One of the most dangerous places to be in your art business is comfortable.
Comfort is what you want in a good sofa, a marriage, or for lowering your cortisol levels. But it’s no basis for building a business. Especially now, when everything about how you show and sell your art is changing so fast.
On episode 278 of The Art Biz, I make the case that you can’t keep doing things the same way you did them two or three or ten years ago and expect the same results. You have to tune in to what’s changing.
I know it’s exhausting trying to keep up — new technology, changes in algorithms, what’s hot now — but it’s your responsibility to your art and your business. Otherwise you’re running things half-assed and looking out of touch.
If you’re not tuned in, you won’t recognize opportunities because they will probably be wrapped in different packaging than those that came before.
Comfort keeps you entering the same shows, staying in the same little niche. Those are comfortable places, but they’re no place for growth.
Listen
3 Signals to watch for
These signals might alert you to the fact that you are getting too comfortable or need to do something different.
The results signal
The results signal tells you something familiar has stopped working: traditional launches, gallery sales, the way it always worked before.
Wishing for the good old days is an enormous waste of time. It sets you up for heartbreak and keeps you stuck in the past. Newsflash! Artists have never been stuck in the past. Throughout history, we’ve been a product of our times, reflecting back to society what we’re seeing.
Galleries are an obvious example. Almost everyone wants a gallery, but at least half of the artists I talk with have no idea what’s involved in landing one or what’s required for that gallery to keep its doors open. Even top-tier galleries are shuttering because their business models don’t work anymore.
To receive a results signal, you need to know your financial numbers. They will tell you what is working and what isn’t, and that data should take some of the emotion out of decision-making.
Read. Follow the news and the business trends. The landscape is different. Your response has to be different.
Artists have never been stuck in the past. Don’t be the first.
The joy signal
The joy signal tells you something is messing with your happiness.
I know this one from experience. I spent more than 20 years building courses and coaching programs, and they worked for a long time.
Then the multi-month courses became harder. Harder to enroll people and harder to encourage artists to do the work. (There was a results signal tied in here.)
I clung to what I’d built because it was tied to my identity as a teacher.
Then, earlier this year, I hit a wall. I was no longer willing to live with the stress and anxiety. It was no longer fun (Was it ever?) to run multiple launches every year. It was absolutely zero fun to take money from artists who weren’t doing the work.
So I followed my bliss. For the past 10 months I’ve been putting the pieces into place for my next act. I shut down the multi-month courses to focus on consulting for artists who want a partner to help them identify and implement custom strategies for their art business.
The external signal
The external signal tells you something new is emerging and that you would be wise to spend a little more time with it.
Sometimes evolving isn’t about fixing what’s broken. It’s about recognizing a moment.
In episode 277, Jenny McCarty caught a moment in her community and made a conscious decision to dedicate much of her energy to that project for a year.
That kind of moment isn’t something you can plan for. You have to be tuned in enough to notice when something is asking for more of your attention.
Reinventing yourself after success
Reinventing yourself after success is one of the hardest kinds of evolution because it’s tied to your identity. But sometimes the thing that got you here is keeping you from what’s next.
Ali Cavanaugh’s story in episodes 189 and 190 is worth revisiting for inspiration. She took charge of her career and left 10 of her 11 galleries when the model stopped working for her.
So I return to this … Watch your comfort level.
If you’re doing things the same way you did last year, you’re going to get left behind. Pay attention to those three signals. They’ll tell you the truth as long as you’re alert enough to receive them.
Related Episodes
These other solo episodes give you insights into more of my thinking and approach to art businesses and careers.
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