Summertime and there is Art Everywhere

This is the time to take advantage of all of those community festivals and events. Many have a craft sale that features wonderful juried items. To get more exposure for your art consider exhibiting in some of the local shows. As well, consider sharing a kiosk or small retail space in a mall or store with another artist or craft maker. Reduce the costs, become more of a destination, and make some sales.

Sometimes public buildings will hold an art show, on a short term basis, in the hall way or boardroom. Large corporations may be agreeable as well as libraries, government offices and financial institutions. Make a well thought out plan before approaching any of these. Remember to make anything successful, all the participants should gain from the experience...and that includes the landlord or building owner.

Get creative and picture your creations in new and unusual places. For example in Winnipeg, the city organized an art showing in the windows of the downtown businesses. It was called "art on the Avenue". Pick a street in your town or city and see if there are ten or twelve businesses that are willing to display a grouping of original works for a few weeks in the summer. A nice tie in to that would be a walking tour for visitors with information about the art, the artists and the information about where and how the works can be purchased.

Making a Hobby Pay

I have always enjoyed writing, scribbling my ideas and thoughts on a page, paper or electronic. I can't claim that it is financially rewarding...yet. But I am enjoying the opportunity to share my ideas and my thoughts.

Others I know have very successfully turned a hobby of many years into a lucrative career, maybe a second career after retirement from the traditional job. We often turn to the things we love doing and develop those into a stream of income. I have a friend who is retired, living happily ever after, and decided that she wanted to expand a passion of hers, creating beautiful artwork. She has taken rug hooking courses and waterpainting classes and is expanding her artistic activities. Something she didn't have much of a chance to persue when her children were young, her husband was building a career and she was developing her own career. Now is her time and she is loving it.

Will she eventually make money from this? Maybe, maybe not. But she is gaining enjoyment and to her at this stage, that is what she wants.

Art or Science?

Today's business entrepreneurs must combine many skills: managment, creativity, time management, and people skills. Not an easy task for a small business owner who may find there are never enough hours in the day to complete everything (s)he would like to do.

Everything starts with an idea and then the successes come when the idea is developed into a plan. Business plan, marketing plan, succession plan, financial plan... I enjoy the fun of business, with all the warts and imperfections. This blog will be my sounding board for business ideas, suggestions, tips and questions. I will share what information I have and I will ask for help from my readers.

Is business an art, something that is unique and beautiful, or a science driven by logic and solutions? Or a little of both. I suggest to you that the huge success stories come from the people who dare to combine both the artistic and the science, the emotion and the logic and the attention to today's details and tomorrow's aspirations.