The thought leaders at the World Domination Summit really reenergized my personal mission to obliterate the starving artist mythology and to issue a direct challenge to the gatekeepers of the scarcity and permsission based art establishment.

How do I plan to execute this mission? By helping artists like you become more business savvy so that you can secure your creative freedom and share your successes by example.

I’m a perfectionist by nature, a double edge sword. So I was waiting to have all of the pieces of the puzzle in place before I started enrolling and interviewing students for the pilot Making Art/Making Money, an 8-week, guided, online multi-media course.

Then I thought, what the heck am I waiting for? Artists have been asking me to do this for years. I need to get this show on the road now and see who’s on board.

So I’ve decided to open early enrollment into this special pilot course of Making Art/Making Money.

Although everyone is welcome to apply, this course is not a good fit for everyone, and there will only be 9 students accepted into the first pilot course. 

This limited enrollment is not a sales angle, it’s the truth. I’m only willing to enroll artists who are ready to bring their A-game because some of them will become course mentors in the future.

I’m really excited about Making Art/Making Money because it enables me to reach so many more artists.

This new platform allows me to have a greater impact by teaching artists practical and real life principles and strategies that I’ve learned the hard, and the very expensive way, from my own successes and failures.

And I’m sharing the lessons learned, and the key insights, from an array of artists I’ve coached, including:

·       crafts men

·       film makers

·       fine art illustrators

·       healing practitioners

·       mixed media artists

·       musicians

·       painters

·       photographers

Just like art school, Making Art/Making Money isn’t cheap. But the difference is, I stand behind it by offering a 100% Guarantee.

If your are seriouly interested, I encourage you to apply today.

Just so you know. I get and I appreciate that not everyone is going to enroll in this course or recive one-on-one coaching or consulting but you’re always welcome to ask me specific art businesss and marketing related questions here. 

If your questions is specific and relavent, I’ll answer it. I promise.

I remember hearing in art school:

“Young artists just don’t have much of substance to say.”

“They haven’t found their voice.”

“The haven’t lived enough life so they don’t have anything real to reflect upon.”

Not so of a young artist who I coach, Aiden Kringen,  a 21 year old Fine Art Illustrator.

His top ten rules will be included in my book, “Selling your Art without selling Art, 101 Rules.”

Many thanks again to those of you who took the time to offer your valuable feedback on the cover. 

Please let me know what you think of the latest iteration of the cover and title above.

1. Create opportunities for commissions and more sales of your artwork by asking previous clients. It’s right in front of you.
2. Build a fan base for your artwork by starting with your friends and family. Ask for support from everyone you know and then ask them to spread the word about your artwork.           
3. Create a meaningful and valuable business and NOT an artistic career.
4. Think of the buyer and stop thinking of yourself.
5. Set a S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal and accomplish it. It has been one of the most gratifying things I have ever learned.
6. Take matters into your own hands and take control of your profit margin. Don’t be a victim of your own life as an artist.
7. Add value to other people’s lives through your  artwork in a way that is unique to you and what you care about.
8. Simply start making money doing what you always wanted to do by being an artist. It is simpler than I could have imagined.
9. Be sure in your decision to do something and be realistic about what to expect from yourself.
10.  Start from step 1, “Visioning” is the process of becoming a profitable artist and have the patience to make it to the very last step no matter what.

 

 

 

Last week I posted about the occasional rude feedback I experience from readers of Artists Who THRIVE, a product of online anonymity. This post received the most comments ever.

Your responses were very affirming. I appreciate knowing that artists are picking up what I am throwing down and that the negativos are definitely in the minority.

So for those who took the time and effort to post encouraging comments of gratitude, thank you. And for those who just sent well wishes. Thank you.

This leads me to the matter of focus. “Where attention goes, energy flows.” Now that my attention is refocused I’m moving forward on my book, which I have retitled, “Selling Art without Selling Out, 101 Rules.” The latest version of the cover is above.

To give credit where credit is due, my friend Jonathan Fields, was up until 11:00 this past Friday night batting back book titles and covers to and from San Francisco and New York City. Pushing me to keep exploring, creating, and caring, he said “Sometimes ya gotta try hundreds to get it right.”

So what did I do? I created 101 book titles and I don’t know how many covers. Why?  Because I’m focused. Why am I focused?  Because I care about empowering artists.

It’s caring that matters in art and in business. What do you care about in life? This must be the basis of inspiration for your art for it to ever matter to you or any one else.

Do you have creative talent and something to say? Then you must make art.

Do you want to be heard? Then you must sell art.

When you care, really care, you can push past so many obstacles, naysayers, and lulls in energy.

What do you care about?  How does your art express this?  Where is your focus directed?  On distractions or BS, or on what really matters to you?

I welcome your constructive feedback on my book cover and title. I care about what you think.

 

This week’s top ten rules for selling art comes from an Eco-Artist, Colleen Attara, who I coached several years ago.

Her success is a result of her creativity in art making and money making.

Colleen has integrity around her use of materials and craft that is reflected in her approach to the business of selling her art.

From the start, Colleen held a vision for her artistic enterprise and so it doesn’t surprise me that she has manifested into reality.

It’s not just a matter of holding a clear vision; Colleen takes action and maintains standards of professionalism. 

1. Show up in your studio, in your community and on social media. Showing up is powerful and important.
2. Standing true to your values becomes part of your story. Tell that story and be consistent in your message.
3. Value what you do and protect that value. Copyright your work. Respect the people that collect it.
4. Decide what it is that you want to be known for. Take every opportunity to learn, teach, speak and write about it.
5. Surround yourself with people who support you, build you up and see all that is possible in you.  Support others the same way.
6. Stop each day and take five minutes to plant a seed about your business.
7. Diversify and have different price points so you have every opportunity to sell.
8. Take risks.  Reach high.  Reach often.  Amazing things will happen.
9. Collaboration is magical.  Be open to ideas and opportunities.  And think before you answer.
10. Ask the right people the right questions. Then listen carefully.  People love to help.

-Colleen Attara, Eco-Artist  (age 48)

What are your “top-ten” rules?  Take action now.  Write them down. 

Share them with a friend.  Ask a friend to join you in this thought provoking exercise.

I’ve learned a lot in seven years of succeeding and failing in the art business, so I share my lessons here at ArtistsWhoTHRIVE.com.

Your responses drive my mission, to challenge the fundamentally disrespectful “starving artist” mythology and to replace it with empowering knowledge and constructive beliefs so that creatives can claim their freedom through business savvy.

The entrepreneurial approach that I advocate requires artists who thrive to take the reins.

There’s no hoping to be discovered or wishing for success. It’s about creating truly unique value that serves a target market. Deliver this and you will be rewarded.

We all know that creative freedom is not guaranteed. It demands responsibility. 

What specific responsibilities?

I’ve outlined the basic responsibilities, guidelines, principles, rules, whatever you would like to call them, in Selling Art/101 Rules to be published this year.

I also include the top ten rules of some of the creatives who I have mentored.

This week I feature the “top-ten” rules of selling art from Kate Bradley, portrait painter, age 28, from Memphis.

1. You are in control of your future as it relates to your business. No one is going to discover you.
2. Make things easy for your clients.
3. Offer value above and beyond your art.
4. Develop a unique selling proposition.
5. Learn how to sell art.
6. Develop new price points.
7. Learn mental fortitude.
8. Learn goal setting.
9. Learn how to respond to failures and disappointments.
10. Make friends with people. Demonstrate an interest in them beyond your business relationship.

What are your “top-ten” rules?  Take action now.  Write them down.  Share them with a friend.  Ask a friend to join you in this thought provoking exercise.

 

I’m excited to announce that the final draft of my new book, Selling Art/ 101 Rules, creative freedom + business savvy  is done! 

The very graphic and colorful layout is complete and it’s now in editing.

Please stay tuned and be sure to get yourself a copy, or three, so that you can “tell two friends.”

Selling Art/ 101 Rules  will be available here and on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

I wrote Selling Art/ 101 Rules as prerequisite reading for the eight-part, on-line business course for artists that I’m launching this year called, “Making Art/Making Money.”

Included in the book are the top ten rules of some of the artists who I have had the pleasure of mentoring.

Don’t take my word for it, stay tuned in the coming weeks for the top ten rules of selling art from various Artists Who THRIVE.

1.       By embracing business principals, artists can develop their own unique creative enterprise.

2.       It is essential to complete the tasks in the proper order, no putting the cart before the horse.

3.       Valuing exercises are essential for coming up with your Mission Statement.

4.       Blue Ocean strategies should be used to create a unique value proposition.

5.       Consider what draws you to other people’s businesses and make your business attractive to someone like you.

6.       Dream BIG!!! Most artists don’t dream BIG enough. Limitations come from not thinking big enough.

7.       Creating a graphic identity comes AFTER a business and marketing plan.

8.       Most people don’t really fear success; they fear the responsibility of what it takes to become successful.

9.       Mindfulness is important to success. Daily meditation helps to quiet the mind. Presence of mind is important for business success.

10.       Ask yourself: How can I serve others? Does this feel right? Does it excite me?

- Robin Ritz, Creativity CoachNow ask yourself.  What are your top ten rules of selling art? 

Learning happens when you take action.  List your top ten rules and share them here.

 

        

I’m generally more successful coaching younger artists in selling their art than middle age artists.

This doesn’t mean that I haven’t succeeded in helping middle age artists or that a middle age artist can’t be successful. In fact, I made the leap into a full time art enterprise at age 39.

But it was just nagging me why artists who already know that the art establishment is broken and that it is not working for them, still resist change and don’t just embrace the entrepreneurial approach to selling their art that is Artists Who THRIVE.

I’m attending to the 2013 World Domination Summit so I’m reading one of the founder’s books, Art of Non-Conformity, by Chris Guillebeau. 

Chris’s story about the five monkeys struck me as the explanation that I was searching for.

This story is straight out of the book. It goes like this. 

Five monkeys are thrown in a cage by a sadistic monkey-hater. 

Enough food and water is available at the bottom of the cage, saving them from starvation while forcing them to lead a boring life of staring through the glass every day. The food at the bottom is bad, but sufficient. 

At the top of the cage, however, a large stalk of bananas alluringly waits. 

Conveniently, a ladder to the top has been provided by the sadist.

After getting over the shock of being caged, one of the monkeys scales the ladder and reaches for a banana. 

All of a sudden a fire hose appears from nowhere. 

The monkey at the top of the ladder is soaked with cold water, but not only him- all of the other monkeys are soaked as well, in an exercise of group punishment for the sins of one freedom-loving monkey. 

Over the next few days the experience repeats itself several times. 

One monkey makes a run for the bananas, the whole troop of monkeys gets soaked, and pretty soon the group starts beating up any monkey brave enough to scale the ladder. 

The bananas are still at the top, but just out of reach.  The monkeys reluctantly accept the fate of living a life without bananas.

Then one day the experiment changes. 

The sadist takes one monkey out of the cage and replaces him with another one. 

Not knowing the consequence of being doused with cold water, the new monkey immediately begins to scale the ladder in pursuit of a banana, the rest of the monkeys pull her down before she reaches the top, and the troop settles in again.

The next day another monkey is replaced, and then another, and the process repeats itself: the new monkey lunges for the bananas, gets pull down, and adapts. 

After five days, no monkey from the original troop remains, and no monkey has ever been soaked with cold water- but every monkey knows they are not supposed to climb the ladder. 

One of the monkeys finally asks, “Hey, why can’t we eat the bananas?” 

The others shrug their shoulders and say, “We’re not sure-we just know we can’t.”  (pp.16-17)

Change requires energy, focus, and support.  What is your SMARTER goal?  Who are the monkeys around you?  Are they supporting you?  Or are they beating you up?

Ask yourself, “Am I holding back in selling my art because I secretly need permission or approval?”

Now please share this post with a supportive monkey.

 

 

Kate Bradley, an artist from Memphis who I coach, just received a commission for a painting.

That’s not really big news. She receives commissions all the time now. 

The thing that’s so wonderful about this particular painting commission is how it came to her.

It’s always a good idea to get work experience before graduating, so Kate served an internship in a local art gallery while earning her art degree.

Upon graduation she submitted her portfolio to this art gallery in the hope of securing representation. She was on a first name basis with the art gallery owner so it was certainly worth a shot.

Do you want to hear what Kate heard from the art gallery about her art portfolio submission for a year and half? Click here

Sound familiar?

But last week, the art gallery who didn’t bother to get back to Kate, actually referred a collector to her who commissioned a painting. 

Here’s the beautiful thing about that referral. Kate will not be consigning her work and crossing her fingers and hoping that she’ll be paid.

She’ll be paid up front. And she’ll be keeping 100% of the money, not 50%, so she can relax. 

This relaxation frees her mind to be more creative and productive.

I’m not taking all of the credit here. It’s Kate’s hard work and focus that is earning her success. 

With her newly found business savvy she’s become a much more confident young woman who enjoys more creative freedom and inspiration, and more profit.

You may be thinking. That’s great. How does that apply to me? What can I do?

Know that it is possible to earn a decent living as a fine artist. This really is the first big step. 

We are so conditioned to believe that we must “struggle” or “starve” that we set ourselves up for it.

1. Take out a piece of paper and write down every self-limiting and negative thought you have about selling your art.  Everything.  Dump it.
2. Take a break and then go back to your list.
3. One belief at a time, ask yourself “is this really true?”
4. Answer.
5. Ask, is the answer really true?
6. Repeat the interrogation until you exhaust the question. “Is this really true?”

The result. You’ll find out what unnecessary self-limiting beliefs are rattling around in your head about selling your art and what obstacles you actually must face.

We don’t succeed alone. Share this exercise with a friend. Do it together. 

 

This New Yorker magazine cartoon by William Haefeli’s made me LOL.

This cartoon offers us a great teaching moment because it’s illustrating what most artists have been led astray to believe. “It’s all about me and my creative process.” 

All of this emphasis on creative “process” in art school is why we are stuck with long self-involved artist’s statements that go on and on. 

Here’s what I tell the artists I coach.  “The first thing that you are going to have to learn if you want to sell your art, is that it’s not about you, it’s about them. Them being art collectors. The more you make it about them, the more it will become about you.”

In other words, the more you serve your collectors by providing value, the more you will benefit by their collecting.

It’s not that collectors are not curious about an artist’s creative process; it’s just that this is not what triggers a collector to buy your art.

They are buying your art because it makes them feel.  You are selling feelings. Yes. That’s right. Not objects.

What feelings you ask?  Ask your collectors.  “How does my art make you feel?” 

Ask yourself.  How does art make you feel?

• Why do you listen to a song over and over again?
• Why do you anticipate a new designer’s collection? 
• Why do you look through a volume of your favorite artist’s work? 

Some art collectors will struggle with articulating how they feel.  Why?  Because many people struggle expressing their feelings. I know that’s not news to you.

If a collector can’t articulate their “feelings” they can often talk about what the song, the painting, the hand made ring “means” to them.

Buying investment grade art on the secondary market is not what we are talking about here. Obviously there are financial motivations at play. Art appraisals and provenance is relevant to this category of art.

Artists Who THRIVE is not about artist’s estates.  Those artists are dead. They are not thriving… anymore. 

Artists Who THRIVE is about serving living, entrepreneurial, emerging artists.  Whatever “emerging” means. I prefer “arriving.”

So your assignment is clear.  Ask yourself. 

• What am I selling?
• How do you express what you are selling?
• What do your collectors say about why they are buying your art?

If you are still not 100% sure of what you are selling, you need to get clear.

Why? Because if you don’t know what you are selling it’s going to be near impossible for your collectors to guess.

If you are struggling with this assignment then book a consult.

What do you do when you are offered an opportunity for almighty “exposure” of your art?

The short answer.  Find out how real it is. 

The long answer…

This year, I was invited by a Four Seasons property to install my work in their lobby. It sounded great but it became very clear that their large organization has a lot of moving parts with shifting priorities and personnel. 

So I knew that I, not them, would have to put a very clear written agreement in place to protect the “opportunity” and preserve my professional relationships.

When you are offered an opportunity for “exposure” the first questions to ask are:

1. Are these seemingly generous folks really looking for something for nothing?
2. Are they asking you to pay for the privilege of exposure? 
3. Is there some real opportunity for access to your target market that’s not just based on a hope and a prayer?
4. Have they taken an attitude that they are doing you a tremendous favor? Beware.

Businesses pay for access to target markets all of the time in the form of advertising or sponsorships.

So there’s nothing wrong with paying for the price of admission, if you are clear on the actual or potential return on your investment.

But in business, just as in life, if you are going to give something away, know what you are getting in return.

Nothing is free. Now if it’s a charitable cause that you really just want to support, give away, as long as it doesn’t discount your brand or confuse the value of your work.

Whatever you do, do not misconstrue a real charitable donation with a hope of a business opportunity.

If it is going to involve your time, your brand, your intellectual property, or your art, you are involving your business assets. 

So put your business hat on and outline the following in writing:

• Risks
• Opportunities
• Costs
• Time line
• Responsibilities

Make sure that it will be obvious that your work is for sale and how someone can acquire it.

Have a clear discussion and then confirm your understanding in writing. 

Why? Because if you don’t put agreements in writing you operating on a less than professional level and you are leaving room for unnecessary misunderstanding. 

And you know that it is miscommunication that is most often the cause of conflict. So why go there? Get it in writing.

If the other party is resisting documenting and signing your agreement just ask them why. 

They may have a legitimate concern about the agreement that you must still work through. 

Or their resistance could be a big fat red flag that you need to walk away.

Be diplomatic.  Have a conversation. Be collaborative.

Discuss openly how each side will benefit. If you can’t converse clearly about how each side is benefiting you have a threat, not an opportunity.

Don’t ever come from a place of scarcity. When you come from scarcity some people will smell it and they will take full advantage of you.

Artists too often are prey to these hyenas. But not you. You are business savvy!

My experience has taught me that when one door closes two more will immediately or eventually open.

Always be willing to walk.

If you know an artist who is wondering if they have an opportunity or not, share this post below.

If you are wondering if you have an opportunity or not, book a consult.  It could save you serious time and money.