Meet your Coach

Hey! I’m Amber Artemis and here’s my story:

I started my first business in the mid-80s when I was six years old. It was a door-to-door pet rock business. My first business coach was Joy Wilt, author of the Ready, Set, Grow books...

It was a different time and sending kids door-to-door for fundraising was standard practice. Little did I understand that I was cutting my teeth in sales. Often motivated by the promise of prizes or simply recognition (like a Girl Scout patch), I would go all in on selling things for fundraisers.

As a teenager on the wrong path, I discovered photography as a means of personal expression. I was able to give people a glimpse into my world and I loved it. And so did they. I received a couple awards, solo shows, and other forms of recognition over the next several years that helped me realize, “Hey, I’m good at this.” I kept on taking photos and classes and showing work throughout college.

When I met my husband in my 20s, photography was one of the things we had in common. We started our wedding photo business in 2006 while we were living in Eugene, Oregon where I was getting my Masters of Public Administration and Nonprofit Management. In addition to being a student while I started our business, we were new parents living on WIC and food stamps. We used a zero APR credit card to buy our first gear setup to get going. Within five years, we had moved across the country and relaunched our business in a new market, brought in 6-figures annually working exclusively for ourselves, and bought our first home.

Two more kids later, I decided to flex my management skills and get to work in the field I went to grad school for. I served first as an associate director of an environmental nonprofit organization and then moved on to be the first executive director of my local community foundation. Although I was in the nonprofit field, the entrepreneur in me tugged hard. I loved the start up nature of the organization and revelled in all the tasks required to get the organization off the ground. I was deep into strategic planning, revamping and establishing systems and communications, and launching new programs that will exist for many years to come serving our community. In less than two and a half years with the foundation, I raised well over half a million dollars in our small rural community.

After 5 years in the nonprofit sector, I stepped back into the private sector to help my husband launch a winery, Wild Elder Wine & Cider. To be honest, I left because time is our greatest asset and we owe it to ourselves and our families to make the best (and most lucrative) use of that time. Because I was an executive, my exit was planned over the course of six months and involved me training my replacement. My husband and I planned to launch our new winery business in spring of 2020. Little did we know what lay ahead!

I trained my successor via zoom and my last day receiving a paycheck was during the early confusing days of the pandemic. With the world shut down, we were unable to open our shop and begin selling wine. Thankfully, we had our photography business to help us continue to make ends meet. With a whole lotta resourcefulness and patience, we were finally able to get our new business open on 12/24/20. It was a Christmas miracle!

Here we are, four years later, growing a thriving business that supports our family and employs a team of six people. We get to share our handmade products with friendly people from around the world. I was my husband's first employee, then manager, now COO/General Manager, while sharing responsibility for taking care of our family and keeping our photo business going. We're are constantly evaluating progress on our goals and adjusting course to make our dreams a reality. I am ready to help you do the same.

It's time for me to help others on the entrepreneurship path, to share my creative skills and my knowledge, wisdom, and experience... like my mentors have shared with me.

I want to help others get started on their entrepreneurship path or level up on their way. Running your own business is challenging, but rewarding beyond measure. It's like the difference between renting and owning a home—you have to pay for a place to live, why not build an asset that belongs to you? You have to work, so why not build something that at the end of the day is yours? Our businesses have allowed us to sustain our family, earn 6-figures while working from home, and live a flexible lifestyle. But it's not easy and sometimes it gets messy. It takes hard work and consistent dedication to improvement—and that’s why I am here to help.

Follow along as I share helpful content and when you're ready, drop me a line so we can talk about your entrepreneurship journey.