How To Plan Your Year
What’s on your calendar for the New Year?
I’m not talking about your appointment calendar. I’m talking big picture. What are you doing that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning and get to work?
If there’s not much there, it’s time to get busy. You can’t earn more money or increase recognition without exhibitions and events on your schedule.
You can use a desk or desktop calendar for appointments, but for this job you want to get a clear overview of your year’s rhythm.
You’re looking for periods that you know will be particularly busy and others when you might be able to sneak away for a well-deserved vacation.
You also want to be aware of potential for too much overlap on your calendar. There might events you’d like to schedule, but might bump up against others that are already in place.
It’s confusing to schedule events that occur too close to one another.
It’s confusing to your fans and followers because everything looks to have the same level of importance. They don’t know which message to pay more attention to.
It’s also confusing to you because you’re promoting more than one thing at a time. You don’t know how and where to spend your energy.
There are numerous ways to plan your year so that you can envision its rhythm. Here are the two most important ones that I use.
The Wall Calendar
The framework for all of my planning is a wall calendar so that I can see the entire year at once.
I’ve shared previously that I love the Seize The Year calendar by Neu Year. Its biggest asset is that it can be displayed either vertically or horizontally.
My Favorite Things 2017 Edition
You won’t find raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens on this list, though I’d argue that they are both delightful. Instead, here’s a peek at the things that made me happy over the past year (or longer).
I hope you’ll read and share your own favorite things in a comment.
Food
Bert’s Eggnog
On last year’s favorite things list, I saved the best for last. This year, I won’t make you wait.
This family recipe has made many a doubter into an eggnog convert. I’ve tried others that professed to be THE BEST, but they’ve never come close. I defy you to make a single batch of it.
Nopalito
Luck steered my husband and me into Nopalito restaurant in San Francisco last spring. WOW! If I could live a healthy life on their totopos alone, I’d do it.
But I don’t need to wait to return to San Francisco because their cookbook had recently been released and, ever since, my husband been earning the title Chef. We have had many delicious meals from the Nopalito cookbook.
Rosemary-Mezcal Paloma Cocktail
Some people live on Mai Tais on Maui, but we lived on Palomas. If we have to have them away from that island paradise (twist our arms), we add our spin – inspired by the delicious version at Vesta Dipping Grill in Denver. We make it with smoky Mezcal instead of tequila and add homemade rosemary syrup. Heaven.
Cleansing
In last year’s favorite things post, I mentioned The Plan: Eliminate the Surprising “Healthy” Foods That Are Making You Fat–and Lose Weight Fast (2014)
Reads
Both of these books were gifts from my wise coaches.
The Book of Joy
You can’t go wrong when the two main characters are
The Art Biz ep. 13: Find a Niche for Your Art with Maria Brophy
Maria Brophy has served as an art agent to her husband, Drew Brophy, since 2001. Since then she has also helped thousands of other artists plan their careers, increase sales, and negotiate deals. Her experience and secrets are chronicled in her new book, Art Money Success.
I asked Maria what she was most excited about these days, and she gave me a pretty decent list.
I liked #1 on that list: niche markets. Done! Now we can talk.
In this episode of the Art Biz Podcast, Maria and I discuss:
- What is a niche market?
- 4 types of niche markets for artists:
1. Style of art
2. Lifestyle
3. Geographic location
4. Purpose - How to find your niche audience.
21 Snappy Things to Write on a Note Card Besides Happy Birthday
Jamie was my BFF in middle school. Though we were inseparable at the time, we drifted apart in high school and thereafter.
Over the past ten years, we rediscovered our friendship and have been trying it on as maturing adults.
Something lovely has happened recently: we’ve started writing letters. By hand. The kind you have to put a stamp on and drag your butt to a mailbox to send.
I see it as a way to use up my embarrassingly large stockpile of note cards and stationery. But it’s more than that. It’s nostalgic. It reminds me of the notes we used to write, carefully fold, and pass to each other in the hallways between classes.
I feel a little sorry for those who are wed to digital texts and social platforms – and the kids who will never know the joy that those paper notes can bring.
And there is something joyful about handwriting on paper.
I’ve always encouraged clients to distinguish themselves by sending handwritten cards (with their art on them) in the mail. The message you share is sincere and introduces people to or reminds them of your art.
Here are 21 reasons (as if you needed them) to send a card to a friend or potential friend.
Is Any Artwork Worth $450 Million? (Curious Monday)
Last week, someone paid $450million for Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi.
Yeah, it’s Leonardo.
Yeah, there are fewer than 25 known works by Leonardo.
Yeah, it’d be pretty cool to have one of Leo’s works hanging in your home.
But … 4 hundred and 50 million dollars?
Is any artwork worth that amount?
Tell us what you think in a comment.
The Art Biz ep. 12: The Bumpy Road to Success: Stories from Our Clients
I believe in the power of being part of a dynamic group of ambitious people.
You can’t possibly get everything you need from a single person, and I can’t possibly know everything there is to know about artists’ businesses and careers. That’s why I created the Art Biz Inner Circle and why it has grown over the years.
Our members represent a wide range of media, personal goals, and geographical regions – including quite a few who are overseas. Yet they rely on one another for inspiration, motivation, strategies, and accountability.
Throughout the year, we have watched many of our members create and attain their stretch goals – several of them doubling (and more) their income from last year.
We supported members as they struggled and reorganized their plans. Yes, even the ones who attained their big goals encountered bumps along the road to success.
Our team of coaches is top-notch (I don’t trust just anyone with my clients).
In this podcast, I talk with Debby Williams and Cynthia Morris, who serve as coaches for our members in the Art Biz Inner Circle. We discuss the celebrations we witnessed as well as the many struggles our artists faced and we provide numerous tips to help with your artist journey.
