What do you do when you need a back-up plan for income?

[Janel]

Well said Mark!

 

There is much of what you say that is also my experience. No one needs what I do, and what I have been doing has a very tiny slice of a collectors market, and I work on a speculative approach, not by taking orders. It has worked so far, well sort of, until the last years. Had I done the sort of business plan you have done, I would not have produced the work of the past 15 years. If I were to have hired the sales persons, photographers, publicists and accountant the work would likely have had to be different to be able to sell more readily and pay their fees. There has never been a starting point for that approach, so it has been a solo flight. It must be that an enduring faith or belief that with effort things will work out somehow, and a love for the work, that keeps it all going. Yes, doubt can wreck havoc with forward motion.

 

So, on with the explorations, and when a recovery occurs, we will still be growing, ready with new work. Thanks for contributing.

 

Janel

[Mark Strom]

I need to clarify the results of my business plan work. The result was not what one would expect.

 

My motivation to do a business plan was not to increase my income. It is a required evil when approaching banks for some types of loans and I wanted to see what my "business" really was. I knew the answers to a great deal of the questions up front, its not like I am the head of a huge company.

 

What I found was that there was work I did just for money, there were markets for my work that I no longer wanted to be in and that yes these things brought in a great deal of income. Most importantly was I found that my art was turning into craft. By that I mean in some areas there were no explorations into truly new designs or carving techniques. A client would see a photo of a past work and say I want that....so having carved one before (or 10 over the years) I could produce it faster. I have one queen size headboard (28" x 55") design that I can carve in 7 hours and be ready to finish. Now that is good income but not very satisfying.

 

The true result of my first business plan was that I made a list of what I wanted to do and what I did not want to do. I have been working on that list for a year and a half now. My income dipped a little but my spirits soared. My work is better, the process is less stressful and I am not dealing with the markets I do not enjoy. My last business plan was more about the income, how to market the unpredictable products and to check to see if I had gone backwards.

 

I did not become self employed to become a one man factory. I also did not choose this path so that I could work for people I do not like or sell in markets that stress me out. Over the years while trying to raise my kids and trying to do my best somehow I ended up doing a little of all of those things. I am trying now to achieve the ultimate goal... to carve whatever I want, get paid very well for it and not have to leave my studio to sell anything. Sounds wild but we all started with wild dreams...

 

Mark

[Phil White]

I believe that the key to success in this business is diversity. That is to say, the ability to create a variety of works in different materials and in different mediums that can appeal to a larger market of collectors. It would seem that many of you are doing this now.

 

Many of the artists that I admire the most were able (they're pretty much all dead) or are able to work comfortably in a variety of materials, and produce a large variety of works that were able to carry them through tough times.

 

One of my favorite artists, Bill Reid, started as a jeweller, then put his skills to work as a graphic artist and a carver/sculptor in wood, bronze, and stone, producing both utilitarian works and sculptures that were purely works of art.

 

I have to agree with Mark as well, in that having a good solid business approach, including good marketing is equally important. This is something that is often difficultfor artists, as they tend not to use that side of the brain as much, but I have recieved a lot of good free advice from those who do.

 

And yes, it will be necessary to sell out every now and again. There's nothing wrong with that, to a degree. After all, all artists who take money for their work are selling out in one way or another. So long as it is something that, as Mark said, doesn't stress you out too much, or put you into situations where you are working for people that you don't like or don't trust.

 

Phil