I don’t want to be a dream killer.

What I want to do is to help you take your dream of being a thriving artist and place into reality.

That means I want you to stop hoping to be an artist who thrives and start planning to be one.

Planning starts with defining a specific goal, a SMARTER* goal, then outlining a plan to achieve it.

My initial SMARTER goal was to sell over $100,000 of my art within my first year as a full time artist in 2005.

But I didn’t just pluck that number out of thin air.

I looked at what I had accomplished in the previous year.

In 2004 I worked full-time for eight months and I took four months off just to paint.

In 2004 I sold $25,426 of my art. You can see my 2004  Schedule C above.

I estimated that if I became a full-time artist I could sell over $100,000 of my art.

I based my estimate on real and relevant data.

To put this in perspective, my 2004 art sales of $25,426 to $103,246 in 2005 represents a 306% increase.

A 306% increase is art sales is significant but clearly not impossible.

However, I’m concerned when an artist tell me that she has sold $500 worth of art over the last year and now she wants to sell $100,000 worth of art in the coming year, yet she does not:

• have a plan
• know her unique value proposition
• know her target market
• have much or any training in all eight realms of building a creative enterprise.

Again, I don’t want to be a dream killer but selling $500 of your art to $100,000 of your art represents a 1990% increase.

Clearly she’s not creating a goal that is SMART for her. She’s copying my goal and its not relevant to her circumstances.

Let’s keep this real. Stop hoping and start planning to be a successful artist.

Your goal is only SMART if you believe that you can accomplishment it.

If you don’t believe that you can accomplish your goal, you won’t act upon it and you will undermine your self-confidence.

Then you’re going to have trouble committing to goals in the future.

So make an honest assessment of where you stand today with your art sales and where you would like to be and by when.

If you’re not happy with the amount of art you’re selling now you are obviously going to need to make some changes.

You’ll need to acquire new skills, expertise, support, and encouragement. That’s what I had to do and so have the artists I’ve worked with.

Doing the same things but expecting a different result is the product of hoping instead of planning.

Building a fine art enterprise is not a fantasy. I’ve been helping artist sell their art without selling out for over a decade.

The practical reality is that these artists work hard; they’re focused, dedicated, and passionate.

And they screw up. But they don’t give up.

So look at where you are today. Ground yourself in the here and the now. Own it.

Be honest and don’t betray your future success by indulging in fantasy.

Stop hoping and start planning.

Move your dream into reality.

Claim where you would like to be six months from now, a year from now, whatever time frame pops into your head.

Write it down. Commit.

Then start identifying how you’re going to get there and who will help you.

Know this. You will not succeed alone. No one does.

Hint: People who profess that they can help you build a business, or sell your art online, but who’ve never actually made art and made a good living from selling their art, just can’t help you.

Even if they have made art that they are proud of and made a good living it doesn’t guarantee that they know how to teach  you to do the same.

Despite their particular expertise, popularity, or good intentions.

What is your SMARTER goal?

*S-specific

M-measurable

A-actionable

R-results oriented

T-time bound

E-evaluate

R-revise if necessary

The most important investment you can make is in yourself. — Warren Buffett, billionaire investor

“But what if I don’t have any money to invest in myself?”

First. Let’s examine this sentence. Is it really that you don’t have ANY money or is it that you are choosing to spend it instead of investing it?

Did you know that the government is willing to invest in you because even they know that investing in you will yield many dividends.

And guess what? Securing the investment doesn’t even require much.

Just a little bit of time and effort.

During this thriving artist profile I interview visual artist Nikki De Preist from Portland, Oregon.

Nikki is not a student; in fact I don’t really know her that well.

The reason that I interviewed Nikki was because she found a way to secure the funds to enroll in The MAKING Art Making MONEY Semester and she wrote me to tell me about it.

Nikki demonstrates exactly the kind of initiative that Artists Who THRIVE take.

What did Nikki do? She applied for a “Professional Development Grant for Artists” from her county arts council in Portland, Oregon, called the “Regional Arts and Culture Counsel.”

Every arts council has a different name but every major county in the US and its territories has an arts council.

So if you live in the US they’re not hard to find. If you live outside of the US there may be an equivalent organization.

What did Nikki have to do?

It was surprisingly simple. In June 2015 she completed a one-page application and in December she was awarded a grant to enroll in the The MAKING Art Making MONEY Semester.

Nikkie said that the one-page application wasn’t that complicated.

I’ve spoken to several arts council’s who have reviewed the The MAKING Art Making MONEY Semester and they’ve confirmed that my program falls within the grant guidelines for “Professional Development Grants for Artists.”

The big take away is simply this, a bit of initiative and a little bit of paperwork could change your life.

If you really want something you’ll find a way, just like Nikki did.

Contact your county or state arts council now and see what resources are available to you.

It’s just a quick Google search away. Do it now.

I’m apologizing in advance; you may receive some goofy messages and errors in the next couple of weeks. Please. Bear with me.

Why? Because I’ve launched an all new Artists Who THRIVE site, as you can see, and I’ve moved my on-line courses.

Seem simple? I feel like I was run over by a steamroller.

This year I failed a lot, so I’ve learned a lot.

In 2015, I learned about all of the technology that has to play nice with each other so that I can deliver value to you.

I trusted, and so I was sold, technology and consulting that not only did not serve my needs but it caused me:

• real distress
• huge loss of money
• valuable time
• opportunity costs that I don’t even want to think about
• and worse of all, it inconvenienced my students!

The valuable lesson that I learned was to always trust my gut and to hire slowly and to fire quickly. That’s a lesson for you.

The good news is that I have found a more stable and simpler systems and support.

Out with the bad and in with the new in 2016.

To pursue my mission of slaying the “starving artist” slur, I need to master 16 realms of technology. I’m not counting any of all of the technology required to create the content, like Adobe Creative Suite.

So that I can deliver on-line education to artists all over the globe, 24/7, 365 days a year, 16 realms of tech must shake hands.

The good news! It’s almost all untangled.

1. Email service provider that allows you to tag contacts and create rules.
2. Learning management system (LMS)
3. Online cash register.
4. Membership management system.
5. Word Press.
6. Sales pages.
7. Affiliate functionality.
8. Webinar platform.
9. Video and audio hosting.
10. Video-editing tool.
11. Video production.
12. On-line advertising.
13. Web hosting company.
14. Merchant credit.
15. Merchant accounts.
16. Payment gateway.
17. Reliable and honest expert help.

If you’re wondering if I’m eager to get back to my own art. Yes I am!

And that is what I aim to do in 2016!

 

I’m currently listening to Profit First, by Mike Michalowicz, a fellow Creative Live instructor.

For so many artists, for so many people, money is a charged topic.

And it doesn’t help when your culture refers to you disrespectfully as a “starving artist” and or “artsy fartsy” type.

Think about it. Have you ever met an artist who is actually suffering from severe malnourishment and or ongoing flatulence?

Choose your words carefully. Be respectful.

Anyway, when I learned that Mike and I had shared the same Creative Live Producer, Justin Barker, I immediately asked for an introduction so that Mike could teach you the valuable lessons that he’s learned from his three biggest fattest failures.

1. When I asked Mike about his biggest fattest failure, he said it wasn’t his biggest but one of his more awkward blunders. He arrogantly put job candidates through an overbearing interview process. Mike lost sight of the fact that, just as he was interviewing them, they were interviewing him, and he missed opportunities to hire really qualified candidates.
2. His second failure was actually loosing his entire fortune. Mike sold his company, became an angel investor, and as he admits, he just didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Instead of stopping and assessing his situation he just kept spending his way into oblivion while hiding mounting financial losses from his family. During Mike’s most painful “moment” he admitted to his family that they where broke and he began sobbing.  His daughter ran into her bedroom. Mike thought she was protecting herself from the tragic news but it was actually to retrieve her piggy bank. She slid it across the kitchen table towards him and said, “Dad. We’re going to be okay.”
3. Mike’s third failure was working like a maniac for so many years and missing out on much of kids’ childhood, time that he can never restore, unlike his fortune.

1. All of these painful failures and blunders have shaped his purpose, Mike’s why.
2. Mike is on a mission to teach entrepreneurs how to build profits, his what.
3. Mike’s unique value proposition is an innovative and relatable system of accounting that small businesses can implement over time, his how.
4. Mike helps small business owners, his who.

Mike is now running his third million dollar venture, is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal; is the former MSNBC business make-over expert; is a popular keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics; and is the author of Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, which BusinessWeek deemed “the entrepreneur’s cult classic.”

Justin Barker, my producer at Creative Live, recently completed an instructional product video for a startup company in San Francisco. When this company refused to pay him and the contractors that he had hired, I was highly offended, not least because I know the strength of his work.

Unfortunately, it’s all too common for creatives to get stuck with unpaid invoices and lame excuses from some clients; Justin is not alone. My experience is that this is happening to creative entrepreneurs more frequently than other entrepreneurs.

Why is this? My theory is twofold:

1. Creatives are not always clear enough with their clients about expectations and boundaries, nor do they define and state all of their business terms up front, with current contracts to back them up.
2. Clients and patrons don’t appreciate the value of the product or service that they have commissioned or they have unrealistic expectations about the creative process. And sometimes, a project just goes south.

This deal gone bad not only put Justin at risk of losing a significant amount of money, it also cost him about two months of consternation because it actually threatened his future as a producer. Given everything he had to go through, I decided to ask him to join me in conversation so that he could share what he has learned and what he will do differently going forward.

Now you might be saying, “But I’m an illustrator, a graphic designer, or a maker, what does this story have to do with me?” Have you ever poured a significant amount of time, resources, or materials into a creative project and not been paid? Are you concerned that this could happen?

Then stay with me, because Justin’s story is relevant to you.

Lesson #1: Mind the red flags 

Several months ago, one of Justin’s friends approached him about producing a video for the startup where she was working in San Francisco. “Red flags started flying from the very beginning,” says Justin. Justin sent through a detailed professional proposal with the cost of the production. For over a month he didn’t hear back from anyone.

“It was an indication that this company was highly disorganized,” he says. If you are eager to make money, you might end up ignoring red flags that could actuallycost you money.

Justin was reminded of the fact that “the idea of making money and the reality of it are two different things.” Prospects should be professional in their communications. This means being prompt. Qualify your prospects by gauging their level of interest. You could be subjecting yourself to significant financial risk if you enter into business with flakes.

Lesson #2: Accurate, up-to-date contracts are key

From the start of his career as a producer, Justin has used solid contracts. His first ever contract contained a kill fee for $3000. In this instance, he did a significant amount of research as a producer, but then the project was cancelled; if he had not outlined a “kill fee” in his contract, chances are very high that he would never have been paid.

Justin negotiated and lowered his price with this startup company. But he still felt that this was a fair deal, so the contract was signed and everyone was smiling. But Justin was confused about who actually signed the contract; it turned out the person who signed his contract was actually fired two days later. If the person who signed for the authorization of your payment is no longer able to authorize it, it is time to get your contract updated and pause work until then.

Lesson #3: Don’t work for free

Just a few days after the contract was signed, Justin’s client started trying to renegotiate the contract. His client wanted more rounds of edits without incurring any additional fees.

This was a big sign of trouble to come.

Lesson #4: Make sure you have payment information

If Justin had his client’s credit card information and authorization to charge it, he would have had a secondary back-up to recover payment and to easily charge for additional edits.

Lesson #5: Be your own (respectful) advocate

Justin remained respectful through out this process, and so was able to keep an ally within this company who advocated for him. Be firm and stand up for yourself but remain professional and respectful. Unfortunately, although Justin got paid, his internal advocate was fired.

Lesson #6: Don’t give up 

“Never throw up your hands and walk away,” says Justin. That negative energy and frustration will break your spirit, and that has a direct impact on your ability to create.

Lesson #7: Have a no-guarantee clause

Justin recommends including a no-guarantee clause in your contract and to talk through what that really means with your client. Justin breaks it down as, “If you don’t like what I create for you it doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay me.” The fact is that the creative process is not always predictable and the results are completely subjective.

Lesson #8: Make FAQs

I’m a big fan of maintaining a frequently asked questions (FAQ). It’s a great place to start the conversation and to set the expectations in a guided, poised, and confident way. An FAQ can lay the foundation for an effective and comprehensive contract.

Lesson #9: Get legal council

Invest in legal council; it could pay for itself many times over. Get a client agreement specifically tailored to your services. Make sure that your attorney has the experience and qualifications to address the specific laws relevant to your enterprise within your legal jurisdiction. Ask if they have worked with clients like you, get references, and contact those references.

Lesson #10: The support of friends and colleagues is invaluable 

Get support. Who says business isn’t personal? Not only is it personal, it can be very emotional. It was roller coaster ride for Justin, but he hung in there.

How did Justin’s story pan out?

After being hired, Justin hired the contractors and talent and completed the job.Then, he handed over all the raw footage and the final edited video content before receiving final payment. After all of this, his client told him that they were not going to pay him.

At one point, he and a friend and I were supposed to meet for tea and Justin just wanted to stay in bed. In Justin’s mind, he had no leverage and he was completely overwhelmed.

It wasn’t just that he wasn’t going to get paid—he also wasn’t going to be able to pay his contractors, leaving him feeling completely out of integrity. This situation looked like it could prevent him from working with his “A team” again. His ability to work as a producer was in jeopardy.

I insisted that he get out of bed and allow us to support him. “You’re only allowed to wallow for so long,” I said. I also reminded him that he owned the copyright to the work, and that the client did not. And that if this no-good client used any of the video content that Justin still technically owned, they would not only be in violation of their contract with him, they would be in violation of U.S. and international copyright law. Not a good move for a startup—San Francisco works in a surprisingly small town manner, and word gets around.

Although the client hired him to shoot their products, and use their copy and logo, none of that mattered because Justin owned the exclusive right to publish his video content; they didn’t. Meaning that if the client used any of Justin’s video content before paying him, not only would they be in breach of their contract with him, they would be acting in direct violation of U.S. and international copyright law. Copyright can only be transferred in writing, and this client did not have authorization until they paid him, as stated in his contract.

I suggested that he remind them of this reality, and to immediately register his copyright with the Library of Congress. Justin read the directions, paid $55, and experienced a huge shift in perspective. He realized that he was in control, and he went from feeling overwhelmed to empowered.

When he reminded this client of the copyright clause in their contract, Justin got his money soon after. In the end, Justin got paid, his contractors got paid, and his reputation was saved. You can watch Justin recount his story here.

Have you had a similar experience? How did you handle it?