by Rebecca Sciullo | Sep 21, 2018 | Learning, Planning, Productivity
Stick to it!
Consistency is essential to success with your art business. But, a regular routine of studio time and business activity is not always an easy thing to maintain.
You start the week with the best intentions—to spend time in the studio, market your work, and make good choices about how you use your time. Then life happens. The dog is sick. School is canceled for the day. There could be a hundred other things that can get you off track. Before you know it, your plan is in trouble and your goals for the week aren’t looking very doable. Something has to give. Often, “what gives” is that plans for your business that week don’t happen.
So how do you change this pattern? Here are three tips for building consistency.
1 Build momentum one step at a time.
It’s never easy to change old habits or start new routines. The key to long-term consistency is building momentum. The hardest part is always getting things started. But once you’re moving, staying in motion and picking up speed becomes a lot easier. There are a lot of ways you can gradually build momentum as you work. Start with something that’s easy to complete and build from there. For example, set a goal of one social media post a day for your work. Then increase it to a post on two platforms each day. The simple act of setting a small amount of time aside time for this every day and sticking to it is enough to start building the habit.
2 Find an accountability partner.
Find a friend or family member whose judgment and opinion you respect. Each time you find yourself thinking about not sticking to your plan, write down the reason. Share this with your accountability partner and get an honest opinion about whether the reason is justifiable or just an excuse.
3 Always have a plan B.
Life is unpredictable. You need to have plan B ready—even before you actually need it. Plan B helps you to stay consistent with your goals when your regular routine doesn’t work out as planned. Surprises won’t throw you off track if you plan ahead. For example, make a short list of three specific marketing tasks for the week. Then, when you do get even a small amount of time, you can get right to business, rather than sit and think about what you need to do. Or, have your studio set up and ready to go as best as you can, so that when you get a moment to work, you ready. Put a little time into identifying the most common problems that disrupt your routine, and plan (in advance) what you can do to handle these problems without sacrificing your art business goals.
Being consistent does not mean being perfect.
There are days or weeks when it just might not work out how you planned. But, being mindful of how you can handle disruptions in your schedule will help you to stay more consistent in your business.
I hope these ideas help you overcome obstacles that crop up in your art business.
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Photo by Antonio Francisco on Unsplash
by Rebecca Sciullo | Sep 10, 2018 | Learning, Planning
Don’t Miss a Connection at Your Next Event
When attending an art festival, I enjoy watching the exhibitors interact with their visitors. I’m always a little bit curious as to why there are always a few artists who don’t seem interested in engaging with the attendees. Many creative marketing efforts focus heavily on social media, blogs, and other online promotion. But even in a world where relationships often begin online, face time with prospective collectors is the easiest way to make a connection. Exhibiting at an arts festival or having an art show or open studio is a great way to do this.
It might not seem realistic to connect with every single visitor. Some attendees will be people simply out for a day’s outing with no real interest in purchasing art. Others may be legitimate collectors who don’t consider your work a fit for what they want. And, some people do prefer to simply browse or look at work without having you on top of them while they are looking at your work. Does this mean that you should stay far away from them or avoid them? It never hurts to make a connection with a visitor, regardless of their motivations. Even if they aren’t interested in your work at the moment, the interaction could lead to an opportunity in the future.
A good practice is to plan in advance to connect with as many individual guests as possible. Here are some ways to make valuable connections at your next art event.
Provide a way for visitors to give you their contact information.
Encourage people to sign your guestbook and give contact information so that you can stay in touch. Try holding a drawing for a small piece of art for those who have provided their information to you to encourage participation. Select a winner after the event is over and announce it on social media. Encourage anyone who entered to look on social media to find the results. You will still have the person’s contact information to follow-up, in case they don’t visit your profile online, but you will likely get more visitors to your account as well.
Strive to create a natural conversation.
Instead of bombarding people with information, make it easy for them to interact with you. One trick is to sit on a stool rather than in a chair. It won’t seem like your standing over them as they browse. And, when they are ready to talk, you will be at eye level. It won’t be awkward for them to have to ask you to stand up or lean down to you every time they have a question.
Can you display a piece that elicits conversation among the audience? At one event this summer, I observed a ceramic artist using a unique display of functional art to do this. The piece was displayed at the front of the booth. Another customer saw me looking at it and explained that she bought one last year and loved it. Other people were chiming in and admiring the work as well. The artist did not have to say one word as the customers were selling themselves on her work.
Prepare in advance to speak about your art.
Preparing your artist statement is a great way to do this. Small talk is fine, but it’s even better if you can have a discussion that will help someone connect to your work. Writing in advance about your work will give you the natural ability to converse about it with viewers.
Be mindful of different personalities.
Pay attention and gauge the interest level of the visitor. This will give you clues as to how to proceed with them. Do they seem open to discussion or do they appear to want to keep to themselves? Body language cues and eye contact can help you to figure out how to proceed. And, most people don’t want to be sold to, so make sure that you are asking questions rather than just promoting your work.
Take notes.
If you have a particularly engaging conversation with someone, make note of it after they leave the booth. If they contact you after the show, you will remember the discussion and be better prepared to serve them. Or, better yet, when you follow-up with them, you can personalize your note with a reference to your conversation.
After the event.
Take some time to review your notes. Update your contact management system with any new customers. What worked well for you at the event? How can you improve for next time? Use your notes to send thoughtful follow-up emails or hand-written notes to people who purchased or spent time with you in your booth.
Use these ideas as you prepare for your next event and get ready to make some solid connections.
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by Rebecca Sciullo | May 7, 2018 | Consultations, Learning, Planning, Productivity
The Halfway Point
Can you believe 2018 is almost halfway over? For me, this is the time of year where things sometimes get a little off track and I take time to revisit and regroup with my business plan. If you are finding the same, here are three areas to review in order to get your art business plan back on track.
Three Areas To Review in Your Art Business Plan
Review year to date progress. How have your sales been so far? How is your studio time going? Have you sent out your newsletter on a regular basis? Is there some other goal or benchmark that you set for yourself that you can review? Don’t sweat what you did not get done. Rather, make a list of the positive things that you accomplished so far this year.
Review your daily activity.
How have you been spending your days? Are you following a set list of regular actions that you need to be taking in your business? Is something that you wanted to do every day not getting done, and if so, can you figure out why? By taking a look at what you are and aren’t doing on a daily basis, it will help you to make appropriate adjustments to your plan or schedule.
What does your calendar look like? Are you blocking out time on a monthly and weekly basis for your business? I recommend artists block out specific time for studio work and then specific time for business and marketing activity. Block out time on your calendar for these activities and then stick to your schedule. Don’t let anything get in the way of these preset appointments with yourself.
Going through this process is a great way to be accountable to yourself and get back on track if necessary. Or, it can give you a boost of motivation to power through the second half of the year.
If you’d like to get more news and information from me on a regular basis, sign up for my Create! Sell! Newsletter here.
Photo by Jazmin Quaynor on Unsplash
by Rebecca Sciullo | Nov 13, 2017 | Consultations, Planning, Resources, Tools, Uncategorized
I love nothing better than working with artists who are eager to grow their businesses. If this sounds like you, we need to connect!
Also, I am excited to announce some enhancements to my Personal Consulting Package. The package still includes a review of your art business along with a written plan of recommended actions to take. I’ve added a follow-up component, including weekly email and monthly phone calls for three consecutive months after your consultation. I decided to add this component after “piloting” it with a recent client. She felt that the weekly check-ins were a big part of her being able to push her business forward, so I’ve decided this needs to be a part of the package.
Additionally, any lessons or programs that are included in my Sell Your Art program will be provided to you at no charge. Some of these tools include:
Finding Your Vision Lesson and Worksheet
Writing Your Artist Statement and Bio – Lesson and Worksheet
Sell Your Art Overview Video Presentation
Managing Your Contacts Tool
Managing Your Prospects Tool
The Personal Artist Consulting Package including all of the follow-up calls/emails and tools is $300.
I am currently scheduling consultations for January. There is a limited number of artists I can work with so I encourage you to commit now to doing this for your business in 2018.
by Rebecca Sciullo | May 22, 2017 | Planning
Are you thinking of starting an art business? If you’ve been working at a creative practice and think you want to turn it into a business, some of the following thoughts may have crossed your mind:
- Am I ready to sell my work?
- Is my work good enough to sell?
- Do I have time to start a business?
- Where do I start?
Or, maybe you are selling your work, but you can’t seem to get traction with your business, and you’re wondering what it is that you are missing.
A visual art business can be an exciting and rewarding way to earn income, but only if you have laid a good foundation for your business and prepared for the work that needs to be done. There is rarely a perfect time to start a business, but there are some signs that are good indicators of whether or not you are ready.
If this topic interests you, get ready for a series of posts going over the different signs that you might be ready to start an art business.
To get things started, Sign #1 is that you have a vision for your art business.
If you have a clear picture of what your successful art business will look like, this is a great start that you might be ready. Having a vision of where you want to go with your business allows you to map out a clear path to achieve it.
If you think you want to sell your work, but you’ve never really thought about what your art business would actually look like, take some time to think about it.
Some questions to ask yourself might be…
What would a successful work day look like for me when I’m running my art business?
How will I be selling my work? Who is purchasing it?
Where am I working? What does my studio look like?
Take some time to create your detailed vision of success. Once you have a clear vision, write it down and refer to it often as you work towards your professional goals.
Stay tuned to this blog or sign up for my free e-newsletter to continue to get information regarding the signs that you might be ready to start your art business.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Mar 6, 2017 | Planning, Resources, Uncategorized
Does your business plan including selling at art fairs and festivals?
If so, you need to join the online community at Art Fair Insiders. Art Fair Insiders serves art fair artists.
Within this site, you will find reviews and tips for most major art shows around the country by artists who have participated in them. There are forums where you can exchange ideas, ask questions and find products for sale that you can use in your business.
If art fairs and festivals are your thing. Take some time to check it out.
Do you have another resource for art fairs and festivals that you’d like to share? Please let us know in the comments below.
Would you like to get more tips on building your art business? If so, please sign up for my free newsletter here.
Photo Credit: Copyright: serenethos / 123RF Stock Photo
