In today's Art Marketing Action newsletter, I encourage you to protect your art career–to put in place the people, safeguards, and tools you need to keep your business rolling when emergencies arise.
Places to begin:
- Back up your computer on a regular basis.
- Keep copies of your most important information stored offsite.
- Update your virus protection software.
- Update your business insurance for your home office, studio, and travel.
- Keep a business manual.
- Share your whereabouts with at least one person at all times.
- Enlist your team.
- Get everything in writing.
How do you protect your art career?
7 thoughts on “How do you protect your art career?”
all great tips!! I use Carbonite which is an online backup program, it backs up my files as soon as I create a new one or make adjustments to an old one. it’s great because it does it automatically without me needing to think of it. There are also other services that do this as well like Mozy. Just thought I’d mention it 🙂
Great reminders, Alyson! On my recent trip to Europe, I found out that I needed to have all my passwords and banking info handy. Someone wanted to deposit money in my account and I needed the routing number and bank account number. By some Nancy Drew sleuthing, I figured it out. Now I know that I need to have that info handy to me, but not to others. I recommend having your credit card phone number, your bank number and your account information either with you or with someone back home so you can access it easily. Also, make sure that your credit card company knows you are traveling and that you know what your limits are. It stinks to be cut off in Paris!
Another good way to protect important papers, negatives and copies of back-up files is in a fire-proof safe or file cabinet. Years ago I got a 2 drawer fire-proof filing cabinet. I keep vital records, artwork negs and other irreplaceables there, including our family videotapes and negatives.
What if the best thing that ever happened to us was losing all the files and information we thought was so important? What if it made us free and made us start over? I know we’re all afraid of losing everything but what if losing everything really helped us see what was really important? What if it opened our eyes and our hearts and made us better artists? What then? By all means, I think we should try to protect ourselves, our businesses, our files, our work….but I also think that losing everything might just help us see a new beginning we might never have imagined….
Claudine: Thanks for those reminders. I don’t use those systems, but maybe you or someone else can leave some URLs for online back up. Cynthia: I’m thinking there has got to be some online service where you can store passwords. I would definitely use it! Anyone? Diana: Yep, my husband kept thinking we’d get a fireproof safe for the house, but he has never gotten around to it. I took the initiative and got the safety deposit box–big step for me after talking about it and worrying about it for so long. Mary: Yikes! You’re scaring me. I see your point, but I can’t believe that losing everything would cause an enormous amount of stress and anxiety for months and months. And depression over what is lost. It might be okay in the long run, but I’d worry about my sanity in the short-term.
Indeed Yikes! I don’t need a fire to free my spirit & the very thought of losing my list of collectors literally just sped up my heart rate a bit. On that note, I’m going to make this week’s hard-drive back up and send a copy to my Mother-in-law’s house!
I read these last comments the other day and thought about them a bit. I still think losing it all is an interesting thought. If we lose the list of collectors it’s really ok. Most of them would still find us, especially in today’s world of constant and easy communication and even if we had to find all new collectors it would be ok. It’s not about spirit. It’s about giving up the fear of losing what we think we have. We always have ourselves. The work is extraneous and comes from within. Why do artists continue to create new work? Because they must. And they will continue to create new work even if disaster strikes. We can try to protect what we think we have all we want and with all the opportunities to do so, we should. But it can overwhelm people with a fear of losing, being cheated, being left out or left behind and then I think it becomes obsessive and not overly helpful….