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.