Meet Mike Baum and Sara Dickson

We were lucky to catch up with Mike Baum and Sara Dickson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike & Sara, appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?

We (Mike and Sara) have both worked really hard for as long as we can remember. There’s an underlying driver in that we know anything we do can be improved upon. Every aspect of what we do, we try to make improvements to be better painters, artists, partners, business people, and friends. Where does it come from, possibly a blue collar childhood? We’re Gen-X, we’re in control of our own destiny and are used to getting things done. without waiting to be told what to do. We often run into scenarios that we haven’t encountered before, and need to make it work. Pulling off difficult work in a successful way inspires us to take on the next challenge.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

We at Old Town Murals & Co. have been gearing up to do larger-scale murals throughout the valley. We still do backyard pool murals and residential homes, but the larger, commercial murals require more planning and design. One job coming up will require cut wood pieces to be put together like a mosaic, painted and mounted. It’s exciting to have such a variety of work that pushes us artistically, creatively and in many other ways. The supporting skills we get to build upon make sure our days are never boring. One small project was to sand, prime and paint a routered wood sculpture. Another was to create an ivy wall and mount backlit lettering for the signage. With our upcoming projects being larger scale, we’ll be tested again with any unique needs the project requires. Figuring out the challenges and making it happen.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The ability to adapt, the tenacity to complete work to our standards, and the problem solving skills to succeed. These are 3 qualities that make us unstoppable. I’d say they go hand in hand, because those skills/qualities work with each other to create magic. A lot of our process requires engineering, deductive reasoning and common sense – and we need to be on the same page to move forward. Figuring out what parts need to be done first before the next stage can be completed, and how. Experience is the best way to develop these skills, but reviewing the job after completion and working through it backwards to determine what parts of the process work best, and what might work better, helps hone all skills. The best way to learn something is by doing it, as much as you can.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

We think that continual growth is critical to a fulfilling life. Therefore, we often put ourselves into situations where we have to improve our weaknesses. If you only focus on your strengths, how much can you really grow? Growth comes from work and work comes from development of new skills. The development of new skills comes from encountering personal weakness and tackling it head on. You can see that habit of personal development in both of our lives. We did not go to mural school, we both liked to paint and decided that we were going to put everything into it. Every job we have taken, we encounter challenges we have to overcome. We have 100% success rate in overcoming these obstacles so far because we see these moments of weaknesses as opportunities to grow. That gives us the confidence to achieve anything.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.oldtownmurals.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oldtownmuralco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oldtownmurals