Can You Turn your Love of Art into a Business?
You have a love of art, of creating, and you are toying around with this idea in your head. It whispers to you occasionally and you brush it off, because it may be too scary of a thought. Could you possibly make a living off of your artwork? Could you turn this love of work into something viable, to help support yourself, and your loved ones? It’s a mind-altering thought when it first comes to you, and you don’t really know what to think about it. What if you try? You think of all the things that can go wrong.
Today, I want to share with you, the things that, in my opinion, are critical to have in place before you try to sell or market your artwork.
01.
Clarity
I think it is super important to get really clear on what your goal is by selling your work. Sure, an income is great. But if you are just coming out of the gate and chasing money, it will be entirely obvious to your friends, followers and potential customers. Why do you want to sell your art? What sets your art apart from the other artists? Are you wanting to sell originals only? Get into art licensing? Sell prints, which are more affordable? Work entirely on your own with your own site? Or work through third parties like Etsy, Society 6, etc. When you become clear on your goal, it will give direction in terms of where to go from the original idea to sell. With this clarity comes responsibility. You may reach a point where someone approaches you with an offer for your work. Does it fit in with your initial goal and clarity?
While it may seem counterintuitive to say “NO” to an opportunity- if it isn’t in line with your values and with your clear vision of your business, a NO is really a YES to staying in your lane and being true to yourself.
In the beginning stages of my career (and still I consider myself to be “in the beginning ” ) people would tell me- that if I toned down my colors I would make more money. The money was in the more neutral work. If I wanted to succeed I had to alter my work. I was asked to do work that really didn’t suit me. I loved color. I loved painting with brights. So I said no- to these Nay-sayers, and I stuck on my enthusiastically bright path. Has my work gotten more neutral over the years yes- but it has been due to a natural progression of personal growth and healing, and the brights are still present. So I have stayed true to my calling- To share bright and high vibe art with others. To offer art as a reminder of beauty, and a blessing to people’s days.
02.
Passion and Dedication
This may seem silly. It may seem like the most obvious statement. Of course, I have a passion for art, I love art. I paint often. When you go into business with your art, your art becomes very public. People will like or dislike what you are making. You may pitch your work and get a “No, sorry, we don’t think you are the right fit for our company/this opportunity.” (Hint: we all get these, it comes with the business)
There will be days when you don’t feel like painting- but you have a commission, or project due. You may have a sale that does A LOT better than you expected, and suddenly you are knee-deep in shipping and mailing, and you don’t want to stay up to get those packages out on time. Some parts of the business no matter how much passion you have, will not be your favourite. (Ahem— mine is bookkeeping)
You have to have enough passion for your art and for your business, and be aware of the not so flashy parts of the business. Make sure you are willing to take it all on.
Building a business won’t happen overnight. It very rarely does. You need to build relationships both in person and on social media. Social Media is a necessary beast. To be very honest, I find that social media can be so toxic to my healing and happiness- if I am not careful. Running a business these days, it is necessary to have some sort of an online presence, a website, an Instagram account, a Facebook Page. Somewhere where you can showcase your work and connect with other artists and potential customers. With social media, you need to be consistent.
Before I had my second little girl Aubrey in February of 2017 my custom bookings were coming in back to back. In fact, I shipped off a big custom order of 3 30” x 30” paintings the day my water broke. I worked right up until the day before I gave birth. My business was flourishing, and I couldn’t have been happier. I had Aubrey and continued to keep my business afloat, and my social media going. Then I got hit really badly with not only postpartum depression but I got the diagnosis of Chronic Lyme disease and Co-Infections. I started treatment and got really sick. I had to completely abandon my work and my social media and took stretches of time off social media. I TANKED my business. My commissions stopped, my opportunities stopped coming in, and I had no other option than to focus on my healing. Luckily, I had set up my art Licensing on several sites that continued to do well during this time. 2 years later, I am finally starting to REBUILD this business of mine. Starting to take back my social media, and brand. If I didn’t have the passion and the dedication to my art, and to sharing my art with others- that time in my life may have ended my career.
03.
a Plan
I think back to how my business kind of came out of nowhere. I wasn’t ready for it, and as a result, I did extra work that I wouldn’t have had to do if I had had a plan. In my opinion, it is advisable to set up your business, as a business before even venturing out into the world.
Have a logo, have some sort of shop set up. Get some business cards.
Choose a few colors that are meaningful to you, and create a small brand guide or vision board to help you find your niche and so you are consistent in your marketing and branding from the get-go. ( I did not do this and was ALL over the place )
Set up your expectations for pricing, and make sure that you are satisfied with the pricing and not selling yourself short. (Don’t forget all those years of practice, and establishing your artistic voice deserve to be paid) Be careful not to offer up “freebies” too often, or work with others who promise to promote your brand “for exposure” if only you paint them something for free. If you are going to do collaborations or offer services in return for marketing, have a document prepared and be sure you are satisfied with the terms and with the person’s values who is marketing your work. Stay true to your brand. If something doesn’t feel right- it likely isn’t.
Do some reading up on marketing, and make sure you know what you have to offer as a service to your customer. Your business voice and your business marketing should be about what problem/solution you solve that your ideal customer has. Ensure to plan out sales that make sense for your business, perhaps Shop Small Saturday, or a Christmas Discount. Discounting your work too often, can be detrimental to your sales- people will come to expect your work will be on sale often, and will never buy full price (which is- of course- where you make the most money) Remember that the more effective you are at building your customer base, and getting your name out there the more profitable you will become.
You need to ensure you are making an emotional connection with the people who you see as potential customers. They are more likely to pull the trigger and buy something if they are emotionally connected to you, your story, and the love you pour into your artwork. So share behind the scenes, share some of your story (at whatever level you are comfortable with) and show them the impact your business has on your life.
04.
Respect .and Patience
There are so many other business owners and artists on the web, doing their own thing. There are people who are making absorbent amounts of money from their passion, and eventually, that can also be you. It is important to remember that these artists/business owners also started from nothing. They put in the long hours and the hard work, and they are being rewarded for their hard work and dedication. We must respect the other artists and their work on the internet. Use images of your own, or paid stock images that you don’t need to give credit for. Do not use other peoples work without credit. (This can get you in hot water you do NOT want to be in) There will be inspiration all over the place, but try to experiment and work in bits and pieces of such inspiration and not directly try to replicate anyone else’s work. It takes time to find your own artistic style. Your style will evolve to over time, but respecting someone else and their work is so important.
I stress patience because- there are so many opportunities out there for artists. You can submit your work online to companies, magazines, galleries etc. However, I feel it is important to take these applications very seriously and wait until you have a great body of work that is well thought-out, and more importantly feels like a “cohesive body of you”
Don’t submit work that doesn’t feel quite right, don’t submit work too early, or hastily, because you want to make a good first impression.
When I applied to 2 of my partners I am with currently, it took me over 6 months from deciding to apply- to actually applying with the best assortment of work that I had. I put together the pieces I was the most proud of and make sure they were edited properly and well presented. I was accepted into a partnership with these 2 companies. Had I applied earlier and on whim, the results may have been different.
Slow and steady is the way to go. There are a lot of different ways to “cheat” at social media, and yes, outsourcing some of your business (like social media management, or photography) may become necessary as you grow in your business, but some of the “get rich easy” ways will actually hurt your brand. Everyone is trying to sell you courses, on how to manage social media, how to paint, how to make money from your art, how to win at Pinterest. Some of these courses are amazing ( I have enrolled in quite a few courses) however make sure that you are confident in the courses you are taking, and make sure when you buy them you actually have the time to commit to doing the work. (Some have an expiry date)
05.
Fun and rest
You. Must. Have. Fun. Make sure that you are having fun along the way- or the passion can fade. Don’t take yourself too seriously, and always look for the silver lining. If you get rejected from an application- so what! Move on, it wasn’t the opportunity that was meant for you. Get your paint brush (or whichever art tool you use) and get to making.
Make what truly makes you happy and paint for the love of it, not for the sale of it. When you truly paint/create with your heart in mind and not with sales in mind, you will be more successful.
Be smart along the way, treat your work like a business, but the actual art making process should be for you. For the love of it, for the fun of it. If you lose the fun, the passion will be obviously missing from your work and your work will become stale and unattractive. You will have times of creative drought but I think it important to embrace that as a part of the journey and not get discouraged. Take the time away when you need to. Don’t push it if it doesn’t feel right. Take the break, and you will get that pulling to come back to with when you are ready to dive in again. Try to stay as natural and as flow like as possible. Forcing things has never worked out in my favour. In giving my work space, I have ALWAYS been the most successful.
Lastly, and this may be the most important part, is just start.
Start sharing, start showing. Start bearing your why and your reason. Don’t listen to the inner critic and just take small steps at a time. Don’t rush it. You need to learn to love yourself, and believe in yourself in this journey. You need to be you. The world needs what you have to offer, and being that genuine person is critical in being successful.