Meet Mercedes Austin

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mercedes Austin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Mercedes, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

My optimism comes from knowing what’s behind me was harder than things are now. As a 3-year old, my mother overcame being physically abused by my father and restarted our life. Merely on $45/week, for years, she was a single mom raising two kids, covering a mortgage while filling in financial gaps with side-hustles to make it all work.
I constantly look for things that give me life, acknowledge the love in my marriage and pay attention to the contrast of the challenges I face today compared to her when she was my age. The optimism comes from feeling physically safe and knowing every problem I face is able to be solved. It’s a mental game I play with myself when I hit walls and momentarily lose some of that optimism. I immediately channel that peace of mind and physical safety and remind myself that tomorrow’s a new day, get a good night’s sleep and start the good fight all over again. At my stage of life, I am constantly amazed at how simple it is to recover the optimism that I’ve had my whole life and remain true to my vision of what I’m building.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I found my calling through mosaic art, captivated by the beauty and complexity of working with 100% handmade ceramic tile. This love affair with tile grew
into a lifelong passion, inspiring me to build a brand and foster a creative movement. What started as humble projects for homes—like kitchen backsplashes
and bathroom accents—grew into collaborations with iconic names like Disney, Whole Foods, and Hilton. This love of color and pattern has been the
creative spark behind building a tile brand that thrives on bold shapes, endless patterns, and a rich spectrum of colors. At Mercury Mosaics, we blend
artistry with craftsmanship, transforming spaces like kitchens, entire bathrooms, corporate offices, higher education and award-winning murals into
vibrant, inspiring works of art.

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?

Looking back, the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey have been grit, curiosity and community connection. I’m constantly looking at the next lesson, understanding what is driving success and tapping into my community for support. I think a business completely changes and evolves every three years, at least that is true for me in the business I have been building. The constant thread of grit to drive through the challenges, overcome the next series of obstacles and to evolve from the fire require grit, humility & constant shedding of ego. Having curiosity, listening to our clients and internal team have allowed me to personally grow alongside the evolution of building this brand. Finally, nothing is possible without the support from a like-minded network and community on the journey.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

My mother raised me to be independent and to go after my goals without reward. When I was extremely young, I used to be envious of friends that would earn money from their good grades. In my house, good grades were neither expected nor monitored, it was truly left up to me. When top honors status was achieved, it was from my own ambition and for my own self – not from the approval of a parent or for a financial reward. This taught me to independently go after goals, to set the bar for myself and to not seek external recognition. I guess you could say I’ve been constantly competing with myself.
It is this level of discipline and consistency that I’ve found is necessary in operating a small business beyond the initial start up.

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Image Credits

All photos courtesy of Mercury Mosaics

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