If you’re like most artists, you didn’t sit down one day and design your art business. You built it one Yes at a time.
A gallery approached you … and you said yes.
Someone asked for a commission … yes.
A print shop made it easy to add products … sure, why not.
And somewhere along the way, a business took shape without you ever deciding that’s what it would look like.
There’s nothing wrong with any of those individual decisions. But when they pile up without intention, you can end up running a business that feels like it belongs to someone else.
I know this pattern because I’ve lived it. At one point I looked up and had a tangle of products and services I hadn’t consciously chosen. I had drifted too.
And here’s what I’ve come to understand: when you’re swimming in information — in courses, social media posts, and videos all offering advice — it’s easy to get pulled toward whatever is in front of you rather than what’s right for you. That’s how drift happens.
[ See Beyond Information: Why Artists Need Frameworks (251) ]
Your Art Business Model
- How are you reaching people?
- What do people find when they encounter your work?
- What’s holding everything together?
Listen
If this episode has you thinking it’s time to actually do this work, please join me for the Art Business Reset on March 31.
It’s a 90-minute working session where we examine six areas of your art business together.
Alyson Quotes
“You fall into patterns. You say yes to what’s in front of you, and then one day you look up and wonder why the business feels like it belongs to someone else.”
“You have a business model whether you designed it or not.”
“There is so much coming at us that we grab onto what appears, rather than examining whether it deserves a place in our businesses, let alone in our lives.”
“Did I choose this, or did I drift into it?”
“Name it. That’s the point where the intentional design actually begins.”
1 thought on “Do You Have the Art Business You Actually Want? (259)”
Very helpful! Thank you.