11 Tips to Go From Artist to Entrepreneur

Artist | \ˈär-tist\ | noun

1. a person who creates art (such as painting, sculpture, music, or writing) using conscious skill and creative imagination

Entrepreneur | \ahn-truh-pruh-nur\ | noun

1. a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

If you're reading this article, the chances are that you're familiar with the first definition above. Through countless studio hours, sleepless nights, and work-in-progresses, you've lived it. What you're looking to learn more about is the second definition. Luckily, as an artist, you're no stranger to taking initiative and risks, which are cornerstones of entrepreneurship, as described above. Below, you'll find 11 tips that will detail how to take the reins on your creative talents to build a long-term, prosperous career as an artist.

1) DEFINE YOURSELF 

When starting out in the creative arena, it's essential to understand fully who you are as a creator and how you'll relay your identity to your audience. What drives you to create? What experiences got you to where you are today? Ask yourself the tough questions to help you determine the kind of art you'll produce and how it will link back to your identity as an artist. 

It's also crucial to clearly define yourself as an entrepreneur when getting started in the art industry. Making and distributing business cards with your name alongside the title of "artist" is a sure-fire way to get your name and creations in the public eye. 

2) CREATE AND CURATE YOUR COLLECTION

After some introspection, it's time to do what you do best: create meaningful art pieces that resonate with the public. Consider selling small collections of your art to show consistency in your work and help you determine what's selling in the ever-changing art market. This way, you can build on past collections that garnered positive attention to reach more people, helping you grow. 

3) MAKE A WEBSITE

Although it can be immensely beneficial to make an Instagram account for your art, social media isn't enough. Building a website, an extension of you as an artist, is crucial in every creative industry. If done effectively, your site will give your audience insight into what you make and who you are. A hub with artist statements, a regularly updated blog, and most importantly, your portfolio will help you make a name for yourself in the art business.

Interested in building a site complete with a blog just like this one? Contact us; Jony Studios can help you bring your artistic endeavors to new heights with our website building services. 

 

4) ESTABLISH YOUR TARGET MARKET

Ensuring your art reaches its intended audience is imperative when building your career as an artist. Figure out who's buying your art, how much they typically spend, and how often they buy. Also, note how many people champion your art without buying it. Don't underestimate the power of individuals invested in your art, even if they aren't spending their money. This way, you can use your effort to display your art where the public will appreciate it. The best way to find your target audience is to let your audience find you. Display your art wherever and whenever you can so it can reach large groups of people at one time. Every time your art is on display, there's a possibility that your next client will be amongst one of the viewers.

5) PRICE ACCORDINGLY

As an entrepreneur, you must understand your art's intrinsic value and quantify it into a price. This can be difficult as art is defined by much more than its price tag. However, many artists have gone through this very struggle and developed formulaic methods to price their work. The main elements to consider are:

• Cost of materials

• Cost of overhead (studio rent, utilities, maintenance, etc.)

• Cost of labor

• Markup (recommended amounts range from 10-20%)

6) SEEK OUT YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES

Sitting around and waiting for exhibits to come to town will do you no good as an artist wanting to break through in the industry. Reach out to local galleries to have your art displayed, submit articles to various art blogs and journals, or host an open studio day. You could even get in touch with interior designers and have your art featured in hotels, office buildings, and restaurants. Time spent hoping an opportunity will present itself is time you could spend creating your own.

7) NURTURE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS

If you show your customers that you value them, they’ll make an effort to see the value in your art. Give exclusive offers to people signed up to your mailing list or release special edition art collections to new customers. Even just interacting with your audience in the comments section of a blog post shows them you care and that you’re worth investing in, not only with their money but unwavering support. 

8) BUILD MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS

Surrounding yourself with the right people can make all the difference when starting as an entrepreneur for your art. Building connections with local journalists and art collectors can ensure that the public will know about your art whenever you wish to display it. Even by helping others out, you may be exposed to new opportunities to have your work featured or be interviewed by the press. The bottom line is to expand your network, not only to make the most sales but to have a support system of people in your niche to help you when you’re down and to amplify your success when you’re up. 

9) STAY ON TOP OF YOUR FINANCES

Although finance and art may seem like opposite ends of the career spectrum, keeping your records organized will save you countless future headaches. Staying on top of your expenses and revenues can help you budget effectively when buying materials or renting out studio space. Many websites even offer webinars specifically for artists trying to navigate the world of finance. If you can spend less time stressing about money, you can spend more time crafting art pieces. 

10) MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN

You must set realistic goals if you want a long-term, prosperous career as an artist. After doing so, develop systems you can implement daily to help complete your objectives. Asking yourself questions like “What percentage of my art should I sell to be profitable?” will help you determine how many hours you’ll spend in the studio every day. For example, if you want 50% of your art to be purchased, you’ll need to make double the amount you hope to sell. Make your business plan, follow it, then tweak it accordingly to ensure your goals are still relevant and attainable.

 11) STAY CONSISTENT

Begone with the stereotypes of the carefree artist. If you decide you want to make a business out of your art, you need to remain dedicated even when the chips are down. When your exposure is low, create an opportunity to generate buzz around your work. If you didn’t meet your expected sales for the first quarter, calculate the additional revenue you need to earn across the next three to diffuse the loss. Some customers may not even buy an art piece until years after they see it since it may take that long for them to realize they connected with it. It’s always better to take a step back and re-evaluate your approach than quit. 

CONCLUSION

Deciding to get serious about your art can seem like a daunting decision, but by no means does it have to be. Building connections, creating impactful pieces, and making opportunities for yourself are all ways you can steadily elevate your art business. With these 11 tips in your arsenal, we hope you realize creative success can be yours. 

Still looking for more help to kickstart your creative career? Maybe you’ve already found your footing but want some assistance fine-tuning your approach. Wherever you are in your art-trepeneurial journey, Jony Studios can help. Our services range from brand consulting to website development to SEO. We’d love to help you be the best art entrepreneur you can be!

Written by Midhat Mujaddid

Are you going to try any of these techniques with your art business? Do you know an artist who could use some of these tips? Let us know in the comments below!

If you’re wanting to learn more about business, media, and music production, we are developing a course called Producer Launch that will take you from beginner, all the way to knowing how to become a successful producer for a living!

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Why Personal Branding is Important

There’s just no escaping it; branding is everywhere. Of course, you’ve heard of Nike, Apple, and Tesla, but there’s another type of branding on the rise: personal branding. While there seems to be another marketing trend every new moon, personal branding is here to stay and can take your business to new heights if approached correctly. So, what is personal branding anyway? Why is it so important? How can you start developing your own? Read on to learn more.

WHAT IS PERSONAL BRANDING?

Think of some of the biggest brands you know. Chances are they’ve clearly established their beliefs, values, goals, and purpose to their target audience. Now take that idea and turn inward. That’s how you should be approaching your personal brand. Rather than focusing solely on the products or services you provide, personal branding refers to your public persona and how you communicate with your target market. Looking for more on personal branding? Watch this 5-minute personal branding rundown.

PERSONAL BRANDING EXAMPLES

Let’s take Elon Musk for example. While he’s best known for his innovative work with Tesla and SpaceX you can’t ignore the outlandish stunts that have made him a public figure in his own right. By bending societal norms in his personal life as a visionary albeit eccentric individual, Musk is associated with his brands that push the limits of what humanity is capable of.

Want to see more personal brands in action? Check out this list of 18 personal brands done right.

 WHY IS PERSONAL BRANDING IMPORTANT?

As credible information is getting diluted with sensationalist content, personal branding is now more critical than ever. Communicated by the EAT algorithm used for SEO, sharing your expertise with an audience allows you to be perceived as the go-to authority in your arena. In turn, you gain the trust of your target market, who will come back to your company anytime you release new products or offer unique expertise. Just by putting a face to your company via your personal brand, your recommendations may be 92% more trustworthy than recommendations from your company as a whole.

HOW WILL BUILDING A PERSONAL BRAND BENEFIT YOU?

If curated effectively, your personal brand will be memorable and tell the world that they should choose you over your competitors. By putting your best traits and strengths out for your audience, you’ll be exposed to new niche opportunities relevant to your most substantial assets. Through these unique experiences, you’ll also be able to build relationships with well-known brands in your industry.

By taking the reins and building your own personal brand, you control your public perception. Rather than allowing mystique and possible misinformation to dictate your persona, which is becoming increasingly frequent in the age of social media, you can consciously present yourself in alignment with your values and goals.

5 WAYS TO start BUILDING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

Now that you know what a personal brand is and why it’s crucial to build your own, here are five tips to help you present yourself effectively online.

1) Find your niche

To build your personal brand, you must identify the arena in which you want to operate. By setting a clear area of expertise, you’ll be able to focus your energy on specific content rather than providing lots of low-quality information for variety’s sake. Sticking to what you know will save your time and energy and ensure your audience receives quality information from you. Want to learn more about finding your niche? Here’s a 5-step guide to get you there.

2) Be authentic

Although curating your public persona involves putting forward your best traits, you should never feel pressured to act like someone you aren’t. Putting on a character hoping to seem like an expert in your field will almost always backfire as you may fail to keep your brand consistent. Also, the chances are that your audience can see through the façade, lowering your overall credibility. Instead, consider using your weaknesses to your advantage to set yourself apart.

3) Work on your online presence

With 65% of people seeing online search results as the most trusted source of information about companies, working on your online presence is essential. Ensuring you have a consistent personal brand image through a logo and communication style is a good starting point for your brand. Also, consider making a website for your brand in addition to your social media accounts. If you want a website like this one, feel free to reach out. We have worked with many clients, making effective websites that can help your brand grow! Creating a website for your brand ensures that you own the information you share as opposed to Instagram or Twitter, which are platforms that limit the ownership you have over your content. Through a website, you can also start a blog and tap into email marketing which can increase customer retention.

4) Reach out to other well-known brands

Although one of the primary uses of personal branding is to set yourself apart from the competition, working with other companies in your niche can be immensely beneficial. Interacting with well-known brands online through social media, blog posts, or direct communication can also help others see the value in connecting with you, thereby building your network.

5) Believe in your brand

Personal branding is, without a doubt, a labor-intensive process and can take a few tries to get right. Like most things, however, consistency is key, and it’s essential that you don’t lose sight of how your company will benefit from your personal brand being perfected. Even if it seems like your efforts aren’t paying off, it’s important to recognize that making a lasting impact on your audience takes time. After all, it takes five to seven impressions for someone to remember a brand.

6) BONUS TIP: Let Jony Studios help you build your personal brand

Whether you need help getting started or want to fine-tune your existing personal brand, we can help. Our brand consulting services can help you with brand identity development, positioning, brand videos, podcasting, and even audiobook creation. At Jony Studios, we recognise that building a personal brand is no small feat, and we want to help you every step of the way.

CONCLUSION

Taking charge of your personal presence is an essential step in helping your brand reach new heights. The moment you put a face to your company, you have the chance to extend your reach through interactions with your audience and other brands, stand out in the sea of competition, and increase your credibility. Although it can take some effort, this guide can hopefully help you build your personal brand and help your company grow.

Written by Midhat Mujaddid

Did you learn a new tip about building your personal brand? Was there anything that surprised you? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

12 Must-Read Books for Entrepreneurs in 2021

Regardless of how far you’ve made it as an entrepreneur, you are always learning due to the unforeseen circumstances and challenges that are constantly coming your way. You have to be able to adapt and think quickly on your feet to solve anything that may appear.

A way to hone and sharpen these skills is by none other than the simple act of reading. Taking even just 5-minutes out of your day to read a page of any of the 12 recommended books below (listed in no particular order) can drastically improve your skills and make you an entrepreneur that is to be reckoned with.

1. Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore

Moore goes on about how to go about marketing and selling any unusual, out-of-the-norm products to any mainstream customers, focusing on the new service or product that requires them to change their behaviours in uncomfortable ways.

His theory mentioned in the book is called “The Technology Adoption Lifecycle”. It breaks down people into 5 groups and how they each adjust and alter themselves to the disruptive product/service:

• The Innovators (2.5%): 

• Early Adopters (13.5%)

• Early Majority (34%)

• Late Majority (34%)

• The Laggards (16%)

They’re all categorized due to the nature and actions they take upon themselves with the product. The innovator will typically buy the newest product to be up-to-date with the newest technology - they want the product for the sake of being the first one to own it. Early adopters look for new technology for strategic purposes. As for the early majority, when they see a product that becomes trending, they’ll start to use it as the new standard. 

Moore goes more into detail about the other categories in his book, focusing more on “crossing the chasm” between the early adopters and the early & late majority of customers as they are crucial to keeping these kinds of customers loyal to the company. 

2. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

As the title suggests, Carnegie gives you multiple tips and techniques on how to not only win your friends over but also how to influence those around you. 

Carnegie starts off by telling you to give up on the idea of winning an argument. In fact, avoid any arguments in general since 90% of the time both opposing sides will still think they’re the ones in the right and even if you do win an argument? You still lose as the opposing party has felt inferior to you - which is never a great feeling.

Another lesson he gives is: never telling someone they’re wrong. Rather, discuss with them and ask them questions about why they think what they think.

These are just some examples of what Carnegie has to offer in his book in what makes a great and successful entrepreneur.

3. Start With Why by Simon Sinek

“People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.” - Simon Sinek

Sinek’s book takes a dive into his insights on how to attract loyal customers, a company culture and create a larger and much more positive impact on the world. He does so by mentioning the story behind the purpose of one’s business, answering the question: WHY?

His theory lies in two different ways to influence humans and their behaviour (including their buying decisions): Manipulation OR Inspiration. 

When it comes to manipulation, this will allow a person to actually take action as it can be seen as pressure from others to buy the product, however, even if this method is a way to get sales going, it isn’t very effective in the long-term. 

A better tactic is to inspire, by starting with why. He suggests that by communicating with your market audience and letting them know why it is that you do what you do is the key to capture customers and inspire them. This way, you create loyal customers who are actually interested in your business and what it is that you have to offer.

Sinek’s book helps improve on leadership skills, and the ability to inspire colleagues, peers and customers alike - everything a great entrepreneur needs.

4. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau 

Guillebeau brings about what it’s really like to start a business, mentioning its challenges while also laying out for the entrepreneur how to start a new and successful business with a small team of up to 5 people using real-life case studies.

He mentions 3 main lessons:

Lesson 1: Make use of any and all of  your current skills
Don’t spend the entirety of your bank account on learning new skills, rather focus on the ones you already have and see what you can do to make use of them to help further your business.

Lesson 2: Starting small, focus on good marketing
Get creative. Find marketing strategies that won’t break the bank such as blogging, collaborate with other small businesses - anything really to get your name out there.

Lesson 3: Take action over planning
Basically, do something, as “overplanning can lead to a quick death for many small businesses.” And if anything comes up along the way, then deal with it then and adjust accordingly as taking no action can put your business at a much higher risk.

5. The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

Tired of working a generic, boring 9 to 5 job? In this book, Ferriss gives you the nitty-gritty on how to create a  business while doing what you’re passionate about and turn the profits you make into a life of luxury to live like The New Rich.

Rather than being effective, be efficient, Ferriss says, as he mentions the 80/20 rule - 80% of the results will come from 20% of the action. In doing so, you can live like a millionaire without actually being one.

This new lifestyle he proposes allows for you to do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want - if you focus on flexibility and mobility. He gives you the tools such as delegating tasks to virtual assistants and simply redefining your mindset towards work.

6. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Covey states 7 habits for a much more effective and successful business and personality. Though your idea may be great, if you aren’t likeable, it’s just not as easy to gain customers.

Here are the 7 habits:

• Be proactive - take initiative. Do what you think is best.

• Keep in mind, there’s always an end to a beginning - start by visualizing what it is that you want, what your end goal is and create a plan accordingly.

• Priorities - what brings you closer to your goal? Do those things.

• “Win-win” strategies - allow for opportunities where you can create a growing relationship with others where you can both benefit off of.

• Listen, understand then learn when to speak - always listen first, understand the other, then speak when the opportunity arises.

• Harmonize - think and find ways to match the energy levels of yourself and those around you so you can achieve more.

• Recharge - Don’t forget to take time to rest, this way you’re able to do more and be more effective in the long-term.

The habits all help develop your interpersonal skills, as well as other skills that require interacting with others, such as teamwork and communication while maintaining a balance each and every day.

7. The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

Drucker shows how you can go about developing your own personal effectiveness. That, in a knowledge-driven world, people need to work on improving their effectiveness.

Here are 5 ways in how to begin doing them:

• Manage your time

• Build strengths

• Set priorities, focus on what it is that will allow for you to achieve your goals

• Focus on results and contributing yourself

• Make decisions that get good outcomes

Drucker’s book, though written over 50 years ago is still relevant to this day as these insights still apply to become an effective executive and what one should apply throughout their daily life.

8. The Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Horowitz gives it to you down and dirty. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything on how hard it is to actually start and run a business. He wrote this particular book and in all of its brutal honesty to let entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners know what really happens when your business begins to fail and how to go about fixing it. 

He begins the book by telling a story of himself and how he became a business owner, starting as an engineer at another company to starting up a business with his new business partner Marc Andreesen. While the rest of the book is spent giving you, the reader tips on how to effectively run a business, taking the reality of things - the real problems and challenges it takes to run a business.

Horowitz even mentions the strong mentality he had to build as a CEO: “It’s like fight club management: the first rule of the CEO psychological meltdown is don’t talk about the psychological meltdown.”

9. The Lean Startup by Eric Reis

Have a great business idea? Reis’ book has a rather detailed approach in how to make that idea into one that is sustainable and will create paying customers for your product or service. 

The book begins with 2 categorized assumptions:

• Value Assumption: the belief of customers finding value in your growth, the assumption that you’re doing is going to work

• Growth Assumption: how you’ll actually attract customers and make a profit with your business over time.

Ries then takes these two assumptions and converts them into a plan - a hypothesis if you will and then guides you into finding quick, cheap ways for you to be able to test any hypothesis that comes up such as building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or a promotional video with a website. Anything to get your business going. In doing so, it allows for the uncertainty of starting a new business to become more certain and going forward, to create a long-lasting company with increasing profits.

10. The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick

This is the book for you if you’re a new startup company, introducing a new product or service to the existing market already out there. It’ll teach you strategies and tips on how to talk to new customers and gain any feedback that may be of actual value to you and your business.

It teaches you “How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you,” since you’re more likely to present your idea to a close family or friend and they will be more likely to be kind and encourage you rather than give you the hard and honest truth about whether or not your idea will really work in the real world.

Always begin by talking to customers about their lives, rather than immediately mentioning your idea. This way, you can actually see how their life and any problem they have may align with the context of your product and how to solve it.

11. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Kahneman’s book goes deep into the mind of the consumer, looking into the psychology behind one’s decision-making and judgment. A key read to better market your business and increase profits. 

He does so by separating the psychology into 2 different systems:

System 1 - Fast Thinking

• “Operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control.”

System 2 - Slow Thinking

• “Allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations. The operations of System 2 are often associated with subjective experience of agency, choice and concentration.”

And analyzes each one, explaining to you so you can better understand how and why you make decisions as well as aid in identifying which system you, yourself are using and what you should actually be using. 

12. Zero to One by Peter Thiel

“Focus on businesses that create something new.” - Peter Thiel

Thiel’s book addresses entrepreneurs, challenging them to take the world (as the title suggests) from 0 to 1 - as opposed to what it is in reality, the opposite. Basically, to create new solutions and products to also create something of value. But before jumping head first into it, he gives tips on the dos and donts of creating a new product or service.

He also mentions how, rather than creating new ideas, businesses strive to take existing products and improve them, even just by a little bit. 

So, if you’re looking to take the risk of creating something new that no one’s ever heard of out on the market, then definitely give Thiel’s book a read.

CONCLUSION

If you’re starting your own business then definitely look into at least one or a couple of these books to gain some insight into what it takes to run a successful business and be a glowing CEO. Each book is set to guide you with crucial information, as well as tips and tricks to improve yourself, your skills and your business on your entrepreneurial journey in hopes that you do make it.

Did anyone of these books pique your interest? If so, which ones? Let us know!

Written by Tina Phong

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