Last week’s issue “Spook Yourself with ‘What if?” scared a lot of people. I don’t like to be scared and I honestly don’t like scaring others. I remember sitting in the movie theater in junior high school with a large group of friends. For some reason, our parents dropped us off to see The Omen. Never mind that it would be months before we’d sleep soundly again. Don’t ask me what happened in the movie. I was turned around in my seat--away from the screen--the entire movie. As far as I’m concerned, The Omen is about a cute kid named Damien. Thankfully, my Halloween fright issue comes just once a year. If you missed last week’s newsletter, you can listen to the podcast here: I have to bring these questions up at some point, but I certainly don’t want them to paralyze anyone. As Susan Jeffers says, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.”® You may be afraid of something, but wouldn’t you rather try and regret making a mistake rather than not trying and regret your inaction? It’s okay to acknowledge fear, but you don’t want it to rule your life. Incidentally, for those who haven’t read it, “Art & Fear” by David Bayles and Ted Orland is a must-read for artists. See http://snipurl.com/1t0n6 . In strength,

Florida, Here I Come!

Live workshop Monday, November 12 - Ocala, Florida

Catch my last live event this fall when I head south (and way east) for the “I’d Rather Be in the Studio! workshop. Get an introduction to self-promotion basics and some hands-on practical experience you can put to use right away. If you can’t attend be sure to share this information with any contacts you may have in the area. http://www.artbizcoach.com/workshops 

Web Site Basics

Teleseminar Thursday, November 29

Pat’s back! My Web guru Patricia J. Velte has agreed (after much cajoling) to rerun the fabulous teleseminar she gave us last December. At that time, our recording equipment malfunctioned and we didn’t record it. We’re taking another stab at it. Join us to learn the basic information for getting your art online.
http://www.artbizcoach.com/classes/webbasics.html 

► View all upcoming classes and events.
 

FEATURE ARTICLE

Patch the Hole in Your Wallet

There are certain things you have to spend money on when you’re running any type of business. You can’t ignore the fact that you will need money to grease the wheels of your art career. Aside from the funds you need to make the art itself, you need money for your Web site, computer, photography, and more. While there are some areas in which you can save, you have to get real with your finances.

You must know what your living and business costs are. If you haven’t run these figures in a while (or ever), it’s time to do that now. Make a list of your expenses and your income. Figure out your Net Income for last month. I complete what I call a “Monthly Reality Check” at the end of every month and I encourage members of my Inner Circle to do the same. It’s a simple form that shows me where the money comes from and where it’s going. Without this action, I tend to be one step behind my business. That’s not what I want and that’s not what I want for you. I want you to be on top of your business--even way ahead of it--knowing where you are and where you want to be at any point in time.

Upon completing your Monthly Reality Check, analyze the numbers.

• Where is most of your money going?

• Where is most of your income coming from? (You can break it down into sales of originals, reproductions, cards, books, etc.)

• Where are you spending that you don’t need to be? This is the hole in your wallet. Personal finance guru David Bach calls this The Latté Factor®. He writes:

“The Latte Factor® is based on the simple idea that all you need to do to finish rich is to look at the small things you spend your money on every day and see whether you could redirect that spending to yourself. Putting aside as little as a few dollars a day for your future rather than spending it on little purchases such as lattes, fancy coffees, bottled water, fast food, cigarettes, magazines and so on, can really make a difference between accumulating wealth and living paycheck to paycheck. We don't even realize how much we're actually spending on these little purchases. If we did think about it and change our habits just a little, we could actually change our destiny.”

See http://www.finishrich.com/free_resources/fr_lattefactor.php