What does boiling water have to do with using an art coach?
To boil water, you have to get the temperature to 212 degrees… period. End of story. No water boils and 100, 150 or 200… you have to get to 212. But does everyone use the same method to get there? Nope!
One person might put water in a metal bowl, on top of their car in the desert sun assuming it will boil in no time it’s so blasted hot. (I’d probably try that!)
Another will use the microwave. Some won’t go near microwaves because it changes the molecular structure of things too much.
In this video clip, I use the analogy of a traditional tea kettle placed on a stove top and an electric kettle that plugs into the wall. No molecular difference in the water – both methods will make the water boil.
The difference is HOW LONG IT TAKES.
The tea kettle took 7 minutes to boil my water. Electric Kettle? Just under 3.
So the question I pose is this: Are you building your business with a traditional tea kettle or an electric tea kettle?
Both will get you where you want to go, but one takes twice as long.
The “Traditional Tea Kettle” route is to learn what you can and go it alone. Trial and error, you doing all the work, analyzing and strategizing.
The “Electric Kettle” method of speeding up the process involves consulting a coach. Someone who has already been where you are and has experience to guide you and make sure you are going in the right direction. Someone to give you feedback and suggestions. You might just check in with a coach once, or every few months. Others choose to work with a coach on an ongoing basis.
If you want to jump-start your business or consult an artist in the industry to see what they think of your plan, consider our coaching services. Paul Brent and Jill Seale and I (Tara Reed) all currently offer hourly and 6 hour coaching services. We each have a different background and experience in the industry. We have different personalities. (Although we believe we are all delightful!)
To learn more about each coach’s background and rates, visit www.ArtLicensingInfo.com/coaching.html
Here’s to your creative success – however you choose to build it!
– Tara Reed
P.S.I have to say I need to get some lights! Please excuse the poor lighting in my kitchen – we did our best to avoid the light from the windows but it’s still a bit dim… after several tries we went with the “done is better than perfect” philosophy – oh, and the fact that Craig said his arm was going to want overtime if I made him hold the camera any longer!
Jill Seale adds her insight and humor to the monthly Art Licensing Info "Ask" calls
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 marked the first “Ask Jill Seale” call. Part of the monthly Art Licensing Info “Ask” call series, Jill answered lots of questions about character licensing in particular. Her experience in licensing her “Nun for the Road®” characters for the past decade made her a great resource for artists wanting to learn more about licensing characters.
The great news is that if you missed the call, Jill & I have decided to offer her first call audio replay for free! She also enjoyed the process and will be doing another call in the future – the date still to be determined.
Here are the basics of what we covered:
- How Jill got started with “Nun for the Road™”
- Do the same companies that license art also license characters?
- What does a character collection consist of?
- How do you pitch or mock-up a character presentation?
- How is character licensing different than art licensing?
- How should I go about licensing a character I’ve come up with? How ‘true’ should the character stay to herself vs. appealing to as many diff. women as possible?
- What is the best way to introduce a new character line?
- How important is it to have characters in a book, etc. before trying to license them?
- Does building a fan base help or potentially hinder licensing deals?
- How do you manage the long-term exposure of a character & stay fresh?
… and lots more!
More exciting news! Jill will be joining the list of available coaches at ArtLicensingInfo.com – as soon as I have my desktop computer back and am fully operational. So I’ll keep you posted and please send good, healing energy to my computer – it is in the care of The Apple Store at the moment.
So who is this “Jill Seale” that I’m so over-the-moon about and where can you get the audio?
Here are some links for you:
Learn more about Jill’s art: www.JillSeale.com
See more of “Nun for the Road®”: www.cafepress.com/NunfortheRoad
Check out her latest project – “Mom Scouts™”: www.MomScouts.blogspot.com
Go get the mp3 replay!: CLICK HERE
OK… go! Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara
P.S. The October 21, 2009 call will be with artist Paul Brent, head to www.AskPaulBrent.com and start submitting your questions today!
A wonderful day with Paul Brent…
and his equally fabulous wife LanaJane. I feel so fortunate that they have a house in Seaside, Oregon, a little over an hour from my house. How serendipity is that because otherwise we couldn’t live much farther apart – Oregon to Florida.
Paul and LanaJane came in to Portland last week and I had the chance to spend the day with them.
They got to experience my amazing parking skills in the underground parking garage… ok, not so amazing. I was freaking out about getting in the space and they were both out of the car guiding me… not my finest moment but we all laughed about it!
We wandered around the Pearl District checking out furniture stores, home stores and some clothing stores to see what colors and patterns were trending, cool display ideas and more. I highly recommend you spend a day like that with fellow artists – they have a different ‘eye’ for things than your non-artist friends and family.
One of the best parts was talking shop with two people with so much insight and experience in art licensing. We bounced ideas off each other… I’ll be the first to admit I was doing more bouncing off of them than they were of me but I think I got them thinking a little… hopefully the “newer to the industry” perspective was helpful. I like to give as much as I get!
But here is the point of this blog post… Paul Brent knows art licensing. He has 20+ years of industry experience and great insights into how to create a sustainable business that is diverse and flexible enough to survive without ‘painting yourself in a box’ as we kept saying. I watched in awe as he and LanaJane looked through some of my work and gave me suggestions for how to position and grow my business.
Having a fresh set of eyes look at your work and give you guidance is so valuable. And Paul really enjoys doing it. So I highly recommend you consider coaching with him. Whether you are new to the business or in it for a while like I am, he has value to add.
Here is what one of his coaching clients had to say:
Last night I had my first consultation with Paul Brent. (I imagine I will have more in the future!) What a great experience! Paul thoroughly studied my website and for a full hour gave me great insight as to how my art relates to the licensing industry. He gave me information that I would not have gotten elsewhere – a great resource! I highly recommend his consultation services.
Sincerely,
Susan Morgan
www.SusanMorganArt.com
You just heard what I have to say. So the last thing I’ll say is if you think you are ready, CLICK HERE and see what coaching services Paul Brent has to offer.
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara
Paul Brent number 94 on License! Magazine's Top 100 licensors for 2008
Wow! How lucky are we that we have access to such a successful artist in the licensing arena!
Each year, License! Magazine publishes their list of Top 100 licensors and Paul Brent has been one of the few individual artists to consistently make the cut. With retail sales featuring his art estimated at $67 Million for 2008 — Paul Brent knows what he is doing! (click here to download the full list)
Here is what the entry says:
Consistent retail growth in 2008 for the Paul Brent brand was due to the continuing commitment by several key licensing relationships, including a new partnership with The Paradies Shops,
Allure Home Creations’ placement of bath coordinates with Bed Bath & Beyond stores and a successful line of handbags licensed
with Sun N Sand Accessories, which was sold to Belk’s Department Stores among others.
This year, Paul Brent licensees will introduce more than 1,000 licensed products—the most ever in a single year. He will continue
to develop art that appeals to his more than 90 licensees and key retail partners such as Beall’s, Steinmart, Bed Bath & Beyond,
Coldwater Creek, Belk and Kohl’s, while also building new relationships.
Did you know we will be doing another “Ask Paul Brent” call on Wednesday, June 24, 2009? Start submitting your questions now at www.AskPaulBrent.com.
Paul is also available for coaching — for details CLICK HERE.
We can also look forward to an eBook or two in the coming months so stay tuned…
Congratulations Paul and horray for us to have the benefit of his wisdom and experience.
~ Tara
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