were passing on his work. It felt strange to me because I loved the artwork, so to see galleries push him aside, it made no sense to me. Later that same year I was asked to help sell the artwork…. and I did. I had a few friends in my circle that also loved art and became their go to person for any art related purchase.
The feeling I got from the first sale was indescribable. I was helping an artist, giving access to a unique product that friends could enjoy and the idea that it could also be a potential investment vehicle… The whole thing felt both exciting and baffling. From then on I was obsessed. I thought to myself “there must be more artists out there that could use a megaphone for their work.”
Lo and behold, there was. Fast forward to 2017 and I launched a basic website (ArtistReplete.com) to sell artwork from a handful of artists I believed in. I fiercely updated the website the following year, taught myself SEO, taught myself photoshop and continued to be a learning sponge for getting more online traffic from targeted buyers. I was tremendously interested in growing the brand and I still am to this day.
I’ve always disliked the term “starving artist” so I just flipped it and created our company: Artist Replete. The word “Replete” felt like an antonym of starving so I ran with it and never looked back. At the end of 2022 we moved into our first brick and mortar location. I wanted a strong location for this, so I found a space in the heart of downtown Chicago off of Michigan Avenue. We are now into our second year at this location and the company continues to grow and thrive.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
When building an idea into reality you’re going to have so many hurdles along the way. Here’s a few things that helped me get through some very dark times.
1) Constantly have a glass half full mentality. Try to find the positive in everything.
I spent quite a bit of my own personal money to get my company going and when money is coming out and nothing is coming in for months, it will test you but you have to look at it in a different perspective. I always thought of it is as my own type of college. People pay hundreds of thousands on higher eduction with almost zero guarantee that they’ll land their dream job when they’re finished. So I thought, let me invest in my idea and I’ll pay for the experience.
2) Be Obsessed.
Which ever direction you go in life, being into it is not enough. You have to be utterly obsessed with it. Otherwise when it starts to become difficult, you’ll just walk away. An obsessed person is one that others feel is “unrealistic” or “stubborn” but in my opinion those are the exactly qualities you need to be a successful entrepreneur. The whole world could tell you “This is not going to work, get a real job” you have to have a mindset to bulldoze past that.
3) Be Inquisitive
Ask yourself questions on a regular basis. Does the world need my idea? Is there a demand? How can I be different in my approach? What are my weakness? How can I be a more productive person. You have to question everything, even yourself!
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
For me it was a book called “ZERO TO ONE” written Peter Theil.
What stood out in the book is how to adjust the way you view the world. People naturally cling to popularity or go into an industry that seems “busy.” Unfortunately busy also means competition and my favorite quote in the book is “Competition is for Losers.”
Which basically means that whatever direction or industry you go in, you have separate yourself from the other options out there and you have to discover how to consistently stay different. This can be mean offering more, different marketing, or creating a proprietary item. It asks the question, what are you going to do that is different? And how are you going to stay different?
This thought process has stuck with me throughout my whole journey and pushed me to live in the contrarian mindset, which has been tremendously beneficial.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://artistreplete.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artistreplete/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistreplete
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-moore-7abb1a123/
Image Credits
All images were taken by me or paid for by me, I have full approval on them.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
