I was speaking to a new friend last week, Dr. Adrian McIntyre, a smarty pants colleague who I met through a private Face Book group.

We are both studying a certain sliver of online marketing and Adrian generously offered to answer some questions that I had about online learning environments.

We got to talking about what we were marketing and I mentioned The MAKING Art Making MONEY Semester. Then Adrian offered a brilliant insight.

Art and money are a lot a like.

Here are 12 points that support this statement.

1. The value of both art and money is made up. We just agree to the value.
2. Art and money are relatively worthless physical objects. Unless we are talking about gold coins, the actual value of the materials that they are made of are negligible.
3. Art and money are highly prized and sought after because of their scarcity. They are precious because they are limited. Too much money in circulation or too much art, a la Thomas Kindkade, and the value tanks.
4. The market for art and money ebbs and flows according to their secondary markets or resale value.
5. Art and money must be consumed or circulated by people or its worthless. Think about it, if an artist makes art and no one ever sees it and purchases it, it doesn’t contain value to anyone but the artist.
6. Art and money are both manifestations of congealed creative energy and innovation.
7. Art and money each represent self-expression, a reflection of our values. We buy brands and art that we are morally aligned with, that reflect our lifestyle, ethics, and ideals.
8. Technology has sped up the markets for art and money. A rising tide of money has elevated the resale value of contemporary art. Artists don’t need to wait until they are dead to make money from the resale of their art.
9. Just as it is illegal to deface currency, it is illegal to deface, mutilate, or alter it without the artist’s consent, according to the “moral rights” clause in U.S. Copyright law.
10. Both art and money are capable of triggering deep emotions in people.
11. The people who make art and the people who “make” money (entrepreneurs, financial traders, etc) often obsess about their craft and work ridiculously long hours.
12. Art and money inspire ingenious forgery and dramatic heists.

It’s worth noting that during the most recent recession every single category of luxury tanked, including; real estate, designer clothing and accessories, wine, jewelry, automobiles, and hospitality, you name it.

What category of luxury actually went through the roof? The art market.

Why? Because wealthy folks decided to reposition their financial assets into the secondary art market.

We artists obviously don’t create a currency of direct trade. The currency we deal in is the currency of emotion.

Emotions are what we artists are really selling. We don’t sell paint stuck on canvas, musical notes hanging in the air, or footsteps patterned on a stage.

What makes you feel is different than what makes me feel.

That is why are is truly in the eye of the beholder and why the value of art is more subjective and less precise than the value of currency.

An artist’s main job is to put us in touch with our humanity.

If you do this, if you really make someone feel, inspire them, through your artistic medium, it’s priceless.

How do you think art and money are alike or different? I want to know. Please share below.

When do you know that you are really ready to quit your “day job” and become a full-time artist?

I jumped in with both feet but I do NOT recommend this.

I do recommend that you first examine the following seven factors.

1. Do the math. It never lies.

• What are your monthly living expenses?
• How much do you need to bring in from your art sales to cover your living expenses, accumulate some savings, and pay your taxes?
• Do you have a year’s worth of living expenses in the bank in case your art sales tank?

2. What does your support network look like?

• Do you have a group of loyal collectors?
• Mentors?
• Friends who really believe in you?

Don’t underestimate this factor. We all need encouragement when we are taking a new path in life.

It’s so much easier to take on a big challenge when you have friends and family who really have your back.

3. Do you have talent that is affirmed by sales?

Do have talent and that it has been recognized by experts other than your friends and family?

Creative talent is very subjective but one reliable measure is your sales history.

4. What is your motivation?

Do you just want to get away from a job you hate?

Better to get another job that you can deal with and that doesn’t drain you while building your artistic enterprise part-time.

Move towards a clear goal that inspires you rather than run away from your dissatisfaction.

Hint: Having a clear written exit plan makes a dissatisfying day job a means to an end rather than an on-going burden.

5. Do you have a Making MONEY Plan?

A plan to do business without a plan, is a plan to do no business.

In The MAKING Art Making MONEY Semester students create their Making MONEY Plan. Although it is a simple one-page outline, creating it is not.

So I can’t give you a quick lesson on how to do this in the space of this blog post.

6. Are you willing to do what it takes?

A day job is easy and breezy compared to a start up.

Why? You receive a consistent paycheck.

That goes away when you start your own business and so you need to be prepared financially and mentally to hustle.

7. Are you self disciplined?

You’ll be the boss of you and your employee. That employee would be you.

• How well do each of you perform?
• Do you have a positive attitude?
• Do you know how to manage fear and stress?
• Can you cap your inefficient perfectionist tendencies?
• Do you set and achieve your goals?
• Do you always meet your commitments?
• Do you deliver excellent customer service?

Honestly, I did not have each of these seven factors in place and it worked out.

But I would much rather that you stack as many odds in your favor as possible before you take the plunge into life as a full-time artist.

1. My art sales record did not justify a full-time venture.
2. I did not know anyone in San Francisco, my new home and I had no family support, partner, or Sugar Daddy.
3. I felt that I had talent because my mentors Wayne Thiebaud and Gregory Kondos assured me that I did. But what really mattered is what the market thought. They were not going to pay my bills.
4. I hated my job; my last boss earned the nickname Snotty Scotty from his colleagues.

If being a “full-time” artist is your goal ask yourself why?

If it’s just to affirm your identity as a serious artist, I’ve got news for you. That is not a good enough reason.

Are you a full-time artist, who is not receiving any financial subsidies?

Are you a part-time artist who wants to become a full-time artist?

Why? I’d LOVE to know. Please leave a comment below.

Profiting, 8th sequential realms of building a profitable creative enterprise.

Last week one of the artists who I mentor sent an update on her 2014 expenses.

She reported that she spent about $11,000 less on her business in 2014 then in the year before. Here’s how:

1. “I spent less on my website in 2014. I’m building a new website by myself, and I’m not hiring a designer like I did in 2013.”

She became more confident with technology.

This is very empowering. With fantastic tools, like Square Space and Shopify, artists can build and maintain their own ecommerce sites.

2. “I spent less on print materials, like letterhead and business cards, which I don’t even use.”

She examined unnecessary expenses.

Often artists will spend way too much money on websites and business cards before they have tested their value proposition with their target market.

I’ve seen artists waste thousands of dollars having a website built, only to have to redo them.

3. “I spent less on supplies, because I don’t use expensive canvases any more.”

She used to think that she had to buy the very best materials. And she paid for them.

When she understood her mission and how she served her target market she became a much more confident person.

When she became a more confident person, she became a more confident artist and the quality and ease of her art actually significantly improved.

When she became a more confident artist, she didn’t need to by the very “best” materials to try to prop up her confidence.

She also realized that the other problem with buying expensive canvases is that they make a painting too precious. That causes perfectionism and that kills creativity. With a regular old canvas she feels freer to toss it if the painting is not working out.

Do you think her patrons have ever asked to see the receipt for the materials she’s purchased?

4. “I don’t rent booths at art fairs anymore, so I don’t pay those fees.”

This is a big one. These fees add up quickly and there is no guarantee that they are going to pay off.

Now that she has her own creative enterprise she is not dependent upon the gatekeepers of the art exhibit and she does not have to pay their tariff.

More importantly, she is not surrounded by competition as she’s trying to sell her art. Most of her business comes by way of referral so she doesn’t need to “exhibit” her art. She is the bell of the ball. She is the “go to” for her particular niche.

That is how she saved money. How did she spend money?

She actually “invested” money on my mentorship program, soon to be discontinued, and she “invested” money on building her creative enterprise.

Billionaire, Warren Buffets wise and encouraging words ring true:

The most important investment you can make is in yourself. Very few people get anything like their potential horsepower translated into the actual horsepower of their output in life. Potential exceeds realization for many people…The best asset is your own self. You can become to an enormous degree the person you want to be.

What can you do? Look at what you are spending money on and how are you investing money.

What is the return on your investment? If you are not investing in yourself, why not?

Tell us why below.

I have an artist client that I have been coaching for quite some time now.  She’s invested in expensive and time consuming coaching.

To best define a lucrative Blue Ocean Strategy that will best serve this artist we have taken significant time and effort to analyze this artist’s:

• strengths
• weaknesses
• values
• interests

A Blue Ocean Strategy is a business model that offers a target market a unique value proposition therefore eliminating the competition.

Now, when an artist launches a new business, the artist cannot operate from the belief, “build it and they will come.”

Yes, as an artist, you own a business.  Unless you are a commercial artist or teacher with a JOB, you are also an entrepreneur.

An artist/entrepreneur has to build a new business and then let many people know that it even exists and what value it offers, over and over.

Then the target market will size up the business and decide whether or not “they will come.” The market will feel you out and see if they can trust you.

Your job: to be consistent and targeted in your sales and marketing efforts and to be persistent yet observant of results so that you can respond and make adjustments.

As an artist/entrepreneur, referrals will be your most important sales and marketing strategy.

We created a very clean and simple and elegant graphic identity for this client that effectively communicates her unique art education offering for affluent children.

What did my client do?  She tacked the word “HOUSE PORTRAITS” onto the existing logo. Huh?

That’s like sticking an advertisement for Michelin tires on top of an ad for Coke.

Whatever solid impression that logo made to prospects, it’s now been shattered.

Why did she do this?  “I’m trying to survive.”

Even though I’ve cautioned her about spending money on advertising, she did not consult me before she paid good money for a sign.  And because she’s paid for this silly sign she wants to use it.

No matter how much council I offer, how innovative the strategies we devise, or what experience I share, if an artist continues to operate from scarcity they will make missteps that will cost them money and opportunity and undermine their success.

Bottom line. Fear can kill success.  Courage can create opportunities.