3 Art Gallery Mistakes + How To Fast Track Your Art Business Success And Get Free Coaching

Failure taught me a powerful truth - it's necessary for growth. 

From showing my paintings in an art gallery, I immediately learned I had to do my own marketing because the gallery wasn’t going to do it for me. I needed to bring my own audience by connecting with people who love my art and by promoting my paintings myself.

Despite not achieving all my goals, I cherish the small wins and the invaluable insights I gained. No regrets, just growth!

I quickly learned to research the gallery and location before saying yes. I didn’t ask the right questions and as a result my paintings ended up in a gallery without parking. Nearby construction eliminated any possibility of foot traffic as well. 

In this episode, I share 3 important lessons I learned from “failing” to sell my paintings in an art gallery. This is an opportunity for you to learn from my mistakes and take out all of the guesswork, my loves.

Now, I'm excitedly selling my artwork online, where I have full control over my business and can keep all the profits. It's a fantastic journey, and I'm loving every moment of it! 

Remember to embrace failure, learn from it, and keep pushing forward. Together, we can achieve our dreams and passions! 😊

YOU WILL LEARN:

✓ When you realize you are responsible for your business, you show up like a boss.

✓ If Art galleries don’t market your art for you, you have to bring your own audience.

✓ Failure is necessary for growth. Embrace it!

AND

00:00:00 My experience with art galleries

00:02:00 Lesson 1: Taking responsibility for marketing your art and bringing your own audience

00:03:00 Lesson 2: Research the gallery ahead of time and ask the right questions

00:05:00 Lesson 3: Failure is necessary for growth

00:06:00 Benefits and drawbacks of joining a gallery

00:07:00 Introduction to Artpreneur Academy program

00:08:00 Invitation to free master class and details about Artpreneur Academy

RESOURCES

🌈If you want to learn more about Artpreneur Academy, come to my free masterclass. 

⬇FREE Masterclass: ⬇

Secrets of a 6-Figure Artpreneur

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Transcript

0:00

I sold over a hundred paintings my first year in my art business. But let me tell you where I didn't sell them. In my very first art gallery. And while that was a major bummer. I'm a silver linings gal. I gleaned three very important lessons from this failure and I have no regrets. Especially now that I can share them with you. My love. I'm the eternal optimist, which is a crucial mindset that you need to have as an art business owner, I gleaned three very important lessons from this failure and I have no regrets. Let's dive in. The first lesson is that I didn't do my own marketing and bring my own audience to the gallery. The gallery did not do its job and market to bring in the expected patrons. And you would expect this and you should expect this from your gallery because it's their job to do that as they are taking a commission from your art. It was utterly disappointing. But pointing the finger does not help me earn my next dollar. Once you realize that your business is your own responsibility, you start showing up like the boss. You will own your decisions. And because of that, you will, of course naturally make mistakes, but you will ultimately start making better decisions because you will know that nobody owes you anything. And no one is going to do the work for you. The second lesson is, I did not research and ask the right questions. I was naive and I was so excited to be offered a spot in this gallery. I graciously accepted that spot in the gallery without getting a lot of background info. The gallery was in downtown Raleigh. So I felt like a rockstar. I was a new artist and I had just kicked my corporate life to the curb. So it was a big ego boost for me. I'm not going to lie. I showed up to gallery events, so eager to meet everyone and talk about my art. Only to show up to a freaking ghost town. Then I found out why it was a ghost town. The local train station was under construction and it was eliminating all gallery parking. You could not even get street parking in front of the gallery. To park to go to the gallery was so many blocks away. It truly was not walking distance. Thus all foot traffic to the gallery was eliminated. And it wasn't just me. The whole gallery was suffering and no one was making sales. The third lesson is that failure is required to grow. Do I regret joining this gallery? No, never how now I would never have learned these lessons and I truly don't believe in regrets in life because there's always a lesson to learn. What I joined another gallery, just like it now. No. Absolutely not. Yes, I got my name out there. I networked, I had fun. I learned how to wire my paintings better from the other artists there. I practice talking about my art. So that boosts your confidence. I did sell a print and I did meet a customer in the public gallery space and we did a commission. So I know I told you I didn't make any sales technically I did, but I don't count these tiny wins as a total net profit. Because I spent a ton of time and effort with this gallery, trading time for dollars. Selling your artwork online is truly the fast track to a real art income. That gallery was this shiny object for me. And nothing really clicked until I unlocked the art business plan to market my work online. Where I can keep all of my profits and be in full control. There's nothing I love more than helping my art students avoid any mistakes I've made because your time is too precious to waste. That's why I created the Artpreneur Academy program for artists, just like you who want to earn a full-time living doing what they truly love. It's the only program that you need to learn, how to be a confident, independent art business owner. To learn how to fish and never depend on a expensive third- party. You'll be handed the proven step-by-step plan to grow a predictable art business income from scratch, just like the 750 plus Artpreneur students who've gone through the program. And you'll be offered a free month of personal coaching with me and much more. If you want to learn more about the Artpreneur Academy, come to my free master class called Secrets of a Six-Figure Artpreneur. In this class you'll walk away with sales, social media, and branding strategy to convert sales right now. And then at the end of the class, I'll share details with you for Artpreneur academy. This class is 75 minutes long. It's 100% free to attend, but seating is limited. So to save your seat, Click the link in the show notes right now, or go to Jenna Webb art.com. And click free masterclass. And see what seats are available for you right now while the class is still open. You're gonna love it. I will see you there.