Pay keen attention to this exercise.  It’s simple, if you want creative freedom you need to get paid.

I once coached a filmmaker who was complaining that he was getting work but he was not getting paid.

So I asked, “Do you send your clients invoices?” His response, “No.” 

“So, why don’t you try it?” 

Asking for payment, in writing, is a business practice that you must employ if you expect to get paid, particularly with your small business clients. 

You have all received invoices.  Pick one and copy the elements that make sense to you. 

Spell out:

• the date of the invoice
• how much is owed
• what they are paying for
• when payment is due
• form of payment: credit cards, PayPal, checks, cash
• terms

Of course, you have already outlined all of your business and payment terms in your agreement and you and your customer have had a very clear conversation about the terms and delivery.  So when their invoice arrives there will be no surprises.

I like to reiterate the terms of the agreement on the invoice itself and state that “payment of this invoice confirms your acceptance of the terms outlined above.”

Your job is to determine who owes you money and to make sure you have sent them an invoice or a request for payment.  If you have not, then you get two lashes with a wet noodle.  What are you doing?!

You must follow up in a timely and systematic manner.

So back to the moral of the story.  This young filmmaker created an invoice template, he sent invoices to clients who owed him money with a due date, and guess what?  He got paid. 

This filmmaker’s clients were businesses. Their accounting departments need to receive an invoice to trigger payment.  Yet he was taking it personally and getting all frustrated.  It was simply a lack of communication and understanding of basic business protocol.  But they don’t teach you this stuff in film school.

So if you have your knickers in a twist about not getting paid you have to ask yourself:

• Have I clearly communicated how, when, and what I am expecting to be paid for?
• Did I have a clear conversation about this? 
• Does my invoice reflect the conversation?
• When did I send the invoice?  

If you don’t receive your payment then call with a gentle reminder.  Don’t assume that you are being blown off.  If you have to, turn up the heat gradually.

If you honor your commitments and your communication is clear most people will honor theirs. 

“Money doesn’t matter.”  I only hear this from people who have never been without money for long, or if need be, they would have ready access to it. 

An early retired investment banker remarked to me and group of artists who she was hosting, “Money doesn’t matter to you guys.” 

I didn’t want to insult my host, but I could barely contain myself. How absurd. How ignorant.

The harsh reality is that most artists struggle to thrive financially. 

That financial struggle negatively impacts our emotional, physical, and social well being.

What we know through experience is confirmed in a “Summary of Findings” from a report  “Artist and the Economic Recession, May 2010.”

This survey reached a diverse array of artists, ranging across artistic media, racial and ethnic backgrounds, age, levels of formal education, geographic locations, and years as a practicing artist. 

Here are a few key points:

• Artists play multiple roles – seven in 10 artists hold at least one job in addition to making art

• Most artists have multiple jobs. Two-thirds hold at least one job in addition to their artistic practice, while 21% hold two or more additional jobs.

• Designers and architects (54%) and musicians (42%) are most likely to earn their living solely through their artistic practice, while literary artists are most likely to supplement their artistic work with other employment (59% have at least one additional job).

• Artists are well educated, but not highly paid – six in 10 artists made less than $40,000 in 2008, although two-thirds hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

• More than eight in 10 artists in the sample have a college degree, including 56% who have at least some post-graduate education. Interestingly, higher education does not seem to correlate with higher income levels.

• Two-thirds reported their total 2008 income as less than $40,000, and nearly one-third earned less than $20,000.

I can only wonder many film, art, theater, and music schools graduates are actually pursuing their craft one, two, or five years after graduation. 

Even I quit after only two years and I barely made it back to making and selling art.

If your selling art without a written business plan, you are hobbyist.

 Here’s the Wikipedia definition of the word hobby:

 “A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one’s leisure time.

Examples of hobbies include collecting, creative and artistic pursuits, making, tinkering, sports and adult education.

Engaging in a hobby can lead to acquiring substantial skill, knowledge, and experience.

 Generally speaking, the person who engages in an activity for fun, not remuneration, is called an amateur (or hobbyist), as distinct from a professional.”

Sound familiar?  It is descriptive of most artists’ general approach to business.

If you are selling art without a business plan, you are pursuing a hobby, not a business. Therefore you do not have a viable plan to earn a stable living.

Let’s put this another way. Despite what we have been told, an artist does not have a “career.”

If artists had careers, we would have jobs. 

If artists had jobs, we would receive regular paychecks.

If artists received regular paychecks, we would have bosses. 

So, you as an artist, who sells their work, has a business.

Still not sure?  The IRS is. When you sell your art, according to the tax code, you operating a business.

If you have a business, and you want it to be successful, you had better have a written business plan and a marketing plan so that there is no confusion about how you are going to make money.

If you are reading Artists Who THRIVE, I assume that you have no confusion about making art but you may be looking for information about making money with your art.

Just like a doctor, a chef, or a car mechanic, every entrepreneur must balance their business with their production. So balancing both realms is not a new idea and it is far from impossible.

Entrepreneurs balance each left brain and right brain realm everyday.

So it is a choice. Be an artist who is a hobbyist or be an entrepreneur. 

And dramatically increase your chances of success by maintaining a written business and marketing plan.

There is nothing wrong with being a hobbyist, an amateur, unless you really want to make money with your art.

• Do you know where you stand financially, today?
• Do you know exactly where your money is coming from and where it’s going?
• Would knowing empower you?
• Do you have a system to access a real time picture of your financial situation at any time anywhere?

Yes? Congratulations! You need not read any further.

So many artists, so many people, strain over their money.  Accounting is scary for many creatives.  But having ready access to current and accurate financial data is not only critical to your creative enterprise is is vital to your well being.

Here is what the creatives I consult with will often say.

• “But I can’t find time to crunch numbers.”
• “I don’t even know where to start.”
• “I can’t afford a bookkeeper.”

Knowledge is power and there actually is a free and easy way to gain access to knowledge.

I recommend Mint.com.

In case you are wondering, I’m not getting a kick back from Mint.com. I actually use it and I recommend it to artists that I coach and consult with so that they can get a handle on and manage their financial situation.

Why? Three reasons.

1.    It is free.

2.    It is easy to set up.

3.    It is real time.

Mint.com allows you to track your spending and to monitor your online banking accounts.

The set-up is relatively painless. You simply link your online bank and credit card accounts to your Mint.com account.  Then you categorize each of your personal and business income and expenses.

Once the set up is done your Mint.com account automatically updates.  Then recurring transactions are automatically categorized, making your tax preparation easy and breezy.

Here’s the thing. If you pay cash for a lot of personal or business expenses then obviously  this system is not going to be so helpful.

So I pay in cash for as little as possible.  Why? So that I can…

• keep track of my  expenses
• earn credit card bonus points and cash
• dispute charges  if I did not receive the goods or services I was promised

One last note.  The security of your online accounts is based in large part on the uniqueness of your passwords.  Make your passwords memorable for you but impossible for others to find or guess.

Andy Warhol said, “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.” And I could not agree more.

How can artists secure the resources necessary to sustain and express themselves without money?

Admit it.  What is more inspiring that getting paid for your creations?

The idea that a creative mind and a business mind cannot coexist is absolutely absurd.

I challenge a common belief that is not only fundamentally disrespectful but also destructive. Entrepreneurs are creative by nature.

Is it true that some artists struggle with business and marketing? Absolutely.

Why? Some would say because they do not receive a business education.

Well.  I’m not buying that excuse either. Business fundamentals can be learned.  It does not require an innate talent like art.

Just look at the number of entrepreneurs without college degrees and uneducated immigrants who continue to launch successful businesses in the United States.

A very successful businessman once said, “Artists are the most selfish people I know. They do not take responsibility.  Artists hope to be discovered or expect to receive financial support and so they suffer.”

This is a damning generalization but there is a kernel of truth in his statement.

The fact is, art is business and it is not only of great value to collectors it is of great value to communities.  Dollars invested in revitalizing art communities yield significant returns in the economic development.

Real estate values sore where artists colonize. Culture is capital.

Yet the business minded and creatively minded too often blend like oil and water.

So what are artists to do?  Heed Andy Warhol ’s sage perspective.  Examine his successful history.  He intentionally blurred the lines between art and business.

Embrace business.  Take responsibility for your own economic success.  Learn. This will yield financial and therefore creative freedom.

Artists Earning Over $100,000

I recently received an inquiry from an artist who apparently found ArtistsWhoTHRIVE.com by searching online for “artists earning $100,000.”

This week I also consulted with another artist who asked me, “How did you sell over $100,000 in art in your first year as a full time artist?”

Apparently this is a magical number equaling success for many artists.

I found these inquiries serendipitous and a bit amusing so I knew that I must answer the question this week.

How did I sell over $100,000 of art in my first year as a full time business?

I tell you how I did it.  And I’ll share how other artists that I have coached have done it or who are going to sell over $100,000 of art.

First let me say, obviously how I sell my art will certainly be different from how you sell yours.

But after coaching and consulting artists from across the globe I have noticed that there is a basic formula for success.

1. Successful artists have a very clear and specific goal, a SMART goal.

My goal was to sell over $100,000 of art in my first year in business full time.

Notice the specificity of this statement.  Also note, I did not “earn” over $100,000, I sold or grossed over $100,000 of my art.  In fact, I exceeded this goal by 25%.

2. Successful artists are disciplined and focused.

I got up every day knowing what my goal was and I built and maintained an action plan to keep me focused.

Building an action plan was pretty easy for me as a former project management consultant.  But if this is not your natural skill set you’ll need to get some help.

3. Successful artists have a positive attitude.

This is huge.  It’s very difficult to remain focused without a positive attitude.  And making and selling art can clearly be a daunting task when you’re starting out.  A few pearls of wisdom to ponder.

Thoughts are things.

As you think so shall you become.

Stand guard at the gate to your mind.

If you don’t know where to start, I recommend starting first by:

A. Developing and maintaining a positive attitude.

B. Then define a SMART goal.

C. Take focused action on it every day until you reach it.

Recently I have noticed ads from the San Francisco Art Academy promoting the tag line “Art as Career.”

Throughout art school I was constantly handed references to ones “artistic career.”

When you look at most fine artists’ websites, what do they present?  They proudly display their resume or their CV.  Are they applying for a job?  I don’t think so.

The only time you have a career is when you work for someone else, when you receive a paycheck, a W2.

Fine artists are in business for themselves.  They are entrepreneurs and they embrace that reality or they reject it and struggle. It’s simply a choice.

If you are a fine artist I’m not sure where you can go to pick up a paycheck for your talent.  And if you do you will most likely be changing gigs often.

Unless you trade your talent for its commercial application, like any small business, you’ll need to define your unique value proposition and reach your target market, even if your market is solely galleries and art consultants.

Why do I put such a fine point on artists having a business and not a career? Because until an artist embraces this fundamental reality they will be trapped by an illusive idea of success that they will never get their heads wrapped around.

I understand that this is a fundamental paradigm shift for most artists and our culture.  My own graphic designer gave me crap about putting my title “Artist & CEO” on my company’s business card.  He said, “CEO? That’s too corporate.”  I replied, “Well, I do own a corporation and I am the CEO. This is my legal title.”

I can hear it now.  But I don’t want to “sell out.” What does that really mean? Does anyone really know? The good news is that much more creative and financial freedom can be found through business savvy.

So if you accept this economic reality what do you do?  Start reading books on marketing, educate yourself about finance, taxes, legal issues, and sales.  Learn whereever and whenever you can.  And consider the fact that Steve Jobs of Apple has always considered himself an artist.

If you live near a major city you can start or continue your business education at a Small Business Development Center. They offer free and low cost services.

Sorry they didn’t clue you in art school but they don’t tell doctors or lawyers how to run a practice either.

Licensing images is typically what an illustrator does, a fine artist, like myself, not so much.

There’s no right or wrong here, these are just two very different business models.

An illustrator is hired to execute someone else’s vision of a subject.  A fine artist is commissioned to execute their vision.

Fine art is a luxury product.  A luxury product is diluted as it becomes more common and less exclusive.

I have chosen not to license my intellectual property for four main reasons.

1.   It would interfere with communicating exclusivity, a requirement for a luxury brand

2.   I have found it to be too much work to explain licensing to inexperienced licensees

3.   It doesn’t pay all that well and I believe in going for the “low hanging fruit”

4.   The three times I did license my images, it was an enormous pain in the *#<!

The last licensee, a small winery, helped themselves to my image and illegally applied it to their poorly designed website and sign walk sign.  Although these applications were specifically prohibited in the contract.

I sued them twice and I won twice.  But this is not the highest or best use of my time and the financial settlement certainly didn’t make up for all the trouble.

If you are thinking of licensing to gain “exposure”, think carefully. Exposure is often over sold to eager artists.

“Exposure” can be translated into the artist giving a lot for a little to nothing in return.

My first of three wine labels sold a lot of wine and it was prominently featured in wine shops on the end caps.

But I did not profit from the winery’s profit.

I realized quickly that if I was going to license my images for wine labels that they should be the labels on my wine, not someone else’s.

My income has come primarily from the sale of my original oil paintings and the Giclée prints that my company manufactures and sells directly.

Licensing can be profitable, but if you are just starting out, tip toe very cautiously into this realm.  And make darn sure that it supports your long term strategic objectives.

“Doing business without a contract is like building a house without a blue print.” Mark Monlux.

It is naïve to think that you don’t need a contract if you are a creative.  If money is changing hands, you’re in business. Therefore, you need a written contract.

Without a written contract the terms are open for interpretation, and too often it’s misinterpretation when it comes to selling art.

“What if I’m doing business with a friend or family member?” Then you need a contract even more to preserve that important relationship if and when an issue arises.

The single most horrific transaction I’ve had in over five years in business was with a “friend.” She turned Psycho as she absurdly ignored terms of the contract she signed.

She actually accepted the commissioned painting, kept it for three months, and then announced that she wanted to return it and have me paint another one, and yet she had damaged it.

It get’s worse but I’ll spare you the details.  I’m not kidding.  You can’t make this stuff up.  Ironically, this crazed “friend/patron” was a frustrated artist who now represents artists.

Without the contract I’m certain that the situation would have deteriorated even further.  With the contract in place my losses were limited to the extend that I had defined them in the agreement.

Make it clear to friends and family that the rules are the same for them.  If they show any resistance don’t do business with them.  It’s not worth the risk.

“Why are artists adverse to contracts?” I think it is simply a lack of confidence because they don’t yet believe they are successful enough to ask for what they want.

This is stinking thinking. If you want others to respect you and your terms you must have a contract.  It’s business 101.

If the other party is reluctant to sign a clear and fair contract then that’s a big red flag waving, “Don’t go down this road!”

Make sure that you discuss each aspect of your agreement before you present the written contract so that there are no big surprises. Communication is a key to success.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard about writing a contract is to outline it as if you are getting married and as if will be getting a divorce.

Some things to spell out include:

1. When will the work be complete?
2. Who owns the intellectual property?
3. What it will cost?
4. When the money is due?
5. What form of payment will you accept?
6. What if payments are late?
7. What’s the sales tax?
8. What’s the scope of the work, what’s included and what’s not?
9. What if the patron doesn’t like it?
10. What happens if you want to end the contract?  How and when can you?
11. What if there is a conflict that you can’t resolve?

The Graphic Design Guild’s Annual Pricing and Ethical Guidelines is a great place to start.  But you really need an attorney, who is licensed in your state, to review your contracts.

I use Pre-Paid Legal for this.  I’ve found this service to be so cost effective that I distribute it to artists.

Using contacts is not a sign of mistrust, it’s a sign of good faith and professionalism.  Contracts help preserve relationships by providing a tool to prevent misunderstanding and mitigate conflict.

You have currency sitting around your studio. In a sense, you may have stacks of money or you can even manufacture it.  How?  What?

Is there a particular good or service that you need, or just want, but you just can’t afford right now?  Maybe it’s graphic design, massage, editing, consulting services, a haircut, or even medical treatment? You get the picture.

Try bartering.  This is an ancient system of exchange that many creative folks still use today.

“Barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money.”

When I created my initial business offering for wineries I needed a credible brochure. So I gave painting lessons to the CEO of one of the very top graphic design firms in the US.  He was so happy that he took his lead graphic designer off of a deadline to design my brochure.  The result, I had graphic communications that made my new enterprise look like I’d been a success for years.

My recommendation.  Put this agreement in writing and have each party sign it.  So that there is no room for misunderstanding, spell out:

1. specifically what you are trading
2. when it will be delivered
3. and for what dollar amount

I suggest keeping it simple, for every dollar of good or service you’ll trade a dollar’s worth of your art.

Make sure that you state that each party will treat this transaction with the same level of importance as any other.

What do you need?  Think of one or two things. Then start asking around  your network. Asking is free.