We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Veronica Mentor. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Veronica below.
Veronica , so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
As a creative individual immersed in serval creative spaces for several years, there are a few key methods I’ve kept to keep my creativity alive. The first is viewing everything through a creative lens. As a creative, you almost have no choice! When you apply your creativity to all aspects of your life you, see the beauty of how Sometimes your creativity may not come up in the usual aspects of your life. Your job may require one sense of creativity that has resulted in writer’s block. That’s okay. This is your chance to take a break and explore another form that may inspire you. For me, this has meant trying something completely new and being a novice. I have taken classes that I never intend on mastering, but the very purpose was to explore how others explore their own creativity. Along with this, Every week I create my own ‘at home adult activity’ performing a fun task Ive always wanted to do. Last week I learned to make ice cream from scratch.
Another method of keeping my creativity alive is having a network that I can call on. It started out as people who were interested in the same things that I was. Then I realized the only way to keep my creativity alive is to be constantly inspired by people who aren’t even in the same creative field as me. These new perspectives have helped me shift my own views on what I do daily.
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?
My name is Veronica Mentor and I have described myself as a ‘creative’ for as long as I can remember. My parents always allowed me to dabble in different musical, arts, and other creative avenues. I thank them for allowing me the creative freedom to decide how I want to represent myself to the world. Today, I own and operate The Candlelit Experience- a mobile candle-making experience in DFW that allows guests to discover a side of creativity they never knew they had! I have had the opportunity to encounter over 500 new creatives who I have led to make their very own candle creations. I could not have done this without the amazing local businesses who collaborated and allowed me into their spaces. My initiative is to inspire creativity for the most people. Now, I’d like to pivot into event organizing that will allow me to promote my business’s mission while also highlighting the several amazing local businesses in DFW. My next project is curating local events with a focus on small businesses. Particiapnts will have the chance to walk into each storefront, engage with business owners and leave with a taste of what that business can offer (ie create their own candle). This will also show how mobile my service really is as we have set up for baby showers and birthday parties. My goal is to encourage camaraderie with local stakeholders as I can and have used these Black-owned businesses for workshops in the past. I am looking forward to organizing an event like this as it will encourage exposure for all of the local businesses people love and is a precursor of the Candlelit Experience being transitional into an in-house event service that provides candle-making services for all event types while also providing event planning services.
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?
Confidence, Adaptability, and a strong worth ethic have been the most impactful in my journey. Confidence has put me in conversations that people with the obvious skill set could not join. I had the audacity to believe I was good enough. Being adaptable in life and in business will help you not to sweat the small stuff. I used to be a very rigid planner and would not know what to do if I ended up skipping or missing a task then quickly realized that is exactly what would happen by owning a customer-facing business. I believe you can combine qualities like integrity, persistence, and problem solving into having a strong work ethic. I remember not going down to dinner most nights in grade school because I was finishing my homework for the day and getting a headstart on upcoming assignments. This wasn’t because my parents made me, but because I had developed a discipline and worth ethic very early.
My advice: Welcome the ‘Experience’- whatever that may mean to you. We often harp on how we think the ‘joruney’ should look and may feel stuck if our plans aren’t executed the way we imagined. The more we loosen the reigns on what we should be and how we should get there, the closer we get to becoming who we are meant to be. Have a plan, but don’t panic when it’s time to pivot. It’s all working out in your favor.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
Self-awareness is the biggest area of growth I have experienced in the past 12 months. While an ongoing process, I have reached a level where I can objectively evaluate myself and decide to make changes or be content. I believe there are many high-achieving individuals similar to me who think about how the world may view them. They may think the world expects them to know everything or do everything perfectly and feel like they will be punished if they make a mistake. Being put on a pedestal can often be scary because you are constantly running in an attempt not to let anyone see you fall.
Being self-aware has allowed me to hone in on my strengths, but more on my ‘weaknesses’. Understanding areas where I don’t feel the most confident has empowered me to ask questions. This has allowed me to delegate tasks to individuals who have more knowledge while learning in the process. Practicing self-awareness has made me recognize emotional triggers to the point where I created a list of activities to do if I notice myself start to feel a trigger
Self-awareness has been a process of recognizing who I am and making the decision to change the issue or be happy with it.
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