|
This week I went to artist’s heaven: hundreds of colours, pencils, pastels, ink, papers, brushes,.... I found so much new inspiring awesomeness, I wanted to paint right away. Together with a fellow artist we had a wonderful morning shopping art supplies at Harolds Rotterdam. In the end the bill summed up. The voice in my head (the one I introduced earlier) showed up and started whispering about money. That reminded me of the one thing that struggles me a lot: how to make money from my passion? Prices, selling, income, money, economics, marketing, strategy. It's the business part. I haven't even mention this part of my journey in my earlier blogposts. You know why? For me it's the most difficult part, the one I'm the most scared of. And the most unexperienced. If I could, I would skip it, totally. If money for my art would just magically fly in, I could just lay back - lazy and happy. I am not in an entrepreneurial mood. Until now. This has to change. And it will (fingers crossed).  So I decided I will dive into my fears and be friends with the business part. Again the internet was a helpful friend. I read a lot about business plans and there are very few but interesting options for creatives.
I'm a big fan of podcasts and I really liked these ones. If you are interested in selling (any kind of) creative stuff online, check them out: Melissa Dinwiddie has another great podcast with fantastic inspiration about how to live a creative life on a day to day basis and inspires to check out different business options. But next to usable tips she also motivates to forget the business part for an hour or two and just start playing with paint - and I am grateful for a little distraction :) I also had fun reading this short eBook from another artist about art marketing. When a friend asked me why I don't just start with painting and try to sell it and if a plan is really needed, I stopped my business plan mania for a second. It's a good question. I asked it myself, too and hoped I could find a way to avoid the confrontation with hard numbers, with reality. But would it be a good idea to just start without a plan when you want to, let's say, build a house or if you want to open a new shop without a strategy and clients? The quite radical artist and business woman Ann Rea is pretty clear about it: you need a plan and take it serious. She is a sales person (something I am normally allergic to), but when she comes to the point, she offers extremely helpful information. And she is radical and helps to shift the mindset. One of her favorite statements is "selling art sucks." Especially without a plan. And she is totally right, it is important to know the essentials to make money from your passion, to know your why, what, how and who of your passionate plans before you step out in the world and hope everything just magically happens. So let's start talking business! Hugs and kisses, Lisa
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |