If you are serious about building a creative enterprise, you must pay the minimum price of admission.

First, the minimum price will tap some financial resources because you have to spend money on your business to make money. 

Second, the higher currency required comes from your internal resources. 

1. Cohesive and unique body of talented work

First things first. If you want to sell art, you’ll need some to sell. 

I always ask artists, “How much work do you have?”  and I sometimes get, “Oh, only a few pieces right now.” If that’s the case, it’s time to get back to the studio.

There is an old adage in retail, “Stack ‘em high and watch ‘em buy.”  I’m not suggesting that you can sell art just because you have inventory. 

I am emphasizing that you will need a credible amount of cohesive art to take advantage of sales opportunities and to confidently demonstrate your creative direction.

2. Productivity

You had better be productive. Once that inventory is sold you’ll need more to satisfy demand. 

If you suffer from creative blocks you’ll need to up your EI, (Emotional Intelligence) before you embark on a business venture to sell your art.

Don’t know how to balance creative time and business time?  Keep it simple.  Divide the day in half. Mornings are my business time, afternoons are my creative time. 

If I’m in high creative or business development gear this balance shifts.  Right now I’m mainly in business development gear because I’m promoting a new marketing program.

Note, there is nothing more motivating or inspiring to me than selling my art. I can’t wait to go make more.

3. Left-brain & right brain shifting ability

In Daniel Pink’s book a “Whole New Mind”, he breaks down our current economy, the “conceptual economy”, and he profiles the rise of the creative class.

When you delve deeper into the book he explains that the economic future actually belongs to those who can shift back and forth and integrate creativity and logic.  You’ll need both. 

I once heard a very left-brain colleague from the National Speaker’s Association say “I’m not creative.” My response, “That’s ridiculous, of course you are.  That’s like saying I’m not logical.”  It’s not an either or proposition, we each possess two hemispheres in our brains.

Tune in next week for the other three of six readiness factors for selling art.

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