I just interviewed a student applying for my new 8-week, 8-part, business course for artists, “Making Art/Making Money.”
This applicant has been selling her paintings for many years using the traditional scarcity and permission based approach, art fairs and art galleries.
So it was no surprise to me that it wasn’t working. In fact, it was working less and less and she was getting more and more exhausted by her unrewarded efforts.
So she was very keen to learn about an effective alternative methodology that would give her an entrepreneurial foundation, focus, and an intimate community of supportive like-minded entrepreneurial artists.
But. And of course there’s a “but.” She wanted a guarantee that she would generate a certain amount in increased sales. What did I do? I immediately withdrew her application.
No one but no one can guarantee your success but you. Even if I was her boss I couldn’t guarantee her performance, now could I?
Come on, not even Stanford or Harvard’s MBA programs extend a guarantee to their students. You’re fortunate just to be accepted.
If you decide to learn something new, become a professional artist, or just ask someone out on a date, there are no guarantees.
If you are a professional artist you are already engaging in very risky behavior. It’s no secret that most professional artists struggle financially and that negatively impacts other areas of their life, like their health, self-confidence, relationships, and long term financial security.
You should absolutely do your due diligence, assess your risks, and make decisions accordingly. But know this. If you always require a 100% guarantee, you will avoid all risks and therefore you will avoid success.
Do something or do nothing, each contains risk.
Does “Making Art/Making Money” offer a guarantee? Yes! But it deliberately requires the student’s participation. Because success in life, in business, and in art also demands our full participation and risk.
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