As much as this was a Year of Me in a lot of ways it was really Year of Helping Everyone Else. Which is also just fine.
I actually did NOT go out much this year. Sometimes I attempted social gatherings only to have my friends cancel on me. Or I invited and they canceled on me but I still went out. But when I did go out it was meaningful and fun, if not rare. But low key on the social scene made me super hype in my WORK this year. Which was necessary. This was the year I truly got fed up with the scratching to survive game and made a conscious effort to UPGRADE MY LIFE.
(Invested in a new saw to work on mixed media pieces for myself)
This meant taking a hard look at where my effort was going and where the money was coming from and troubleshooting all the things I was doing wrong.
First MAJOR thing to get on track was INVESTING IN MYSELF. Do I believe in me and my work? Better believe it! So why wasn't I investing in me? I had the Scroogey attitude towards myself that I couldn't afford to invest in me. What did investing in me consist of?
Simply deciding that YES it was necessary to put money into MY business. Yes it was necessary to put TIME into MY business. Because work for others isn't always there- I need to be a self sufficient little art selling machine. I promptly paid for a Shopify shop to have an actual shopping cart for people to easily buy from. I added Venmo and Zelle and Square to my payment options besides my old stand by Paypal. I streamlined the process for my collectors and have been happy with the results.
I also decided to take PRINTS into my own hands and take my money back from print on demand venues I've been dabbling with. They take almost ALL the money and I get 2 or 3 bucks.
Yes, REALLY.
So that's not working for me...so I'll do the extra legwork and earn the dough.
So I invested in prints and matting supplies to DO IT MYSELF.
I made a conscious effort to GRAB the work while the work was there. Exhausting but necessary to staying afloat.
(Worked on pieces for myself and collectors quickly picked them up! Best feeling!)
Also and most importantly I realized that I HAD TO PAINT FOR ME if this was going to work. I had to make me happy. I couldn't feel like the world's art slave. There must be time for me and that's not negotiable or anything to feel guilty about. So fitting in personal painting time is just as important as a client's project. I don't want to put resentment into my paint palette ...so satisfying my art needs has to be done... otherwise Im just living for everyone else. Creating and selling my personal work is not optional its just part of the life.
(Work for collectors but still in MY style- this is my business goal! Achieved!)
Now there is still lots to do but I'm on a path with focus now. I have the attitude that I'm worth investing in and ready to get to the next level, streamline, troubleshoot and make my business and ART career even better next year.
I've decided to fix my credit and get my finances sorted out so I can invest in me even more.
Do you invest in you? What's holding you back?
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