Meet Claire McKenney | Co-Owner of Right Mind Syracuse
We had the good fortune of connecting with Claire McKenney and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Claire, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
Being able to share my love of art with my community is what makes me happy when I think about my business. Most of our creative workshops are geared towards adults. As adults, we don’t get a ton of opportunities to get creative, or don’t know how, or don’t have the time to make the effort to go shopping for supplies, set up the creative work space, and clean it all up. Whatever the reason may be, creativity is an important part of our lives, and can be such a positive outlet. Our workshops allow people to find that creative side. This can be such an important outlet for people, or a way to reconnect, or just a positive part of their day, and I’m so happy and grateful to be a part of that.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Right Mind Syracuse is a mobile creative studio that offers one-session workshops at local venues in Syracuse, NY. We are especially unique in the variety of offerings we have – from painting, planting, cocktail making, candle making, macrame, hand knitting, resin, wooden signs – I could go on and on! We collaborate with a constantly-growing group of artists to make this happen. Most of our team has been doing instructional events since 2014, so we are good at teaching people who don’t feel creative how to dive into that right side of their brain and explore!
I got to where I am today by not being afraid to ask questions. I connected with the WISE Women’s Business Center locally early on and got so much help from my mentor there, as well as the SBDC (Onondaga Small Business Development Center).
I got some great advice at WISE from my mentor, Maria, to never get comfortable and always be thinking “what’s next?” I ran with that. It wasn’t easy at all. But I have always been working with what’s in front of me – not jumping into the big dreamy art studio off the bat or expanding out of our means has allowed me to grow despite obstacles like a pandemic. Sometimes growth can seem painfully slow, but I am also a mom and I want to be sure I’m balancing my time between work and life too. So this pace works for me and has helped me continue to be successful with minimal risk.
I would encourage others who want to start their own business to do the things that are scary, but also exciting. If you get out of your comfort zone you can do great things.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a hiker, and so are my best friends, so we’d do some of that for sure. The CNY Land Trust or Finger Lakes Land Trust have some great resources to find a hike! Then we’d probably hit up a brewery. Seneca Street Brew Pub, Buried Acorn Brewing Company, Meier’s Creek Brewing, Hot House Brewing are some favorites!
To hang out for a while – Crazy Daisies Greenhouse and Cafe is a great spot for food, drinks and live music too, or Beak & Skiff especially in the fall for apple picking, in the summer it’s an amazing concert venue, and all year for drinks and food (they have a distillery and tavern too!)
We love to walk around the village of Skaneateles and hit up the Skaneateles Bakery for some sweet treats and coffee, browse the shops, walk out on the pier, Blue Water Grill or Doug’s Fish Fry for dinner, Skaneateles Brewery or Last Shot Distillery for some live music and drinks, all after a hike and Carpenter Falls!
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?
My husband, children, family, friends and our “Right Mind OG’s” have been so supportive and instrumental in the success of Right Mind Syracuse and I couldn’t have done this without them. My friend Jen for riding this creative wave with me since the beginning! The WISE Women’s Business Center – I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I started my first business and my mentor there, Maria, was incredible. The SBDC (Onondaga Small Business Development Center) was very helpful especially with the technical business questions as well. And last but not least, our followers and customers who keep coming back and sharing our business – we love you all!
Website: rightmindsyracuse.com
Instagram: instagram.com/rightmindsyracuse
Facebook: facebook.com/rightmindsyracuse
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