6 Things I’ve Learned About Art Licensing in My 6 Years…
The 2009 SURTEX Show marked my 6th spring exhibiting my art and pursuing licensing as a business. When I walked into my first booth at the Licensing International Expo in 2004, I was so nervous I wasn’t sure I would make it through the day. Would my art be well received or would I have flown across the entire country and spent thousands of dollars to sit alone in my booth? Self-doubt, nerves, excited anticipation mark the beginning of most shows although now the confidence factor is big and self-doubt a fleeting thought I have learned to kick to the curb.
During these years, we’ve had quite an interesting economy. The stock market has plummeted, stores have closed, huge companies that last year seemed untouchable face closing their doors. But you can’t watch the news and sit in a state of fear. Life must go on and business is still being conducted. Many artists who have been licensing their art for 10, 15 and 20 years are lamenting the changes in the way business is done and the size of royalty checks. But we are in the CURRENT economy, not that of 15 years ago. So how do you work TODAY?
So after my 6th show, I thought I’d share six bits of wisdom that have kept me moving forward.
- Be true to your art…
Don’t try and be something you aren’t artistically. Know what you are good at, what you love and what seems to “flow” for you. Trying to be the next isn’t the way to go… be the next YOU! - Watch your pennies…
I think Benjamin Franklin was on to something. Being in business doesn’t have to mean being in big debt. Yes, you will need to invest in your business when you are starting but manage your investments. Do you need a website that costs thousands to have someone design when you are starting? No. Get a free blog to show some of your work and style and grow as your business grows. - Watch your time…
How are you spending your time? Be sure to check yourself occasionally. As you work on art, or marketing or other things around the studio ask yourself, “Is this activity going to bring in income or am I avoiding something else I should be doing?” It is amazing how the mind can make you decide something is urgent when what you are really doing is avoiding something hard or scary. - Keep a positive attitude…
Ever notice how people who always expect bad things to happen seem to get just that? One drama after another. So keep your mind focused on where you want to go and celebrate every step along the way. There are so many small successes along the path of building a business, don’t belittle them. Get good feedback about your work? Sit and pat yourself on the back for a few minutes. Be your own best cheerleader and you will have a lot more fun and stay inspired. - Stay in touch with the market…
Licensing your art is creating art for commercial purposes. Your art is used to sell someone else’s product. So you do need to balance your own creative vision with what is selling in the stores. Keep your eyes open for what you see on the shelves, in magazines, etc. - Have fun…
Even though Ben Franklin was onto something with the pennies, I’m not as hip to the saying, “It wouldn’t be called work if it was fun.” Hogwash! If you are in business for yourself, why shouldn’t you enjoy it? Life is short, work is a big part of it, so make it something you love. Yes, there are parts of running a business that you don’t like. But guess what? Your ‘yuck’ jobs will be someone else’s fun job. As you grow, outsource the things you dislike – I give you permission.
Here’s to your creative success – Tara
I'm Spring Cleaning My Portfolio… Are You?
I have two portfolios: a physical, lug around in binders, touch and feel portfolio and an online portfolio. The physical portfolio gets reviewed, things added and subtracted depending on where I am going (trade show? client visit?) and who I am seeing. I make sure I bring the art that might be appropriate, so as not to waste their time or strain my back.
My online portfolio is an area my clients and prospective clients can look through after entering their user name and password to keep things somewhat secure. This portfolio, I am sad to say, doesn’t get the freshening up the way the physical one does.
I’m making a few changes to my website so it is the perfect time to actually stop and think about what I am showing people. Having been licensing my art for 6 years, some of the art is just plain dated. And to be honest, some of it makes me just plain cringe. A sign of artistic improvement for sure but not one I need potential licensees seeing.
I think I just put a dozen collections into ‘cold storage’ – never to be seen again unless I take a walk down memory lane.
I just thought I’d share my day and ask you this: When is the last time you looked at what you were showing the world? Put your best art forward – less that is quality is better than more that may seem dated or inconsistent.
Here’s to your creative cleaning!
Tara
My One-Year Art Licensing Info Business Review
What is it about 12 month blocks of time that makes a person introspective? New Year’s Eve sends people into looking at the past year and setting resolutions for the coming year… Birthdays often have the same affect. “What have I done this year? How can I be getting this old?”
And if you’ve ever had a “real job” – you may have had yearly performance reviews where your employer did a formal, written assessment of how you are doing at work – often tying your performance to salary increases. These reviews are often combined with goals, targets and benchmarks to shoot for in the next 12 months.
Owning or building or running your own business is a little different. YOU have to decide to take the time to see where you are, where you’ve been and where you are going. Have you goals changed? Are you making progress? What is going well? What could be handled better?
This weekend marks the anniversary of my venture into internet / information marketing. (Although I’ve been licensing my art for 6 years.) A year ago I boarded a plane to San Antonio to learn all about this new way of doing business. (I had no intention, by the way, of teaching about Art Licensing – that was thanks to the teachers first laughing and then re-directing me. Thank you Pat O’Bryan & Craig Perrine – you changed my life!)
I had never heard of Twitter, wasn’t on Facebook and was very “blog resistant”. WOW how things can change in a year!
I am so happy to have added this piece to my business. To have connected with so many amazing artists. To be working with Paul Brent and talking about potential ventures with other power-artists in the industry.
I’ve written 5 eBooks. I send out a weekly newsletter. There is a forum where artists are connecting and sharing. I’ve conducted 6 ask calls, one teleseminar and another is planned for June 9th. (Goal Setting for Artists — it’s going to be good! You really should check it out!) I’ve learned that I really enjoy coaching and brainstorming with artists about licensing. And apparently I’ve gotten over my ‘blog resistance’ since this will be post #151…
Wow! Not bad for a year. Especially since I’m still creating and licensing my art as well.
Now for the looking forward… what can I do better? What do I want to change? Am I using my time the way I want and need to to build the business I want.
Overall, things are good. But I’ve decided to make a few tweaks. Keeping balance in life and business is so important to not burn-out or lose the passion for what you are doing. So here are some changes…
- I need to spend more time on my art so that side of my business doesn’t slip. I’ve worked too hard for 6 years to lose my momentum. And the point is to learn from an artist who is doing what she’s teaching so I better keep doing…
- Less is more. I often say that – less is more in speech, emails, many conversations. I’ve decided to apply “less is more” to my newsletters and will be changing from every week to twice a month. Newsletters will now be the second & fourth Monday of the month – with the occasional ‘extra’ if needed. Much of what I do in the newsletter is link to the blog so you can still get your fix by subscribing to the blog – get an email every time I post, a weekly update, etc. RSS feed or to your inbox or just check in every so often. You are in control. If you want to subscribe, click on the SUBSCRIBE button towards the top right of the blog.
- Ask calls and audios take quite a bit more time and energy than I anticipated. Calls will remain free if you listen live (subject to phone line capacity). Pre-order the replay or buy within 10 days of the call and the audios will be $15. Buy after the 10 day period and they will be $25. This change will allow me to keep moving forward on this and making it worthwhile for special guests to get involved. This change will be effective with the Paul Brent call on June 24th.
- The volume of emails I am getting from individual artists is increasing quite a bit. I love your feedback but need to be careful with my time spent on email every day. I’m going to take an idea from Alyson Stanfield, “the Art Biz Coach”, and instead of answering most emails personally, I will use them as topics for blog posts. If one person has a question, chances are, many others do as well.
Those are the main things that I believe will keep me sane, happy and creative. Thank you so much for joining me in this adventure and all the wonderful feedback you have given me. It truly does keep me going to know that I’m not typing or talking into a vacuum but helping others learn and understand about the art licensing business. Here’s to another great year!
– Tara
P.S. Thank you to everyone who has commented or emailed me – I’m feeling the love! 
The Secret to my Hidden Source of Energy… REVEALED!
I am often asked where I get so much energy or how I find time to do so many things. I paint. I license my art. I blog. I Twitter (a lot!). Facebook. Teach. Write. Connect. And yes, I sleep.
So where does the time and energy come from? Passion, for one. When you have a passion for what you are doing, the energy just seems to flow. If it isn’t, I give myself permission to chill, take a break, read a book, watch some mindless tv. It is important to relax and recharge so that creativity can continue to flow.
I am also blessed to work quickly. Angela, who is now starting to help me in my business with some administrative details so I can have more time for the creative part, used to tell me she wanted to be in my head for a day. Then she spent an afternoon in the studio. She has changed her mind. As she played with my button maker I talked and worked and she got a glimpse at how my brain works. Here is her analogy…
Angela has decided that her brain is like a ping-pong ball… bouncing between two things. Mine is like the inside of an atom – thoughts and ideas whizzing around, bouncing into each other, creating new stuff… that made me laugh! She no longer wants in and a mutual friend thinks that’s wise as she expects she wouldn’t last 5 minutes.
But it works for me… usually. This type of noggin’ can lead to wanting to do too many things at once and needing to be focused at times. That is where Angela is great! She is now my “Sanity Manager” – keeping me on task when requested and sending nice emails making sure I remember to eat if she knows I’m singularly focused on a project. Do you have an Angela? If not, I highly recommend finding one!
Here is the bottom line… it has been joked about among friends and clients that I just may be the Energizer Bunny in disguise… so I was delighted to meet a life-sized bunny at the Licensing International Expo in Las Vegas and have my picture taken with him. (Is it a him or is it a her? It is pink… but seemed like a him…)
Who could run out of steam when hanging out with a big bunny with a big drum and great attitude? Where ever your energy comes from, keep it flowing, take time to replenish it and enjoy the ride that is your artistic side!
– Tara
P.S. I set my timer and got this post done in less than the 20 minutes I gave myself. Time management is also a key ingredient to productivity. If you missed my post about the timer, click here.
Connect
Business Resources*
