Money and Stomach

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texas-cowboy
Yesterday I had a phone meeting with a great gal from Texas.  Unbeknownst to me she’s been a fan from the Lone Star state, where I have a number of collectors, and where she’s been watching my career via annrea.com.

She and her local wine industry colleagues are interested in commissioning me to paint vineyards in Texas.  Yes, there are vineyards in Texas, not just California.  And Texas is actually an established and growing wine region with spectacular landscapes in the hill country.

She asked me how I came to do what it is that I do.  I explained how I came up with my initial marketing strategy and how I started my business.  One comment that she made, sounding like a true Texan, was that to be in business “you have to have two things, money and stomach.”  I laughed and replied “If you don’t have money you can get it if you have enough stomach.”

Many people have told me that they think it was brave of me to move to San Francisco and to paint full time.  Ironically, looking back it took more bravery to endure a disimpassioned day job and to let my passion and talents go to waste.  I simply made a choice of commitment.

The conversation yesterday reminded me of the complete commitment required to develop any enterprise and the other level of commitment required to honing one’s creative skill and artistic voice.  Despite the inevitable ups and downs of growing a business and the economy one thing remains constant, I’m committed.  And I don’t have the stomach for anything else but my art business.

 

The Power of Persistence

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The Power Persistence

Last Sunday I was sipping a hot chocolate with my man on Chestnut Street in San Francisco’s Marina district.  We were people watching, as we often do to entertain ourselves.  We frequently play “The Same Game” where we watch people walk by and remark to each other how those clustered together are “the same.”  They may have the same shoes, the same hat, the same purse, and or even the same butt.  It may sound odd but its fun and the results can be fascinating. And it proves that like attracts like.

But that’s not why I’m posting this week.  Out of the crowd on the sidewalk stood an artist who had a stack of postcards that he had hand drawn and then reproduced.  He was a clean-shaven healthy looking young man in his mid twenties.  He walked from prospect to prospect asking if they would like to buy his postcards for $2 each.  Yes $2. If they showed any interest he offered them the “deluxe” black and white booklet version that contained each image for $10.

I had to watch.  So we sat down and listened to his pitch as he engaged each target.  Eventually he wandered over to us to give us his pitch.  I listened and then admitted that I would not be buying. However, as a professional artist, marketing strategist, and business coach to artists across the globe I was very interested in his story.

His postcard drawings where quite amateur, his pitch was too close ended, and his price point was incredibly low but he shared with us that this was his full time gig.  This was how he paid the rent and put food on his table.  Do you think he was afraid of rejection?  He wasn’t a “starving” artist, he was doing his thing.  And despite his clear lack of training this guy was selling it.  He wasn’t “the same” as so many artists, so many people, reluctant to face rejection or to persist.   His persistence inspired me and I hope it inspires you.