Billie Jordan is a shinning example of the four-part code that I teach in The MAKING Art Making MONEY Semester.

How did a choreographer, who doesn’t know anything about dance, get her beginning dance troupe, ages 71 to 96, from Waiheke Island to the Hip-Hop Olympics in Las Vegas in less than eight months?

I didn’t know anything about old people. I didn’t know anything about dance.

Billie cracked the four-part code. She knew her:

1. Why
2. What
3. How
4. Who
5. Last but not least she executed her mission by defining a SMARTER goal.

That’s the formula for success. It works every time.

She’s not yet making any money but she could. She has intellectual property and a vision that could serve an exploding target market.

1. Why. Purpose. What have you learned from the most painful and joyful moments in your life?

Billie developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from an abusive childhood. She healed and then she was traumatized again as a disaster victim of the Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake.

Thought she wasn’t worth anything and unworthy of love.

She realized that she had a lot in common with the lonely and isolated elderly in her community.

People treat the elderly as if they have no expectations of them, minimizing their value as people.

Like them, Billie could not see a future thinking that best years had passed. She felt as if life was about to end and no one believed in her potential.

If you don’t have children then you’re completely useless.

As soon as Billie connected with her tribe she flipped it.

Let’s all go out dancing.

What did she learn? What is her purpose?

People meet the expectations that others of them. Challenge people’s low expectations of you by challenging your expectations of yourself.

2. What. Mission. What is the one problem that is really worth solving?

Challenge ageism. Western society has some of the lowest expectations of the population that’s growing at the highest rate , the elderly. It’s leading to social isolation, ill health, and sorrow.

3. How. Unique Value Proposition. How will you solve this problem?

Defy society’s low expectations by forming a Hip Hop dance troupe that has high standards that its members must meet and socialize through joyful dance.

4. Who. Target Market. Who has this problem?

71-96 years old, with health challenges who are determined and committed.

As an artist, the more obstacles you have the more your character will build.

SMARTER goal. Get oldest dance troupe to perform at the Hip Hop Olympics in Las Vegas in less than eight months.

Remember everyone’s a critic.

You’ll always have haters when you do something ambitious.

Haters hate because they have nothing better to do. They haven’t found their purpose and the person that they actually hate is themselves.

Follow the formula and you can’t be stopped.

Learn more about Billie’s mission here:https://tedxauckland.com/speakers/billie-jordan/

Have you cracked the four-part formula for yourself? Share below.

When I was in art school I earned straight As in art history. I was even a student tutor. All the while I wondered why some Artists made it into the art history books and some did not.

It’s simple. Artists are celebrated in history because there is a market for their work. That means that at some point each significant Artist delivered a unique value proposition that served a target market.

How do you define a target market for your art?

I’ve cracked the code. You just need to follow a four-part formula by answering these questions. Is it easy to answer these questions?

No. It demands emotional intelligence and deep honesty, your soul’s truth. Is it worth it? Yes. It’s transforming.

1. Why? What is your creative purpose? Why are you here? Hint. It’s not about your art.
2. What? What problem do you believe is really worth solving? What are you doing about your why? Hint. It’s not about your art.
3. How? How are you solving that problem? What is your unique value proposition UVP?
4. Who? Who does your UVP serve, who is your target market? Who is not?

Successful Artists know their creative purpose. They know why they are here and what they are here to do.

Successful Artists dedicate their lives to a mission, to a problem that is really worth solving. They are aiming so much higher than just making art.

How are these Artists fulfilling their mission, solving that problem? By creating value above and beyond their art.

Here’s what they are not doing. They are not just making “art for art’s sake.”

Whatever that means. I’ve never really understood what making “art for art’s sake” means or had much respect for the notion.

It sounds like a personal hobby. Not that there is anything wrong with a hobby. It’s just that no one’s going to pay you just entertain yourself. Your art will only sell if adds value to the market place.

Successful Artists are also abundantly clear about who has the problem that they are solving, and who doesn’t. They know their tribe, they share the same culture, ceremonies, and values. Artists celebrate their tribe and their tribe celebrates them by buying their art.

You might be thinking. Great. That’s nice. I haven’t a clue what my creative purpose is. You can and you must learn. Andy Warhol and Thomas Kindcade provide us with excellent examples of Artists with distinct target markets.

Listen to Kate here. She’s not reciting an artist’s statement. She’s not talking about her “special” creative process. She’s talking about her mission. Just like a taught her.

We have a strong sense of who Kate is and want she stands for, and who she’s not, and what she doesn’t stand for.

Kate’s not selling children’s portraits. She’s on a mission of emotion.

Can you feel it? BAM! Yes you can. You can feel in Kate and in her subject.

Here’s Kate Bradley’s answers to the vital four part formula. Note you must answer these questions in order. Yet artists want to immediately know the answer to #4. So that’s where they start and why the get really frustrated.

1. Why? “The purpose of my art is to affirm the inherent value in every person that is not based on what they do or how others see them.”
2. What? “The problem is that kids need to know they are loved and valued just they way they are.”
3. How? “My UVP is portraits of kids that capture their unique beauty and personality and preserve a specific moment in their lives.”
4. Who? The name of Kate’s ideal customer Avatar’s name is Lauren. “She’s an affluent, stay-at-home wife and mom. She goes to church, is a member of a country club, and attends charity functions. Her kids are between the ages of 2 and 6 and attend to private school.”

Bottom line. How can an Artist define a target market for their art? By first defining themselves.

What is your Why? What? How? And Who?

Please share below and share with two friends.

Selling art sucks.

Yes. You read that right.

Trying to just sell art really sucks.

Why? Because other artists posses so much more talent that you or I will ever will.

And no one really needs art.

Yes. No one needs art. They NEED food, clothing, and shelter. Not art.

Art is a luxury. It always has been and it always will be.

Artists know this but they keep trying to sell their art anyway.

My suggestion. Stop banging your head against the wall. Don’t sell art.

What should you do?

Reframe.

Create value above and beyond your art and sell THAT.

How? Know your purpose, define a mission, create a unique value proposition that clearly solves a problem, and serve and celebrate your tribe.

Trying to sell your art is like trying to sell yourself.

This leaves most decent people feeling like a big fat whore.

So what do you do?

Talk about your mission.

Share your values.

Inspire people with how you aim to serve a cause greater than yourself.

Make it not about you but about them. Then it will be all about you.

You can’t B.S. your way through this. Don’t reach. Don’t make things up. Don’t pose. Don’t posture.

Be real. Be authentic.

The truth is the very best marketing strategy.

People art smart. They have finely attuned B.S. meters. You can’t get past it.

Be clear. So that anyone, including an eight year old, understands exactly what problem you are solving.

Why do this?

Because it is so much easier for an artist to believe in a mission than to believe in themselves.

Our opinion of ourselves and our self-confidence waivers.

Our conviction to a mission doesn’t.

Why? Because people are willing to live and die for causes greater than themselves.

You just won’t give up on a mission you really believe in.

A higher purpose, that’s hard to shake.

Do something that matters to someone other than yourself.

Make art that really matters.

Then you will be rewarded. You will make art and make money.

Listen to my latest interview with Tyler Anderson, host of Casual Fridays.

Show notes.

About Creativity:

How to pull out your creativity:

• Look to the classics. Homer is the most enduring brand out there!
• Pull inspiration from them.
• Put your own spin on it.

Creativity as it pertains to value:

• Solving a problem or alleviating a pain.

Creative success of famous artists was due to there being a market for their work, but there was only a market for their work because:

• They knew their purpose, as a person not as an artist.
• They had a specific mission that they dedicated their lives to accomplishing.
• They solved a problem worth solving that serves their target market.

Sign up for Ann’s course on Creative Live

Mentionable Quotes:

• “No one is going to pay you to entertain yourself. You have to create value.”
• “If you’re human, you’re [creative].”
• “A lot of our limitations are illusions. They are assumptions gone unexamined.”
• “With social media, what we’re doing is telling a story and evoking an emotion.”
• “Creativity is more important than intelligence.” -Einstein
• “Every artist is an entrepreneur and every entrepreneur is an artist.” Dr. ‘E”

One of the biggest challenges the artists who I mentor are struggling with is focus.

They are also struggling with self-confidence.

Tip. Confidence is earned by focused action.

1. Focused action yield results.
2. Results yield confidence.

The burning question for many artists is, “What is it that I should I be focusing on?”

My answer? Start by defining your purpose.

Know who you are and what you stand for. Then you can focus on a mission.

When we have a clear purpose we can pursue our mission and we have a chance of getting out of our own damn way.

What is your purpose?

It is the overall lesson, the reasons, that you experienced your deepest moments of pain and joy. Your purpose is your “why?” And that’s not about your art.

What is your mission? Your mission is your “course.”

Your mission is what you are going to do about your purpose. Your mission is your “what?”

Your unique value proposition is your “how.”

When you know who you are and what you stand for, you can best determine “how” you can serve others.

And if you want to get paid you must serve others by delivering value.

There is no way around this.

This mindset is a complete game changer for the artists who I mentor.

Why? Because this world view is the complete opposite of submitting your art to be shown and hoping that someone will buy it and then hoping that your representative pay you on time or at all.

Hoping is not marketing and it is not a sales plan.

My advice? Stop selling your art. The fact is very few people want to buy art.

That’s right. You read that correctly.

Why might someone want to buy your art? They like you, they like your aesthetics. Yes. But that alone is not near enough to make a sustainable market for your art.

Why? Because there a ton of artists who are way more talented than you and and I and we know it.

So sell your mission and your aesthetics. It’s a powerful one-two punch.

“Plant your flag in the ground and see who salutes.” Grammy Dan, co-author of The Remembering Process

Every famous artist in history had a purpose born of his or her pain and joy, a mission, and unique value proposition that served a target market.

How Do You Determine Your Creative Purpose?

It’s a big and important question and very few people will ever answer this question or even ponder it very deeply.

Yet purposeful people live the most meaningful and rich lives and they are the people who we respect and admire most.

I wish I could tell you how to determine your purpose in the space of this blog post or just give you a link to click on.

But we both know, your life’s meaning is just not that simple and you deserve deeper and profound consideration.

So join me on Creative Live for my 30-Day Course, “Fulfilling Your Creative Purpose.”

This course is free to watch.

It is also an incredible investment to buy.

I highly recommend that you do buy it, now.

Why?

A. So that you can watch it over again and give this question the ample consideration it deserves.

B. Because I have never delivered this much actionable content in one place, with such extraordinarily high production quality, for this low price, and I’m not so sure that I ever will again.