I was sitting in the emergency room and there was a real estate agent who was talking about some listings that had recently sold. They made the joke that, if someone were smart, they would leverage the waiting room as a networking event.
And I saw it - the glimmering opportunity where I could have jokingly whipped out a business card and introduced myself as an artist and inquire if she knew of anyone looking for art for staging purposes.
But I didn't have a card.
There are a lot of things that I either willfully ignored, or just didn't give enough forethought to when I started this business - and one of the ways I am trying to remedy that is by taking myself "back to school" and wrapping my head around the business behind the art. Here are some of the ways that I am exploring shifting my focus to better serve my business goals.
I'm actively learning again
I've started reading more books about business, as well as seeking out and getting curious about other artists' journeys. I love reading, and am working my way through Danielle LaPorte's The Firestarter Sessions at the moment. But when the only chance I usually get to read is at the end of the day after putting a tiny human to bed, it's hard to get to sleep with ideas racing through my head at breakneck speed. One thing I've started doing is using a bluetooth headphone during the day in order to listen to podcasts or YouTube videos from other creators. I recently listened to a great video on by Kelsey Rodriguez that perfectly aligns with my blog this week.
I'm building a plan
I started this business without a solid plan. In retrospect, I think it was more of a dare for myself than anything - the audacity to hit 'launch' with the art I had, and the photos I had and just see what happens. But that's not how a business works - especially in a market so saturated with incredibly talented people. I've soft-started this process by creating and sticking to a social media schedule. This, first and foremost, felt like it was something that was within my capacity to accomplish right now. I'm exploring other avenues for growth (and hope to keep you in the loop accordingly) in terms of offerings in my shop, as well as other ways of engaging with my art. I can't even tell you how empowering it's felt over the past week to stick to the schedule and see some new activity in my little art community.
I'm finding new tools
Much like the bluetooth headphones that have helped support some of my goals in terms of learning; I'm also exploring leveraging other services in order to support the vision I'm forming for the business. I am working on designing a logo and actually getting those pesky business cards sorted out before the end of the month. I've got a few options that I like, I'm just trying to narrow it down. I've also decided that I would like to look into ways that I can make my website and offerings more accessible. Due to financial restrictions, I'm trying to gather resources that are as close to free as I can find to help me do some of these things (and would welcome any advice you may have). I'm hoping to share anything I find in another blog post to come.
I'm looking forward to continuing to grow my community and create new artwork and share all the false-starts, pivots, and adventures to come.
Stay safe. Make Things.
Clara