3 Simple Actions To Avoid The Tax Time Crazies
Even if you work with a bookkeeper and accountant, as I do, there’s still much work to be done this time of year.
Every year I learn something new at tax time that I wish I had known in advance – insights that would have made the filing process much easier.
These three actions are a compilation of what I’ve learned from my experiences and those of my clients, which should eliminate some of the crazies around tax time.
1. Take charge of your business finances.
Don’t rely on a spouse to take care of your business finances. You, as CEO and CFO of your art career, need to know how to manage the money. You must take 100% responsibility for your future.
As sad as it is, I’ve heard many stories about people being duped out of their life savings by spouses who made poor financial decisions. These weren’t features in the paper or characters in a television exposé. These were artists and clients.
At the same time,
21 Mindless But Productive Tasks for When Genius Takes a Hike
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could call up your genius whenever you needed it?
Hey, genius! Help me out with writing this article, please.
What would be even more amazing is if Genius would come running whenever you issued this command.
But Genius runs on its own time and has a pretty smart mouth.
My Genius lets me know who is boss:
- I’m tired. Leave me alone.
- You really should have used me when I was in better form. You know … like 6:00 a.m. That’s my power hour.
- Are you kidding me? You spend the last four hours doing diddly-squat and now you expect me to drop everything and run to your rescue?
- Hey, lady! I worked hard for you today. I’m entitled to stupid time.
Stupid time. That’s what I call the hours when my brain can’t make sense out of words or come up with a single creative idea.
I imagine Genius is taking a hike, sweating it out at hot yoga, or gulping down a green smoothie. You know, because Genius is Genius. She doesn’t need naps. She only needs to refuel.
Whatever happened to Genius, I’m left alone to endure stupid time.
And then there is someone else’s time. This becomes an issue when
Your Artist Newsletter Delivers Trust
I sent my first email newsletter on March 25, 2002.
When I started, there was one other email newsletter that I was aware of that was published to help artists build their businesses.
If you had told me that I’d still be writing it in 2016, I would have questioned your sanity. And then I would have questioned my own for starting.
I’ve been delivering this content every week for 14 years. Every. Single. Week.
I’ve never missed an issue. (Knock on wood.)
I’ve come close. Some editions are down to the wire, as I feel pressure to publish high-quality content in an increasingly noisy environment.
What’s The Big Deal?
If I skipped a week here and there, you probably wouldn’t miss it, but you might wonder if I am serious about nurturing a relationship with you.
You might question whether or not I’m “the real thing” or just another fly-by-night person thinking she has the chops to coach artists about their careers and businesses.
Here’s the thing:
Lucky You
When it comes to building an art career, I subscribe to Thomas Jefferson’s view of luck:
I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.
― Thomas Jefferson
In other words, don’t rely on luck to hand you a successful art career. Roll up your sleeves and get to work. Every. Single. Day.
On this St. Patrick’s Day, it doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves how lucky we are. But every lucky gold coin has a flip side to be aware of.
Self-Expression
You’re lucky you can express yourself freely through your art form. We take this for granted, but not everyone in the world can safely get away with doing so.
In many countries, artists are a dangerous lot because they refuse to go along with the status quo and have “outrageous” ideas about democracy and freedom of religion.
Above all, be grateful for freedom of expression.
On the flip side:
Artists’ Career Moves from Beginner to Established
There are no set steps that can take you from the beginning of your art career to the pinnacle of success.
I know you would feel much more at ease if I could advise you to first do this, and then do that, and then do this other thing, and if you follow each step precisely, you’ll be assured a spot in the history books. But I can’t do that.
What I can do is give you some sort of idea of the phases artists work through over the course of their careers: a timeline of artists’ career moves from just starting out to the highest levels of establishing and cementing a reputation.
First, a word of caution: Because an article is linear, you might read this and think that you have to implement one step before you can move on to the next step. This isn’t the case.
I can’t come up with a single artist who has hit on each one of these points.
Artists who are full of confidence and forging their own paths can jump past entire sections!
Hopefully this list will plant the seeds for your next move.
Beginning Your Art Career
Start your mailing list immediately. You will have no idea what to do with this, but trust me. Just
5 Crucial Things To Do After Your Art Opening
Your art opening is not the end. It’s only the beginning.
It’s common for artists to be bummed after an opening. So much work went into making the art, promoting the event, and installing it. No wonder you’re deflated when you wake up the next morning.
This is when you must soldier on. You have artwork hanging in a public space, and it’s the perfect time to get some things done that couldn’t happen if your art had stayed in the studio.
The fun starts now with these 5 To Dos.
1. Schedule a Photo Shoot
When your work is hung in a beautiful setting, you want pictures!
This is no time for amateur hour. You need fantastic photos to use in your promotions and to document the occasion.
Get photos of:
