The Real Life of a Creative Entrepreneur: 4 Helpful Resources
People always give me that same dreamy look when I tell them that I work as an Artist. They must imagine me blissfully painting my days away, living my dream, doing what I love.
The truth of the matter is, I probably only get to paint 10% of my time. The other 90% of my time is spent working on selling the 10% I paint. See, most people still aren't convinced that they need Visual Art as much as they need Music. Or the Internet. Or food. Okay, maybe everyone isn't as passionate about art as I am. The point is, for anyone who chooses to take a chance and become self-employed, there is a whole lot of not-so-fun jobs that all fall on the shoulders of you. Add to the mix children, spouses, and mortgages and you have a lot of pressure...making it seem foolish to try to work as an artist.
1. Artists Helping Artists My absolute favorite resource for creative entrepreneurs is the Artists Helping Artists Podcast (its on BlogTalk Radio) with Leslie Saeta. Every show inspires my business-minded self to keep my artsy self in line with success. Leslie knows a lot about marketing for artists, so you will find plenty of information about topics like increasing art sales, using online marketing tools, doing live art demos, and running a successful workshop. This is definitely the show for the creative entrepreneur who is serious about making a living from their art.
You can find the AHA Blog Talk Radio Show here: www.blogtalkradio.com/artistshelpingartists
Here is the AHA Podcast of Archived BlogTalk Radio Shows in ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/artists-helping-artists-selling/id383323608?mt=2
And here's a link to the AHA Blog: http://artistshelpingartistsblog.blogspot.com/
My second choice for ultimate success is the Clean Mama Work at Home Organization Kit. To be successful, you must "BE ORGANIZED". This is very essential if you want to make a living from selling your art. A favorite resource for me is Clean Mama Printables. This system is simple, you order it online and print everything at home. Every chart is geared toward visually-minded artists like myself, with plenty of color-coordinated and well-organized bookkeeping pages. The main reason I bought the system was for the wonderful Inventory and Supply Lists, plus the Time Tracker and Planner help me carry out my To-Do List effortlessly.
Check out the Work-At-Home Organization Kit here: www.etsy.com/listing/88341965/the-2014-work-home-kit-28-documents
If you co-habitate with children, spouses, and others, you must make sure that THEY are organized. A great program I use for my family is The Job Jar, a fabulous chore system for all ages that really works. Since implicating this system, my kids love to clean and help, and believe me that's saying something! It basically trains your children to want to help around the house by rewarding points for jobs done, with varying chores for different ages. Oh, and it works on spouses too :)
Get the Job Jar here: www.etsy.com/listing/165963490/the-job-jar-household-chore-system-pdf
4. Etsy Success
Being an Etsy Seller, my obvious choice for creative business success is the Etsy Success newsletter/blog. You can sign up for Etsy and their Etsy Success newsletter for free. They have archived posts about everything from how to take great product photos to pricing your work to running a successful online shop. I love how they encourage people to do what they love and "quit their day job."
Speaking of Etsy, here's where all my hard work goes: www.etsy.com/shop/CarrieAnneWoods
In the end, you must be passionate enough about what you do that you are willing to put 90% of your efforts into the grudge work it takes to get paid doing what you love only 10% of the time. This is what makes a successful person, the perseverance to carry on when it seems too difficult. In the end, the person who ends up on top is the one who keeps going when others give up. And I've heard over and over again that hard work does pay off, and that eventually you reach a point where you are able to do more of what you love with less effort.
YOU ARE A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST!
Remember:
Believe in yourself and your art!
Keep going no matter what, because the world needs more passionate people!
And share this wonderful advice below with all of the non-artists out there:
Wishing you all shining success!
Carrie Anne Woods, artist and creative entrepreneur
