Saving Money as a Professional Artist: What is a “good” business expense?
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In-progress work of the finished paper quilt, “Love Letter to the Desert.”
I don't like to think of too many things as "good" or "bad," but I recently reread the idea of good debt in the book The Great Money Reset, which resonated in a new way. I started thinking about the "good" spending in my studio practice and what areas I would like to improve. My art business has always existed in conjunction with working in another field (see my post: How do you work in another industry without burning out?). This setup affords many luxuries, including free range on exploring and experimenting with what I want to make instead of what I have to make always to sell. I have periods of heavy sales (like eight last month) and then times where I will go months without income in studio work (like the first quarter of 2023). My early art goal was to make enough art sales to explore, experiment, and buy whatever I needed for my dream studio. After achieving that goal, the plan increased to funding my art practice more and applying some of the sales to my kids' college fund. I know this is a luxury, not to have to make a target income from the work, and one that has helped me grow as an artist.
As I continue to refine how I spend my art earnings, I have made many mistakes along the way…. Instead of thinking of them as "mistakes," I like to think of them as opportunities to collect information. I went to art school before social media, and sometimes I feel my assumptions on what artists "have" to do versus what works for my studio practice and art business are in conflict. Here are some key takeaways I have learned about artist groups, technology tools, studio space, and cyclical supply buying…
Social Media Scheduling Costs: When I finally decided to get organized and start scheduling social media, I was inundated with all the options. Having used Hootsuite as an outreach librarian, I gravitated toward this tool and signed a year contract. It was a good tool experiment, but at the time, it cost over $50 a month (it has more than doubled in 2023). Factor in the months that I made posts on the fly, and this time "saver" was costing me over $90 for the months I used its features to pre-schedule posts. I made this decision early in my process of being more consistent with social media and had yet to get consistent. When it was time to renew, the price was so excessive I started looking for additional tools. Enter Tailwind. I saw the recommendation first from Josie Lewis, a painter, and mixed media artist. She produces a LOT of pins and online content, so this was enough for me to recognize the potential for organizing how I wanted to present my artwork on my social media accounts (Instagram and Pinterest, which is what I primarily use). I signed up for a year (at the time, I had a discount through Craft Industry Alliance) to reduce it to about $100. I immediately saved over $500 for scheduling my Instagram and Pinterest posts. I love the Tailwind app and use it regularly to schedule posts monthly. I still do new and current posts on the fly, but getting a set number of pre-scheduled posts (8+ a month) means that my work is consistently showing online, and my goal of treating my social media as a portfolio is supported even during busy weeks or travel.
Several finished paper quilts on the studio table.
Professional Development & Classes: This is an area I skimped on for YEARS. I always wanted to read good books and change my mindset or pick up technology tools and habits for free from youtube or other how-to free content. I don't disagree with this entirely, but I have done three professional development courses that were game-changers regarding social media. I bought the Pinterest course by Jenna Kutcher and the F* the Algorithm and Strong Brand Social Express courses by Katie Wight. These three courses helped me shift my perspective from an external feedback loop to an internal direction. More of the mindset of, I appreciate what I make, and I want to find others who want THAT work. I plan to review the content in these three courses (and keep updating my Pinterest workbook) until I have a seamless approach to my social media workflow. It takes a while to develop this skill, but without the pressure of not knowing what "the plan" is, social media posting has become more effortless. I know what is going up - and what I care about showing for my online art portfolio. I spend more time responding to comments and answering questions, which feels more personal than thinking about what to post on any given day or deciding how many posts. This approach is still a significant work in progress for me, but one that is moving in the right direction and getting me offline more.
A selection of quilted paper poufs from a show in 2023.
Memberships & Subscriptions: It feels good to be part of alliances and artist groups. But, sometimes, they take a lot of time to navigate, and the cost doesn't always make up for the connections made. I also learned that I prefer an in-person community. Sitting in a Zoom meeting does nothing for my well-being (something I learned thoroughly during the pandemic). An in-person community isn't always possible because of schedules, geographics, etc. I realized, though, that the purchased alliances and group organizations I was a part of weren't adding anything to my business bottom line or my enjoyment as an artist. There is one exception to this, which was the Craft Industry Alliance. I hesitated to join at first because I don't fit entirely into craft as an industry—fine craft, yes, "traditional craft," not so much. The membership price for this group was worth the one-year membership and has proved to be very enriching. I have attended live Instagram sessions, taken professional development classes, and used discounts and recommendations on the member-only page. I also appreciate that there is a super clean and accessible format to the membership, so you know exactly where everything is. I will continue to be a part of this group until I fully grasp all the business elements and training this group provides.
I order all my mats and paper at once to keep track of sales and spending.
Scheduling your Buys: I need at least 100 sheets of Stonehenge paper each year. I make my art with Stonehenge and order the paper during end-of-year sales to get free shipping, extra discounts, and any other materials I need. I also do this to reduce the year's profit (as I prepare to pay taxes) and set myself up for a well-stocked studio in the new year. I keep a running list of things I am getting low on, including my favorite linen tape, archival tape, and acid-free storage sleeves. I stopped pre-purchasing frames when I saw sales and stuck to the once-a-year purchasing. I used to stress buy frames and had a big stockpile of frames. I realized it was easier to have fewer frames in similar sizes and swap them out if needed. Once something is framed, it doesn't need to stay framed FOREVER.
Look at the Data Differently: To help me weed out my perception of "mandatory" versus what I needed to spend, I made a list of every single expense at the end of 2022. I saw that social media and professional memberships cost more than I wanted them to last year. To curb this, I aggressively looked at every single expense and then did research to replace or eliminate that cost. It was a tedious process, but it worked. My overhead in those two areas dropped 76%, and I have not lost anything. I am also trying a new information-gathering approach this year with targeted social media ads (something I have tried in the past with less luck but am recalibrating this year). Freeing up some of those expenses meant I could explore other options for promotion and keep more money to go for materials and other studio wants. I am still deciding if the social media marketing is worth the cost. This marketing is also a work in progress as I collect all the numbers and reevaluate for next year.
Studio organization is key. I use archival plastic holders for my dyed paper shapes.
These are the big takeaways for me surrounding my business purchasing. I learned a lot from my studio spending in 2022 and am also looking forward to the 2023 assessment. What changes will you make to your art business spending? Any tips to share? Comments welcome!