Notes From the Artist Trenches

Every month the COSE Arts Network hosts peer to peer roundtable discussions for its members.  The sessions are open in format and moderated by award-winning business mentor Diane Helbig from Seize This Day Coaching.  Members discuss issues that affect their arts careers and businesses on a daily level, as well as larger trends and issues in the arts and culture sector and small business sector alike.  The following notes are taken from discussions this past year, and hopefully will lend some insight and advice as to how others approach their arts businesses.  Please note that any of the notes pertaining to legal issues, contracts, negotiations, etc., do not constitute legal advice from COSE or Diane Helbig.  If you are an artist in need of legal guidance, please contact the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts a program of the Cleveland Bar Association, who may be able to offer their assistance.   

 Business plan development

• Two different types; Funding and Plan of Action plans
• Sources, the Small Business Association  has good examples for funding- or investor-seeking plans
• Planning : must know what types of targets you envision. 
  • Work backwards, identify or frame the daily things that will bring you to your end goals.
  • Monitor this plan; are you still on target to meet your goals?  Do you need to adjust to meet changes in environment or career?
  • Identify your scope of work
  • Be clear about the money needed (try to stay away from “rough” numbers) Do the diligence to show how the investor’s money will be used.   Do the research so you can speak intelligently to market needs, market research.
  • Put the process down on paper or in a fixed format
  • Focus.  Try to define your ideal brand.  In the creative arts, be ready to identify your specialty.  Try not to be so broad that the customer can’t figure out what it is you do.

“Free Samples”

• Charge for speculative work.  If you are being engaged, show them work samples, have a price list.  Say “no” so you can preserve your value and worth.
• It might not be a good fit with a company that is trying to get your work for free anyway.

Streamlining your services/focal areas

• Start with a relatively narrow focus, you can always expand or meet requests later on
• Many artists enjoy the diversity of having a broad interest—it keeps the work interesting.
• In Cleveland, some feel that it hurts business to be too narrow of a niche.  Being general is best for business, but make sure your message is very clear and focused.

Promotion/networking

• Craigslist has been useful to some members in finding work/opportunities. 
• Some have used Craigslist to find local exhibit opportunities, or seek out the ads looking for artists.   Also use Craigslist for networking and to keep your name out there. 
• Do promotional activities in concert with other activities….use social networking along with exhibits, etc.  Tie them all together. 
• The more people that know you, and what you are doing, the more “energy” is out there about you.
• Key to networking: go with the idea that you want to learn something.  Meet someone new, learn something about another artist or business.  Use open ended questions, ask their favorite thing about their arts careers, etc.   Make your message about how they will benefit by your service/connection, not what you want or how you will benefit.
• Use active listening!  Make sure you are really paying attention and listening at networking events.  It opens up personal connections to other networkers or speakers, etc.
• Do not hand your business card unless it is asked for.    But always ask them for theirs.  Follow up after the event to 5 people.  Send hand written notes along with your business card, a special message, etc.  Shows that you are taking the time to establish that connection.
• People do business with the people they know and like.
• Assume the people at an event have no need for your services or art; that way you don’t come across as a salesperson, and instead as more genuine

 Email marketing

• What is allowed for adding names to email/newsletter lists?  Ask permission when you receive the card from them.  Don’t just go home and add them to your database.  Instead, send a quick follow up email to them to ask permission, always include an opt-out feature on the email marketing.  
• For older contacts, send an invitation asking permission  via constant contact or a similar service

Artists: think like a small business.

In some ways artists, musicians, painters, and others creative professionals are in a state of denial about treating their activities like a small business.  Some think that if they ignore certain business facets of their careers, they will just sort themselves out (they usually won’t)  or that if they do pay attention to the bottom line, their art will suffer (it won’t). 

Granted, tending to the business side of an arts career does take some time out of your day, but in most cases it can be streamlined and built into a normal routine to where it becomes less of a distraction and more of an activity essential to enabling the artist to create their work. 

One way to pay attention to the bottom line is to be aware of how you as a solo entrepreneur or arts business spend money, and at the same time look for cost-saving ways to manage your finances and business.  Try taking a tip form the small business community and the technology sector by looking for affordable, and sometimes free, ways to incorporate tech into your business management.  A recent blog from Business.gov shares tips from industry experts as to how to incorporate clever uses of technology into your business to save on time and resources.  Even if it is a small action like saving screen shots instead of printing, using discussion forums before shopping for tech products, or bartering your own services for technology services, these 8 tips may help you better organize your billing, serve more customers, or at the very least take some of the headaches out of managing your arts career.