Cake image from The Cake NinjaNo, not a real Elephant. Eewwwww!!! 

I'm talking about how to accomplish something that seems very large and overwhelming, like managing your art business and marketing your art certainly can. 

I KNOW how it feels. I'm faced with it every day of my life, just like you. And a few years ago, after I got over the realization that I would have to INVEST more time, money and brain power into myself and my business than I ever dreamed, I got v-e-r-y overwhelmed and wanted to run away. And sometimes I did. I'd hide under the covers and mutter things like, "Oh My Gawd! This is going to cost me thousands!!"

And then I did something smart and hired Aletta de Wal for some one-on-one coaching time (hint: you should too) and she taught me something wonderful:  She told me, "Yes, you do have to invest in yourself, but you don't have to do it all at once."  She said, "I know times are tough and it seems overwhelming, but if you DO NOTHING, no one will know who you are."  She suggested that I make a list of all the things I wanted to do for my business and my marketing. Then she said to start with the smallest. And I did, and then I did the next thing, and the next, and pretty soon my business was doing better than it ever had.

How do you "Eat an Elephant"?  One bite at a time.

PLEASE, I know times are tough and it's soooooo tempting to stop investing, to stop spending money on your business and marketing. But I'm telling you, it's a mistake. Yes, be frugal, be wise, have a long-term plan and keep going, just don't stop. 

P.S. Soooo, for those of you who have pondered whether or not licensing your work would be something good to do, here is a first step:  Take this class, it's on Thursday 3/10/10 (that's in two days if you're reading this blog post on the day I wrote it). Really, this is good stuff: 

Five Things Artists Should Consider Before Deciding to License Your Art. It's only $29.95 and THAT is a wise investment in your future. Come on now, just do it. Skip the double vanilla caramel lattes for a couple of weeks and you've covered the cost. See, that wasn't so hard. Get the info and register by clicking here. And when you're wildly successful write to me and we'll celebrate with a yummy elephant cake!

Keeping your skills sharp is smart. Even if you have help (like me!) to take care of your computing needs, YOU still need to have good skills so you don't end up spending three days trying to print out image labels for a show. True story. Why on earth my client didn't ask me to do it I'll never know. Would have cost them, like, 25 bucks of my time. Go figure. But if you must do it yourself (and pay the opportunity cost), at least have the skills to do it in a reasonable amount of time.

No, you don't have to know everything but you should have a solid grasp of the basics. Take a computer class at a local college or learning center, go online and search for tutorials (hint: big time suck), get some of those Video Professor DVD's (I've used them, they work), or you can do what I do and learn everything from basics to advanced for just about any software on the planet by using the lynda.com video tutorials*.  Why? They're the best, hands down. I keep an ongoing monthly subscription to their service so I can learn anything I want for less than the cost of one training book from the bookstore. They do a fantastic job, it's deductible (!), and it's really fun too.

Of course, after you update your skills the very best use of your time is to let me help you so you can get back to doing what you love and what makes you money.

I'm just sayin.  ;-D

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FTC Disclosure: If you know me at all you know that I don't recommend something unless I think it's absolutely stellar. All of the resources I recommend are my favorite things, and with some I am an "affiliate" which means that I will earn a small commission for referring you to the resources. Those are marked with an asterisk.

It was a marketing symposium, at the Ritz Carlton Pasadena, about 20 years ago. Who knew they had a dress code just to check in (sheeshhh). Anyway, lots of heavy hitters in the marketing world, one was the VP of Marketing for Disneyland. She was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. She spoke little, and said a LOT.

In response to a very good question - "How do you know what will work, how do you decide?" - she gave some advice that I've carried with me for years and years. She's right.  And although it seems obvious, I watch my clients break this rule over, and over, and over again.

She told us that we'll never know what's going to work until we try it. Then she told us what they do at Disney:  They put their heads together and take their best educated guess. They set rules for results, what will mean that it's working, what will mean that it's not. They go with it. If it doesn't meet their criteria for success, they STOP. Even if they've poured tons of money into it. If it does work, they milk the heck out of it. Period. That's it.

Example of something that didn't work and they stopped: They tried a promotion where, oh what was it? Californians got a discount. Just show your drive's license and...  They set their rules for success, how many months they'd give it, how many Californian's, etc.  The results were not what they wanted, they stopped.  They did NOT keep trying to convince Californian's to come to Disneyland, they did not offer more, they did not lower the price. They just stopped.

Example of something that DID work and they milked the heck out of it: Y`all have heard of the Electric Light Parade? It started out as a temp gig to replace a parade that just wasn't ready for prime time. They figured it would be a short run, just to fill the gap. They gave it a couple of weeks. But people went WILD for it. I think it was ten years worth of wild, then they sold off the lighbulbs for $10 each when it finally wound down.  If memory serves, they even resurected the parade years later.

She emphasied, "Don't keep putting money into something that isn't working. It won't help."

Reeealllyyyy good advice. And yet I see people doing exactly that, over and over. And just like she said, it doesn't work.

I mention this because while I love supporting artists with administrative, marketing and website services, I really hate to take their money when I realize that something they're doing isn't working well for them. And lately I've seen a lot of what that VP from Disney was talking about, so, ya know, I feel compelled to say something about it.

Need marketing or administrative support for your projects and art business?  Need help just getting it going or keeping it going? Give me a shout via email - robin@artistcareertraining.com - or just call me at (310) 649-4434.

All my best to you and yours,

New series!  Would love your help on this because we all have `em. You know, those wonderful little things you've picked up along life's path that really helped you, that you use every day, the precious gems that should be shared with everyone.

I'll start, but please send me yours or add it here on the blog as a comment!
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The Best Thing I Ever Learned #1:
While shopping with my daughter for shoes, many moons ago. From the very nice, older shoe salesman.  He said, "Whatever happens first, and last, are the things people will remember."

He was talking about his marriage, and why he felt it was a success. But it applies to just about everything in life as well. He believed that the most important things in life and relationships are what happens first and last. Like, in the morning when he and his wife got up, they tried to make sure the first thing that happened was pleasant, and the last before they went to sleep.  A kind word, a shared moment, a smile, a hug.  I tried it, he was right.

Years later I was reading a book about marketing and the author said the same thing. That the first and last contact you have with a customer, a client, a potential client are the most important. That's what they remember.

It's quite true, it works. So, when a client of mine told me that a friend had advised him to inundate his mailing list with emails because "It's not like they're customers, it's only email, they can always delete it," I protested and explained, "That little email is your first contact with a client or a potential client. It may be your last. They'll remember it.  Do you want to alienate and insult them by basically stalking them with email? Is that what you want them to remember most about you?"

Years ago, when I was an event coordinator for a restaurant I taught my staff the same thing. We were young, we made a lot of mistakes, but we really tried to make sure that our first and last contact with customers and clients were positive.  It's amazing how forgiving people were of the mistakes, and how they remembered those first and last encounters.

Okay, so what's YOUR gem?  Send it on over and we'll share it here so we all can benefit.

All my best to you and yours,