As an artist, growing your art business requires more than just mastering your craft. It involves navigating a range of roles—from marketing and sales to client management and logistics. While this can seem overwhelming, success lies in setting clear goals, creating effective systems, and developing consistent habits to move your business forward.
This post aims to provide actionable insights to help you streamline your processes and achieve long-term success in your art career.
Prioritize Your Focus: The “Second Thing”
For an artist, your creative work is always the top priority. However, building a successful art business means recognizing the importance of the “second thing.” This refers to another key aspect of your business that needs attention, such as marketing, social media engagement, or client outreach.
To avoid overwhelm, choose one specific business area to focus on and dedicate time to mastering it. Whether it’s refining your social media strategy or building a more consistent marketing plan, the key is to concentrate on this additional task while continuing to prioritize your art.
Start Without Delay: Momentum Over Perfection
Many artists struggle with the question of where to begin, often getting stuck in a loop of indecision or waiting for the perfect moment to start. The truth is, the perfect moment rarely comes. The most important step is simply to begin. Allocate time—even as little as 15 minutes a day—to work on that secondary focus.
By starting, even without the perfect plan, you build momentum. This momentum will help carry you through the inevitable missteps and adjustments, allowing you to improve and refine your process over time.
Embrace Imperfection: Progress Over Perfection
As a gallery owner, I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of perfectionism. This is especially true for artists, whose entire careers are centered around creating work to the highest possible standard. However, when it comes to the business side—marketing, social media, or client engagement—seeking perfection can become a significant roadblock.
In these areas, aiming for progress is often far more effective than waiting for things to be perfect. Whether it’s putting out a social media post, sending a newsletter, or participating in an art fair, it’s important to act, rather than delay for perfection’s sake. You can always adjust and improve later. The point is to keep moving forward.
Build Systems, Not Just Goals
In the world of business, we often hear about the importance of setting goals. However, goals based solely on results—such as increasing sales by a certain percentage—can lead to frustration, especially when those results are out of your immediate control. Instead, think about building systems that will drive success over time.
For example, rather than setting a goal to increase sales, build a system that increases exposure for your artwork. More exposure will naturally lead to more sales. By focusing on the day-to-day activities that lead to long-term growth, you’ll feel a sense of progress without being overly focused on end results.
Consistency is Key: The Power of Habits and Routines
The real key to long-term success lies in building habits and routines that keep you on track. Once you’ve identified your secondary focus, create a routine around it. For instance, if you’ve chosen to focus on marketing, set aside specific time each day to work on it. Consistency in these efforts will yield much better results than sporadic bursts of activity.
As you move forward, these routines will become the foundation of your business growth. Rather than waiting for inspiration to strike, you’ll have a dependable system in place to ensure continuous progress.
Manage Time, Not Tasks
Time management is often misunderstood. We all have a fixed amount of time each week—what we can manage is how effectively we use that time to complete tasks. One useful strategy is eliminating distractions. This might mean reducing your personal social media use or cutting back on time spent consuming news.
By focusing on what truly matters during your working hours, you’ll make more meaningful progress on your business. Set aside designated times for uninterrupted work, particularly when it comes to your secondary focus, whether that’s marketing, outreach, or other business activities.
Tools for Productivity: Finding What Works for You
Productivity tools can be a great aid in managing the various tasks that come with running an art business. Whether you prefer using a digital task manager like Todoist or keeping things simple with a notebook, the important thing is to have a system that works for you.
Prioritize your tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Start each day by tackling the most critical projects—those that move your business forward in the long term—before addressing smaller, more immediate tasks.
Conclusion: Success Through Systems and Consistency
Building a sustainable art business requires focus, dedication, and the creation of effective systems. By prioritizing one secondary focus at a time, starting without delay, and embracing imperfection, you can set yourself up for long-term success. Most importantly, consistency is what will drive you forward—day by day, step by step.
I encourage you to take a moment to consider: What is your secondary focus right now? What actions can you take today to start moving that area of your business forward? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below—I’d love to hear from you!