The Art Biz

You're most likely listening to this podcast because you are in the art business. It's more than a hobby to you. It's your professional line of work. In this episode I want to talk about profitability—what it takes not just to make and sell art, but to also make money and to ensure that you have a positive net income in your art business. As the CEO of your art business there are things you — and...

Failure. We all fear it, especially in our art businesses. But failure is necessary for growth. If you are succeeding at everything, there is no way you're learning and growing. My guest today is ambitious and knows what she wants, and she is not afraid to fail. In our interview, you'll hear about Laura Petrovich-Cheney's philosophy that failure is the result of not listening to your instinct and...

There is no such thing as the artist's path. Look at the careers of 50 artists side-by-side and you'll see 50 different paths. And probably none of them happened exactly as planned. In this episode I talk with Leah Smithson about her path, which kicked into gear after her father suffered a massive stroke and she began researching how creativity works in the brain. Leah's interest in learning has l...

Many artists take risks in their businesses and in their art without even thinking about it. They are hard-wired to experiment and stretch the boundaries of what is possible. Artists are innate problem solvers. My guest for this episode is one of those artists. The list of what Michael Gadlin has done (legally) to earn a living as a working artist for more than 20 years is impressive. He sells ori...

Are you afraid to take risks in your art business? Do you spend your time playing it safe and sticking with what is comfortable and familiar in order to avoid facing the fear of the unknown? If so, you're not alone. We are hard-wired for the protection that will keep us safe, but avoiding risks can also keep you small when you give up the power of decision-making. Avoiding risks can hold you back...

Who do you think you are? If that thought has ever crossed your mind, this episode is for you. My guest is corporate-world-turned-full-time-artist Christa Forrest, and our topic is one that most of us experience at some point in our art careers and businesses: Imposter Syndrome. Christa is a big advocate for "fake it til you make it," but that doesn't mean that she doesn't have doubts and insecuri...

Elitism in the art world is not an easy topic to tackle — it's something that I even grapple with. To help make sense of these complex issues, I've invited Megan Auman back to the podcast. Megan and I talk about what exactly the art world is and dive into problems that occur when entire groups of people are excluded from the art world (or art worlds , I believe). Elitism in this art world, the art...

Appearances shouldn't matter, but we all know they do. We only have seconds to make a good first impression because, like it or not, people start forming an opinion of you from the moment they see you or your art, hear your voice or read something you've written. As much as I would love to focus solely on the presentation of my client's work, I can't avoid addressing the equally important aspect o...

At what point do you get to call yourself an artist? What do you need to have achieved in order to earn that title? It's not an easy question to answer, and too many of my clients think they need to be working as a full-time artist before they can officially assume the title. Until that point, they are teachers, marketing agents, engineers, and doctors. However, there is no magic point when someon...

I get tons of podcast pitches, but none have been better than the one I recently received from Lilianne Milgrom. It was right on target. Lilianne had just finished writing a book, and, while I was skeptical, her pitch was perfect. I gave her book a go and could not put it down. It contained art history, intrigue, sex, and scandal. How could it not be fascinating? But my conversation today with Lil...

Collaborations aren't for the faint of heart—especially for artists who are used to working alone and making decisions without having to get approval from another human being. But my guests today have figured out how to make it work. In this episode I talk with Rebecca Crowell and Jerry McLaughlin about how their Cold Wax Academy got off the ground. They were my guests way back in episode 9 from 2...

This month we're exploring the topic of adjusting your approach, whether it's making little tweaks, looking at new possibilities, or even turning your art business and career upside down. My guest today proves that making these adjustments can give us better results or maybe just make us happier. Kelly M. O'Brien has been selling a lot of work since 2015, in a way that surprised her at the time. A...

The idea of letting go of something that is safe but isn't contributing to the life you want to live can be a very scary one. But my guest today has proven that cleaning out in order to follow your dreams just might be the best thing you could do for your art business. Lea K. Tawd did some of my favorite kind of cleaning out last year. She cleaned out obligations and associations that were taking...

This month we're focusing on the benefits of cleaning out — from physical clutter to organizing your lives, eliminating obligations that are no longer serving you to slowing down enough to focus on what matters most, in your art business and in your life. Kelly Milukas has been through more in the last 10 years than anyone should have to endure, and yet she never lost hope and determination. Kelly...

Spring is here in the Northern Hemisphere and it's a perfect time to consider the aspects of your life that are weighing you down without contributing to your happiness and success. April is the month for cleaning out in the Art Biz Success community. In this episode, I'm highlighting some of my previous interviews with artists who have discussed cleaning out in one form or another, from removing...

If you're an intentional artist, you're in the right place. In this episode, I'm wrapping up a month of talking about how systems can keep you organized and make you a more productive artist. Today's solo episode focuses on the secret weapon of a successful art business — your art biz handbook. An art biz handbook is the number one way to organize every aspect of your business. If you're looking f...

Betty Franks loves her business and life as an artist. She just might have found the secret sauce — a healthy combination of passion for the work and a continuing curiosity about business and becoming a better CEO of your art business. Betty's art business has exploded over the last four years — by 440%. You can't have and sustain this kind of business growth if you don't have solid systems in pla...

As much as every artist would love to focus only on the making, there is an equally important and opposite side of the artist brain that needs to be accessed — the organization side. It takes creativity and organization to successfully run an art business, and my guest today has learned how to embrace both. Not only is Jennifer Printz a practicing artist with an enviable record of exhibitions, but...

If you've been listening to this podcast for any amount of time, you know that I am the queen of systems. There is a reason that my signature program is the Art Career Success SYSTEM. I have learned that when you take the time to put in place easily repeatable steps to do a certain task or implement a project, the rewards are endless. You free your mind and calendar for the more creative pursuits...

I don't know anyone who doesn't think it would be great to attract more Instagram followers, more email list subscribers, and especially more sales. More makes our efforts feel worthwhile and validates them, but we're often stopped in our tracks when we begin to realize what we need to do in order to increase our numbers. We think we have to post more, research hashtags, invest in advertising, cre...

I live to track down art off the beaten path — traveling to out-of-the-way places to see works of art that delight and inspire, or even confound me. I found just such a piece last year when I traveled to the Midwest, and the success story of the artist behind the art is just as engaging as the piece itself. My guest for this episode is Romy Owens, an artist and curator who makes site-specific inst...

What is something special you can do for your subscribers and collectors when your shows and large events are canceled because of a pandemic? Give them a private viewing experience, of course. This week, my guest is Simonne Roy, a contemporary American impressionist painter grounded in the plein air painting tradition. For years, Simonne has been inviting VIPs into her home, which she had transfor...

What is success? How do you measure it? What story do the numbers tell? Confronting numbers can be intimidating, but it is an essential step to growing both yourself and your business. It forces you to be realistic about where you are, including your weaknesses, and it challenges you to make up for any lost ground. This month we are looking into measuring success and today I want to share with you...

We all seek success (whatever it means to us individually) but aren't always prepared to deal with it when it comes along. And that's okay, because as you'll hear in this episode, you will learn how to deal with unexpected success if it's something you really want. My guest is Lisa Goren, an artist whose work took a surprise U-turn when the pandemic hit last year, and she went for it. Lisa Goren w...

Taking charge of your art business isn't only about bookkeeping, inventory and promoting your art effectively. Taking charge of your art business is about assuming 100% responsibility for your actions — all of your actions, especially in your studio. We all want to increase our productivity and creativity in this new year, and my guest today has mastered the art of doing exactly that by planning a...