Business Mentor NY – a program of Empire State Development

Program Update

Mentees and Mentors,

We appreciate your interest in mentorship. Please be advised that after March 31, 2024, the Business Mentor NY Program will cease to operate. However, you can continue to access mentoring services by contacting Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers in your area at esd.ny.gov/eac-directory to obtain one-on-one counseling with your current business idea or small business.

If you would like to continue offering pro bono mentoring services to entrepreneurs or small business owners, please email us at nylovessmbiz@esd.ny.gov with your core business skills, experience or education and your preferred service area.

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AE
  BMNY Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) Network

Amy Ellks Entrepreneur

Location Peekskill, New York, United States of America
Venture Industry Arts: Music/Fine/Performing
Languages spoken
  • English
Recent Activity

What I need help with

My background as an entrepreneur

My current challenges

My business is 2 years old now and it has finally allowed me to achieve financial stability with a great passive income stream. However, now that the initial goal has been achieved, I am finding it difficult to stay motivated to grow. I love being a starter, not so much a maintainer. I also like the low-pressure business model and am afraid of making it more complicated and stressful by expanding in the wrong way. So, I am seeking advice on what the next step might be in growing this business so that I can increase my income, maintain my lifestyle and be creatively motivated and engaged.

{translate}The help I want from a mentor is...{/translate}

I am an extremely driven person when I have defined goals and a good motive for achieving them. So, my ideal mentor would be able to present me with various options for moving forward and help me hone in on motivating goals. They would try to understand my creative and lifestyle needs and help form a plan that fits in with that. I prefer face-to-face meetings and email.


About my venture

The Pen and Brush Started 2012

The Pen and Brush is an online graphic design store that sells digital products such as clip art, fonts, logos, and templates. The customer base is mostly women aged 20-50, who like to dabble in digital design, creating branding for their small craft businesses, or making their own stationery such as wedding invitations or holiday greeting cards. It also serves professional photographers, web designers, and bloggers who don t have time to create their own design elements and can purchase them for a fraction of their hourly rate.

All the products are available for instant download so the customer need only purchase and then download their items and they are ready to use. They come with a limited license that allows for personal and small business use but The Pen and Brush maintains ownership of all copyrights.

It is a very new and fast growing market, with increasing demand and varied applications.

{translate}My Story:{/translate}

The Pen and Brush began in 2012 when I moved to the US from Australia. As a classically trained flutist, who had been working as a chocolatier, my options for work were limited. Transplanting the chocolate business to the US was proving difficult and expensive. I needed something simpler.

I had no experience as a graphic designer, but I d worked with one while creating the branding and packaging for my chocolate bars. And there were plenty of little design shops on Etsy that seemed to be doing very well. So, I decided to teach myself and open up shop.

The business has grown steadily over the past two years, starting with just clip art images, and branching out into font design and premade logos. I continue to create new designs, catering to the trends on Etsy and responding to customer requests.

In March 2014, I also started selling on Creative Market, which caters specifically to digital images. The business provides a good income now and I m eager to take it to the next level.

Countries of operation: United States of America