The Burning Question: What Do I Have to Do to Get Business?

"Grace and Love"  18 x 36  

The other day I had a conversation with someone who was seeking out business advice around her art/craft business and one thing that became apparent within seconds of our conversation starting was how unhappy she was. Frustration, despair, anger, and negativity oozed from her lips as we talked about ideas around running a creative business.  

What was lacking anywhere in the conversation was passion.

I'm not saying she wasn't passionate about what she did, I'm sure she probably was, but it was buried so deep within, she was not conveying it.

All I could hear was how there were roadblocks everywhere.

Nothing was going well.

Business was horrible.

No traffic.

She didn't have money.

She wasn't going to sell online either.  

She didn't have a computer and wasn't about to get one, she couldn't afford it.

Collect emails and send a newsletter?  No way, I don't even have an email address, why would I do that?

The truth of the matter is, there's not one person out there that goes into business for their self, that doesn't come up on a roadblock or an obstacle to overcome, at one time or another or quite frankly, frequently in what they do.  

If you are lacking passion or drive to do what you want to do that is bigger and stronger than a monetary reward, than you probably aren't going to be successful.  Those roadblocks will trip you up every time if you are lacking drive and passion.

It's that drive to create and to put your ideas out into the world anyway you can that keeps you fueled on a day to day basis. You have to keep seeking out opportunities. You have to continue to hone your skills and improve what you do all the time.  Will you need to refuel from time to time and take breaks? Of course.  No one's well is at full capacity 100% of the time.  Ever.  Bigger than drive perhaps is  a compulsion  to do this more than anything else in the world.

When things aren't happening, you have to take a good look at yourself and  consider that part of the reason may be external factors, but also take ownership for what you are doing or not doing to the best of your ability. What needs to be changed? What can you do differently?  It's easy to get discouraged during down times. I've been there and done that too...but the important thing is to know that there are MANY things within your control that you can do to be better or more successful (whatever your definition of success is).

If there is a roadblock that you refuse to cross for whatever reason, then know that maybe that is just the thing that is keeping you from being successful.  Be open to change, because change happens whether you want it to or not. Perhaps that roadblock was put in your way by the 'universe' to force you to change directions. It could be a little bit of both, too.  Something you need to cross over, or something you need to turn and go a different way.  Thank about that for a minute.

As the conversation continued,   she fought me tooth and nail on any suggestion that I had for her.  I don't have all the answers for sure, but the lack of consideration even for a minute of anything that I mentioned showed me that she wasn't asking out of a sincere place of trying to improve her business, it was coming from a place of desperation and need to just survive.   

The passion wasn't apparent. 

Also lacking was an entrepreneurial spirit.  The fact she was in a creative business was more or less because she couldn't find a job elsewhere and this is what she knew and what she enjoyed doing.

It's very difficult to make a hobby a business if you lack drive or are working from a place of despair.  Honestly, there are a lot of creatives that aren't great business people...but you either have to roll up your sleeves and learn how to be a business or surround yourself with those that are. Hire out. Trade services. Join clubs or organizations that can provide mentorship.  

I never want to discourage anyone from creating or doing art because I think it is life changing  for not just yourself, but for those around you as well as the world at large.    My point for this post is that if you are in business or looking to be in business for yourself, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons and be willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.   But most of all, never loose the passion that drove you to do what you love. If your attitude is in the toilet,  chances are your business isn't going to be far behind. 

  The person I was speaking to that inspired this post is a good person and the interaction was a teachable moment for both of us.  I think  she knew most of the answers but was unwilling to hear them, for me..having the courage to tell someone something they didn't necessarily want to hear was hard honestly.   If someone is struggling and wanting to find a way out, if you say everything is rainbow and unicorns, and wonderful--well, that isn't helping anyone either, right?

Find your way to shine and let the world see all the good that you have to offer!  "Positivity" and belief that you can do something is 1/2 the battle...figuring out the steps to take to make it work and running after them as if there is a lion chasing you is probably the next step ;)  

Remember:  let your passion shine for everyone to see.  If it's buried so deep within your soul,   the world is going to pass by without noticing your gifts and that would be a shame. 

I've said this before and I'll say this again,  think long and hard before turning a hobby into a business...even if the start up cost is lower than say buying a software company or restaurant chain, it doesn't mean that there are no costs or no investment necessary.  Time and energy being the biggest investment of all..but of course there are other things you just have to have or do to make a creative business get off the ground.

Lastly,  remember...no one has all the answers you are seeking.  The questions are always changing. The answers are always evolving. The path is winding and the starting points are all slightly different.

Make YOURSELF be the authority on what you do by never stop learning and discovering around your chosen business/art/craft.   The art of discovery is a great fuel to keep your passion going, which is at the core of how to generate business...if that is indeed what you want to do. 

Thank you for stopping by today!

Artfully yours,

Jodi 

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HUGE HUGE HUGE milestone hit this week (more about that later) in my Etsy shop!

Before the New Year, I had about 40 items in my shop
Art by Jodi Ohl...today, I topped over 100 items. I've been slowly adding on items, extending lines and just overall doing a better job at listing my work and keeping the shop updated.  I had a goal to hit a 100 items and I was going to try to keep it around that  number of offerings but I think I'm going to continue on and up that goal to 150 items before the end of the year.   I have a blog post or two about some 'aha' moments as to what has happened this year and why that hopefully can helps some of you. Stay tuned for that!

To see other items in my Etsy Shop, please click HERE. :)

You Never Know: Tips From The Studio and an Art Journal Flip Through

Hello and Happy Monday!

  I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and you were able to carve some creative time in your spare leisure moments.  I didn't do a whole lot in my studio this weekend other than finish up this project:

This is a 24 x 36 whimsical acrylic painting in my "Funky Little City Scape" style.that I started at the beginning of the month--while it didn't take me 4 weeks of non stop work to do, I would gather to say it was the better part of 2 weeks to do in full with a break in between to prepare for another project I was doing.   I just love the colors and happy vibe you get from this piece (which was inspired by a painting I did a few years ago that I loaded up to Pinterest). It is my most repinned pin and has inspired not only additional paintings, but even led to an opportunity to be on a book cover!!

 Here's a note card taken from a print of that above mentioned painting: 

(ps..if you like this style of painting and want to learn how..I have an online class called "Funky Little City Scapes" that you'd enjoy!   Click HERE to find out more.)

So..you see for my point today, you never know when one project is going to lead to the next, and the next---or for that matter, you never know where potential clients will find you.   My only regret and this is something that has happened to me before.... is that I did not capture a super high resolution image of this painting. I can create prints that are about 8x10 but that's the largest I can go and not sacrifice picture clarity.  

Don't do as Momma does...do as momma says: Take super high res images of your work before you send it off into the world!!!!  Saving your photos at 300 dpi also insures that if your image is used in a print publication, it will conform (ideally) to most industry standard printing publication guidelines. As you see, creating high resolution images is not just important for  for creating prints, you never know who may ask to use your work: licensed designs, fabric,  authors, musicians, stationary, etc...etc....the possibilities span far and wide!!

...I'll leave you with a little more inspiration today as I sign off--I've shared this before but for those new followers, I thought you might like to see some of my favorite journal pages of 2014.  I've JUST begun filling up a few new books for 2015, so stay tuned for a little preliminary look in a couple weeks (or if I get really ambitious...a couple of days!!). 




Artfully yours,

Jodi Ohl

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There's not much time left to take advantage of my sale on work shops over at Colourarte--all classes of mine are 15.00 off today!!

Have you stopped by my Etsy shop lately?  

See what's new! I've listed over 50 items since January!!!

'dirty flirty birds' one of my several new flat note cards/postcards now available in the shop!

The Burning Question: Art for Hire vs Art For Fun

In my newsletter this week, I shared some of my most recent blog posts and posed a challenge to my readers to share some of their "Burning  Questions" around art, the artistic life, and a creative business in general. (You can join in too, if you'd like to see one of your questions answered read on here and send me a message!  I'm going to do a giveaway for one of the readers during my next newsletter!!).   I have to say, I'm loving the response so far and am super duper excited to continue on the series started last week with another question from one of my readers.  

12x16 on hardbord  Black and White Abstract Study

Art for Hire vs. Art for Fun 

....and how do they differ?

Here's today's question--and it's a 'meaty' one..so let's get started!

Hi Jodi!  I met you at the CREATE Mixed-Media Art Retreat in 2013, and I have a piece of your artwork hanging happily in my art room!  My burning question has to do with balancing artwork created for business versus artwork created for personal pleasure.  Once you become a professional artist, do you still have opportunities to create art simply for personal pleasure, or does it pretty much always have to serve some purpose--for a show, as a demonstration, as a commission, etc.?  And how is your process affected?  Is your process different when you are creating a piece for a specific purpose, versus just messing around, having a fun, trying out a technique, etc.?

charcoal sketch created for an upcoming class  "Extreme Portraits" at Random Arts  February 28, March 1st, 

This is a great question because the root of the question is a huge struggle for many artists, especially those that have decided to work at their passion full or part time as a career choice.    What is at the root of this question?  I believe it is this:

Am I less of an artist or less artistically driven once I create for the purpose of making a living or (gasp....for the purpose of being very comfortable in my living as a full time/part time artist)?  Do I FEEL different because now there is an intention  of creating for the exchange of  money versus painting/creating just because?

more sketches for an upcoming class  "Extreme Portraits" at Random Arts  February 28, March 1st,

This is a very real struggle because for some reason,  many people do not view what artists do as worthy of making a good (great..decent..more than decent) living without loosing their soul purpose of creating. It's as if the thought of creating for a purpose is any less of value than just simply creating without definitive reason to make something.  Artist struggle with the exchange of money for what they do when they do not value what they create as worthy of the exchange.They also struggle with that exchange, when they are not creating art for sale for the purpose of making a living (ie doing it as a hobby vs doing it to pay your mortgage!).

   When you take what you once did as a hobby and turn it into a business, there is a very real chance that you will create most things in the hope that there will be an exchange of money so you can keep on doing what you.....LOVE...to do.  There's a lot pressure around that fork in the road. Some of it is cultural, but most of the pressure comes intrinsically because if the exchange of money doesn't happen and you stress out about it, it can effect how you feel about yourself as an artist (your self worth).  

36 x 36  Work in progress

The stress of HAVING to make a living from your art, can take the fun of creating out of the whole mix, if you are not doing it for the right reason.  

Think about that statement for a minute.  

 Let's say you make the best chocolate chip cookies on the block and are the hit of every bake sale your kids school have, to the point people start asking you to make the cookies for Christmas or xyz holiday.

   

This is cool....so, for a little bit of extra money and for the joy of doing so,  you happily agree....and then it starts to snowball and you get orders not just for Christmas but for Valentine's Day, too. 

 You start to think, maybe I could do this and make more than just a little extra money, maybe this could be a part time job, after all I love to make cookies! You go through the process of buying better equipment to make you cookie making work  more efficient.  You perfect the recipe...go through the steps to make this whole venture  official and get a business going and an industrial kitchen to operate in. Boom YOU are in the cookie business.    Now that's all well and good, if YOU love making cookies, dream about making them...and can't stop thinking of all the different things you can do with your new business now that has taken off...in other words, you truly want to do this day in and day out for the rest of your life because you are passionate about it.  Making cookies gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning!

If the point of you making cookies was just to have fun and create a batch here and there for friends, family and the occasional bake sale...then no..turning your hobby into a business is not going to make you happy and it's going to effect how you feel about what you do in a million ways.  

The stress of doing something full time that never was meant to be a business will effect you and your process significantly.

If however, you chose to go into the art business full time because you can't think of anything more in this world you'd like to do, day in and day out for the rest of your life...then doing things for a purpose should bring JOY to you....

I get excited and jump for joy every time I get a commission order!   

I LOVE going to the post office because it means I sold something and it's going out into the world.

I love going to the studio and creating work for a gallery--it means I'm in a GALLERY! whooohoo!

I am thrilled when I am working on a class and already know I have people signed up waiting for that special day when I am teaching it.

When I check my email and see I have an order I say a prayer of gratitude, someone wants my work!!! Another reason to do a cartwheel!!

...I hear from a customer or a student that received my work or took my class and tell me how it's impacted their life/home/artistic journey...I  feel like it's another sign I'm on the right path.

Here's the thing guys. Working for yourself as an artist is no different then working for yourself in any small business (in the beginning and for most small businesses that is).    Is that shocking?

Here's the truth about being an artist full time:

*You are it.  You are the only one that can do YOUR art. That's a lot of pressure.

*It's a lot of hours.  Non stop hours to be sure.

*You have to not only create art, you need to sell your art. Market it.  Make a name for yourself in countless ways.

*The business comes in waves.   There will be times of plenty and times of pretty much crickets.  

*There is nothing greater than seeing a blank canvas develop into something amazing.

*There is nothing more frustrating then staring at a blank canvas and hoping your muse shows up!

*It's hard to balance studio time vs. business and marketing time.

*It's hard to balance personal time vs. business time...especially if you work from home.

*You have to treat your art business as is if (because it IS) it is a true business. 

*You will have deadlines to meet.  What business doesn't???

*You are held accountable for your actions, work and commitments.  Any time you have customers, or others that are counting on you for something (product or service), you are held accountable...and if you don't have those yet, you are still accountable to yourself and your dreams/goals/aspirations.

*Learning what to say yes to and what to say no to is a struggle. This perhaps is one of the biggest things that causes frustration to many artists (or really any business person) because if you are doing something that is not inline with your ultimate goal, you can find yourself wasting a lot of time and energy on the wrong projects and not enough time on the right ones.

*Your 'play' time is your work time. You are are always trying out new things (or should be), honing your skills and practicing.   

*Pricing your work to match the market, the value of it,  and your 'credentials' plays a crucial role in your success.  Understanding how to price your work plays a huge role in your success.

*You need goals and even a loose business plan in your creative business otherwise you will be 'floating' on the waves of your success and your not so successful accomplishments. 

*If you love what you do and are passionate about it,  you will feel so much empowerment by doing what you do for a living.   IF it was truly meant to be a full time/part time career choice.

*There will be days that you just don't want to do anything and need a break. That doesn't mean that you are less of an artist if you want to walk away for awhile.  It means you are tired. It means you need to refill your well. It means you are no different than any one on this earth, artist or otherwise.

30x30  Waiting For You

This topic brings up so many things that I could expand on further, but I hope I at least addressed the hot buttons for you.       The main thing I want you to walk away with is this:

Before you jump in and decide to turn your hobby into a profession,  be sure that is what you really want to do.   Understand WHY you want to do it.  If the answer is, I can't imagine myself doing anything else for the rest of my life...then make it be so!!  But, also understand--it is a business and you must treat it as a business just as if you were opening up a cookie store, a computer programming consulting business, real estate office, interior design business,  restaurant or retail shop (just to name a few).  You need to do it right and not feel bad AT ALL for asking for compensation for what you do.  You also need to take care of yourself and fill that well when it runs dry..because in the end,  even if you are in it to win it...you can't go on forever without taking a break and resting, relaxing and enjoying life, too....just like anyone :)

Do YOU have a Burning Question that you'd like to see addressed or discussed?   Check out my newsletter HERE for instructions  (or reply to on this post in a comment!).

Until we meet again,

Jodi

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More abstract art in the shop:

20 x 24 

Letting Go and Not Looking Back

Special:  Use code  15foryou in my etsy shop at check out and save 15.00 off any purchase of 85.00 or more.  Good now through 2/1/15.