Meet Margaret Dowling-Murphy

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

Margaret , thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
I’d say the best way to strengthen one’s resolve to take risks is to do so over and over again. Every time a risk pays off, it gives you the confidence to keep going and stretch even further. I also weigh the risks of NOT doing something scary or intimidating, and oftentimes, that is enough to propel me past any hesitation.

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?
My husband Kevin and I, both artisans in our own ways, joined forces a few years ago. Whatever he couldn’t do, I could and vice versa. He taught me woodworking, and I showed him other mediums. We both have our own style, but we often collaborate fusing our complementary sensibilities. Since we’ve started, we have branched out to other mediums, taken risks with larger pieces, and have had more opportunities to exhibit our work publicly. We’ve also expanded our line to include print items of my artwork.

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?
Stubborn tenacity, relentless work ethic, and pragmatism are essential to growing a business. There is so much noise out there from people who claim to find success seemingly overnight, and it can be discouraging to those who experience the more common path of slow and steady growth sprinkled with setbacks and failures. If you expect overnight success, you’re likely to be disappointed. If you expect success to take time, then you won’t be as discouraged when it does. You have to be realistic about expectations and dogged through the days when success is the most elusive.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
When I read “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear, I was at a point in my business where I was wondering if I was merely spinning my wheels because we were not growing as fast as I wanted or expected. I was struck by his explanation of “The Plateau of Latent Potential,” which is “the time gap between the results we expect and the reality.” Simply put, building anything – a new skill, a business, a habit – takes longer than we usually expect to reach our desired outcome. On the way, we may find ourselves in what Clear calls, “The Valley of Disappointment,” that place where our motivation wanes as we witness slow, or no growth, and find ourselves plagued by doubts, fears, and low confidence. Recognizing this common pattern has helped me push through those points of doubt and disappointment while growing a business from scratch. If we can resist the temptation to give up, the delayed gratification for our efforts is rewarded exponentially, and things start clicking at once.

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