Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Le Van.
Hi Courtney, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been an artist since I was a toddler, selling little pieces of work as a hobby since I was 11… but even though I’ve had 20+ years of experience selling my art, I never believed it could be a real career. Like everyone else, I grew up hearing about the “starving artist” lifestyle, and I didn’t want to commit to spending my whole life struggling.
That decision left me undecided on a path for most of my life, which resulted in my 17-year service industry career. About 6 years ago, I’d had enough, and decided to try my hand at building a website platform where I could sell my art and book mural commissions. I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was doing, and it took me many years to get it right. Over that time, my humble little art site grew to be so much more.
DreamAwake is my first company, meant to inspire people to follow their dreams. There’s a blog and YouTube channel, where I interview other creatives and entrepreneurs following their passions. I talk about principles of success—from motivation and resiliency, to the Law of Attraction and manifestation. I sell inspirational art and motivational merchandise.
The company had a good launch, but like I mentioned already, I had no clue what I was doing. I didn’t know what it actually takes to run a successful online business, and sales fizzled out quickly. I had to keep bartending to pay the bills, and my site took the back burner while I went back to the drawing board. I took a few online courses and got certifications in digital marketing and data analytics.
Right away, I started taking on clients to work with other businesses that needed help in those areas, so I could gain some good experience. I needed a platform to take my clients’ payments, so I built a second website in about two weeks. That was about ten months ago, and now this website is my main source of income. Here, I offer tons of free resources to anyone looking to start an online business—from articles and webinars, to checklists, templates, and much more! I also offer online business coaching to any creative or entrepreneur who needs a bit of help.
Today, I’m fully self-employed, with three businesses, three websites, and two employees. DreamAwake’s relaunch is right around the corner (with a podcast coming soon!), and we couldn’t be more excited. We’re even launching a third website in 2023.
To anyone reading this that’s on the fence about following your dreams, trust me—just take your leap, and grow your wings on the way down.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I believe that our lives are meant to be difficult, because that’s the only way we learn. As far as my personal story, it’s never been easy.
There’s been so many failures, false starts, and reroutes. I had to build all of this completely by myself, with no one telling me how, all while bartending to pay the bills.
When Covid happened, the bars shut down and someone hit me and totaled my car. As you might guess, living alone in Austin with no job and no car isn’t exactly sustainable… so I moved into my mom’s house in Denver to finish my website at the ripe age of 31. I’d been 100% independent since I graduated high school, so that was really hard on my ego… but it was exactly what I needed.
I got DreamAwake launched, just in time for the bars to open up again and moved back to Austin. I used that time to get better at online business, and then started my second website.
If I wasn’t forced to move back home, I never would’ve finished my first site. It initially failed, but if it wasn’t for that, I never would’ve learned how to make it thrive. I never would’ve learned the skills I needed for my second site, which is what offered me the opportunity to become fully self-employed… and I’d probably be bartending at this very moment.
Now, every time I encounter an obstacle—I know there’s something great on the other side of it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have a couple of businesses—one more creative, and one more technical. But I’ve been an artist to the core my entire life. My creative business showcases my art, but it also was made to inspire others to follow their own passions.
I argue that we all have special talents and passions, which were meant to spend our lives doing. I believe if we do that, then the universe will keep opening doors to lead us to the lives we’re meant to live. I started preaching that on my website, without really understanding how true it is.
Literally, the very moment I started pursuing my dreams, SO many doors opened up and brought me endless opportunities. I’ve gotten to do murals around downtown Austin, got to meet (and paint a mural of) Jay and Silent Bob, and have people constantly asking for my art or buying my prints and merch online.
But the most incredible thing that’s happened… is how many people have come to me and said they decided to pursue their dreams, because I was the one who taught them it’s possible.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
There’s a lot more to come! I have so many plans in motion, to add to my sites, to relaunch DreamAwake, to launch a new, third website.
I’m very spiritual, which is probably my greatest passion. I feel like magic is just science that hasn’t been explained yet (Thank you, Einstein.) and I love to learn about new ways that energy can be read or understood.
I touch on this when I talk about manifestation in DreamAwake, but my newest site will focus solely on the spiritual side. It launches next year, and is all about energy and the universe. I’ll offer extensive astrology and tarot readings from professional mediums, courses on high-level mediation, and links to articles on how science has proven that the things we perceive as “magic” phenomena are possible and real.
Pricing:
- $75 Half off Startup Strategy Session (ends 12/1/22)
- $27 Online Business Startup eBook
- DreamAwake unisex apparel $15-$99
- DreamAwake frameless art prints $11-$50
- LOTS of free resources to creatives & entrepreneurs $0
Contact Info:
- Website: courtneylevan.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/morecolorcoco
- Facebook: Facebook.com/courtneylevan
- Youtube: YouTube.com/dreamawake
- Other: cocodreamsawake.com
