It’s summertime in Florida…hot days and stormy afternoons. Traffic is tolerable and we can get into our favorite restaurants with no waiting! Thanks to our “Snowbirds” (our winter residents from October through April) I paint on demand for clients up and down the Gulf Coast of Florida from Tampa to Marco Island. Up until this year we really didn’t have a summer lull in business…we were the lucky ones. This year we’ve had two to three weeks with no phones ringing, which was a little scary. But instead of getting too excited over it (after all, it is an election year) I’ve decided to put the found time to good use. I’ve started this blog, updated my website and Facebook, cleaned up 99 percent of my little odd painting jobs and am getting my head into the game to create some new art and hopefully expand myself. I am seeking out inspiration through other people’s blogs and websites and would like to experiment with mediums I haven’t dabbled with for a while. I’m also seriously looking at the financial side of our business. I have been attending a lot of online
seminars with Score and have been reading business art coaches blogs and newsletters. Bob and I been “making a living” with what we do but there’s definitely room for improvement. When you really love what you do you give it your all and you don’t really care what you make because you love it so much. But the elephant in the room is, if you ever want to make a great living at it, you have to do the math. Figure out your costs and keep track of your time..boring, I know, but you have to do it. I am finally learning my worth and the value my work actually has. Now I just have to put this knowledge into practice.
I also have painted furniture sitting around my dining room walls and library and living room crying to be sold which I will soon be putting them on my website for sale. I’ve tried consignment shops and furniture stores but when it comes to collecting the money they owed me it was always an uphill battle. What got me was they approached me and I placed my works in good faith. Nevertheless, it really takes the joy out of the creating when you have to fight for your money. On my checklist of things to remember when things sound too good to be true…do my homework. Really check into the business that is interested in you and your work. Talk to people who know them or have done business with them. You are most likely doing them a favor rather than the other way around. Several people over the past couple of years have recommended the Etsy website. I’ve been reading the posts about the different subjects with Etsy and it sounds like it is good for some and not so good for others. I would most likely have to ship the furniture and that can be a headache. I may end up having to do an arts and crafts show to move this stuff… but right now, I think I’ll have that Margarita!
Jane Crick Painting in Paradise 