Help 100 artists build businesses that support the lifestyle they want.

That’s my Big Audacious Goal. Everybody needs one.

How did this come to be my B.A.G.?

A month ago I was sitting with some friends on a beautiful Portland roof top. These friends are the people that I meet with every two weeks to discuss business. They’re my mastermind group. (Since I’m a secret evil genius, I must have a mastermind group, yes? I digress).

My friends all have Big Plans to achieve their Big Audacious Goals. They encourage me to dream big.

When I started The Abundant Artist, it was simply to explore the idea of the Starving Artist – and sometimes share my marketing knowledge with my fellow artists – but then people started coming out of the woodwork, emailing me or calling me and asking for advice on selling art online. I decided I’d roll with it and see how many artists I could help. It’s been fun.

Now, I’ve made some mistakes along the way. I’m an action-oriented guy and I’ve gotten a little too big for my britches now and again, but all-in-all, I’d say that I’m having a blast and that things are looking up.

But now my Big Audacious Goal is tripping me out.

I’ve given myself three years to achieve it.

Help 100 artists build businesses that support the lifestyle they want.

So, in my mind, this mostly means artists are receiving their primary source of income from their art, and they don’t have to work a day job or complimentary career unless they want to.

But it could mean other stuff too.

It could mean artists who are already making their primary living from their art make the transition to a better-managed business.

It could mean artists employing other people, creating jobs and fulfillment in other ways.

It could mean artists moving from making art they don’t care about because they have to make a living, to making art that inspires them, and still making a good living.

Why Am I Doing This?

I like challenges, but that’s not really why. I’m doing it because of what it says in my beautiful graphical header above – The Starving Artist is A Myth. There are lots of artists making a great living, but far too many who are not, and I want to change that. Perhaps it’s because I’m an artist myself and somewhere I still battle that demon deep inside. Mostly, I just want to make a difference, and this is an area where I feel I can do that.

That’s why I’m starting The Abundant Artist Community. It opens next week.

What’s Your Big Audacious Goal?

Great question Ellen. This is a screen shot from the How to Sell Art Online Facebook Community Page.

It’s one that artists of all stripes wonder. There are thousands of jewelry makers around the world who sell hundreds of thousands of pieces online. How can you get anyone’s attention?

Making Art Stand Out Is A Process

In January of this year I wrote a blog post called Your Art: An Opiate to the Masses. In that post I talked about how you you can make your art stand out. I’ll break it down for you here in a succinct way.

Define your target audience or collector. No matter how great you are, your jewelry will never be loved by everyone. Who really likes your stuff? Who do you know that has said, “wow, I really love your necklace/painting/song?” Of all the people who’ve said this to you, what do they have in common? How old are they, what are their interests, approximate income?

Define what makes you unique. Even if you consider yourself just another jewelry maker, chances are that your work is unique in some way. Perhaps you make jewelry out of recycled glass? Maybe you really like to make customized pieces? Combine that with the unique things about your target market.

Sell to your audience. Don’t worry about standing out for everyone who sees you. Once you know who you’re trying to reach and what makes you unique, just put yourself in the places where those people hang out. Display your work on Etsy, Amazon, and the other places to sell art online that are out there, but then start visiting niche blogs that your target audience is reading. Find a way to get your art featured there.

Build a List. This is crucially important, and too many artists miss this. Once you start getting attention you need a way to keep their attention. Sign up for an email list management service like Mailchimp.com, and then put up a signup form on your website. Put on your website that you offer special offers to your mailing list and let people sign up for it. Most of your sales will come from your mailing list.

From there you can try lots of interesting things like Facebook advertising for art, Google Adwords, video and other targeted forms of marketing – but first you need to identify what makes you different.

image by Elaine with Grey Cats

Yesterday I was having a great time at my mastermind meeting discussing future goals. As we were sharing with each other our goals for the next few months, I had the realization that these people were functioning at a whole-brain level. Everyone in my group is an artist of some sort. Musician, actor, dancer, photographer and more – we are all artists who have a passion for succeeding in business as well as in our art.

I’ve come to believe that artists aren’t necessarily well served by just learning how to turn their art into a business.

Art is More Than A Job

There’s a lot of negative reinforcement towards artists. I remember in college when someone asked me what my major was and I responded, “Theatre.” The first follow-up question was, “So, which restaurant are you going to wait tables at?” I shouldn’t have been offended, but I was.

Another one of my friends tells me that when she tells people that she’s going to Art School, they make fun of her ‘easy’ major. Last semester she spent dozens of hours on a single sketchbook that was her final for one class.

On top of that, people argue about the value of art, while at the same time unconsciously paying huge sums of money for work by renowned artists in their consumer products.

There’s a disconnect in the conscious appreciation of art in every day life. It seems that the general population places the most value on art when it’s disguised as something else – something that has more practical uses. Art disguised as non-art.

Then it becomes apparent that if those around us value art when it’s disguised as something practical, then perhaps artists have an opportunity to make practical art.

What does practical art mean?

Turning the mundane into something transcendent. Isn’t that what Art is really all about? We create something out of rather mundane tools: brushes, pigments, a hand, a voice, a step, a look. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.

In a study release by the University of Michigan, fully 58% of Americans said that they think often about the meaning of life. In an age of unprecedented abundance, there is more opportunity for Art than there has been – perhaps ever. Even considering that we are in the midst of a terrible recession, there is a tremendous amount of wealth in the world. Even those in the USA who are having a hard time aren’t starving like people were 100 years ago. In spite of this new abundance and wealth, there is a dearth of spiritual awakening.

Robert William Fogel, a Nobel-prize winning economist, said, “Spiritual (or immaterial) inequity is now as great a problem as material inequity, perhaps even greater.” As a race, we are looking for meaning. Our spirits are longing to be filled.

As artists, how can we fill that need? I do believe that it is our calling to fill that need, for what else can fill it? Religion offers hope of salvation and comfort in this life, but even though I am devout, I find that my day to day life is enhanced immeasurably by being surrounded by beauty and meaning.

How do we, as artists, create that beauty and meaning? It might not be in the way that you think you should.

As artists, we tend to think that if we just create the best painting, the best play, the best movie, the best sculpture that we know how to create, then we will reach people, really affect change. I think doing that work is good. It provides meaning for us – but it doesn’t always provide meaning for the non-artist. Without context and hours of Art history study, a regular person will  never comprehend the Abstract movement. Jackson Pollock’s genius is lost on the masses – and that’s not necessarily their fault.

Creating meaning may be very different than we think. And it may be easier than we think.

Make Art Out of Life

Where do most people spend most of their time? Usually at work. 8+ hours per day, 5 days per week. Unfortunately for many, this work is drab and unexciting. As an artist, can you turn that work into a piece of art?

Can we, with our unique abilities and insights, turn the mundane office cubicle into a piece of art that a person can live in and actually increase happiness AND productivity?

We know that children learn how to interact with the world by playing. My wife was babysitting our friend’s daughter and she wanted to play house. Come home. Kiss the dolly. Make dinner. Clean the kitchen. Clean the bedroom. Hours go by and she was entertained.

Can we turn a boring class or job into something that is akin to play?

Why hasn’t Wal-Mart crushed Target yet? They both sell household goods. Stuff that we need for our day-to-day lives. Part of that answer lies in the fact that Target signed deals to get the best designers to make their stuff. You can buy designer toilet brushes at Target. Housewives everywhere rejoice in the fact that every aspect of their home can be something that looks nice and is functional.

Can we create every day objects that are beautifully functional?

An artist who wants to live an abundant life has a few options. They can turn the creation and manufacture of their original works of art into a business and become good at marketing. They can hire an agent and a manager to grow their business for them. They can also create a side-business that relates to other skills that they have which generates income to support their art.

I think, for me, I’d like a combination of those choices, where I have a business that takes the core principles of what I know how to do as an artist and teaches others how to learn and implement those skills.

What do you think? Do you have any interest in creating Art in other areas besides a traditional artistic medium?

Are you thinking of building a new artist website? Do you need a checklist of some sort?

Artist Website Checklist

Feel free to download, use, and share it with others. I use checklists like these whenever I’m working on my own site or working on a site for a client.

The Artist Website Checklist

Hosting, CMS, keyword research, good design, email list opt-in form, social media icons, social bookmarking, an integrated blog, rss, video & audio, personality, credibility, and a shopping cart. Brief explanations follow each one.

Do me a favor and share this list on Facebook and Twitter.

Marketing Makes You A Sleazeball. Sure, if you’re like the guy in this picture, then you probably are a sleazeball, but my guess is that you are an honest, friendly, talented artist who just wants to share their work with the world. Don’t lie, don’t cheat, and don’t bait & switch, and most people will just see you for who you are – an artist making a living.

I Shouldn’t Share My Images Online. This is probably the one myth that hurts artists the most. Getting the most exposure for your work you can get is important.You get people seeing your stuff, which makes them talk about it with their friends. That’s the basis of the success of sites like Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. Online showings are the most important thing artists should be doing online.

People Don’t Buy Originals Online. If you don’t offer, you’ll never know, right? I’ve spoken to dozens of artists and online gallery owners over the last year who have sold pieces in the $500, $1000 and $2000 range for an original, with the buyer never having seen it in real life before.

Selling Art Cheapens Its Value. Funny thing about art – the more it gets sold, the more valuable it is. Every time a piece of art goes on auction, the person selling it is looking to make a profit. Every time it goes on auction, a piece’s merits are discussed and reassessed. I’d say that means the more you sell your art, the more value it can acquire.

Heat Exchange by Mark Yearwood

Selling Prints Cheapens the Value of the Original. I can’t even begin to imagine the number of prints that have been sold of Jackson Pollock or Vincent Van Gogh. Selling giclees won’t lower the value of the original – that’s tied to the name and reputation of the artist. Whether selling prints lowers the artistic value – that’s up to each individual artist (personally, I think it’s like a musician selling recordings of their music).

If You Make It, They Will Come. You can make the most exquisite sculpture. You can be the greatest singer in the world. You could have the capacity to make people weep with a single glance. If no one sees it, no one will ever know. You have to let people know what you do. People buy things because they know about it and it provides value to them. Your art is valuable, so just make sure you’re competing for their attention.

Money is Evil. Pretty hard to bust this myth if it’s something you believe, but I’ll try. How much art could you be making if you didn’t have to worry about money? What kind of art would you be making if you didn’t have to worry about money? Yeah, sit and think about that one for a while. Now, how much money do you need to have to meet your wants? How much time are you willing to give to make that kind of money? Figure out the hours there and you’re on your way to figuring out how much you need to charge for your art.

It’s Hard to Sell Art. Nah. All you have to do is find the people who like your work and then offer it to them at the right price. It’s that simple. It really is. If anyone wants to challenge me on this, I’m up for it – try me!

Marketing isn’t Creative. This is my favorite myth, because to paraphrase John Kraft, once you understand the basics of how marketing works, it’s actually pretty fun. Making connections with people, providing something of value to them, and interacting with people who like your work is actually a lot of fun! Plus, there are as many ways to find people to buy your work as there are ways to make your work. It’s a creative exercise all on its own.

Recently a conversation with Jason VanOrden and a blog post by Mark McGuiness made me reflect on my own interests.

Sometimes I’m motivated by a desire to help other artists. Sometimes I’m motivated by how fun something looks or sounds. I’m also motivated by not wanting to be bored. I learn things quickly and tire of them easily. I’m always looking for a new challenge.

Mostly, though, I’m motivated by not wanting to be poor.

Growing Up Poor Sucks

I grew up poor, (but let’s be honest – I mean poor in the American Trailer Park White Trash kind of way, not in the starving to death 3rd world way) and that colored a lot of how I act in life.

I used to feel like everyone had it better than me. They had brand-name clothes, fancy hair, and cool cars. I shopped at Wal-Mart and got my hair done at Supercuts. I had a big chip on my shoulder too. I wanted to prove to everyone that even though I wasn’t as wealthy, I was still as smart, funny, and gosh-darn-good as the rest of them.

The problem is, when you’re competing against people who don’t know they’re competing against you, all you do is become narcissistic and egotistical. I ended up having a lot of shallow friendships in high school. A few really good friends, but I was the guy who flitted from one friendship to the other without establishing a lot of deeper meaning. Everyone called me a social butterfly.

Then came graduation and I left for two years to serve as a full-time volunteer missionary for my church. I worked with the Chinese community in Vancouver, British Columbia. I had to work at various labor jobs the Summer before I left to pay for my trip. I had previously worked as a roofer, as a short-order cook at franchise restaurant chain, and as a laborer at a book bindery. Not exactly inspiring work for someone who aspired to be an performer.

I served two wonderful years as a missionary. One of the best experiences of my life. I learned how to speak Mandarin Chinese, but I really learned how to serve people and how to work hard. I’m a relatively smart guy and things generally come pretty easy to me, but learning Chinese was just work. It was hard. I had to learn how to buckle down and actually study – something that I didn’t get from our public school system.

After returning home I attended college, all on my own dime (well, that and the student loans that I’m still paying off). I discovered what it really meant to be self-reliant.

I Learned How to Hustle.

I worked sales jobs in college. I sold cellphones and coupon books. I gave away gum at rock concerts. I drove a golf cart around campus putting up posters for the Student Union. I helped organize concerts, plays, and other events. After I learned a little about acting, I started teaching acting classes for kids. I worked my tail off just to get by.

Then I met Rick. Rick was in his 50’s, and he had been a serial entrepreneur for his whole life. My wife asked me the other day, “What’s a serial entrepreneur?” They’re not someone who starts up an off-brand breakfast meal (heh, I love dumb jokes). A serial entrepreneur is someone who builds a business, makes it profitable, and then sells that business to someone else. He’d done it a half-dozen times or more.

Rick totally blew my mind. He wasn’t scraping to get by. He wasn’t begging for scraps. He drove a fancy car, had a family, and unlike my memory of those jerky rich kids from high school, he was a really nice guy. He taught me a lot as I worked for him. Mostly he changed my perception of what it was to be a starving artist.

Being Hungry is a Choice

Artists lead a funny life. We purposefully choose to do something that is incredibly fulfilling and at the same time emotionally exhausting. The work of creation requires sacrifice, focus, and utter dedication. We can soar to the highest heights, and we can also descend to the deepest depths.

What we don’t have to sacrifice, however, is financial stability. We don’t have to hustle forever just to get by – instead, we can hustle for a while to build something bigger.

The thing about artists is that they really do have an advantage in business, on the Internet or otherwise. There’s something about already having the ability to create, to suffer for what you’re creating, that makes artists amazing entrepreneurs. I’ve seen it over and over again – artists who build things that are so awesome that they make my heart ache a little bit. Not just painting or performances, but also businesses that add real value to the world, that change not only the artist’s life, but also the lives of those around them.

For most artists all it takes is a little mentor. Rick was my mentor for a little while. He was a sharp guy and I learned a ton from him while working for him. I benefited from his experience and mistakes. He changed my attitude enough that I can honestly say that without him, there would be no TheAbundantArtist.com – I’d still be out there begging for scraps; hustling for dollars.

A mentor helped me out a ton. I’ve always hoped that I would be able to do that for other artists. That’s part of why I started TheAbundantArtist.com – I’m passionate about helping artists learn the skills they need to break their own poverty cycle.

I know, however, that I’m not the only mentor out there for artists. For some people, I’m probably not even the best. I’d recommend taking a look at Brian Clark, Mark McGuinness and their team over at Lateral Action. Yesterday they opened registration on their amazing creative Entrepreneur Course (affiliate link). Take a look at it and sign up for it if you want. If not, then find a mentor somewhere.

It’s worthwhile to build something that can take you places. You just have to learn how to do it. It’s made a huge difference in my life.

For the past year I’ve been working really hard on building my business so that I don’t have to work for anyone else. Later this month I start rehearsals for a play that I’m pretty excited about. I can go to rehearsals and not have to worry about working late – I’m my own boss now.

That’s an incredible feeling.

I’m a big fan of hand-made cards. They’re ten times more elegant than the flimsy card stock you buy at the grocery store. Last night was First Thursday in Portland, and I went out in the pouring rain to find some interesting bits to add to my collection. I found a local artist who goes by Curious Doodles. She makes these hysterically understated cards. Oh, and if $7 for a card is too much for you, then you can purchase the Curious Doodles DIY Embroidered Card kit. Awesome!

Other neat stuff this week:

The shirt company Threadless announced a deep partnership with Society 6, using artwork from various artists on their shirts. If you’ve ever wanted to get a shirt into a place like Urban Outfitters (one of my favorite places to shop), then you should check out Threadless and Society 6.

If you’ve tried to use Flickr to get your art to spread, but aren’t having much luck, then you should check out Aaron Hockley’s short post on How to Let Others Share Your Work on Flickr. Aaron runs SocialPhotoTalk.com, a blog dedicated to helping photographers grow their business using social media. He’s one savvy dude, and an amazing photographer besides. I’ll end with one of his photos here.

Nicholas Christakis explains how we are all connected via vast social networks and what that does to us.

For me, at least, it explains a lot of why online social networks have become so popular and so useful. You can self-select into the group that you want to be a part of, and that has implications for your weight, habits, and financial success.

Artists often spend time with other artists. That’s human nature. What I have noticed over the last year is that many artists who are financially and artistically successful spend the majority of their time with people who are not full-time artists. Making friends outside of the artistic world allows you interact with people who have different perspectives on money than most of the starving artists out there. After all, if you are a banker you are obviously going to have a different relationship with money than most people – you see gobs of it every day, after all. Of course, engineers, teachers, and other professionals will also have different perspectives. That’s why you benefit from your social network.

Who do you spend time with and what financial habits have you picked up from them?

People often ask me what kind of art I like. That’s a tough question to answer, but with this new weekly installment I hope to show off some of my favorite pieces. Some of them I own, some I hope to own soon.

This piece just grabbed my soul and shook it. Art literally saved me from getting into a lot of trouble when I was in high school. I had a bad attitude that got me into trouble, and getting into the theatre is what distracted me from all the crap going on around me. Art Saves indeed. Thanks to Sarah Zamora for making it and sharing it.

This is a guest post from Misha Penton.

The Indie Performing Artist

It’s time to reconsider the nonprofit model as the only way to do business in the performing arts. When it comes to performance works, smaller really is better: a smaller enterprise lends itself to hybrid business practices that continue to emerge as artists use their creativity to tackle the business side of making art. Embracing a for-profit model or a hybrid for-profit/non-profit enterprise (like fiscal sponsorship), are viable business options for artists. Funding organizations really do roll their eyes these days, when yet another nonprofit, pops up with its hands out. Reality: no one is gonna pay your tab.

Independence

Remaining independent as a performing artist and forming project-based artist cohorts yields a creative process that is more easily funded and managed – from page to stage – than is possible with traditional institutional models. I’m not sure if we can dump donations altogether, but moving toward a for-profit arts model gives artists more independence from donors and granting institutions, and more time to focus on making art. Unjustified dogma in the non-profit world blames the for-profit sector for being beholden to the whims of their audience. Really? Perhaps those critical of for-profit arts might consider taking a good look at the absurd specificity of many grant guidelines (including their funding time-lines) and the beyond-the-pale hoops they entail, as well as admitting to what goes into coaxing Grandma to fork over a grand for next season. The party line states that traditional fundraising strategies are easier/better/more profitable than experimenting with non-traditional revenue generation. Hmmmm….I question that.

Speedy Feats

Making fast, non-committee decisions is super-effective. It is your Secret Weapon as an independent artist. No, you do not need to have a meeting about a meeting to decide when to have the meeting to pick the colors for the flyer. Get people involved in your process whom you trust to do their brilliant work on and off stage. The world changes daily and there is simply no time to wait for a board to meet twice a year. Nonprofit organizations respond far too slowly to creative needs and cultural shifts.

Community

Audiences are interested in connecting personally with the artists; therefore, collaborate with the same performers and the same creative team consistently (as is reasonable). A performance company is the same as a rock band. People come to see you and connect with you. Put a face and a personality on your company or cohort. No one wants to support some impersonal organization. Build one-on-one relationships with other artists, peers, and audience members. Commit to your personal artistic vision and forget about the “market” or what the audience might “want”. Focus on presenting a polished, minimal, high quality performance. Consider that In Process can be Polished – don’t worry about Finished Product. Open your Process to your audience. Your audience will support you if you have a strong artistic vision and are committed to personally connecting with your community. I promise. Create productions that are made for and funded by a small, personally connected audience. A traditional non-profit arts organization, especially as it grows, simply cannot provide this. This is Secret Weapon #2.

Collaboration

Collaborate with other artists, combine audiences and resources. Create work that can “plug into” other artists’ processes. Don’t worry, many companies don’t want to do this, so expect resistance – but you’ll find that successful artists and progressive thinkers will see this as valuable. Let the rest eat your dust.

Keep your creative life project-based, collaborative, community-minded and artist-centered. And don’t worry too much about longevity. Just do your work. Daily. As crazy-cool-inspirational conductor and speaker, Ben Zander says, “In the universe of possibility, you set the context and let life unfold.”

A few groovy sites:

Check out The Field, Fractured Atlas and your local arts service organizations for more info on fiscal sponsorship; and peek at James Undercofler’s blog State of the Art, in part, her addresses issues pertaining to arts business models.

The dance ensemble, Momix is probably the best and oldest example of a successful for-profit arts company.

Misha Penton is an opera singer, theater artist, and artistic director of Divergence Vocal Theater, a multi-performance arts cohort based in Houston, Texas.