Meet Austin Schulenburg of East Nashville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Schulenburg.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m proud to be part of three different active businesses as a founder or co-founder. It can feel overwhelming at times, but more often than not I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Like many creative people, I’ve been juggling multiple projects and ideas for as long as I can remember. That’s just the way our weird brains are wired.

The hero’s origin story: (or maybe villain… depends on who you ask.)
Inventing board games and drawing and writing stories as a kiddo eventually led me to a passion and a career in graphic design & website design. I got my professional start as a production designer on a corporate creative team, while also taking on my own clients as a freelance graphic designer. For the freelance work I used the moniker Pen & Mug, and hoped to someday turn my one-man studio into something bigger than just myself. 5 years and 1 awesome business partner later I was able to take the leap of faith and make Pen & Mug my full-time career, and in the following 3 years Pen & Mug has grown from a “garage band” creative studio to a team of 9 awesome people! (https://penandmug.com)

Owning a small business demands a lot of variety all on its own, but once my side hustle became my full-time job I still found myself craving a new side hustle–some other creative hobby or pursuit or partnership for my mind to flow into and out of as I continue trying new things and honing my skills.

As it turns out… I found two.

One of the best things about Nashville is you’re constantly surrounded by tons of super creative and talented people. It didn’t take long for conversations with friends to start solidifying into new project ideas. Give that project a name and a logo, and you’ve got yourself a business! Or at least a new idea that looks like a business, and has hopes of becoming a real income-generating venture someday. Then you get to work.

The two businesses I’m currently working on in addition to Pen & Mug are:

RealNice Music
An artist development & management studio that helps new musicians launch their first album. This project came about because some friends and I have worked through the process of recording and releasing an album for three artists already, and we realized that there’s more we can do for those artists and a whole lot of other artists we can partner with as well! (https://realnicemusic.com)

No Elevator to Everest
Building a brand and a business around author, speaker and nonprofit-founder Will Acuff. No Elevator to Everest is the title of his upcoming book release, which offers spiritual practices and perspectives that integrate emotional health, self-awareness, and a deeper connection with God’s heart of love. (https://noelevatortoeverest.com)

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I doubt any creative or entrepreneurial pursuit has ever been a smooth road. At least not a flat road. My story has been more like a rollercoaster or a game of pinball: constantly experimenting, iterating, and adapting to unexpected changes both personally and professionally. I went through a divorce several years back, spent a year or so working on two other business ideas that never got much traction, and sacrificed a LOT of sleep chasing my goals. The more I see my hard work and grit pay off, the more I feel like I can survive anything.

For all of those lows, I’ve enjoyed even more high points. Some of that has been good fortune, or dumb luck, but I like to think a lot of it is due to my attitude and perspective as well. It takes some work, but it’s just about the only thing in the world you can actually control.

Tying up the extended rollercoaster metaphor: I’ve experienced a lot of twists and turns so far, but at 31 years old I still feel like I’m at the beginning of the ride, and I can’t wait to see what it’s all building towards.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a branding designer & website designer, with a 6+ years of 2D animation experience peppered in there as well. These passions are what led me to Pen & Mug creative studio, and they’re also the primary roles I play on the RealNice Music and No Elevator to Everest teams as well. That’s one of my favorite things about what I do – I get to play a key role in making all kinds of awesome ideas and businesses into tangible realities.

That being said, I’m probably best known for being a people person. An enthusiastic chatterbox. An obnoxious extrovert. Whatever you call it, this brain chemistry and approach to life is just as central to who I am as my creative skills (if not more so), and it has served me well both in business and in life.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I’ve said for a while that my long-term goal is to be an “Anderson .Paak” of creative pursuits in Nashville and beyond. Anderson .Paak is one of my favorite musical artists, and one of the most prolific collaborators out there. The guy is an artist, a DJ, half of two “supergroup” duos, and I swear he’s featured on a new single release from some other unexpected artist every month. He’s also directed music videos for other artists, and recently founded his own record label.

That’s my goal. Continuously pushing myself, getting to be involved in all kinds of exciting projects, and building others up with me along the way.
…aaand still making time somewhere in there to relax. 🙂

(speaking of which: shoutout to my wife Keiana who is my favorite cheerleader / accountability partner in all of this craziness!)

Pricing:

• Pen & Mug project minimum: $5,000
• No Elevator to Everest (the book) $19 https://www.amazon.com/No-Elevator-Everest-Spirit-Led-Self-Awareness/dp/0830787917

Contact Info:

• Website: https://penandmug.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austinschulenburg/
• Other: https://noelevatortoeverest.com & https://realnicemusic.com/