Author, educator and consultant Neil McKenzie has an answer to this question in his new book, The Artist’s Business and Marketing ToolBox – How to Start, Run and Market a Successful Arts or Creative Business (356 pp, $29.95.; eBook versions for Kindle, Nook, iPad, $9.99), a business and marketing “how to” manual. Neil has developed and teaches the course “Artrepreneurship” at the Center for Innovation at Metropolitan State College of Denver.  His book was developed over a period of several years and tested with his students.

The Artist’s Business and Marketing ToolBox covers a wide range of territory from what it takes to start a creative business to building a brand that will get noticed in a competitive world.  Topics covered include: starting a new business, accounting and finance, public relations, advertising, websites, networking and social media.  The book gives creative people real life examples as well as the tools they need to develop their business and marketing plan.

“This isn’t another book on how to get into a gallery and how to deal with rejection”, said McKenzie,  “Artists and other creative individuals play a vital role in our Nation’s economic growth and vitality by helping to spur innovation and creativity, it is important that they understand business and marketing in order to succeed”

Neil McKenzie has over 30 years experience as a management consultant and corporate marketing executive. He is a visiting professor at the Center for Innovation and at University College at the University of Denver.  Neil is a frequent lecturer to artists and arts organizations, a guest columnist for Colorado Biz Magazine writing on topics of the creative sector of the economy as well as the author of several articles for Americans for the Arts.

For more information and how to get the book check out Buy The Book.  Print version delivered to your door directly from Amazon’s CreateSpace on demand printer. eBook versions available directly from Amazon for the Kindle, Barnes & Noble for the Nook and Apple iTunes for the iPad.  The printed version will soon be available at bookstores and textbook distributors.

It is important to know what your studio and facility needs are and how they fit your business model and growth plans before making any commitment.

At a minimum you will need a space to create your art. Don’t overlook the importance of having a space that is conducive to creating your products and services. Here are some factors to consider when choosing your creative space:

• It is conducive to creativity and innovation.
• It is large enough to meet your needs and short term growth
• You have areas to create and take care of other business activities
• You have space to store your materials, supplies and finished art
• It matches your lifestyle
• It is close enough to the things you need such as suppliers
• It is a place you want to be – the building, the neighborhood, the overall location
• There are no zoning or environmental concerns that would limit the work you do
• It is close enough to your customers and provides easy access and parking
• It provides as safe and secure environment
• You can remodel or decorate the space as needed
• It fits your budget and doesn’t strain your finances
• You have the needed access to the internet, phone and other services

Depending on your business model you may need additional types of spaces to conduct your business. Some of the types of facilities you may need include:

• A retail or gallery space
• A large space for production
• A space for storage and warehousing
• An office space to house non-creative business activities
• A space to meet clients

In the next article we will look at some things to consider when renting a space for your art business.

How Do Artists Get Business Skills?

Well you probably are not going to get them in art school! A few art programs have business as a part of their curriculum and more seem to be adding them. If you are in art school and they offer business courses you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t take advantage of them. For everyone else here are a few ideas:

1.  Go to business school

A friend of mine who was the Director at a fine art photography school has a great saying when aspiring photographers asked him, I just got my BFA in Photography, what graduate school should I go to? His answer, ”Any school with an MBA program!” If going to business school for a couple of years and spending tens of thousands of dollars isn’t your thing, don’t worry there are other alternatives. I wish more art students would get their MBAs maybe some of their creativity would rub off on the other business students!

2.  Learn as you go

This seems to be the general model for artists and a whole lot of other business types as well. Read all you can about business, take advantage of the web and your local library, you will find a wealth of information out there. There is nothing wrong with learning from your mistakes but in the business world some mistakes could be fatal. Don’t get me wrong, even if you go to business school and read everything you can find on business you will still make mistakes, hopefully they will be new ones.

3.  Learn from other successful creatives in your field

This is a great, often overlooked way to gain business knowledge. In order to make it work, it is up to you to find a mentor, convince them that you are willing to learn from them and you are worth investing their time. Some mentors have knowledge that is relevant to now and others may have knowledge that is relevant for all times – you need both! There are organizations who provide mentors for many industries and subjects – Google it!

4.  Take some classes

There is no shortage of organizations such as Chambers of Commerce, the SBA, and colleges (community, adult learning) that offer business courses. Meet with their representatives or counselors to see which classes would benefit you. Start with the basics and then take classes in the areas where you feel you need some help. Some of these classes are low cost or free and others may require you to enroll as a student. Check out programs such as the Center for Innovation (Metropolitan State College Denver) that offer Artrepreneurship and other courses where students can get business training without being enrolled in the business program.

5.  Hire a consultant

A good consultant will not only show you what to do but they will also teach you how to do it. When choosing a consultant make sure there is a fit, they have great credentials and most importantly references. We live in a world where anybody can be a consultant or coach, choose them carefully and make sure they can help you with your particular needs. Don’t forget that your accountant and business lawyer should be a part of your consulting team.

6.  Specialized programs/workshops that teach business to artists

There are a growing number of programs that are designed to teach business to people in the arts. Some of these are just a basic business program with the words Art or Artists added to the name. Others are designed specifically for creative people with real life examples and terminology directed at the creative sector. In any case, you should expect that upon completion that you have the knowledge and resources to move your art business forward. Make sure that the program covers the basics; it is relevant and provides you with the new tricks of business as well as the old.

7.  Get The Artist’s Business and Marketing ToolBox – Coming Soon!

The Artist’s Business and Marketing Toolbox will give you the basics to create a business and marketing plan and give you a good foundation for further business learning.  This book is for artists, creative professionals and arts organizations.

A final word

Whether you decide to teach yourself, take some classes, hire a consultant or any combination of the above – just do it! Business learning is like learning any other subject, there is always something new to learn or a new way to look at the world – this is what makes successful artists and companies.

Read more here in:  Building with the Arts – Local economies benefit from cultural districts

You can thank the internet and trade policies for turning the world into one big marketplace of ideas, products and services. This trend could be viewed as a threat to your business but it could also be viewed as an even larger opportunity.

Today there is no shortage of companies providing any and every product/service and that includes art! In order to stand out in this crowded marketplace it is imperative that you think about your brand experience. A good brand experience will set you apart from the competition and get people talking about you and your art business. A bad brand experience will likely will get you passed by and a really bad brand experience will get people talking about you – and not in a good way!

Some examples of a great brand experience

Look around you and take notice of companies or products that provide a great brand experience. What makes you say Wow?

• Today staying at a hotel can be more than just a room with a clean bed – it can be an experience that takes you to a foreign land or different time.
• Going on vacation can be more than just a visit to a popular spot – it can be helping a worthy cause in a less developed part of the world or saving an endangered species or habitat.
• Buying a computer or mobile device can be more than trying to decide from a huge selection at a big box store – It can be being helped by a knowledgeable and almost fanatical staff that will make sure that you are satisfied.
• Purchasing shoes online can be more than just picking a style and hoping for the best – it can be getting the right style in the right size delivered to your door with a minimum of hassle.
• Going to the museum can be more that looking at art or artifacts on a wall – it can be an experience that engages all of your senses.
• Buying fine art photographs can be a usual gallery experience – it can be beautiful large prints with dramatic lighting with photographer’s back story to create an experience.

Components of a great brand experience

As you develop goals and strategies for your art business keep the brand experience you want to provide at the forefront of your ideas. Here are some ideas of how to build a great brand experience:

• Have great products and impeccable service
• Entertain, surprise and delight your customers and prospects
• Touch the emotions and invigorate the senses
• Educate and increase awareness
• Tell a story of how and why you create your art – make the audience a part of your journey
• Provide the unexpected
• Add professionalism
• Create value and over deliver
• Engage your audience and help them participate in the experience
• Go that little extra step in everything you do
• Your experience radiates from everything you do from taking a customer’s order,
• Differentiate your products, business, and brand

Think about what brand experience you are providing in everything you do in your art business, from creating your art to making a sale.  People remember a great brand experience and tell their friends – make sure they are talking about you!

When you show your work one of your highest priorities should be to create a great experience for those who attend your opening and view your work. The thing that makes great brands or companies stand out from their competition is providing a great experience. A great experience encompasses many things such as:

• Having a great product or service
• Using the product or service is fun, educational, enlightening and functional
• Being able to understand the product and its benefits
• The product’s design, features and esthetics
• The product’s packaging
• Meeting the customer’s expectations
• Touching as many senses such as touch, smell, sight, and hearing
• Great customer service and a desire to come back and tell your friends

Brainstorming Ideas

Ok, here are some of the ideas that my Artrepreneurship students came up with in their brainstorming session. They are in no particular order and hopefully they will get your creative juices flowing on how to create a great gallery experience.

1. Hold gallery show in conjunction with community events
2. Sponsor a fundraiser
3. Have music or a concert
4. Engage all of the senses
5. Use colors in an effective manner
6. Proper lighting
7. Creative food and drink
8. Laser lighting
9. 3-D glasses
10. Live trapeze artist
11. Sex sells
12. Give things away for free or don’t give things away for free
13. Have a location that is a cool place to be
14. Have a location that is a destination and convenient
15. Have great price points
16. Have gallery guests greeted in a friendly manner
17. Have gallery staff that can explain the work on display
18. Have gallery staff that is friendly and personable
19. Encourage audience participation
20. Have artist available and prepared to talk about themselves and the work
21. Make it easy and convenient to contact the artist
22. Have unique art offerings
23. Make the gallery show a positive experience
24. Show only the best work
25. Make the experience interactive
26. Show artist(s) at work
27. Hold classes in conjunction with the show
28. Bring in community celebrities
29. Bring in guest artists
30. Do a promotion such as purchase an art piece and get … for free
31. Offer free consultation or hanging with the purchase of a piece
32. Have works at various price points so that more people will not walk out empty handed
33. Use QR codes to identify the works and make it easy for visitor to contact you
34. Make sure the price for a piece is easy to find
35. Follow up on names and email addresses collected
36. Create a fun experience
37. Create an educational experience
38. Have a contest or game
39. Incorporate social media and/or mobile marketing
40. Do a live web feed

In the upcoming semester of Artrepreneurship I will try this exercise with the new students and let you know what they come up with.  If you have some ideas of your own please share them in the comments section.

Identify market opportunities and threats

Develop a competitive edge in the marketplace

Create a brand image to propel your art business

Build a marketing plan that is tailored to your business

• Sell more to existing customers and find new ones
• How to develop an effective web presence
• Using social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) to expand your market reach
• Public Relations to get the word out about you and your art
• How to advertise effectively
• Using promotions to build your business
• Distribution alternatives for your art
• Networking
• Pricing your art
• Using Direct Marketing
• Creating a great gallery experience

Understand the World of Finance and Accounting

• Finance and accounting basics
• Understanding financial statements
• Choosing an accounting system
• Financing your art business
• Developing a cash flow budget for your business

Managing and Organizing Your Business

• Choosing the best type organization (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, LLC)
• Choosing a business name
• Protecting your intellectual property
• Managing people

Producing Your Art

• How to be more productive
• Developing a Creative Plan of Action
• Manage your inventory

Develop a Visual Business & Marketing Plan

• Easy to use forms guide you through the business and marketing plan process
• An easy to read and understand business and marketing plan
• Share your plan with your employees, investors and other interested parties
• Plan is presented as a PowerPoint template which you complete with the information gathered from the included worksheets and forms.
• A cash flow budget spreadsheet is included to make the budgeting process easier.

The book will be available for purchase Fall 2011 as an electronic download (PDF) from http://creativesandbusiness.com and will be compatible with PC’s, laptops, tablets, and most readers. The download will also include the Visual Business and Marketing Plan and Cash Flow Budget templates.

About the Author

Neil McKenzie has over thirty years experience as a marketing consultant and corporate marketing executive. He has developed and currently teaches the course Artrepreneurship at the Center for Innovation at Metropolitan State College Denver. Neil was also a founding faculty member of the Regis University MBA program in the late 1970’s.

Neil is a columnist for ColoradoBiz Magazine where he writes a column on Colorado’s Creative Economy and business tools and techniques for creative professionals. He is a frequent speaker and presenter on business and the arts to arts, business and educational audiences. When Neil isn’t working to grow the creative sector is he a commercial photographer specializing in business and personal brand photography by combining his marketing moxie with his skill behind a camera.

When you put on a show in a gallery or any other venue, think about how you can create the best experience for your audience. Creating a good experience will vary by your target audience and the venue you are showing your work in. Here are some ideas to think about in planning your gallery experience:

• Is the art appropriate for your audience?
• Are you showing your best work?
• Is the physical presentation of your work sufficient in terms of framing, hanging and lighting?
• Are there other elements such as food and entertainment that would add to your gallery experience?
• Do you meet your audience’s expectations?
• Does the audience clearly understand the reason or concept behind your art?
• Do you make it easy for customers to buy from you?
• Is it easy for you customers to find your venue?
• Is your work clearly identified and the price is easily determined?
• Have you thought of using QR codes in the description of the individual pieces on display?
• Do you act professionally when meeting prospects and customers?
• Do you have your “elevator speech” polished?
• Are you comfortable talking with your audience and asking for a sale?
• Do you have business cards and other marketing materials for the show?
• Do you create a follow up list from those who attend your show and do you follow up?
• Have you executed a public relations program for your show and have you invited the media?
• Do you solicit feedback from your audience on what they liked, disliked, and how you can improve?

Creating a great gallery experience should be one of your top priorities when showing your work.  If you connect with your audience they will buy from you and tell others – in short help build your brand!

Photo by Jeff Taylor Uncommonphotography.net

In the first article Galleries, Shows, Exhibitions – Part I we took a look at some of the basic things to consider if you are thinking about having your work shown in  a gallery.  Having your work shown in a gallery can be a great way to build your art brand and support your other marketing efforts.  If you are represented by a gallery you are entering into an agreement between you and the gallery.  As with any agreement it is important to know what you are getting into.

Typically with a gallery you will have to enter into a contractual arrangement. A good contract will benefit both the artist and the gallery. Don’t be rushed into signing a contract. Make sure you understand the obligations of both parties and how the contract will affect your business now and in the future. Here are some things to look for in any contract with a gallery:

• Is the contract written?
• What period of time does the contract specify for representation?
• How does either party get out of the contract?
• What are the gallery location(S) and hours?
• What is the exhibition schedule and duration?
• What are the due dates with respect to:
• Contracts, bios, price information etc
• Gallery take down & restoration
• Pick up dates
• Who is responsible of marketing and what are the specifics?
• Who is responsible for installation and take down?
• Who is responsible for gallery restoration?
• What is the commission split on the sale of your art?
• Is the contract for the purchase of your works, guaranteed minimum or consignment on a best efforts basis?
• Who is responsible for the transportation of artwork to and from the gallery or customer?
• What insurance is to be provided by both parties?
• What are the requirements with regards to accounting and record keeping?
• What are the stipulations with regards to the inspection of yours and the galleries books?
• Do you need releases for images of art, the artist and written materials such as a bio or artist’s statement?
• How will you handle new works of art?
• Is the contract exclusive to the gallery, for how long and where geographically?
• How are sales by the artist handled?
• How are reproductions going to be handled?

Galley representation can be a great way to build your brand – if you do it right! Remember that with most any contract everything is negotiable. Before you sign an exclusive contract make sure that it will be beneficial to you. Make sure you abide by the things you have agreed to and make sure that the gallery upholds their part of the deal as well.  In the last part of this series Galleries, Shows, Exhibitions Part III – The Gallery Experience we will look at some ideas to help you create a great gallery experience.

When you talk to a person on the street and tell them you are an artist, one of the questions that they will likely ask is, “What gallery is your work in?” Being in a gallery is a large part of many artists marketing efforts and for some says, “I have arrived”.

The reasons for having your work in a gallery can range from pure vanity, adding to your resume, increasing your exposure to making money by selling art. Hopefully one of your main goals will be to get new customers and build your brand at the same time.

There are two main parts of displaying your work in a gallery, the presentation or exhibition part and the business part. The exhibition part is about preparing a body of work, displaying and merchandising it properly and providing a great experience to the gallery visitors. The business part is about choosing the right venue, with the right customers, having the right agreements in place and marketing your work so you end up with a profit.

 Displaying your work

A gallery is an area where you display or sell your art. A gallery can take the form of:

• A part of your studio
• Your own gallery
• A shared space such as an artist’s coop
• A museum, library or other public space
• An independent gallery
• Online
• Just about any other place you can think of to display and sell your art

 The traditional gallery approach

There are numerous books written on how to get your work exhibited in a gallery. The process goes something like this:

1. Get a body of work together.
2. Develop your artist’s statement for the work.
3. Do some research on the galleries to see if there is a fit. This is where networking, referrals and getting to know gallery owners becomes very important.
4. Make an appointment before you approach a gallery and be respectful of the gallery owner’s time.
5. Show them your work.
6. If the gallery wants to represent your work then work out a business arrangement or….
7. Prepare yourself for rejection.

Things to consider with gallery representation

Before you enter into any relationship with a gallery make sure that you understand what you are getting into. If you are unsure of a particular gallery relationship, talk to your legal advisor or someone who is knowledgeable about the gallery business. Here are some basic things to look out for:

• Do you have a big enough body of work to support the gallery?
• Is the gallery appropriate for your art and the gallery’s customer base?
• What is the gallery / artist split?
• What expenses will be paid by the artist, by the gallery?
• Is there a written contract and do you understand it?
• Who is responsible for insurance and in what amounts?
• Who is responsible for the delivery of your art to the gallery?
• Who is responsible for set up / take down of your gallery show?
• What dates / hours will you need to be at the gallery?
• What if a customer tries to come directly to buy from you?
• How long will the relationship last (CONTRACTUALLY)?
• Who will promote and market your show?
• Does a relationship with the gallery help grow your brand?

In the next article Galleries, Shows, Exhibitions Part II – Contracts With A Gallery we will take a look at the elements of a contract between the artist and the gallery.