I Challenge You To Do The Work

Yesterday I taught a complimentary webinar for artists titled Surefire Income-Boosting Strategy for 2014, in which I shared the 5-step process I use every year to increase my income. And although our businesses are different, I show how you can apply the same process to your art business – immediately.

If you didn’t attend, you can access the replay on this page. (No longer available.)

I’m thrilled that over 1,000 people signed up for the webinar, but I’m skeptical that many attendees will implement the information. If I were a betting gal, I’d wager that fewer than 40% actually take action on the strategy I suggest.

Why You Won’t Do The Work

There are five reasons why most people who watch Surefire Income-Boosting Strategy won’t do the work. See if any of these sound like excuses you’ve been making for avoiding action that you know is good for you.

1. It’s free.
Let’s face it. We’re more likely to implement something we’ve paid for. “Free” just isn’t valued.

It’s so tempting to blow off good advice when you haven’t put skin in the game.

2. The exercise or lesson requires you to face something potentially unpleasant.
The unpleasantness might be from confronting less-than-desirable facts about your financial results. Or maybe it’s the realization that you’re going to have to work a lot harder to reach your goals. Neither of these ranks high on the fun meter.

So what?

Ignoring the work required won’t make it go away. It doesn’t get you better results. It only makes you blind to possibilities for your business.

3. It’s hard!
The strategy I suggest requires left-brained thinking and working with numbers and spreadsheets. This is an all-out internal war for some people.

But you’ve made the decision to be in business. When you try to make money from something you love doing, it doesn’t follow that you will love everything associated with it.

It’s easier not to do the work. It’s easier to say, “I’m too busy” or “the timing isn’t good.” (Is there such a thing as good timing for making big changes?)

When your financial health and legacy are on the line, you do what’s necessary, not what’s easy.

4. It takes time.
A strategy consists of multiple steps. The one I outline requires you to look at past sales income while projecting for the future. Most people can’t do this in a single sitting nor do they want to devote more than one session to such an effort.

Everything takes time. You’ll be better off spending a few hours planning than waiting around for money to start falling from the heavens.

I guarantee my Surefire Income-Boosting Strategy is never a waste of time.

5. It puts you at risk.
That’s right. At risk.

Once you put your vision on paper – real numbers backed up by data – you’ve made a commitment. You risk reneging on that commitment if you don’t do the work to meet your goals.

This can be scary. But it’s sad that some people would rather play it safe than risk falling short of their goals. They’re settling for mediocrity rather than aspiring to something more fulfilling.

Consider This Your Art Business Challenge

I’ve told you why I think you might be in the 60% that don’t do the work. I’ve pretty much dared you to be in that 40% (or fewer) who will do the work.

So what are you waiting for? Will you accept my challenge?

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26 thoughts on “I Challenge You To Do The Work”

  1. Hello Alyson! As the New Year begins, I wish you all the very best in business and personal goals. I’m prepared to take on the Art Biz Challenge! My plan is to read up from your “spreadsheet” link within this article and proceed to the webinar. I’ll be posting my results to you & certainly give it my all. Thank you in advance for this and all you do so generously!
    Sincerely,
    Adriana

  2. The webinar wss fantastic. I did the pre-seminar homework in advance. Because of what was presented, I redid some of it. I’m now at the point of doing the spreadsheet (I need to find the link for it) and I’ll be able to refer to it and adapt it as needed as I form and implement strategies.
    I think of “free” as “gift.” This gift is awesome! And I’m very excited about meeting and maybe surpassing my income goals this year.
    Thanks, Alyson!

    1. Thank you!
      I found an older version of the spreadsheet and used that. I need to refine it a bit, but I’m going to let that happen as I work through the year. Tomorrow, I will schedule times for continuing this work. Next step is designing strategies.
      I want to get active now because we are already a week into this month!

  3. Thank you for this info and all you do. You are much appreciated. I am pretty much retired and have dropped out of having shows, etc. This is still a great tool to keep me focused on what I am still doing with a reminder to try some new things, mostly on-line. I plan to make my spreadsheet and check it on a schedule. Thanks again.

  4. Thank you for yesterday’s webinar. I’m already working on it. I wasn’t sure how to pick an income goal. I did the advance work so I had the numbers for the past three years. I was going to average the three and aim for a number 30% higher. Then I decided to throw out last years number. I’d been so tied up with family issues that I had to put business aside last year. So I just averaged the two. Now I’m thinking of ways to bring the cash in during the slow months.

  5. Thanks for the webinar! I did the homework as well, so would only need to do the spreadsheet. I plan to do it this weekend. I have a feeling once I get all my goals in places, though, I will be wondering how to implement them. The majority of my income is through art festivals. Last year I cut out a number of the smaller ones that were break-even or money-losing ventures, and concentrated on the high-end shows. That worked in that I improved my net income a little. I’m adding a few more of those high-end festivals this year, but in the end, it comes down to getting people to buy more art in those 3 or 4 days. Some of the shows I added are new to me and I have no mailing list in the areas. I would love any ideas on that front!

    1. Sheila: Yay! You’re figuring it out!
      I have found that artists who do festivals don’t market them well. They rely on the festivals to get people there. I think you need to use your list just like artists who don’t do festivals. Maybe that’s a place to start.
      Actually “your list” is always the place to start and to return to.

  6. Hi Alyson. Preseminar Homework and tasks done…Yesterday I spent more time and finished the Spreadsheet. I am waiting for the Bootcamp because I signed for….

  7. I took the first steps to doing my homework for my Challenge today by sending emails to all my Consignment venues who remit on a casual basis and asked them to pay me for any 2013 sales in the next week. I need this info to remit by yearly sales tax reports in a timely fashion. I am also scheduling time to do these reports and bring my books up to date for year end.

  8. Hey Alyson! (cough cough – hope you are feeling much much better.) What a great bunch of advice! You are such a professional and that is the best lesson you can teach: Be there. Pay attention to sales. Pay attention to details that make sales. And flu or no flu – NO excuses!
    I have a small sign on my desk: What can I do today that will make me money? I guess that’s my form of a strategy session?
    THANKS for all you do!

  9. Hi Alyson. Thank you for the webinar and the replay. I listened to the replay today even though I listened to the live webinar already. I wanted to make sure I got it all right lol
    I am in for the challenge and I am so looking forward to the bootcamp. Let’s go !

  10. Hi Alyson,
    Thank you so much for offering us a second chance to catch this webinar. I somehow missed the notification about this and so did not see it yesterday. All the best to you in 2014!

  11. Hi Alison,
    Thanks for yesterday’s gift. I did the worksheet before the seminar and as a result realized that my galleries are not a large percentage of my income. Today I touched base with all of them, and researched other venues. I also worked on expanding and promoting my class listings. My biggest takeaway, and what I have seen in practice is to use my calendar.
    Best to you in 2014!

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