Three Types of Goals to Help Artists Turn Their Passion Into Profit

Filed Under (Arts Crafts) by admin on 17-04-2010

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If you have ever read a goal setting book before, you probably found the first third of the book devoted to finding your passion. As artists, we have a head start because we know what we are passionate about – our art. You probably know what kind of art you are passionate about as well. You may be a painter, sculptor, collage artist, or videographer. Photographer, quilter or jewelry maker.

You know your passion. Now how do you translate that passion into profit? What steps are required to turn a hobby into a income?

How do you follow traditional goal setting systems that to many creative types, seem constrictive, leaving little room to work from inspiration?

These are questions I have struggled with personally. An artist with a marketing degree, I have built my art licensing business from the ground up. How do I balance the need for marketing and systems with the need to be free to create the art at the core of the business, when inspiration hits? How do I continue to balance things as my business grows?

I have concluded that to succeed in building a creative business, you need to set goals in three core areas on a regular basis: goals to create your art, promote your art and recharge yourself.

  1. The core goal is to CREATE. Without creating art you won’t have much of a business. If, in any given month, you feel you can only focus on one of the three primary goal setting areas, creating art is the one I never want you to miss.
  2. The second type of goals should help you to PROMOTE your business. People need to know that you are in business. So someone, either you or an agent or an employee, needs to get the word out.
  3. The third type of monthly goal is to RECHARGE. Since you, the artist, personally create the heart of your business, it is important that you don’t run out of steam. You need to relax, refuel and rejuvenate your mind, body and soul. Recharging will help you stay inspired, creative and passionate about what you’re doing.

Source by Tara Reed

10 Business Ideas For the Artistic Soul

Filed Under (Arts Crafts) by admin on 17-04-2010

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Are you an artistic soul? Do you have an entrepreneurial attitude? Are you looking for a way to quit your 9-5 and work in a field you are truly passionate about? There are many creative and highly talented people out there that never got the education needed to succeed in the business world. Or perhaps you did but the career you have studied for is not what you are truly passionate about.

Those that do quit their “day jobs” to pursue their artistic love are often left poor and unemployed. They struggle to get published, get noticed or get jobs. Is there a way to have your cake and eat it too in the business world?

Actually there is! But you need to be aware that it’s not always easy. You will have to work hard if you want to get paid for doing what you enjoy. However, there are many options now available for someone who wants to work in the arts and has the talent and the drive to do so.

What kind of jobs are we talking about here?

The ideas below are possibilities if you want to earn a living while still doing what you love.

Here are 10 great business ideas for those of you with artistic aspirations:

1. Illustrator
2. Web design
3. Writer
4. Interior designer
5. Graphic artist
6. Painter
7. Book editor
8. Photographer
9. Musician
10. Floral design

There are markets available online, in your community and even through freelance markets and third party marketplaces. You can sign up and get connected with people who are looking for people just like you with your talents and expertise!

There are many organizations dedicated to helping people who want to pursue jobs in these fields. Do some research and find out how you can get started even if you don’t have any prior experience.

Source by Lisa A Mason

Selling Art – How Do I Learn the Business of Selling Art?

Filed Under (Arts Crafts) by admin on 17-04-2010

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How do I learn the business of selling art? For upstart artists, this is the most important question that they can ask themselves and the most crucial to find the answers to. One mistake young artists make and even some older veterans make is they think of their art as an artistic creation rather than a business.

The truth is, if you intend on selling art you’re in the business of selling just as much as you are the art of creation. It is just as important for you to learn the business of selling art as it is the business of creating your art. While there are many opinions about how selling art should take place there are some solid business ideas that should go behind the selling of art.

Marketing your art is the most difficult and time-consuming part of being in the art business. It is important for you to realize all the available art marketing options that you have today. Some of these include newspapers, radio, TV, and Internet just to name a few. Each one of these comes with a positive and negative side, but not understanding the benefit to each possesses and how to harness these marketing outlets will substantially increase the duration in which the artist makes little if any profit.

Out of the before mentioned, art marketing options. Probably the most beneficial to an upstart artist would be the Internet. There are more opportunities via the Internet to get your name and art in front of millions of people than in any other conventional way.

When starting out in the business of selling art you should consider creating a website, blog, Facebook page and a Twitter account. Your website should showcase your work and be a place to sell your paintings online. Use your blog to keep potential buyers informed of your activities in any new or recent paintings that have been added to your website. Use your Facebook page to engage potential buyers and create frames and lasting relationships that can help foster or encourage others to buy your art. A good use of a Twitter account in addition to trying to make daily posts on your twitter account you should also set it up to post short clips of your blog postings.

If you are interested in the business of off-line marketing in here are some ideas for getting noticed. Participate in local events such as art fairs, charity auctions or the like. By participating in your local community you will build a name and reputation for yourself and you will be able to tap some additional off-line resources such as radio or TV or even a write up in the local newspaper. Something to keep in mind is to try and not oversell yourself, but rather let the business of selling art become second nature to you and a part of who you are. Today, buyers are just as interested in the story behind the artist as they are the quality and beauty of the art.

Source by Juzer S Kimti

Why the Plus Size Clothing Market is Now Big Business

Filed Under (Apparel Fashion) by admin on 17-04-2010

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Plus size clothing has come a long way within the clothing industry and fashion market. In the past, the choices regarding clothing made for plus size individuals was limited, often lacking a respect to the ever-changing fashion trends within society. The availability of different styles was quite poor and unaccommodating. The demand for a better selection increased with the unfortunate rise in overweight or obese individuals across the world.

People are getting Bigger

The interest in the plus size clothing market has increased due to the increasing levels of obesity and eating disorders that plague a large number of individuals. The shape and size of the average person has increased throughout the years, demanding a shift in the way clothes are designed, produced, and marketed – especially from women, who as a whole have become larger and heavier than they appeared about 20 years ago. People who are now reaching their 40s and 50s add to the increase in obesity – more than 60% of this group is in need of plus size clothing.

Supplying a Market Need

Retailers and designers have noticed the intense need for plus size clothing and have made strides within the market. A range of Plus size clothing can now be found at shops, boutiques and department stores that once did not offer a decent selection, if any at all. There has also been a boom in plus size clothing lines which focus only on the customer in need of larger sizes. Stores dedicated to serving the plus size clothing shopper have also increased throughout the years. The mall now offers options other than Lane Bryant for a shopper in need of plus size clothing.

Market Research

Change came following an exploration into the different sizes of shoppers was conducted. The average size of a man and especially that of a woman has changed over the years. In the 1960s, the average woman’s measurements were 34B bust, 24-inch waist with 33-inch hips. In today’s society the need for plus size, clothing becomes apparent when the average woman now measures a 36C bust, 28-inch waist with 38-inch hips. Forty years ago, the average size of a woman was a size 8, but now the average is seen somewhere around a size 14. It was apparent that more plus size clothing should be available to reflect the changes within an average shopper’s size.

A Profitable Sector

The plus size clothing industry has not only supplied the masses with fashion choices that they desire, but have also tapped into a cash cow, totalling more than $5 billion in sales from clothing. More than 30% of the female population purchases a plus size clothing item. Retailers have found out how to also market to a targeted group of shoppers who are more likely to purchase these clothing items. Middle-aged women are less likely to spend more money on plus size clothing than their younger counterparts are. With today’s advances in fashion, plus size clothing can be just as “in” as a pair of tight, hip hugging jeans, which by the way now come in plus size as well.

Source by Stephen Todd

How to Start a Clothing Business

Filed Under (Apparel Fashion) by admin on 17-04-2010

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You don’t have to be a famous fashion designer to make a living off of clothes. In fact, there are thousands of people that are looking for a unique style in order to add to their wardrobe closet. If you know how to make clothing and costumes, you can turn this hobby into a highly profitable home business – offering others the ability to be in style through your products.

Being a clothing and costume designer today is simple to do and is a unique talent that several are looking into. It offers those who are interested in a custom style, including design, cloth color and form of the clothing to have more options for what they want their image to be. If there is someone who is interested in going to a special event, such as a costume party, they will also be looking for the best costume. If you know how to make these different types of clothing, then you will have the advantage of being able to help those out who want to create a presence through their clothing.

How do I start?

If you are beginning a clothing and costume business, you will want to make sure that you can meet the demand that is waiting for you. This means having plenty of options, as well as more than one piece of the same clothing available. It also means making certain that there are plenty of sizes available for those who are interested. This will give several the opportunity of being able to wear your clothing. It is important to make sure that you have ready cash for stocking up on clothing materials when you start your business. Expect to set aside enough money to build at least 10 pieces of clothing or costumes in order to begin.

After you begin to build your inventory, build your business by finding different distribution channels that will sell your clothing and costumes. If you can’t invest a lot, then you can simply build an e-commerce website. Ebay allows you to advertise your items while giving them a small fee. These can be added to start up costs for about $10 – $50 a month.

If you are thinking of selling locally, then there are several festivals that you can go to throughout the year in order to sell your costumes. You may also be able to find a unique gallery or clothing place that will allow you to place your items in their shop. Showing in a gallery or festival will usually have a small rental for space fee, averaging around $75 for either a month or specified amount of time. By starting small and knowing where to turn, you can slowly build your cash flow and grow your business.

Making and selling clothing and costumes doesn’t just have to be a hobby that you do for yourself or for gifts for friends and family. It can also be a way to offer others happiness by allowing them to create their own unique style. Not only does it create happiness, but you can expect to make thousands off of your clothing and costumes if you invest in the right places and materials. Starting through finding the right places to sell items, and growing into your own shop will give you the ability to make your special talent of costume making more than just a hobby.

Source by John Hughes

How to Start a Children’s Clothing Online Business

Filed Under (Apparel Fashion) by admin on 17-04-2010

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Work from home and business from home are two of the most famous money generating sources that make use of the computer and internet connection. These are now earning the interests of many people since it offers convenience while earning money at home.

One of the more popular businesses done at home is sales. Different people sell different kinds of stuff which they think people might get interested in. Auction sites have now become a craze and this is evident in eBay. People sell just about anything coming from different sources. There are stuffs that they sell which are just things they find in their homes that are not being used anymore. Others do buy and sell business while others rely on dropshipping companies to provide their products.

If you want to sell clothing in your online store, baby clothes are real best sellers. It is pretty obvious that parents would prioritize their children more than them selves. This is why the children’s section of malls is always packed with buyers. This will also be the same even with online stores. You can get children’s clothes to sell from online dropshipping companies like SaleHoo.

SaleHoo carries thousands of suppliers and distributors of children’s clothing in different styles, sizes, brands and types. Therefore, you can fill up your online store with tons of products for children which will be attractive for buyers. Aside from this, you can get the products at a cheaper price making your profits increase.

As you fill your online store with children’s products, make sure that it is also attractive to visit. Put in some cute designs for children and that parents would appreciate.

Source by Jamie Karen Francis

How to Advertise a Clothing Line Business Through Postcards

Filed Under (Apparel Fashion) by admin on 17-04-2010

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There are lots of reasons why postcard marketing is an effective way to promote a business. One is that it lets you reach out to your target market in a more personal level. Second is that a well-designed postcard is more appealing to readers and if it is attractive, people will be interested to read it instantly. The best advantage of all, compared with other forms of direct mail advertising, postcards are more affordable. If you are a clothing line business owner, one effective way for you to market your business is through the use of postcards.

On this page, let us talk about ways on how to use postcards in generating more sales and acquiring more customers.

Choose the design suitable for your target market. If you are selling kid’s apparel, then surely, you would like to appeal to the moms and the kids. You might choose between a fun picture and a photograph that shows a child or a group of kids. Let’s say for instance, you own a bridal store, then the best thing you can do is to choose a style that will instantly remind wedding dresses or bridal gowns.

If your store sells a mixture of outfits for people of all ages, do not send out one standard marketing postcard to all your prospects. It is suggested for you to design different postcard that will be attractive for each of your niches.

Use real people as models. To persuade people to purchase clothes from your store, you need to assure them that they will look great waring your clothes. It is better to include a snapshot of a real person instead of just a photo of a mannequin donning your clothes.

Choose a high-quality printing service. For any clothing line company, it is crucial to ensure that the postcards you send are printed only by a reliable printing service. Although you may have an excellent headline, marketing copy, layout and design, if it isn’t printed clearly, you might not get the response you expect from your postcard advertising campaign.

If you’re promoting beautiful apparel, it should show on your postcards. This is also true if you are featuring a real person wearing your clothes. You should use colors that are vibrant and true to life.

Create a catch tag line. You must create a tag line that is both interesting and original. You might try out a different tag line for each batch of postcard you distribute or for each of your niche market.

Use postcards to offer a discount. The recipient of your postcard will surely appreciate a discount. Invite your prospects to make a purchase at a discounted price by bringing the postcard when they visit your shop. For customer who prefer to purchase from the internet, you can print a coupon code on the postcard, which the customer must encode or type in the checkout.

Make use of postcards to announce important or special events. Is it your shop’s anniversary or are you having a shop wide sale? Are you planning to introduce a new design in your clothing line? Start sending out postcards at least a week or two before the event takes place so people will know and prepare for it.

Source by Luie De Von

3 Easy Tips to Start a Clothes Business Minus the Myths

Filed Under (Apparel Fashion) by admin on 17-04-2010

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One myth is that the fashion business requires you to have a fashion degree to be taken seriously as a fashion designer or clothes business owner, is completely false! Yes, it can be advantageous to have a fashion degree but, it is definitely not absolutely necessary. You can create a very successful business without this and go on to become a fashion designer in your own right because of your creative individuality.

Another myth is that you will need to be able to sew, knit or use any of the tools required to create garments. You may even have been led to believe that you will also need to have completed a basic art and design course as well as have sketches and examples of your artistic talents available and ready at hand for examination. Other myths include, that you need to have a sound knowledge of textiles and their uses, and that a bank or lending institution will not take you seriously, if you do not have a fashion degree.

Putting these myths aside, following are three tips to start you on the road to creating a very successful fashion business and what you will actually need to start.

Clothes Business Tip No.1
You need a vision of what you want to achieve in your business before you can even start to put this dream into action. In most cases, a person who is drawn to the fashion industry is someone who is innately artistic and this talent is normally dormant until the time arrives that it becomes an overriding passion to be expressed.

The first thing to do when the vision of designing garments start appearing in your minds eye, is to start sketching or even doodling these designs. Your design could start with just the mental picture of the back of a garment, seeing a particular pleat in your imagination. This vision will grow into the whole skirt and then the jacket to match. Before long, you be looking at alternative jackets and coats, all in your minds eye!

Clothes Business Tip No.2
Once you have your sketches of the designs you want to create ready, your next step would be to have these translated into garments.

To do this, you have a few alternatives. You can either find someone within your family, or circle of friends, who has the skill to do it for you or, you can ask them to find out if they know someone within their own circle of friends who would be able to create the garments for you. Alternatively, you could advertise in the appropriate magazines to find a suitable person to make up your garments.

Clothes Business Tip No.3
Now armed with your designs, you need to find customers because as soon as you have a database of customers and a working history in the fashion market, then you will be looked upon as a good investment by banks or other financial lending companies.

Just by starting with your very first customer, this can lead to many others, through recommendations. Therefore your task is to ensure that each and every customer is completely happy with the garment they have paid for, so that they in turn will pass your details on to their family and friends.

The above three tips will help you to get started with creating a clothes business and hopefully dispel the myths which may have held you back in the past from entering into the fashion business.

Source by AnneMarie Callan

Herbal Medicine Careers Today

Filed Under (Alternate Medicine, Ayurvedic Herbal) by admin on 17-04-2010

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Achieve Herbal Medicine Careers in the United States and Canada. With the demand for alternative and complementary medicine on the rise, individuals that are interested in pursuing herbal medicine careers will find it is essential for aspiring healers to acquire appropriate education and training from one of several natural health schools in order to land any number of herbal medicine careers.

Herbal medicine careers today offer a variety of professional fields including positions as herbalists, naturopaths, natural healing practitioners, Chinese medicine practitioners, homeopathic practitioners, Ayurvedic practitioners, and related fields in iridology.

Individuals seeking to fulfill their dreams of entering herbal medicine careers must first get adequate education. In most herbal medicine courses, students will study a wide variety of subjects including but not limited to coursework in Ayurvedic medicine, botanical medicine, Chinese medicine, phytochemistry, plant compounds, cell chemistry, and pharmacy (herbal). Depending on which healing field you wish to engage, herbal medicine careers allow you to become your own boss in an entrepreneurial healing arts practice; and for primary healthcare providers, a welcome addition of herbal medicine education can add to the services already offered to patients.

Herbal medicine careers are often credentialed by certifications. In most cases, practitioners who have entered herbal medicine careers will have achieved some level of practical training and knowledge from an accredited school or learning institution.

For the serious candidate wanting to gain one of numerous herbal medicine careers, it is always wise to carefully review school curriculums, associated costs and diploma, certificate or degree offerings prior to enrollment. Applicants that are pursuing more comprehensive herbal medicine careers including fields of naturopathy and Oriental medicine will learn that most alternative medicine colleges require formal education prior to entry. In addition, herbal medicine careers in naturopathy and Oriental medicine also require a great deal of commitment, as most courses range between 3-4 years, and result in a degree and/or diploma.

Source by CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd

Can You Make Money in a Alternative Therapy Practice?

Filed Under (Alternate Medicine) by admin on 17-04-2010

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You have worked very hard to complete your holistic medicine courses, or your psychotherapy course and then you you launch your business on the outside world. You are faced with the question, “Can you make money as a therapist?” This is certainly the question my students ask me most frequently and one of the most difficult to answer truthfully.

As with all services where you trade your time on an hourly basis you give yourself an upper limit on the amount you can earn. So if you work 35 hours a week, for 50 weeks a year at an average of $35 an hour the absolute maximum you could earn is $61,250 per year. OK, you think, I could live on that. :0)

However can you really work full time on your holistic therapy business? It is physically or emotionally draining to do more than four or five sessions a day ( whatever therapy you happen to be in). Then you need to do the admin and marketing. Even if you could work all the hours available do you have sufficient clients?

From a study I have done, the overall average working week for therapists is ten hours a week. This is for a group of therapists who have been working for an average of fourteen years each. Now part of that appears to be a lifestyle choice, but part appears to be that they can only sustain their business part time.

Taking ten hours a week for 50 weeks a year at the average of $35 per hour the maximum you would earn is $17,500. Obviously you can play with the figures that are relevant for your currency and local market rate per hour to calculate your average annual salary from your business. So how can you make money as a therapist? The key is to have more than one income stream. This is what the successful therapists do:

1) sell other related products. It is shown in research that it is at least seven times easier to sell to existing clients than to obtain a new client. The trust you and it doesn’t cost anything in additional marketing. The key is that you know their needs and can ( hopefully) supply those needs. An example of one therapist is that she was not really earning enough as an aromatherapist, but she realised that what a number of her clients had in common was that they were struggling with weight issues so she started to sell nutritional products as a side line. Such is the way with these things this part of the business became more profitable than her aromatherapy!

2) run workshops or classes. 62% of the therapists I asked run workshops or group sessions of some

kind. The advantage is that for each hour you give your time more people can benefit and you earn a higher income for each hour worked. The attendees also benefit from a reduced cost per head, so everyone wins:0)

3) Part time employment. You can do work that fits in with your values and can be achieved around your complementary therapy practice. For the therapists who did part time employment, the range was working at university, working on reception at a clinic in exchange for a reduced room rental, through to working in a small charity. None of them earn a high hourly rate but is in keeping with their values and gives them the security of a regular wage coming in ( or reduced costs).

4) Running an unrelated or related business. Examples from the therapists included running an aromatherapy oils business, editing a well respected ethical paper and running a small media company. An advantage of having your own business that does employ staff is that you can “leverage” their time too. They get paid a fixed salary and you receive their skills for a piece of work or so many hours. You need to balance this though with the additional regulations you need to cover when you have staff, and crucially having to pay them whether the clinic is busy or not.

Another alternative is to run a clinic employing a number of therapists. This requires more funding to set up the therapy business and you need to fill the clinic in order to cover the cost of the premises, but it will give you additional rental income from hiring out the room.

5) Writing. Another source of income for the therapists was writing, mainly books and articles As well as earning an income from the writing it also makes them appear as the “expert” on the subject and is free marketing. Remember to include your contact details so readers can also contact you directly.

6) Learning additional skills. By offering additional therapies, for example reiki and massage you can give additional options to your existing customers and offer enhanced benefits. Alternatively some therapists learned additional skills within their therapy, for example, reflexology in pregnancy.

The key to earning more than the average salary is getting additional income streams. Don’t make yourself vulnerable by relying on just one income stream. These are just some of the ideas you can use to give yourself another income stream.

Source by Gill Warren

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