So I just returned from my CPA, a wonderful woman who has been supportive of all my hardwork, but concerned about little return for it. Every year I make a vow to concentrate on seeking out ways to make money, market myself and not sell my soul. It just doesn't come naturally to me... I think some people have the experience of being given that kind of road map while growing up but I grew up in a metaphorical jungle with no easily recognizable trails. But my CPA told me the stool story, that every business (and art is a business too !!!) is like a three legged stool. The first leg is production or making the art... most people get very caught up on this one, especially in the beginning. The third is office stuff, finances, record keeping etc. You eventually learn the value of this soon and hopefully keep up your tedious paperwork. But the third leg is marketing and promotion (and thus selling). This is the leg that gets the least attention sometimes, as artist get caught up in the first leg. So what happens is you have a shaky, unstable stool that could collapse. You need to learn to make all the legs equal length, and balance out your business. She told me that you need to devout at least 20% of your working time to marketing and selling. At this point I couldn't agree more. On the subject of green, I love this photo... I took it last year while camping. But I keep thinking I might end up living in a trailer back in Ohio someday.
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