Category: Bizness Schtuff

February 1, 2010

Changes…Bizness Schtuff

Artwork by BZTAT

BZTAT Studios has been very active lately! I have been working on several pet portraits and other commissions, and I also have started on the big “Downtown Cats” mural.

Even so, the cost of keeping the studio open are not being fully covered by the income from sales. I am compelled, therefore to raise my prices.

New prices for paintings can be found by clicking on the artwork in my galleries. Prices for custom pet portraits can be found here.

Although there has been an increase, I still am trying to keep my portraits affordable. I on occasion offer special discounts to social media followers.

Artwork pricing is a very strange thing. Each artist and their style are unique, so there is no clear way to standardize prices. My research tells me that artwork value is driven by the cost of materials and time put into the artwork; reputation and skill level of the artist; and general market factors in the economy.

At this juncture, I am primarily self-promoting my work and avoiding the gallery-driven market, so I can set my own prices. That may change as I become more established. I guess I am trying to be honest and open about the fact that I anticipate further increases as my work becomes more popular.

If you are interested in purchasing an artwork or commissioning a pet portrait, please contact me through the contact tab above, and we can discuss the pricing. I look forward to hearing from you!

Life is and Adventure!

BZTAT

January 31, 2010

Paradoxes., Purposes & Ponderances: Shorty Awards and other schtuff

I have been writing about my journey to become a successful arts entrepreneur, and boy have some interesting adventures come my way in the process!

I was encouraged by one social media contact to ask my Twitter followers to support me in the Shorty Awards, which are the Oscars of Twitter. And support me they did! Although there will be an official vote audit some time today, it does appear that I will be in the finals.

Could my supporters vote me to number one? WOW. The idea never crossed my mind to actually WIN. I thought being in the finals would be special enough. And it is! But a WIN would be so grand!

I am so thankful for the support, but also deeply touched by the comments that people put with their votes. It is very gratifying to see that your work has truly had a special impact on people. I am very grateful to all who voted, and I look forward to the next phase of voting, assuming I make the final cut.

I have had some other adventures as well. As I wrote before, I am in need of some very concrete business supports to help me become more equipped to deal with being in business. I am finding some of those supports.

I met with a local volunteer consultant last week who is going to help me with some of the resources that I need to position myself for success in business. I continue to get moral support and good suggestions from a number of online contacts. And I am continuing to pursue some possible business ventures that could help build my customer base.

Three things come to mind as I ponder what I have learned over the past week:

1) Despite my weaknesses in some areas, there are many people who are enthusiastic about my prospects as an entrepreneur. These are experienced business people, so their enthusiasm is very encouraging to me. Seems that I have a better mind for business than I gave myself credit for!

2) To a person, everyone that I have talked to about business has told me my prices are too low for me to succeed. They aren’t telling me anything I didn’t already know. I barely break even at current prices, and I often take a loss. It takes me a long time to paint each painting, and my supplies are not cheap. I want to keep my prices low so that they are affordable to my fans, but I will have to be increasing my prices soon. I will try to keep them as reasonable as I can. If you are deliberating about purchasing a pet portrait, now might be the time to order, as they will be more expensive in the near future.

3) Being nice, genuine, and supportive of others pays off in the long run. My followers on Twitter came through for me in the Shorty Awards nominations because they know that I care about them and the mutual interests that we share. Through social media, they have not only become familiar with my artwork, but also with the the things that I value. They know that I love animals, support animal charities, promote the arts and the Canton Arts District, and support them individually when they are experiencing trials and tribulations. It is a very new kind of business model that social media is forcing on the business world, and I LIKE IT.

Stay tuned to see where this adventure takes me next…

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

January 21, 2010

Paradoxes, Purposes and Ponderances: What a Difference a Week Makes.

Until recently, I never considered myself a business person or an entrepreneur. I never had any desire to be one either.

I never really had any intention of going into business. The whole idea was distasteful to me. Life experiences, though, have led me down this path of becoming a professional freelance artist. And that means I have to be a business person if I want to succeed.

Last week, in thinking about this, I was almost bleak–desperate.

I was contemplating my weaknesses more than my strengths, and I was reckoning with the realities of my capacities versus my incapacities when it came to business oriented tasks.

I wasn’t throwing in towels by any stretch. I was just getting real about my needs and asking for help.

And help I got.

I posted a blogpost about needing direction as an entrepreneur in several online locations, and I received moral support, concrete suggestions, resources and enthusiastic direction.

I have connected with people all over the country who are interested in helping me succeed. I have some interesting business ventures to consider and lots of new opportunities. I have contacted some resources in my own community that are designed to help people just like me, and I am realizing that I am not as lost as I may have thought I was.

I am being deliberately vague here, as it would not be prudent to discuss some of these opportunities publicly. I do, however, want to share my hopefulness about this process of developing myself as an Artist Entrepreneur.

My situation is far from fixed. I am still a hopelessly right-brained person needing a left brain.

I have discovered, though, that I have an ability to attract people of integrity to help me with certain needs. I am now feeling that I can do this, which I am not sure I could say last week.

Some things that I have learned about business this week that have been a pleasant surprise to me:

There are people out there who genuinely want to help you succeed. Especially among women entrepreneurs, I have experienced a real “Pay-it-Forward” approach of women reaching out to other women to help them get going in business.
Women-owned businesses are projected to be a game-changing force in transforming the future of the workforce.
The fact that our economy is so bad right now means that there is a lot of support for new small businesses. There is also a lot of forgiveness and less pressure to succeed instantly in the business world, because, quite frankly, everyone is struggling.
Social media has turned traditional marketing on its head. Authenticity is back in style.
Being a creative artist with limitations in certain skill sets does not necessarily mean I am destined to fail at business.
I am actually, sorta kinda, enjoying this process of learning and developing new skills!

Stay tuned to see where this adventure leads…

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT