Not intentionally, it's just that it's been a challenging year so far, one that's taken a lot of time and energy just trying to figure out how to stay standing up as the economy continues to crash down. So I've been spending a lot of time looking at ways to generate new income streams from my art, reviewing my whole marketing and business strategies and generally questioning my views on how to earn a living as an artist - all of which has given me plenty of material for future posts in An Artist's Business Guide. That's if I ever manage to give myself the time to write about them.
The good news is that after months of questioning everything, what becomes clear is that the simple guidelines I have always followed still apply, now more so than ever:
- Create work that people can connect with. Create your best work now.
- Have a business plan for the next 2 years
- Identify your markets and how you plan to reach them
- Create multiple opportunities for people to see your work (online and offline)
- Make it easy for people to connect with you (online and offline)
- Nurture your customers
- Think positively, don't get caught up in negative, moaning conversations!
- Continually review and revise your business plan
The last one, "continually review and revise your business plan" has to be the most important thing you can do in the current economic environment. It is what distinguishes us as professional artists, intent on earning a living from our art and willing to work at the business side of things in order to make that happen.
The business plan does not have to be some 20 page document that you hire an accountant to draw up for you, nor a one time project that you complete yourself at the start of your career and then leave at the bottom of a drawer in case you ever need to present it to your bank manager or arts administrator. It is something that is alive and constantly evolving. It can be scribbled on a single piece of paper or simply reside in your head, just as long as you keep it to the forefront of everything you do.
It should identify who you think your markets are (i.e. your customers) and how you plan to reach them. How much income you need to generate in a year and how much work you need to produce and sell to meet that target. It should identify different income streams that you can pursue from your art. And it should outline a clear online strategy showing how you plan to use your website and social media to help drive people to your work.
Your business plan should determine what you do in a given year. And when you hit an unexpected bump in the road, then that's the time to re-evaluate where you are and plot a new course.
So let's jump back to the start of the year and see how it can be put into practice. I had a solo exhibition in Dublin in March which by most people's measure was a great success. It generated a real buzz, got some great press, introduced my work to a new audience and sold well (14 pieces). But the value of sales (ie what I got!) fell short of what I had planned for. Two reasons for that - my expectations were too high based on the sales from my solo show the previous year, and the larger pieces proved harder to sell than in previous years meaning that the work that did sell was of a lower sales value. With gallery commission and the cost of frames and materials taken out it left a bit of a hole in my bank balance! The other stark reality that came home was that the recession was hitting all levels of the the art world and was really going to play a big part in the success or otherwise of the rest of the year. So what to do?
After a couple of days of quiet panic I sat down with a coffee, a pen and a piece of paper and began to rethink my business plan for the year. How as I going to make up for lost income and just as importantly compensate for what I expect will be a tough year overall? First I started to list out everything I could think of that I had in my favour as an artist (a very important exercise as it helps to build some self confidence).
The business plan does not have to be some 20 page document that you hire an accountant to draw up for you, nor a one time project that you complete yourself at the start of your career and then leave at the bottom of a drawer in case you ever need to present it to your bank manager or arts administrator. It is something that is alive and constantly evolving. It can be scribbled on a single piece of paper or simply reside in your head, just as long as you keep it to the forefront of everything you do.
It should identify who you think your markets are (i.e. your customers) and how you plan to reach them. How much income you need to generate in a year and how much work you need to produce and sell to meet that target. It should identify different income streams that you can pursue from your art. And it should outline a clear online strategy showing how you plan to use your website and social media to help drive people to your work.
Your business plan should determine what you do in a given year. And when you hit an unexpected bump in the road, then that's the time to re-evaluate where you are and plot a new course.
So let's jump back to the start of the year and see how it can be put into practice. I had a solo exhibition in Dublin in March which by most people's measure was a great success. It generated a real buzz, got some great press, introduced my work to a new audience and sold well (14 pieces). But the value of sales (ie what I got!) fell short of what I had planned for. Two reasons for that - my expectations were too high based on the sales from my solo show the previous year, and the larger pieces proved harder to sell than in previous years meaning that the work that did sell was of a lower sales value. With gallery commission and the cost of frames and materials taken out it left a bit of a hole in my bank balance! The other stark reality that came home was that the recession was hitting all levels of the the art world and was really going to play a big part in the success or otherwise of the rest of the year. So what to do?
After a couple of days of quiet panic I sat down with a coffee, a pen and a piece of paper and began to rethink my business plan for the year. How as I going to make up for lost income and just as importantly compensate for what I expect will be a tough year overall? First I started to list out everything I could think of that I had in my favour as an artist (a very important exercise as it helps to build some self confidence).
- People still like my work (thankfully!), it continues to attract new admirers
- People that could afford to were still investing in it, others would love to but maybe not now because of the recession.
- Over the years I had built up an archive of images of my most popular paintings. Maybe I could utilise these better?
- I had developed a strong online presence with my website and Blog. The visitor figures to my website continue to increase each year and continued to show a high proportion of visits coming from overseas (US, UK, Australia and Europe).
- I had set up Facebook and Twitter accounts but hadn't figured out quite how to get the most out of them.
- My painting workshops, although small in size, were proving popular and attracting repeat participants
- There was still a market for my work, people still wanted to invest in it but were being much more cautious about buying.
- I could probably anticipate the same level of sales activity for the rest of the year through my other galleries and the art fairs - so I would have to compensate for that in my plan
- Price was important, with small to medium paintings (€500 - €1200) proving most popular
- Most people were still requesting discounts (a sign of the times)
- A lot of people expressing interest in attending my painting workshops
- A lot of interest coming via my website and the Youtube video that I had created for the exhibition.
Then I made some key assumptions:
- People still want to invest in my work, but pricing of paintings has become more critical than ever
- Focus on small to medium sized work (but not exclusively, there will always be a demand for larger work, just not as strong at the moment)
- I may need to find some more outlets for my work - galleries/art fairs
- The Irish art market is becoming more and more challinging due to the austerity measures being introduced by the government. So focus on developing overseas markets - ie selling more work to UK and US collectors.
- My archive of images could be used to develop different income streams.
- My web presence, even though it is well received, needs a complete review a to make sure I'm getting the most from it.
- The painting workshops should not be overly affected by the recession and are attracting strong interest based on the online booking to date.
With all of this in mind I drew up a new plan for the year, a list of objectives to be followed through on over the next couple of months;
- Research new galleries and fairs, both in Ireland and overseas
- Concentrate my new paintings on small to medium sizes and make sure the larger ones are real show stoppers!
- Produce a range of Art Greeting Cards, using some of the most popular images from my archive.
- Introduce some new Limited Edition Giclee prints specifically for selling online into the US market.
- Spend time developing my online presence and learning how to get the most from it
- Develop and grow my annual series of summer painting workshops on Achill Island
Oh, and design a smartphone App for the iPhone.
All in all a pretty hefty amount of work you might think. And so it was :) Some of it proved successful, some of it just didn't work. Some of it will only tell with time. But I'm feeling a little more confident now coming into the busiest time of the year for me - with some big Art Fairs and shows coming up. Hopefully the new additions to the "product range" - the Art Cards, new prints, the altered balance between Small, Medium and Large paintings, the improved online strategy - will all help to secure the levels of income I have planned for. Each item of the new plan deserves a blog post of it's own and that's what I hope to do over the next few months, so stay with me as I try to write it all up.
In the meantime consider your own "business plan" for the year and whether it needs some rethinking or tweeking. Staying afloat as an artist in a recession such as the one we are in is a pretty big challenge for anyone and requires constant monitoring and revision of your own plans for the year. But sure what else would you rather be doing?
All in all a pretty hefty amount of work you might think. And so it was :) Some of it proved successful, some of it just didn't work. Some of it will only tell with time. But I'm feeling a little more confident now coming into the busiest time of the year for me - with some big Art Fairs and shows coming up. Hopefully the new additions to the "product range" - the Art Cards, new prints, the altered balance between Small, Medium and Large paintings, the improved online strategy - will all help to secure the levels of income I have planned for. Each item of the new plan deserves a blog post of it's own and that's what I hope to do over the next few months, so stay with me as I try to write it all up.
In the meantime consider your own "business plan" for the year and whether it needs some rethinking or tweeking. Staying afloat as an artist in a recession such as the one we are in is a pretty big challenge for anyone and requires constant monitoring and revision of your own plans for the year. But sure what else would you rather be doing?
This post contains a wealth of information, Padraig. I am bookmarking it for future reference, I loved your YouTube presentation!
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a great post..well worth waiting for !
ReplyDelete