Meet Teanna Dosch

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Teanna Dosch a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Teanna, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

It’s taken me a long time to call myself an artist and believe it. Imposter syndrome is tricky and in my experience usually comes from comparing yourself to others or thinking you have to be a certain thing or do something a certain way. I’ve spent my adult life being a teacher, and still am, but that was how I viewed myself. Being an artist has only recently become part of who I am and what I do, or at least I’ve only recently started embracing this. My business started out of a hobby that I never intended to turn into more. The whole purpose was to give me something to do that wasn’t teaching and its was just for myself. It gave me the opportunity to turn off the teacher side of me and just be creative. For a long time I didn’t consider myself an artist because in my mind an artist was someone who lived and breathed their art 24/7. It was their job, it was who they were. Not someone who spent their days with 7 year olds and their evenings making earrings. How silly! As time has gone and I myself have met more and more artists I’ve come to realize I am one of them. I’ve also come to realize you can be more than one thing. I can be a teacher. I can be an artist. I can be the multifaceted person I am. I don’t have to fit a certain box or mold, which coincidently is what art is all about; self-expression and breaking the mold. Overcoming imposter syndrome has a lot to do with stepping away from comparison and letting yourself just embrace who you are and your own journey!

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?

Design with Purpose grew out of a love of creating and desire to share beauty with others. Design with Purpose is owned and operated by me, Teanna Dosch, in Madison, WI. My polymer clay earring collections are handmade, uniquely designed, and feature stunning seasonally-themed color palettes. The ‘purpose’ behind my business came from needing something in my life that didn’t revolve around my job and allowed me to embrace my own creativity. It has became my stress reliever and brings me so much joy. I also love the idea of my art being worn and appreciated by others! Teaching is still something I love doing and this business has allowed me to help other teachers through donating books to classrooms across the country. Being able to blend my art with my love of teaching and passion for public education has brought a new purpose to my art and my business.

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?

My advice to folks who are early in their journey is to not let things you think are hard or out of your realm of expertise keep you from pursuing your goals. You don’t have to be an expert in everything, you just need to be willing to learn and willing to find people who are experts in their fields to help you. Creating this business, I had no background or experience in accounting, marketing, sales, etc. but I did have the willingness to try, to ask questions, to seek out people who had the knowledge I was lacking, even when it felt daunting or overwhelming. You don’t need to know it all, you just need to be willing to figure it out, to ask for help. As time has progressed I’ve learned a lot about and made connections with so many wonderful people who are willing to share their own knowledge and experience.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

I am a planner and thrive when things are listed out and organized. When I’m feeling overwhelmed juggling life and business, it helps me to clean and organize my work space. I then like to write out my to-do lists, add specific work times and deadlines to my calendar while also making sure I’m adding time with friends and family and time for myself to my calendar as well. For me, having it listed out and clearly planned helps me feel less overwhelmed and know I have a plan to tackle it all in a manageable way.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

image credit: Teanna Dosch

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