Are you ready to take your art business to the next level, but not sure how to do it?
Consider a simple switch in mindset. It can be tough balancing day-to-day tasks with business planning. It is natural to focus most of your time on the details of your business, leaving little time to think strategically. Instead of just “running” a business’, think of yourself as the CEO of your art enterprise. It could give you the boost you need to take things to the next level.
Here are three ideas on how to do this.
Look forward with an eye to the past.
Make educated guesses about where your business needs to go. Review sales on a quarterly basis. Note where they are coming from, which pieces are selling, and where are your expenses coming from. Once you have a track record, you can see how you are doing against past projections and use the information to make better decisions about both short and long-term plans for your art business.
Track the important.
Decide what information you should keep track of on a regular basis. For example, if your goal is that the bulk of your sales are made at art festivals then you should keep track of all of the events that you might want to attend, along with important deadlines for those shows. You’ll also want to keep track of your sales, what is selling and who is buying, at each show and finally net sales for the event. This tracking will allow you to make smart decisions in the future about which shows to attend and how to present yourself at these shows. Ask yourself questions about what it is that is important in your business, and make sure that you are covering these bases.
Continuously develop your work.
While you should be focusing on a consistent body of work that is appealing to your collector base, you don’t want to stagnate. Be looking ahead to the next phase or version of your work. Take classes and look at what other artists are doing to get the creative juices flowing.
Commit to working on these three objectives on a regular basis. Block the time on your calendar to do it. Time invested working at a higher level will lead to decisions and opportunities that create long-term success.
Question: Do you have any other ideas of how you can shift your mindset in your art business? Leave a comment below.
