Thin people weigh themselves.
Not obsessively. Just regularly. They have a weight range they feel their best at, and when their weight gets into the upper level, they take action.
They don't wait til they are twenty pounds overweight to do something about it.
Artists can do this, too. They can "weigh in" with their art and their business, look at the scale and see where things are at.
You can do this with your accounting. Really look at what your return is on various marketing strategies and selling venues.
This one was hard. Sometimes the venues we so badly WANT to work for us, just aren't working. It would be so simple, so desirable, for them to work. But if they aren't, then we have to make the hard changes.
That prestigious gallery you wanted to get into so badly, if only to say you were in it? And it's not doing a good job of selling your work? Or the people are so difficult to deal with, it's driving you crazy? It's not worth it.
Move on.
That great show you dreamed of getting into for years? And you finally did, and it sucked big-time? It may not be the show for you.
Move on.
Maybe the "weigh in" you need is a professional one. I like to pull out my business plan from time to time, and see where I am. It's astonishing to see how many of my goals I've met. And it's just as astonishing to see how much bigger my plan can get. It's a great wake-up call. It gives me the kick in the pants I need.
Move on.
Sometimes you need to "weigh in" your work. Have you been making the same widget for lo these many years now? Is your top product something that is quite ordinary in today's new market? And sales reflect that? Time to let go of the old reliable design that isn't really working anymore. The buffalo aren't coming back....
Move on.
How about emotionally/spiritually? Is the work not satisying anymore? Have you gotten so comfortable in your little niche that you are not having an occasional bit of fun anymore? No challenges on your horizon to make you sit up and sniff the air? Maybe it's time to mix it up a bit.
Or are things simply out of balance? One area of your business is eating up a lot of time and energy and the pay-off (whether professional, emotional and financial) just isn't there. You went too far developing a low-end product and now, though profitable, it's eating up all your creative time, too. Your "weight" has just shifted out of that good zone, and you need to reassess.
Move on.
Note that all these "out the zone" warning signs depend on YOU. Someone else's ideal "art biz weight" may not be yours. I find it helpful to CONSIDER what's working for others, especially others whose professional/artistic/emotional/spiritual goals are similar to mine.
But in the end, it's MY art and MY business. And I get the final word on what I want that to look like.
Weigh in. Take note. And act.
