How to Grow Your Art Business

Forget the Waves, It's the Ripples that Count

Conventional business suggests that the bigger the statement the better the result. Other ideas like Go Big or Go Home add to this belief. When there is plenty at stake it is easy to believe this concept. After all we want our business to succeed. We bundle up our self worth into succeeding at our venture.

Examples of how this idea has caused me harm are:

1. Jumping into a bad business partnership despite clear warnings not to. Clear - if I was taking the trouble to look.
2. Renting fancy business premises when cashflow was tight. 
3. Employing bad people when I should be doing the work myself. Dear God never again!
4. Not saving or investing sooner because there were more exciting things to do. Buy. Experience. Rationalise this any way you like. It will catch up to you and bite.
5. Spending too much on marketing that did not convert. This thanks to misplaced ego.

The list can go on. Perhaps you recognise a few of them or they jog your memory of painful times.

None of these proved fatal although they cost me time and money. I was able to take my medicine and kept trying. The big lesson was evident. It is what you do over time that matters. It is the ripples you make over time that break through the barriers. The big waves? They are over quickly and cause destruction. The ripples get the appreciation and the results.

In nature we see the canyons, tall trees and abundant wildlife created over time. Sound boring? Exciting results come from persistence, commitment and doing your homework. On their own these qualities are not glamorous. They are what makes entrepreneurs succeed.

In the art world glamour gets most of the attention, but persistence wins. The artist who gets to work every day is going to succeed over time. This is the rule of nature and the universe.

Of course artists are entrepreneurs. Acting on an idea. Creating something where there was nothing. Taking calculated risks. Putting yourself out there. These are all qualities of the entrepreneur. It pays to have vision and the patience to make it happen over time.

Some may ask: "Why go slowly in this fast paced world? Should we not be hustling like crazy to survive?  I will take social media as an example. I am not an expert on the topic, but when I read the views of experts they seem to say the same thing. Use what works for you and persist at it. Is your market on Pinterest or Facebook? Then focus on that media and persist with sharing your good work. Over the long haul. You will be standing when the others have given up. 

Only your good work though. Leave out the stuff that pulls you down. Remember consistency? We trust consistency. We want to trust you.

My message here is a personal one from many attempts and failures over time. Those things that worked turned out to be common sense after all. The key was to keep trying new ideas. Keep learning and be honest with myself. What is delusion and ego. What is real and true. Learn the difference and keep putting it out there little by little.