Start 2012 off with a defined plan to achieve your goals – The Goal Wheel for Artists is more than half-off in January!
Yup! It’s that time of year again… the beginning of a brand new year. Clean slate. A time when many people look back at what worked and what could be improved from the last year and look forward to what they want to create and achieve in the coming year.
2011 was pretty life-altering for me in many ways. I got engaged (and yes – I told many people I would NEVER get married again so the old saying, “Never say never…”? I’m a believer!) My fiance and I bought a house that we are doing some serious remodeling on. The college search is in full-swing for my son who will graduate in 2012 – this year! My brother had twins – big surprise there! You get the idea…
So now I’m turning my attention forward to 2012 – what do I want to do, be and have in my life in the coming year? And how will I stay focused longer than the average person who makes a resolution to “get to the gym more” each and every New Year’s Eve?
I will be using The Goal Wheel for Artists to help me stay on track for my business, home renovations, college process and some misc personal wishes.
I know that this goal setting system works – I designed it and I use it. I took things that worked for me from other goal setting ideas I’ve learned and tried along the way and kept what worked. It’s not too hard. It’s easy to feel good about yourself even if you don’t quite hit every milestone you set for yourself during a given month – that’s the key you know, to feel good.
I want you to be successful too – and that’s why I’m offering the eBook and audio replay for $27 – that’s more than half-off!
Watch this quick video then go to www.TheGoalWheelForArtists.com and get all the details – you and your future are worth it!
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
When it comes to your art business, be like Super Mario!
I’ve been going down memory lane lately… my 25th high school reunion will be this November and I’m in charge of our reunion Facebook page. Each Friday I come up with some topic to chime in on relating to high school – from food to fashion to … video games. While telling my son how PacMan was all the rage in the early 80′s – and not the kind on your tv, the kind you had to head to the arcade or pizza shop to play, we got onto a discussion of video games.
He loved Super Mario when he was little and my brain started thinking about this little man in the funny hat that happily moved forward through all kinds of trials and tribulations. Jumping on mushrooms to earn points, battling monsters and kissing princesses… through it all, he was a man of action, ever pushing forward towards his goal.
So I ask you – do you resemble Super Mario when it comes to working on your art business or are you a dreamer but not a doer?
It takes a lot of work to be successful in any kind of business – you have to do something every day, you have to stay the course, overcome obstacles and keep your eye on the prize! So today, I say, Let’s all be like Mario!
Here’s to your creative success! What actions will you take today to move you closer to your dreams?
– Tara Reed
P.S. Need help staying organized, setting goals and moving forward? Don’t forget about The Goal Wheel for Artists – it’s helped me and many other creative minded people with goal setting – maybe it will help you too. Check it out at www.TheGoalWheelForArtists.com. Save $10 if you use coupon code MARIOGOALS by September 21st.
Tips for Getting from an Art Licensing Dream to Art Licensing Dollars
Every business starts as a dream and artists making a living in art licensing are no exception.
My dream started with a phone call: “You should check out this SURTEX show – artists are showing their work to manufacturers who want to put it on products. You should do this.”
The phone call was followed with about 5 months of reasons why I wasn’t good enough… and a persistent friend who kept telling me I could. So we shared a booth at the Licensing Expo in 2004 to see what happened.
Now I work full time at licensing my art (and writing about the industry here and in eBooks).
So how did I – and how might you – turn the dream into dollars?
1. Learn about art licensing and decide if it is a fit for your art and your lifestyle. Don’t decide to do art licensing based on the dream of the huge success stories – the artists who have built multi-million dollar businesses so why can’t you too? To my way of looking at things, you should honestly consider how you will feel about the day-to-day efforts you will need to put in to get from the dream to the big bucks – and know that you might just get to getting-by bucks. If the effort to give it a shot sounds like torture, look at other options. There are many, many ways to make money with your art – find the one that sounds like the best fit for you.
Recently there was an article about the author of The Help – a novel made into a great movie recently released – and how her manuscript was rejected 61 times before she found a publisher. It’s a really inspirational story but it doesn’t mean that everyone who wants to write a best-selling novel will succeed if they send their manuscript to enough publishers. It still has to be well written, a compelling story and the author has to have a mountain of tenacity to keep on trying. Not everyone will be able to deal with the day-to-day work of writing, revising, sending things out, getting feedback, etc. And there is more day-to-day than there are success stories like this. (Read the full article here)
If you are new to the idea of art licensing, check out the FAQ page of this blog for basic information as well as the many resources for people new to the idea on the ArtLicensingInfo.com website.
2. If you get past step 1 and think this sounds like a viable option for you and that you are motivated to put in the effort, it’s time to create or organize your art for licensing. In art licensing, manufacturers usually want to see groups, or collections, of art more than stand alone pieces.
How an artist goes about creating these collections seem to fall into two categories – those who take a ‘fine art approach’ – creating painting that could be put in a frame and hung on the wall. The type of art that easily lends itself to gallery sales, for example. The other way is to start with icons and build to a scene or image digitally. Art can either be done by hand or completely digitally – there are both types of artists successfully licensing their work. Click here to read more about creating art in collections…
3. While you are creating art, it’s a good idea to be thinking about the types of products the art would be best suited for. Not many kitchen textiles feature baby art and not many school fundraising companies use wine art for products sold by children. Noticing what art is on products in stores is a great way to get your product placement juices flowing to start making a game plan of the types of companies to contact when your art is ready.
Click here to watch a video about shopping research…
4. While you are creating art, you can also be weighing the pros and cons of doing your own marketing or working with an art licensing agent. Do you enjoy both creating the art and doing the sales and follow-up or would you rather leave that to someone else? Click here to download the free questionnaire – TO USE AN AGENT OR NOT TO USE AN AGENT – this 25 question assessment will give you a better idea of what will work for you.
5. An art licensing business isn’t all about pretty pictures – it’s important to treat it like a business. Create a plan and set goals to keep you on track. Get organized. Build systems early on to organize your art (create a code system), your contacts and your follow-up.
If goal setting and staying focused is a challenge, you might want to consider my system – The Goal Wheel for Artists…
6. At some point you won’t be able to do everything yourself, so get help! When you are starting out, you can probably handle everything in order to save money. But at some point, you will be losing money by doing your book-keeping- clerical work that is taking away from your studio time when you create the art that brings in the royalties. Even before you can afford help, think about what someone else could do when you build your business to a point that can support outsourcing some of the work.
Maybe someone can help with your website, press releases, even some of the graphic design/layout work. Don’t think the artists making the big-bucks (the ones they write inspirational stories about) are doing everything themselves– they have employees helping this process along!
The best advice I can give anyone trying to turn a dream into a reality is to take some action – no matter how big or small – every day.
Here’s to your creative success – where ever you may find it!
– Tara Reed
Miss the live Creative Mojo show last week? Get the replay!
I can’t believe it’s been a week and a half since I had the pleasure of chatting with Mark Lipinski on his weekly Creative Mojo internet radio show! What a hoot – and let me tell you, you have to be ready to go anywhere because all of our conversations were not pre-planned. 
We talked about goal setting, Catholic guilt, inspiration and more.
I was just one of the guests on the June 22nd episode and we talked a bit about my eBook – The Goal Wheel for Artists.
If you missed it, there are several ways to get your ears on it…
- you can go to the Creative Mojo website and listen to the replay
- or get the podcast on iTunes. Better yet – subscribe so you don’t miss any!
- click here to download the mp3
- listen right here!
Mark is always full of energy, creativity and lots of interesting guests. Be sure to check out his show and I hope to be on again soon – it was fun!
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
Tune into Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski this Wednesday afternoon!
This Wednesday, June 22nd, I will be on the air *live* with the fun and fantastic Mark Lipinski! His radio show – Creative Mojo – airs on Toginet Radio every Wednesday afternoon. Here is what they say about the show:
CREATIVE MOJO WITH MARK LIPINSKI is a live, two-hour entertainment program broadcast on the Internet. It’s fun, entertaining, informative, inspirational and illuminating.
Hosted by the amusingly candid Mark Lipinski, Creative Director for All American Crafts publishing and Executive Editor for Mark Lipinski’s Christmas 365, Mark Lipinski’s Fabric Trends, and Mark Lipinski’s Create and CREATIVE MOJO is dedicated to the modern crafter and crafting lifestyle. Infused with Mark’s off-the-cuff and no-holds-barred humor and love of the creative spirit, the show boldly encourages listeners to discover and harness their own creative spirit by living creatively everyday.
I’ll be talking with Mark about Goal Setting – why many creatives don’t like it and the system I created to make it more manageable. I created The Goal Wheel for Artists at a time when I was feeling like I was moving in circles and knew there had to be a better way! Come on over and join the fun!
Listen live online at: toginet.com/shows/creativemojo 3-5 pm Eastern / 12-2 pm Pacific
You can also listen to past shows, read about the various guests, learn about all sorts of creative endeavors and more. It’s going to be fun – hope you come!
Here’s to your creative – and organized – success!
– Tara Reed
Why you need both binoculars and a microscope to succeed in art licensing
In order to succeed in any business, art licensing being no exception, you need to look at both the big and small picture. It is important to understand what is going on and coming up in the industry at large as well as keeping an eye on the day-to-day operations of your business.
Binoculars let you see farther than you can with your eyes alone. This would be the perspective you are looking for when you are trying to spot trends or forecast your royalty potential for the coming year, for example. This is the work of strategic thinking and planning for your business.
If you notice a new color trend emerging in clothing or furniture, then decide that you will use it in your next art collection – you have your binoculars on. You also have your binoculars on when you register to attend or exhibit at trade shows or make other forward thinking plans.
But no business can thrive with only binoculars. “Watch the big things and the little things will take care of themselves” doesn’t really apply.
So now let’s consider a microscope. The microscope allows scientists to see minute details that aren’t visible with the naked eye. Looking at your business through a microscope is akin to watching the details. Creating your daily or weekly ‘to do’ list, watching cash flow, responding to emails, things like that. If a company or an artist only looks at their business through a microscope, they will miss changes in the market that could negatively affect their business. They might miss key trends on the horizon and not add them to the mix.
The key to a successful business is to use both binoculars and a microscope.
If you are the only person in your business, you need to learn to use both. Or perhaps you have several team members who take different roles. A book keeper works with a microscope with the finance guy, who forecasts and looks at money in a more long-term way, has binoculars firmly in hand. Balancing the long and short term needs of your business will help you stay in business.
– Tara Reed
P.S. If you want help in creating the long-term and short-term balance in your business, consider The Goal Wheel for Artists™. You will learn strategies for balancing the three main areas you need to focus on to build a successful, creative business. Head to www.TheGoalWheelForArtists.com for more information.
Hey artist, what’s your plan?
As time seems to pass very quickly for me in the weeks and days leading up to SURTEX, I get very focused getting ready for the show. There are post-its and lists, scribbles in the car and scratch pads in the kitchen… where ever I am when an idea or “to-do” hits me, I write it down.
This is the 6th time I’ll be packing my bags and heading to New York to exhibit in May. Over the years I’ve created some systems and master lists of things to gather and prepare. This year, however, I’ve been using another tool and am finding it ideal for organizing the tasks at hand. “What is this tool?” I’m glad you asked!
The Goal Wheel for Artists™
I created this goal setting system last year, as a way to organize myself and help others get focused and moving forward in their creative businesses. Based on the color wheel – the system is designed to help you define long-term dreams which help you set shorter term goals which trickle down to tasks.
I am finding this to be a great “project” system as well.
Getting ready for a trade show should be a big deal. Not something to take lightly, throw some things in a suitcase a day before and call it good. The investment is too high (in dollars) and the potential too great (for new business). If you decide to exhibit it is in your best interest to prepare!
So I’ve set some goals to be completed between now and May 13th – what art I want to CREATE, plans to PROMOTE my business and my participation in the show, and time to RECHARGE so I don’t end up in New York a frazzled mess.
Whether you are planning for a trade show, special event, project or your business in general, it is good to have a system. If you are interested in taking a look at mine, go to www.TheGoalWheelForArtists.com.
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
Art & Soul Radio TONIGHT! We'll be talking goal setting
Start 2010 out right – get organized and energized to bring your business to new heights. I’ll be talking with Catherine and Sheryl again at 4 pm PST / 7 pm EST about my “Goal Wheel for Artists™ eBook” – hope you can tune it!
www.BlogTalkRadio.com/art-and-soul-radio
Learn more about The Goal Wheel for Artists™ – how to Set and Achieve Goals While Still Working from a Place of Inspiration – CLICK HERE
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
What we can learn from Warner Bros' Road Runner…
This morning I was talking with my mastermind group and discussing how I need to find ways to outsource some of my work so I can continue to grow my business and still have a life. I know this is an issue facing many artists, as we have talked about it, emailed about it, belabored about it… but rest assured this is a challenge that faces people in all walks of life, not just artists!
So I tweeted a link to a Tazmanian Devil clip and said, “this is why I need help!“ Although he busts through anything that stands in his way (visualize the trees, boulders and mountains as obstacles in your business) he is spinning in circles and doesn’t really seem to have much of a plan! I don’t want to be the proverbial “bull in a China shop” but aspire to flow with more focus, direction and harmony.
So I got to thinking… maybe the Road Runner is a better analogy. He seems happy (I love what I do!) is always moving at top speed (if he owned a business he’d be implementing great ideas quickly – as I like to do) and moves in a straight line (better than circles – let’s just hope he knows where he wants to go.)
So what does Wil. E. Coyote represent? In this scenario, he represents the Road Runner’s fears – the perceived challenges, obstacles and things that hold him back. By the end of the clip when the Coyote finally catches the Road Runner, he is too small to eat him. The Road Runner finally realized that it’s ok to stop running, that what he fears most only has the power he gives those fears and that in reality, he’s in charge.
My point? Don’t spin in circles without a plan. Don’t let your fears, worries and concerns make you believe you have to work at hyper-speed at all times. Become the big, empowered Road Runner and know that you can chart a course and do whatever you want with your life and business. You are in charge!
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara
P.S. If you need help charting your course and you are an artist or creative professional, check out my newly revised Goal Wheel for Artists. $10 off thru January 1st with code “ARTGOALS”
ARTISTS looking to get more focused on setting goals to build their business REJOICE!
It started in June as a teleseminar…
Then it was sold as an mp3 replay, action guide and transcript for those who missed the live call…
Now, just in time for 2010, The Goal Wheel for Artists™ is a new and improved eBook.
By an artist, for artists and any creative professional, this goal setting system will help you focus and move forward in your business, while still giving you time to work from inspiration. Set and achieve goals that make sense, feel good and keep you motivated. Learn to say “NO” to things that distract you from your vision so you can say “YES” to what you want.
To learn more, visit www.TheGoalWheelForArtists.com. Isn’t NOW a great time to reflect on where you are, decide where you want to go and chart a course to get there?
Wishing you much success now and always!
– Tara Reed
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