Lessons learnt from 2012

By Francesca Roberts January 14, 2013 Blog

 

The start of a New Year. It seems like a good time to look back as well as forwards, and see what I learnt from my first few months as a self employed artist.
  1. Adapt and overcome. This is a tough time for everyone, especially small businesses, but when the going gets tough the tough get going! Of course there will be bad days and set backs, but they can be turned into an advantage as long as I look upon them as positive learning.
  2.  Set realistic goals and targets, you can always have a back up list if you achieve them all! This is something of a problem, if like me, you’re a perfectionist and want everything to be flawless by yesterday! I’ve discovered that if you break things down into stages and parts and focus on steadily working through them, you can progress and develop towards your ultimate goals in a much more productive way than if you just focus blindly on your major goal and try to get there faster than is feasible.
  3. Word of mouth is great…. But it only gets you so far. Family, friends, and friends of friends have been tremendously supportive, but I know that if I want to start selling to a much wider public, I’m going to have to up my game when it comes to marketing and promoting my work. Because of course, people aren’t going to be interested in my work unless they actually know about it!
  4. Other artists are a great source of help. When i’ve contacted artists whose work I admire they’ve been incredibly generous with their time and advice, and really encouraged me.
  5. Time spent worrying is a waste of time! Starting my own business has been nerve wracking as well as exciting – i’m sure the same goes for any artist. But i’ve come to realise that the best way to deal with the anxieties and uncertainties that come with the territory is to direct those energies into work – as MORE painting and marketing is the most effective way of assuaging my concerns – the more I do the better I feel!
Right, now i’m imbued with the wisdom gleaned from my 2012 experiences, now to start thinking about what I want to get out of 2013…