I remember back when starting my design studio. I had just moved into my new location from abroad, nobody knew me or my work, my office and studio was, yes you guessed it, my kitchen table! I had just spent another long, hard day on the phone trying to set up appointments to present my portfolio. All I had to show for scores of phone calls were a few maybes, loads of phone backs and ’send me your brochures’, which of course I didn’t have.
Journal
I was at one of my lowest points, despairing and feeling like giving it all up and getting a ‘real job’. I’ve always kept a journal, so as I started writing I stumbled upon one of those profoundly small simple questions that can make such a big difference.
Here it is…..
Exactly how many clients do I need to prosper from my work?
The answer completely changed my attitude and gave me such a boost. Here’s why. Given the average time it took me to complete a typical project I only needed one new order every 6 weeks - around 8 to 9 per year! It put all those calls and rejections into perspective. Of the thousands of businesses within driving distance of my kitchen table I only needed 8 of them to say yes! (Or less if some of them had more than one project per year).
Eight people to say ‘yes’ felt doable and it made me immune to all of those rejections all because I had a clear and achievable target. It was the start of building my business from its kitchen table roots into a very successful business.
Gaining clarity - maybe it’s not so difficult after all
So what’s all this got to do with art?
Simple – how many ‘paintings’, (insert the type of media you work with), do you need to sell every year to prosper?
First work out your yearly out-goings and don’t forget to include a budget for the things and events that make life fun. Work out the average price of one of your art pieces (less costs), and divide it into your total out-goings. That’s how may pieces you need to sell per year. This exercise may also cause you to question the prices you’re charging.
Say you’ve worked out you need to sell 30 paintings. In the millions and millions of people worldwide who like and buy art this is doable, especially if a buyer invests in more than one of your works.
Total yearly out-goings / by average cost of one of your pieces (less costs) = number of clients you need.
Revisit your Pricing
This is also a great way to explore your pricing as it calls into question the number of pieces you can/do complete per year and other issues such as the size of your work and format.
Now you need to let people know you exist and show your work. I’ll be going into this a lot more in future articles.