There are many talented and successful artists working hard every day to do what they love. Some people are able to periodically earn money with their passion, but for many artists, that income is not enough to consider it a “living.”
It is perhaps unfortunate, but true, that there are many preconceived notions about artists and other creative types. For example:
While these may be stereotypical preconceptions (or misconceptions), if you’re a creative person, you may identify with some them. The point is that creative and artistic types often face particular challenges in transitioning from thinking of themselves strictly as “artists” to adopting the mindset of a business owner. So much of what makes an artist thrive stems from right-brain thinking. So much of what makes a business owner successful comes from left-brain processes.
In his book Career Management for the Creative Person, author Lee Silber refers to “The Seven (Bad) Habits of Highly Ineffective Creative People.” In this list he mentions seven tendencies that seem to be particularly common among “right-brain types,” as he calls them. The list includes procrastination, the desire to take on every job, the inability to be satisfied financially, being egotistic and overly confident, the tendency towards addictive behaviors including becoming a “workaholic,” and a lack of discipline.
Does this mean that artists cannot make great business owners and entrepreneurs? Certainly not! Some of the most successful businesspeople in the world are artists first and foremost.
So what’s the secret for the lucky few who have managed to turn their artistic passions into a profitable business? How can one go from being a talented artist who makes money to a business owner who still functions as a talented artist? On one level this is the same question that any professional—be it a graphic designer or a hair stylist—must ask themselves. The key is being willing to transition from being an “artist” to a business owner, or in E-Myth terminology, to go from being strictly a Technician to becoming and Entrepreneur.
As an entrepreneur one is engaged in an enterprise. Webster’s defines an “enterprise” as: A project undertaken that is of some importance or that requires boldness or energy. A company organized for commercial purposes; a business firm.
The implications here are numerous, but key is that a successful enterprise requires a boldness of vision, a plan for achieving that vision, and an energetic strategy for carrying out that plan. Another implication is that it will not be done alone. A team is essential for the successful building and management of a business. This does not necessarily mean hiring employees, but at the very least, having a network of mentors, colleagues, sub-contractors and vendors is critical.
Building a business means having operations in place for managing finances, for directing marketing, lead generation, and lead conversion functions, and for client fulfillment and internal management processes. Being a business owner means being ultimately accountable for the successful implementation and orchestration of all the various systems needed to make the business run smoothly, effectively and profitably.
And there is the danger for the owner who wants to remain the artist: how does one build, manage, and oversee all of that while still having time to pursue one’s creative aspirations?
Every successful endeavor begins with a vision and a plan to achieve that vision. As an entrepreneurial artist desiring to become a business owner, developing a clear vision of your business is vital. And this doesn’t mean sitting around thinking about it. You must write it down, give it shape… Give it life. You can even draw it out if that’s easier for you! Bottom line, your vision doesn’t mean anything if it’s just ideas swimming around your head; you need to get it documented.
A key part of that vision is defining the exact role that you, the owner/artist will fill in the organizational structure. In the beginning, you’ll have to wear multiple hats and be responsible for functions that you aren’t necessarily comfortable with. As the business owner, you don’t need to excel at every part of business, but you do need to have a basic understanding of the business fundamentals. At the end of the day, you are ultimately responsible for the business as a whole. But don’t fret; just the act of developing your organizational structure will help you identify the areas that you need to get help with first, be it through an employee or sub-contractor.
Once that vision is established, a strategic plan needs to be put into place and then effectively carried out. This should involve designing, developing, and documenting standardized systems for all of the key functions in the business. For example, if you’ve determined through working on your organizational structure, that you need an administrative assistant right away, then why not start by documenting how orders will be taken and the process for fulfillment? Can you standardize the customer experience so that you deliver a top-notch experience every time? You can work through this process with your new hire to some extent, drawing on their expertise and input to get these processes in place. What a great way to start with an employee! Giving them a documented way of doing business, right from the start!
Planning and strategic work of this magnitude will not be accomplished in one sitting. A key piece of successful implementation and execution is the management and follow-through of each step and each phase of a long range plan. Flexibility and a willingness to adjust to changes in the marketplace, the economy, and so on are important. But it is vital that the general plan and the key objectives always be kept in sight.
So what’s the bottom line? It’s that entrepreneurial artists can successfully make the transition to becoming business owners. And they can do so while structuring their role in the business in such a way as to allow them to continue practicing their particular craft.
Ann R. says:
I could have written this newsletter for you!
I'm a artist, an entrepreneur, and an E-Myth enthusiast.
I also founded http://www.artistswhothrive.com, a community for entrepreneurial creatives.
Cheers,
Ann Rea | Artist, CEO
Ann Rea, Inc.
http://www.annrea.com/
Submitted Apr 12, 2010 3:30 PM
Keith L. says:
Part of my job as an owner is to be a systems strategist. Developing and documenting procedures or reviewing and approving the procedures my employees develop and document.
We developed a software tool to help us accomplish this task. Take a look and let us know what you think!
Submitted Apr 12, 2010 3:51 PM
Patrick R. says:
Interesting but only so far. Creatives, possibly more than other self-employed people, see their output as highly individual from sweat and hours applied to craft based on imagination. Nothing comes from anyone else, or so it may seem, to them - graphic designers, painters, writers, jewellery designers, sculptors, musicians possibly, filmakers, dancers, etc (not looking at hair dressers here, for they could be classed as general self employed)
The article describes what is generally true for most self-employed people but doesn't cite examples, even briefly, on creatives. Are there any? Also, how can creatives move to develop more than the equivalent of a cornershop, mom-and-pop smallscale business? Is there really about controlling the development of intellectual property and scaling up its exploitation?
Thanks for the article, which was a helpful prompt.
Submitted Apr 12, 2010 3:53 PM
Gabriel D. says:
as an artist, a visual story teller, i enjoy walking this journey with other artists, asking "how can we be business owners and still be artists?" many in my industry are outspoken about the divide they see between "The Artists" and "The Business People," but i don't see that divide; i merely see artists who are more inclined to the nature of the artist/photographer/technician and those who are more inclined to the nature of the manager.
it is rare that an artist truly embraces his inner ceo AND his inner artist, but i feel, especially in today's marketplace, that embracing BOTH is crucial to survive & thrive.
enjoying.the.story.
gabriel.ryan.
Submitted Apr 12, 2010 7:00 PM
Robert M. says:
Patrick R. said, "The article describes what is generally true for most self-employed people but doesn't cite examples, even briefly, on creatives. Are there any?"
I have an article that I've used successfully for many years and passed on to many people. It has many examples. It's an article that I found years ago in an Art Magazine. It's an excerpt from Calvin Goodman's book " Marketing Art". Goodman ran seminars in Los Angeles on Marketing Art. The name of the article is "Every Artist is a Dealer". If you want a copy of the article, you can email me at: bobmuson@bobmusonfineart.com. I have it in a Word document.
Submitted Apr 12, 2010 8:47 PM
Vincent D. says:
I'll have an intelligent comment,as soon as I get past the "starting a business Flugtag effect".Eventually,what makes money,will replace,"this is just too much fun";but, for now,the initial rush of contact with the minds behind phrases like "existential nausea" is worth experiencing the subject matter.If I had to pay everyone that's contributing to my business plan,I'd need a budget the size of government...thanks !
Submitted Apr 12, 2010 8:53 PM
Johannes D. says:
All technicians, whether they be engineers, architects, graphic designers or fine artists have one characteristic in common: they create their products to get apporval from their professional peers, before they create for the needs of their clients. This is the single most difficult aspect to manage when managing technicians. At the moment I am busy with a project where the client is an engineering organisation who is at loggerheads with the architects that desing their new building. The source of misalignment is exactly the same: the architects want a building that will gather praise from other architects and the engineers want to show one another how cold blooded and efficient they are in utilisaing space. I am a professional artist, but my day job is as a brand consultant. to be successful in any kind of business you must first understand that your primary audience is your client, not your professional peers. See me at www.mindpilot.co.za
Submitted Apr 13, 2010 12:06 AM
Richard G. says:
I'm new to the e.myth per se.
ive found it an expansive input.
There were a few major things i was missing my approach to business, and i think that i had focussed on two things that were mutually exclusive.
I think that having a focus and writing it is essential to achieve an outcome.
but i think the difficulty for the artist comes prior to the beautiful machine and emything, an issue that doesnt pose a difficulty to the pure businessman in the same way.
Motive and priority is the issue for the artist that has to be cleared up inside first or were heading for an internal conflict.
before i design my life, the question what is a good quality of life? not standard of living, i mean internal. this has to be answered. what is my role in life full stop. Is it to live in a creative state?
when you are creating deeply you cant think in the mechanical way, not right at that moment. creativity is a higher frequency of activity. like meditation. not vacancy, but thought is too slow, too clunky. now; ive learnt you can switch quickly, but just answering the phone takes you out of state and it takes longer to pick up the threads than it does to snap out of the state.
hence artists often lock themselves away and sometimes forget to eat in their timeless state.
now, the way i see it, one state of being has to take prority. businessman or creator. If your lifes purpose is to be in that creative state regardless you cant function in both places each having priority. I think that if artists accept that to generate the system that can support this way of living financially it will initially take 70% of your time for perhaps the first 10 years then there wont be a conflict.
alternatively..I see being poor takes up 70% of your energy forever!, so whats the choices. Id rather have just enough and a free schedule to create, and they could give my art away, but its not the world i live in.
if somebody else sees a third way id love to hear from you
castworx1@aol.com
Submitted Apr 13, 2010 12:47 AM
Tara R. says:
I absolutely agree about people with highly right-brained tendencies having a harder time with the more left-brained business side of things. Thankfully I'm strong with both - armed with a marketing degree and love of business I've built my art licensing business licensing my art to manufacturers to use on products.
I also teach artists interested in the industry how to do the business side of things at www.ArtLicensingInfo.com. What I find disturbing is that many artists tell me how they were told by teachers at art schools that they wouldn't make money - let's not create self-fulfilling prophecies!
It is possible to be an artist, love what you do AND be financially successful!
Thanks for the article - great read!
– Tara Reed
Submitted Apr 13, 2010 4:58 PM
Paula C. says:
Yes - you can be an artist and a business person. No - it's not anywhere the same satisfaction as creating an original work of art, but it's necessary for your survival. Those of us with a BA in Fine Art, (that didn't know to go after a minor in marketing or finance), can play catchup. Reading publications like EMyth Revisited and spending a couple hours a day on the business end can yield visible results.
There is an art to creating a fine painting and an art to learning to how to best plan to market your creativity to the world. No one will do it better than you.
I appreciated the article! Any other artists with successful marketing hints or insights contact me at www.paulachristen.com
Submitted Apr 13, 2010 5:21 PM
Ruth C. says:
In reference to Johannes D comment:
"All technicians, whether they be engineers, architects, graphic designers or fine artists have one characteristic in common: they create their products to get apporval from their professional peers, before they create for the needs of their clients."
I think that's a pretty sweeping statement! It certainly doesn't summarize the way that our graphic design firm operates. While we may have high internal standards about the work we produce, and a unique style based on our creative bent, our primary goal is to communicate with a target market in a way that achieves an established end goal for our clients.
(You can check out our work at http://www.monodesign.com.au)
The work we produce is never for our professional peers, unless they happen to be the target market we are trying to appeal to!
Submitted Apr 13, 2010 5:36 PM
Ken N. says:
As someone who worked in corporate marketing for 14 years, I tend to agree more with Johannes D more than with Ruth C, especially when dealing with an outside agency or design firm rather than an "in-house" one. My experience is that all too often, the agency and its creative people want to enhance their own portfolio and win awards, rather than create stuff that sells product--and they want to do in on MY dime! Their creative ego and arrogance gets in the way of serving the client. Obviously, that's not ALWAYS the case...but watch out for this, both as a buyer of creative product and as a provider!
Submitted Apr 14, 2010 5:52 AM
Evan T. says:
I'm a professional saxophonist, and instructor and "musopreneur". Since 2005 I've been publishing my own materials on learning jazz improvisation and saxophone technique in general. I'm podcasting, building sites (one is a subscription website), creating and selling products and STILL performing.
Being creative and in business is a challenge but by no means a paradox nor impossible. I enjoy the freedom of being able to live my passion and continuing to learn how to expand my business.
Submitted Apr 14, 2010 1:02 PM
Ann R. says:
It's complete bunk that artists are not business minded. It's true that some of the poorest business people are artists, and so are some of the wealthiest.
I'm a fine artist but musicians are an excellent example of taking back ownership of their rights, and building and owning their platforms. Take a look at Sean Combs, P-Diddy. He's about to open a business school in NYC.
I know one thing, learning basic marketing skills and implementing business systems is far easier than learning how to paint.
Ann
www.annrea.com
www.ArtistsWhoTHRIVE.com
Submitted Apr 14, 2010 3:20 PM
Dee M. says:
Here's my dilemma -- my husband and I have a small film production company we run from a home office, and while we are doing well enough that we can pay all our bills, feed the doggies, and never have to have a real job ;), we just can't afford full time employees. So we try interns, cheap part time help, barter, etc. And when it gets down to it, my husband and I can do what it is that needs to be done so much better, we try to delegate but eventually it comes down to, "you know, that project was making like 3 times more money when I was doing that..." And then we go back to being workaholics. The only person who's worked out is our 19 year old web designer, who's talented, still lives with parents and is somewhat of a stoner, but does nice work if you give him enough time. But he just has to contribute occasionally.
At the beginning of the year, inspired by EMyth, we really tried to find someone who'd grow with the company -- and did. So we thought. He was the best intern EVER, he was smart, he was gung ho, he was a people person (which my husband and I aren't so much, we're more loner extreme right brain types) after a couple of months, we offered him a paid part time job, he was super happy -- and then proceeded to have a complete stress-out-psycho meltdown, couldn't handle anything, and eventually quit without notice amid a mini-nervous breakdown when his laptop's hard drive died.
This entire experience makes me feel like 1) I'm a crappy judge of character, why didn't I see this coming 2) We're never going to find someone we can rely on and 3) Maybe we should just stay a small company and not expand and never make a lot of money. Sigh...
Advice is appreciated!
Submitted Apr 15, 2010 4:59 AM
E-Myth Business Coach says:
Hello Dee,
First, be assured that you are not alone in this frustration – every business owner struggles with assessing job candidates. And it is certainly possible to find reliable employees – so you don’t have to resign yourselves to remaining where you are in your business.
Before you can successfully recruit for a position, however, you need to define the results, the work and standards for the position. In other words, you need to write a Position Contract for the position. This is the first of three broad categories for recruiting for any position within your business:
1) Defining the results, work and standards of the position
2) Defining the skill set necessary for a person to achieve those results.
3) Creating a recruiting and hiring process that identifies whether or not the candidate has the required skill set. Tools for this include the job application, the interview, and reference checking.
Start by defining as clearly as you can the RESULT you want that position to produce. Next, list out the kind of action (work) an employee will need to perform in order to produce that result. Third, identify the standards to which the work will be performed. Standards are both qualitative and quantitative. They answer questions like how much? How often? How many? All of this needs to be IN WRITING, in the form of what we call a Position Contract or Position Agreement. For more information about what is involved in creating a Position Contract, review Chapter 14 of “The E-Myth Revisited.”
You should look at the recruiting and hiring process in the same way you would look at finding clients. If you think about it, you are “selling” a kind of work and an environment that meets many different needs of your employees. Your employees are “buying” a lifestyle with an investment of their time and talent. Your recruiting process needs to let the candidates know how your business is able to satisfy their needs. Keep this in mind as you go through the process, from writing recruitment ads to the interview process to the offer.
And make sure that you share your vision for your company with the candidates. Hiring someone “out of alignment” with your goals and the spirit of your company will only result in problems and issues down the road, as you have experienced.
We hope this helps!
Submitted Apr 15, 2010 8:20 AM
Dee M. says:
Thanks! That does help. I think we've been too freeform about things because we're trying to get people to be 1 day a week unpaid interns to start with, to see how they work in our environment. But since we're not paying the interns to a certain level I try to give them stuff to do that they want to learn, that they're interested in, which isn't always the stuff that really needs to be done.
Submitted Apr 17, 2010 12:17 PM
Dace D. says:
I am happy that anyone touches on this problem musician vs. business person...
I am a singer songwriter in styles of jazz/pop/latin-kinda-my-style-thing located in Berlin, Germany and a typical European and soon to be also-New Yorker.
All of these comments were great and true. But at the end of the day - who are you as a musician and what do you want?
If you wanna simply live day by day and enjoy yourself in the process, play a couple of studio jobs, teach, play in a cover band on weddings etc. and open a jazz session each Friday night in the local jazz lounge, then being all-do-yourself is a good idea. A business plan is still needed and you can also give a job to someone else.
If you wanna be a recognized artist with a management structure and crew, play world wide, drive thousands each months to your web site and become wealthy, create passive cash flow streams, have a professional media publishing etc. then you also need a business plan and you are also going to give jobs to others.
The difference is in the vision and identity. There are many wealthy artists who are not business minded. You don't have to be a business person to be successful. You can become a product of a label, producer and manager. They will take care for the business and you can make it big. Great if your musical vision is the same as theirs and your musician's soul is satisfied.
However, what do you do, if you find yourself off the mainstream and you don't have so many opportunities to go to castings with your "stuff" and your style is not a millions promising 4 chord song to which can simply be used a marketing formula? Then you must get smart and business minded. You will have to sit down and think very well, what is the plan, where to meet the right people and there will be no way around getting very good in sales and negotiation.
I agree that most musicians, the same as architects mentioned in previous comment, do perform for other musicians. If a musician goes to someones gig, than most of the time it is in order to "check it out". Many people go to jazz sessions to show off. musicians are super jealous on each other.
In music, you won't develop a McDonald's system, where you never have to work again. Why? because your style can't be copied. Your voice, your sound, your improvisation style, your soul can't be expressed through someone else. You can put your CD s for sale, downloads, sell merchandise with your name, but live you on stage nobody will copy, nor your voice in a studio session. Therefore, in order to make it, you must love it and you must be obsessed with it. The vision is yours and systems are yours too and you can hire professionals and companies with systems to help you. You can systematize everything except your inspiration, creation and live performance.
Since I see it like that, I prefer to make it big or not at all.
Yeah, and since I am business savvy I think that a regular musician is out of touch with the real world. But, this is an opinion formed by what I want and who I am in my artist's soul.
Success to everyone.
Submitted Apr 21, 2010 1:28 PM
Paul M. says:
I own an illustration business as a sole proprietor,and I consider Michael Gerber my business guru. Yet, I still can't answer his question--the first principle put forth in "The Most Successful Small Business in the World,"--how to grow a business such as I have. I hire a bookkeeper. I have an intern, sometimes two, who are just out of college. But when I have used employees or my peers as collaborators on larger projects, it cuts into my profit so much that I have discontinued it and still work largely alone after being a free-lancer for about 20 years.
My solution has been to research and direct my marketing to new markets that pay more per time spent, since time is my most limiting resource. I've had some success with that, but I still reach the limits of what I can do as one person.
I have been successful at making a living on my own, but I got married again 2 years ago and recently had a new baby born. So part of "making a living" to me now means "supporting a small family." It clear that my business must grow now. But how do I even define what that means for me or how to do that?
Submitted Jun 14, 2010 12:06 PM
E-Myth Business Coach says:
Dear Paul,
This is a sign of progress. To be willing to look at the truth of a situation, no matter how painful, is an essential step in growth and change. What is your motivation for staying in business? What do you want and more importantly need out of it to justify keeping it open? Begin by outlining these very important needs and results, for yourself first, so then you can begin to get a better idea of the resources you will need, including people, to make that happen.
You aren’t the first one to confront this painful truth – your business as it exists right now is not profitable. In turn, this means it is not sustainable. It goes back to what Michael Gerber wrote in “The E-Myth Revisited” (Chapter 13, page 153).
We would also add to his statements that your prices have to be at a price that makes sense for the customer AND for the business. If you aren’t profitable, and have no reasonable expectation of becoming profitable, your business will not give you or anyone else what they want and need from it – not your clients, not your employees, not your vendors, not your lenders and investors, and not you. You could have the most noble intentions in the world, with clear statements about how you want to serve your customers and what kind of environment you want to create for your employees, but NONE of that will happen without profit.
We don’t know if your business can become profitable or not, but we can give you some things to investigate for yourself. There are four basic strategies to increase profitability: increase your prices, sell more, reduce your variable costs (the costs directly associated with each sale), and reduce your operating expenses (overhead). There is a fifth option – lower your expectations – but we don’t consider that to be an option!
Look at your pricing first. Too many small business owners don’t charge enough for their products or services. Increasing your price is one of the fastest, easiest ways to improve your profitability on each sale.
Next, let’s look at selling more, through some combination of getting additional customers and selling more to your existing customers. This will improve your bottom-line profit IF each sale is profitable to begin with. If not, you’ll have to increase your prices and/or decrease your variable costs before selling more will do you any good.
Reducing variable costs are where some of your biggest opportunities reside. Every percentage point you save in variable costs drops straight to your bottom line. You don’t usually find one huge reduction that drops the variable costs a significant amount – instead, it’s a lot of little changes that add up to big increases in your profitability. How do you find those little things? Keep asking yourself: “How can we do what we do for our customers better, faster, and/or cheaper than we’re doing it now?” The more time you spend with this question, the more answers you’ll find.
Finally, operating expenses. You’ll need to spend some time going over your income statement and critically examining EVERY expense. Ask yourself: How does this expense help us generate more sales and profit? You need to see this connection with every expense. For some of the expenses, it may be as small and simple as keeping it legal for you to remain in business (taxes and licenses) or shielding you from unforeseen events (insurance). If you don’t see the connection, keep investigating until you do. And think of every check you write as a withdrawal from your retirement fund – because it is! Scrutinize every expense, and make sure you can justify them for business purposes.
Keep asking these strategic questions. And decide on your exit strategy - how much is enough before you decide to pull the plug? How much more debt are you willing to absorb? Better to walk away and take your lumps than to dig a hole so deep that you cannot escape.
We hope this helps!
Submitted Jun 15, 2010 8:43 AM
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