We had the good fortune of connecting with Bissi and Edna Cruz (husband and wife) and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bissi and Edna, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
‘It’s never too late’. It sounds like irrelevant or easy to believe and live by, but it is not. It’s never too late to start a new business. It is never too late to change your career or adjust it. It is never to learn a new trick. We had an idea, we talked and thought about it for a couple years and finally we worked on the plan and executed it.

We finally understood the power of our uniqueness, Bissi is a surrealist, disciplined acrylic artist (I think he didn’t know) and Edna is exceptional in making things happen or systems work (I have always known).

We stopped procrastinating and doubting ourselves, we decided to trust ourselves and act on it because we finally remember ‘it is never too late’.

And this is how we created BEC Arts and Crafts, despite the redundancy, we handmade arts and crafts, sell them, in art shows, pop up markets, online, local stores and in a near future in our brick and mortar place.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
BEC art’s in craft is a fusion of an artist and a crafter. Bissi is a magician with acrylic painting and a brush, Edna works making jewelry for the craft side of the business. And we are much more than that, we go and talk to other business owners in the markets, we listen to artists in art festivals and learn lot from them. You wouldn’t believe the hours invested on market research and learning from YouTube and content creators.

That sets us apart, we are working hard in diversifying art; we have the tools and equipment in the studio to make mugs, coasters, stickers, out of the original paintings, we cannot stay static, yes we hope to sell original canvases, and at the same time we want everyone to have access to our art and crafts; and certainly since we are a business we keep close track of our ROI and its improvement on a yearly basis.

Both of us work 9-5 jobs for a while now; and both of us have had side hustles simultaneously, Bissi even open a brick and mortar store in the past, kept it for little longer than 3 years, learned what to do different and it’s using it now. Edna has never had a brick and mortar store, but has experience studying jewelry making, baking and decorating cakes, floral arrangements and selling these things. We just got too serious this time combining our experience, ‘we mean business’.

Bissi’s favorite and most proud item is always his latest painting. He insists to everyone that listens that if you are already a great artist and you want to become exceptional ‘you got to keep painting’. In the other hand Edna’s auntie recommendation would be ‘do not quit’, do not get discouraged, you are going to have outstanding sales one week and failures next week, but ‘all of them add up’.

We are proud of our business, it is the result of two people synergy, sharing one goal: to succeed and have fun. This wouldn’t work as good as it does if we have divergent targets, and luckily our business partnership is making our personal relationship grow stronger.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If our friends visit the area for a week-long trip, and it is their first time in Houston.

They are so lucky there are so many things to do in Houston, if they are booklovers, we’ll take them to Kaboom books, if they don’t like reading they will get great Instagram pictures while we buy couple books for our collection.

After that we can invite them to Pho Bin in white oaks, they offer delicious soup or different type dishes with rice for either vegan or vegetarian taste and for dessert Hummingbird cake. Since we are already there, let’s walk out to Onion creek, and have some drinks, we can catch up there talking and being happy.

Next day we’ll drive to Galveston, if they are sun friendly, we’ll walk on the strand, if they prefer indoors, we have lots of hours of fun in Moody gardens.

We will take them early to the zoo, meet and greet gorillas and orangutans, rest a little with the Hermann Park train ride and move on to HMNS who doesn’t adore dinosaurs, the Foucault pendulum and the Cockrell butterfly center.

And of course, if we have an art event, the more hands the merrier, we will drag them with us lucky them!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
BEC Arts and Crafts, is a combination of two people’s ideas and efforts: ‘Bissi and Edna Creates’.

Bissi’s shoutout goes to all his self-improvement, investment, biographies and stoicism books that he has enjoyed reading and to Edna for forcing him to go and paint (hahahah!).

Edna’s shoutout goes back to Bissi, for saying yes to every crazy idea of mine and answering constantly ‘yeah why not’.

To be more constructive and give specific names, books that changed or influence BEC story:

First we recommend you ‘The drop’ a novel by Dennis Lehane, there is no need to read you can go ahead and watch the movie, we recommend the book because that’s how we met.

And in second place, you can read IKIGAI (by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia), aside of it’s great brief lessons, that’s when I started admiring Bissi he was reading it, if he was flirting why reading it it just aid in the process.

And lastly if you have not much time to read and you are in your quest for ‘wealth and wellness’ we recommend you: ‘The Almanack of Navak Ravikant’ book by Erick Jorgenson, one book tons of answers.

Website: https://www.becartsandcrafts.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becartsandcrafts/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BecArtsandCrafts/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BissiArt

Other: https://linktr.ee/becartsandcrafts

Image Credits
These are selfies.

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