According to Daniel DiGriz of the Clark Hulings Fund,
“Despite having 200% more education, less than one third of working artists fully support themselves.”
I was shocked when I heard this statistic. But don’t let it seal your fate; instead, let it light your fire to learn from those doing it.
In a recent interview with Daniel DiGriz, we talked about the business of being an artist, and why some artists aren’t making it. The answer occurred to me during our interview:
Artists create from the heart, and business comes from the head.
Many artists work mostly from their heart space, a beautiful place that enables them to see things differently from the rest of the world.
But, to be able to have a thriving art business, you have to learn how to tap into your business mind as well.
There are a few important mindshifts that you have to make, if you want your art to support you. The most important one is this:
You have to treat your art business like a business.
To have a thriving art business, you must have three elements:
1 – Cash Flow
2 – Profit
3 – Growth
Once you embrace the fact that being an artist is being a business owner, you will make decisions that lead to cash flow and profit. And that’s when your business will grow.
CASH FLOW, PROFIT AND GROWTH
CASH FLOW: To keep the cash flowing, you have to keep selling your work, continuously.
Robert C. Jackson, an artist who has been very successful in his career, said this during his interview with Daniel DiGriz: “I need 30 sales a year.”
PROFIT: Profit is more important than how much you bring in. If you aren’t making a profit off of every single piece you sell, or from every day you give your time to someone else, you are not going to have a viable business.
Make sure that you charge your clients for every single thing; don’t “eat” any costs. Absorbing extra costs, like shipping, bank fees, extra services, etc. is what puts artists out of business.
GROWTH: To continue thriving, you have to grow your business. You have to keep expanding, reaching more people, gaining new collectors, earning more each year. If you’re not growing, you’re dying.
One way to grow is to take courses, join a mastermind and get comfortable discussing money and sales with other successful artists.
The interview I did with Daniel is one of my best yet. We went deep into subjects such as:
Finding your niche
How to price your art
Pricing for the High End
Earning Six Figures
Licensing art in non-conventional ways
Agreements with Galleries
And so much more. You can listen to the interview here. If you enjoy it, please leave a comment on the page. I would love to hear what you got out of it.
Thank you for reading and for being a part of my inner circle!
Maria xxoo
PS: I’m so happy to announce, m
y new book is here!
Titled ART, MONEY SUCCESS, it’s designed to be a Coach-in-a-Book and covers all that you need to lay the foundation for your business success as an artist.
Sign up to be on my launch list, and I’ll send you excerpts from the book – click here.
I truly believe that the strategies I share in this book will make a huge impact on your art business. It’s my life purpose!
