Nine Year Old in Novi Practices Art, Business,and Charity with Canvas By Cannon Venture
(Elizabeth Schanz, Dec. 24, 2022)
Novi, MI – Canvas by Cannon is a small business started by 9 year-old Cannon Michener based out of Novi, Michigan. The business sells young Michener’s paintings in order to help him gain spending money and fundraise for charity.
The Michener family supports their son by teaching him about what it takes to start and operate a business. They aim to have Canvas by Cannon not only to be an outlet for his creativity, but to also teach him how to run a business through communication, time management, monetary value and giving back to the community.
Michener told Oakland County Times he has been interested in art since he was around four or five years old, particularly drawing. Within his business, his mom suggested that he work with canvases. From there both he and his mom began to shape the business.
Canvas by Cannon works to combine “art and hope” by integrating charity into the project. In one recent effort, the artist sold paintings for $10 with 10% of the proceeds to the Novi Educational Foundation which works to support students in the Novi Community School District. They chose this charity because of the local impact that the contribution can make.
Mother Tara Michener works to help her son gain a deeper understanding of the working parts of the business and continues to help Canvas by Cannon grow. She has degree in public relations which she says helps give insight on marketing, and how her son can network to find potential customers.
She commented that the business allows him to pick up on many life skills: learning about mailing system for his first out-of-state customer, how to interact with other people, and finding out the different aspects that go into all elements of a business.
“I’m really proud of his discipline,” Michener said. “Art has been really good for him cause he’s very creative and comes up with some really good ideas and designs that are fun. But, this has helped him with his math, although it’s not tutoring and it’s not a class, it’s helped him to figure out tax, cause he has to pay tax on the canvases and things like that.”
Recently, Michener has shown and sold his art and local art shows at the Novi Public Library and Sweetwater Coffee and Tea located in Novi Town Center, selling out at both locations. His mother also runs a private Facebook group called “Canvas by Cannon” where she is able post updates about her son’s work and help bridge the contact between him and people who want to purchase his art.
Michener stated that her son’s business also comes with a lot of time management as her son is involved in many activities such a basketball, piano, school and family time. Michener encourages him to find opportunities to invest in his business without it becoming an overwhelming aspect in his life.
“We’re still growing. We started in October and its been a really busy season of time,” Michener said. “Some days it’s a small investment, like some sketches, the weekends is really when he puts in a lot of the work.”
Additionally, Michener noted that Canvas for Cannon is something that their entire family can get involved in. She encourages families who want to start similar businesses with their kids to find shared interests and tap into what family members strengths are to work on the project together.
“Use what you got. So you take whatever your talent is and make it the thing,” Michener said. “Use what you like to make it into a small project or business. Its also really important to see how you are at the start of it and how you continue to grow the more you do it.”
As Canvas by Cannon continues to grow, Michener says that they have used different point of sales systems easier transactions such as Venmo and hopes to set up a PayPal page. People who are interested in purchasing the canvases can can reach out to Tara Michener at whoiamnotwhatiam@yahoo.com.