Goals and Planning Archives

©Marcie Cohen, Snowy Bank. Used with permission.

Fill In The Blanks to Set Your Goals

It’s a New Year and new start.

Everyone is talking about either setting goals or why you should avoid setting goals or making resolutions at all costs.

I’m not big on resolutions, but I stand firmly in the “goals are good for you” camp. I’ve seen them work for my clients and know they’ve propelled me further than I would have been without them.

So, let’s set some goals!

I’ve adapted the questions from the annual review and The See Plan to help you set goals for the New Year.

Promise not to go crazy with the process. Aim for 3-5 big goals for your year. This list is a starting point.

1. Creativity

Fill In The Blanks to Set Your Goals Read

The Circular Business Plan for Artists

Most business and marketing plans are linear, and most artists are anything but linear.

What if, instead of having a traditional business plan, you nurtured a holistic approach to your art career?

That’s what I want to help you do with The See Plan, a new tool to help you see your art career in total. I want you to see that a successful business is not all about making and marketing (the M’s).

The See Plan: 8 C’s for Getting Your Art Seen is circular rather than linear. You need all of the C’s for a healthy business and balanced life, however you define these.

Let me tell you about the 8 C’s.

1. Creativity

Everything begins with the art. Without the art, you are not an artist.

The Circular Business Plan for Artists Read

©Lori Sokoluk, Paint Draw 6. Mixed media on paper, 18 x 24 inches. Used with permission.

Now Seems About Right

Here’s a question that my clients know is coming: By when?

By when will you send that email?

By when will you make that call?

By when will you send your application?

When I ask clients for a deadline on a task – like sending an email or making a phone call – they are most likely to say, “I’ll do that by the end of next week.”

Fair enough. They’re allowed to set their own deadlines, and it’s my job to push them a little because I know they are capable of more.

My response, when appropriate, is: “Why don’t you do it as soon as we get off of this call? Now seems like the right time to take care of it.”

Gulp. I can “hear” the hesitation in the brief moment of silence.

Hmmm. It seemed like such a good idea until I suggested immediate action.

Now Seems About Right Read

Art Exhibition Checklist and Timeline to Customize

There is so much to think about when you’re getting organized for an art exhibition. Above all, you should be making and finishing the art.

An exhibition checklist will keep you on task for your show without having to spend unnecessary brain cells wondering what you should be doing.

The tasks on your checklist, and the deadlines you give them, will depend on the following:

The type of exhibition (juried, self-curated, open studio)
If the venue is in charge of sales and refreshments or if that’s up to you
Whether you’re showing with other artists
The amount of time you have to plan

With this in mind, you can use the list below to customize your own timeline.

Do It Now

Set a goal. What would you like to have happen at this exhibition or as a result of it?

Plan your budget. How much can you afford to spend on materials and framing? How much can you allocate to promotions, printing, and a reception?

Identify a theme and curate the work accordingly. Your exhibition should make sense. What will hold the works together?

Give it a title because titles distinguish one show from another on your résumé.
Titles with your name in them

Art Exhibition Checklist and Timeline to Customize Read

Content Crimes: How You’re Misbehaving Online

As I wrote last week, you could waste a lot of time online if you’re not paying attention.

Let’s look at this subject a little closer so that we’re not just looking at where you’re wasting time, but at how you’re harming your art career goals.

My friend, Cynthia, calls them content crimes. Nobody is going to throw you in jail for committing these transgressions, but you might check yourself into rehab when you decide to do something about it.

Here are the top 4 content crimes you might be committing.

Content Crime #1: You’re inconsistent.

You sent a newsletter for a few months and then nothing. Nada. The big zippo.

You tried blogging for a while … um … whenever you felt like it.

You heard that artists were selling art from Facebook, so you built a business page and put a few pictures up. It’s just not working for me, you claimed. Waste of time.

If you are truly excited about your art, you’ll share it repeatedly, even if you think nobody is listening, because you believe in yourself. You don’t give up.

If you do give up, I’m led to believe …

Content Crimes: How You’re Misbehaving Online Read

Powerful Questions That Lead to Progress

Questions, when used in business planning, are more powerful than statements because they make us think and formulate our own answers. They encourage us to consider our situation, environment, abilities, and resources. See if any of these serve you at the moment.

Powerful Questions That Lead to Progress Read

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 through January 15 on this page.

I Challenge You To Do The Work Read

Clarity

My word for 2014 is clarity. I didn’t sit down and randomly select a word or force it. I paid attention to what’s going on in my life. I listened to what I was asking for. I have been feeling a little discombobulated and even unsure about how I can best serve you. In the last few months, I found myself repeatedly asking for clarity in specific situations.

Clarity Read

Making Your List and Checking It Twice

Today’s article is short and sweet because you should be enjoying Christmas day. But . . . tomorrow it will be time to get back to work and start thinking about how you want to start the New Year. Here is an idea for finishing up 2013 and preparing for a prosperous 2014. I’m fairly certain that Santa uses a similar process to keep track of the many deliveries he must make today.

Making Your List and Checking It Twice Read

There’s Only One Way to Fail

I run my life and my business as if I have never failed. I never thought about failure until I asked people on the Art Biz Blog about the role of failure in their art practices. It might seem strange to you that I have never, until now, considered failure, but it’s true. True failure is rare. It’s more likely that one experiences disappointment or dissatisfaction.

There’s Only One Way to Fail Read