13 Things To Not Do If You Want To Launch Your Art Business And Sell Art Online As Fast As Possible

This episode will help you sell your artwork and thrive FASTER! I work with over 750+ artists and these 13 things are the most common misconceptions and time gobblers delaying what you really want: ART SALES! 

When you know what your art business plan must have in order to make money and thrive, you stop doing all the things that are wasting your precious time. Hint: it's not having your art perfect or all the tech figured out to begin. Hint: It's not figuring out your art style or art niche. And Wait until you hear #6! Yikes! 

Because of my daily struggle with chronic migraines, I have even less time to accomplish what I need to before I’m completely zapped for the day. When I set out to change the lives and income of artists everywhere, I became freaking OBSESSED with collapsing time and only doing exactly what you need to do to succeed selling your art online, and skipping the rest!

YOU WILL LEARN:

There are several things you DON’T need to become a professional artist, chase your dreams, start an art business, or sell your artwork today.

You certainly don't need to get everything perfect before showing up or starting. You don’t have to be an expert when the best art entrepreneur experience is learning on-the-go.

Permission or external validation [3:40]

A business license or LLC [6:07]

To perfect your craft [7:19]

To definite your art style - the art niche myth [8:14]

To have an art website or domain [9:19]

Fancy logo, photos, business name for your Instagram [10:00]

To be an expert [12:10]

To understand technology [12:16]

To understand every problem that might come up [12:54]

How to download your own copy of the entire Checklist [14:11]

What you do need in your Art Business now [14:11]

RESOURCE 1

If you want to eliminate overwhelm and finally launch your business - you should absolutely snag my Ultimate Art Biz Checklist for Free.

Inside you will get:

• 5 non-negotiables you NEED to launch a successful art business today. 
• PLUS today's complete roundup of the 13 things you need to stop wasting time on in your art business so you can focus and thrive selling your art.

⬇Download your copy at 

www.jennawebbart.com/artbizchecklist 

RESOURCE 2
Having an unshakeable Artpreneur mindset is the #1 key to be able to sell your art full time and live the life you’ve always dreamed of. It is only available through the Artpreneur Challenge. 

The Challenge is only available for FREE until MAY 31st ($800 value)

⬇To start the challenge today visit: 

https://www.jennawebbart.

Transcript

Jenna Webb: 1:11

To know what you need to start an art business first, it's important to know what you can eliminate, so get ready to take a huge weight off your shoulders. Today. My loves, we have 13 things. You don't need to start an art business today. I work with over 750 artists and these are the most common misconceptions and time-gobblers, delaying what you really want, art sales. So I'll let you in on the big secret. The key to feeling like a legit business is thinking like a business owner and treating your art like a business. As we review the 13 things today, you'll notice that most of these items come from the fears of the unknown and overanalyzing. As Marie Forlio says, the key to success is to start before you're ready.

Jenna Webb-1: 2:09

I

Jenna Webb: 2:10

Am on a mission to help artists like you transform their mindset and income so you can live a happier life. There's never ever enough time in the day, and because of my daily struggle with chronic migraines, I have even less time to accomplish what I really need before I'm completely zapped for the day. When I set out to change the lives and income of artists everywhere, I knew I wanted to empower anyone fighting an invisible battle like me. I became freaking obsessed with helping you. collapse time by only doing exactly what you need to succeed. And skipping all of the rest, I wanna help artists start selling their artwork and thriving in their daily lives as quickly and as efficiently as possible. So if you want to eliminate overwhelm, and finally launch your art business, snag my ultimate art business checklist for free. Inside, you'll get five non-negotiables that you need to launch a successful art business today, and you'll get today's complete roundup of the 13 things you need to stop wasting time on in your art business so you can focus and thrive. Download your copy at jennawebart.com slash

Jenna Webb-1: 3:27

slash art biz checklist,

Jenna Webb: 3:30

or click the link in today's show notes. So once again, here are the 13 things you do not need to start your art business. Number one is permission. Are you subconsciously waiting for someone's approval? Or external validation to chase your dreams. I sure shocked the hell outta my parents when I went rogue to become a full-time artist. After 10 years in corporate. As many older generations think, my parents believed in the starving artist's myth, and it took years to gain their approval as a professional artist. With today's digital environment, there's never been a greater opportunity for artists to thrive and profit. So what about you? Have you bought into the belief that art has to be sold in a gallery, or that you need a special art exhibition or an award to say that you're good enough? Our ego also perceives these things as permission, but that's total bullshit. The landscape for galleries is, it's not what it used to be. And stats show that more art than ever is being sold online and the way that people buy art is changing. You are the only one that needs to deem your goals as worthy and valuable enough to go for in this one walk of life that you have. Oprah, who's talked to every successful person on the planet, her answer to the one common denominator of what gets people to where they wanna go is profound. I think I shared this in a recent episode, but I need to share it again because it is so profound. A lot of people are being driven by what they think they should do, what other people say they should do, what they have carried in their mind for a long time about what they should do. But the most important question you can ever ask yourself is, what do I really want? I'm gonna paraphrase. And once you decide what that vision is and you make everything, you do, all your choices about that vision, all the forces of life will rise up to meet you. The reason why most people are in chaos is cuz they're in chaos in their heads, and once you get clear, it clears up. Number two, what you don't need is a business license. In the United States, you can get started immediately as a sole proprietor because no paperwork is required when you file your taxes at the end of the year, you will do so under your social security number. You do not need to set up an L L C. As a 10 99 or a sole proprietor, you are taxed the same way as you would be for an llc. An LLC involves cost and paperwork to get started. This is something I personally did not do for a couple years into business. If a customer offers you$500 on the spot for your artwork, would you shrug and say, oh, I don't know. I gotta go ask the government to tell me it's okay. Start a business first. No, of course you wouldn't. Now, I am not an accountant, so I can't give you official accounting advice, but I do know these few things to be true for my business in the United States. The theme of the next few items is you don't need to get everything perfect before showing up or starting. Number three, to improve your craft first. It's so easy to be hyper-critical of our own. We're the only ones who know our art didn't come out exactly the way we imagined it to, but your art buyers don't see those flaws. They see a piece of art that they're dying to have. Your clients are not artists. They do not have your gift. That's what they pay you for, because they can't create the artwork The. Your style, your technique, or your skill may change as you gain more experience, but you won't make a single sale if you're always just waiting to improve. First. Number four, to finish a collection of artwork, first, you only need one piece of artwork to begin. That's it. Number five, to define your art style first. Needing an art niche is the biggest myth ever. There is so much power in being a multi-passionate artist. Learning how to notice the common themes in your artwork and marketing them is a skill that I love to teach in the artpreneur academy. Any skill that you learn is a muscle that will grow stronger over time. Working in several subjects or mediums is a wonderful way to collect data from your customers. A data driven business is one that can lead to more sales, and the best part is this. No one puts you in the box and you have the power to pivot Any time in your career when you learn this skill, this will make you more successful, more money, and more fulfilled. So go ahead and create all of the artwork and post all of your artwork online. Number six. You do not need an art website. You can make sales from social media and in person immediately. I can teach you how to close sales via social media in my free masterclass, so that's a great place to focus today rather than fiddling with your art website. To the nth degree into the oblivion forever. It's such a big time waster. In fact, an art website is the number one time drain for artists. It's important to have a website after you've implemented key strategies in your art business. Number seven, A domain for the same reasons, as I just discussed

Jenna Webb-1: 10:04

in the

Jenna Webb: 10:04

the. website. Number eight, a business name. If you're deciding on your Instagram handle, it should be very simple. Your name, plus art, you may have noticed. It's very easy to find me online. Everything is Jenna Webb Art. It makes it so easy to find me on every social media channel, and that's what I ended up picking for my website. Everything is Jenna Webb Art. It's very searchable. It's very clear what I do Having a clear, consistent brand online because you are the brand is better than having some cutesy name like, creative wondering, butterfly fashions, whatever it may be. Just your name with art is all you need, number nine. You do not need a fancy logo. A logo literally does not matter because your Instagram picture needs to be your face plus your art. It should not be a logo. Customers are not gonna remember a logo. They are gonna remember your smiling face

Jenna Webb-1: 11:22

and

Jenna Webb: 11:22

your art. If you are you're wanting a logo, you can make one for free in canva.com in minutes, but it's not something to spend a lot of time on, so don't fret over it because you can update your logo at the drop of a dime at any time. Number 10, you do not need professional photos of your artwork today. You don't need an expensive camera. Photographer or light kit. Your smartphone and natural light are all you need to capture photos of your artwork and your creative process and photos of yourself to share on social media right now. Number 11, knowledge. You do not have to be a marketing genius. Number 12. You do not have to be a technology wiz. You don't even have to know the first thing about it. Because everyone starts somewhere. Starting your art business and learning as you go is an excellent opportunity to become more internet fluent without being bogged down by super complex processes. Every successful business owner starts with the mindset of, I don't know how, but I'll figure out the next step, and then the next. Number 13 to round it out. You do not need plans to solve problems that don't exist. So are you inventing hypothetical problems for when you do make an art sale? This might be fear of success knocking at your door, for example. Are you working on a plan for art shipping? But you don't have any out of town customers yet. Your time might be better spent elsewhere, like closing sales that are in your social media comments right now. When you make your first sale to an out of town customer, you'll figure it out. If the problem is not at your door, it does not exist. It's just anxiety. And the best way to leap out of anxiety is to focus on the present moment. And you have to trust yourself that you are smart and resourceful and a badass. And when a challenge arises, you will handle it because you're 100% capable of doing so. So that was the 13 things that you need to stop wasting time on so that you can focus and thrive right now. If you would want to download your copy, go to jennawebb art.com/art biz checklist, and inside you'll also get five non-negotiables that you do need to launch your successful art business. Reminder that the free access to the Artpreneur challenge expires on May 31st. Having an unshakeable art preneur mindset is the number one key to be able to sell your art full-time and live the life that you've always dreamed of, and it is only available through the Artpreneur challenge. Usually I charge about$800 for the challenge, but right now it's free on my website until May 31st. To start the challenge today, visit jenna webb art.com/artpreneur challenge, or click the link in the show notes.