Thin people don't sit still.
This important component to successful weight loss is OFTEN overlooked by artists. And the principal is the same--you need to keep FORWARD MOTION in your art biz at all times.
And, just like a successful work-out program, this needs to be balanced with aerobic training, strength training and flexibility training.
Flexibilty is that "thinking outside the box" thing we talked about in THIN SECRET FOR SUCCESS No. 4. It can mean being flexible in what markets you target. If one kind of show isn't working for your sales, try something else. Different shows, different venues.
Being flexible can mean trying different sales strategies. If internet sales aren't working, rethink how you present your work on the web, or your internet goals--maybe the web will help you MARKET and PROMOTE your work better than actual sales (but hopefully, of course, RESULTING in sales further out.) Or joining websites set up to represent many artists, like Wholesalecrafts.com. For some artists, the power in these "group efforts" works to their advantage.
Or take Bonnie Blandford's unique strategy. She and a handful of artists organized an "art garage sale", selling off discontinued lines, seconds and samples. It's become wildly successful and an annual event, a way for these artists to reward steady customers, move out distracting clutter in their studios, and get a little quick cash to move on to more interesting projects. Or a lotta cash, for some! And nets the artists some free publicity to boot.
If your product line is stale, or too much like other work out there, maybe it's time to do STRENGTH training: Strengthening your work itself. Making it more appealing, more distinctive, more powerful.
Strength training can mean doing the hard work of taking a critical look at your product and determining if it's really as wonderful as YOU think. And improving your technical skills to improve the work.
I know of a craftsperson who wanted to sell handcrafted precious metal jewelry at top-of-the-line prices based on ONE CLASS--and it showed in the poor quality of the work. I know weavers who want to approach top tier stores to sell their work--and the quality of their work has not advanced beyond student level. Remember the quote from Nancy Markoe in my blog entry GOOD WORK: "It takes at least seven years to gain technical control of your media. It takes at least TEN years to MASTER it." That's not just "doing it" for seven years or ten years. You achieve mastery by practicing it and working with it DAILY. AND challenging yourself constantly to improve.
Finally, the aerobic component--slow, steady, constant and long-distance effort. Activity that elevates your heart rate--and keeps it there.
In one way, I think of "aerobic activity" as staying in touch with just that--the aspect of your art that elevates your heart rate. For me, that happens when I talk to people about my work. I FEEL that excitement and poignancY all over again, feeling my heart race and my eyes feel with tears as if I were telling the story for the very first time. When I write about all this stuff, I get the same feeling. That's why I write. And why I teach the professional development stuff. I feel the same anticipation and stirrings in my soul, and that's heady stuff for me.
But the aerobic part also means the sorta boring stuff you have to do every. Single. Day.
Striving to move your biz forward a few little steps every day, even when you cannot even fathom the end result.
It means you are in this for the long haul. That a bump in the road does not derail you for long. That you accept the fact that some days, the "run" will be exhilarating, and that others, you'll feel like you can barely drag yourself out of bed.
But you'll do it, because you know that's what it takes to be successful--to stay the course, to put in the time, to make the effort.
And soon, the process becomes as desirable as the outcome itself.
Because the goal isn't ultimately to "get there".
It's the GETTING there that counts.
