Go Go Go K(ART)

I had a friend growing up who had it all, and by all, I mean she had a game room and not just one go-kart, but two! After a spend-the-night at her house, I was determined to get one. How did I even know where to buy one without the internet to browse? I am not sure, but I did spend every weekend looking through the classifieds.

The answer was always no, so I decided to try to make my own. And only a seven year old with a big imagination (and a very low chance of a career in engineering) believes tying skateboards together will somehow make a go-kart. I do think at one point I considered using the motor from our lawn mower. What I remember most about this is how, weekend after weekend, I came back to that project, determined there was a way.

This has carried over into my entrepreneurial career. I have tirelessly worked toward big dreams. I’ve always succeeded in “doing it,” but less so in “making it” — and I try to remind myself that it takes most entrepreneurs many rounds around the track to get it right.

In the same way I eventually had to spend my weekends doing something other than tying skateboards together, I also had to let go of the idea that I could make Art Beat work in a permanent physical space, at least for the foreseeable future. And now that we do have the internet to browse, I have focused on other ways to keep Art Beat going, mainly an online art marketplace which, unlike the go-kart, I have actually done.

I recognize that same attitude of waking up determined that today will be the day I figure it out. It is fueled by the hyper-focused mind of someone with ADD, and also by a mug of hot cocoa I gulped down every single morning in lower school, and now in adulthood, that has been replaced with coffee.

If they build it, they will come has been my mantra as I have worked on the marketplace. And now that I have built it, and artists are onboarding, I realize that my exact launch date is waiting for the moment when I have enough of the right mix of art and artists. My goal now is by the end of September.

In the meantime, I decided to take up another go-kart project and that is an app. A couple of weeks ago, I began working on an app concept. What I have always wanted is a community art aspect to Art Beat, and so the app gives Art Beat a way (I hope) to shine a light on all of the art happening in Nashville. It will be an app where artists have profiles and post art, and art lovers follow. It will not be a place to purchase art, but rather my vision is an easy way to discover the art, artists, galleries, and events happening all around us.

I am in the testing phase of the app and need a small group to test it out. If you are interested, email jessie@artbeatnashville.com! Below is a sneak peak of the app.