In many ways, the dream of being an artist is the dream of being self-employed. Often when we think of working artists, we imagine a jet-setting life of all-the-time creativity. Sometimes that’s true, but statistically, that life isn’t the norm – not by a long shot. Being a full-time creative is about being a businessperson and entrepreneur. It’s about knowing how to manage yourself, how to diversify, and how to live within the confines you set for yourself.

Let’s break that down:

• How to manage yourself
• How to diversify
• How to set boundaries

These are the pillars upon which successful artists build their businesses. 

My career, which has spanned nearly 10 years of successful “artisting”, has consisted of adapting as I go. Realizing what works and what doesn’t, fast and with smooth transitions, is the life of an artist. 

Here are my top 10 tips for becoming a successful working artist. Or, for working for yourself in general.

1. Set boundaries. The self-employment life is alluring, largely for the freedom it will grant you. Especially if you come from a more structured job, it can feel all at once incredible and overwhelming to suddenly have no boundaries. The people I know who are self-employed have an insane work ethic. They know how to prioritize, how to set goals, and how to create structure. 
   1. Find your most productive 4 hours of the day. What time do you work best? Figure that out first. If your most productive hours are from 6am-10am (like me), prioritize those hours. Set your most difficult and, if we’re honest, least attractive goals for that time. You will feel naturally more energetic to get them finished. 
   2. Don’t let “norms” get in the way of you doing you. A lot of people I’ve mentored feel bad if they hate getting up early. My advice? OWN IT. If you’re a night person, utilize that time to get your work done. You don’t have to fit into a stereotype, and you’ll find yourself much more productive if you simply choose the times that are right for you.

2. Set goals. In this case, I don’t care if you’re not a goal-oriented person. If you’re not, it’s very likely that you will fail at being self-employed. You need to develop an amazing sense of forward momentum to be self-employed, and particularly as an artist. Your mind needs to be able to think in three ways:

1. The past – note what tactics work and don’t work, but be willing to move on fast. Analyze every decision you’ve made and don’t make the same mistakes twice. Even when you find yourself making great choices, try not to rely on repeating them. Always move a step forward.
2. The present – know what you want to accomplish day to day. 
3. The future – this is where you can let your big dreams shine. Think about the dreams that you wish your business would embody. After you’ve thought them through, start to set long-term goals to achieve until you fulfill the largeness of the dream down the line. 

3. Manage yourself well. Managing yourself has a lot to do with goal setting and organization, but it has equally to do with mindset. It is your job to figure out how you work best (alone or in a group) and where you work best (from home, in public on a laptop, or in an office).  

1. Set up the workspace you will thrive in. Don’t skimp. Many people, especially visual artists, are deeply influenced by their surroundings.
2. Set up a ritual. Light a candle, put on background music, have tea or coffee, etc. Find a routine that brings you peace. For example, every time I light the candle in my office, my brain knows to settle into work mode. Every time I play a certain playlist of songs, my brain knows to settle into editing mode. It’s great to have comforting sensory cues to dive into work. 

4. Diversify, diversify, diversify! I don’t know a single artist – literally, not one single artist – who makes their living through one revenue stream. This is how I’ve made my money: print sales, licensing images for book covers/album art/website design/movie posters, commissioned images for individuals/bands/authors, writing books and articles, teaching workshops, motivational speaking, sponsorship and partnerships, and hosting retreats….That’s 8 categories, and a total of 14 different ways that money might come into my life.

1. How can you diversify? Think of the ways in which your passions can be profitable. I’ll share a more in-depth version of this topic in the future. 

5. Plan, list, calendar, go. “But Brooke, I’m not a list person.” I. Don’t. Care. One thing all self-employed people have in common is they run a tight ship. Either they hire someone to take care of these things for them because they know they don’t excel at it, or they get better at it. I was not an organized person. Some would argue I’m still not. But I have learned how to be a list/calendar/planner person. 

1. Get a physical daily planner. You might balk at this, but my experience is that if I write it down physically, it feels more pertinent and important. It sticks in my head better. I am absolutely addicted to crossing items off a page. 
2. Sync an online calendar. I use Google Calendar for my appointments. I have reminders set to email me 20 minutes before my meetings. I write copious notes about said meetings in the calendar event. I sync my calendar with my husband and a friend who helps me out when I need it. 
3. Make a long-form to do list. I also use the Google suite to do this (tasks in the email client). I keep my everyday items that I want to accomplish in my daily physical planner, but I keep my long-running to do items in my more permanent list in Gmail. These items include things like: Emails to follow up on, people to pay or request payment from in the future, prints to ship, etc. Things that can’t be done today, but need to be done soon.

6. Get your email under control. Seriously. Are you listening? I used to be the worst at email – it would sometimes take me months to write back to people. I lost jobs, contacts, and respect by operating this way. Then I hired an assistant, and things got better, but still weren’t perfect. Then I lost my assistant, and I took over again 100% alone. Guys, I work entirely alone. I have no help. IT CAN BE DONE!

1. I have a 48-hour email policy. To be honest, it’s more of a 24 hour policy as I almost always respond on a daily basis, but I do take weekends off, so times can vary slightly. Choose a time frame that works for you and stick to it like your career depends on it. Spoiler: it does.
2. Choose a time to write your emails. I write my emails first thing in the morning. I feel most refreshed then, most eager, and it is the beginning of my peak productivity. I thrive off of getting emails done first thing. It makes me feel mega-accomplished and I love that I can essentially ignore my inbox for the rest of the day. 
3. Write email templates. I get a lot of emails that are essentially the same requests. For example, every single day I get an email from a school student who wants an interview for an assignment. There is no way I could answer all of those emails in the way they want, so I made a template. I send a generic, although very helpful, response to everyone. It essentially says thank you, that I’m busy, and it lists a bunch of links to interviews I’ve done so that they can find what they need there. 
   1. Think about what emails you get that you could streamline. Is there a generic response you could copy/paste to them? I save my templates in my email drafts folder and use them as needed. Another template I use frequently is for print requests. 

7. Artists, keep charts. I don’t know how you feel, but I feel a deep, intrinsic repulsion to excel spreadsheets. In all honesty, I really don’t love keeping them, but I so appreciate that I do. Before you even get your business up and running, or if it already is and you need to check yourself, implement the following:

1. Print Sales Spreadsheet. I keep a detailed list of all the images I’ve printed, where they are (with me or a gallery), if they have sold, when they sold if so, what edition the print is, what size the print is, what paper it is printed on, and the title of each image. Set up this spreadsheet asap and you’ll never lose track of your print info. I use Google Drive for all of this so I can access it anywhere, anytime, from any device (pending internet). 
2. Licensed Image Spreadsheet. Similar to above, I have a sheet that tracks what images are licensed (the terms, the date, the image, etc.). 
3. Income tracker! I’m the worst at this one. Anyone else feel a little yick when it comes to money tracking? My aversion is terrible. It’s not attractive. You know what is attractive? Getting paid what you’re due. Track the money you are owed, and ask for it, too. 

8. Create pricing handouts. When I say handout, I mean digital. For example, I have a pricing sheet for my prints that I can pass on to buyers, galleries, and design agencies. It’s a simple JPG that I email to anyone asking that states my print information, sizing/editioning stats, and prices. If you want to make money, chances are you’ll have to state a price. Making a price sheet is a great way of showing someone that you already have prices established and they will be less likely to haggle with you. 

9. Find a healthy reward that motivates you. It’s easy to get your emails finished with the promise of cookies afterward, but we can’t very well eat a bunch of cookies on a daily basis. Find a way to motivate yourself that is healthy for you. I have three main ways of motivating myself. One is to go to the grocery store. It sounds weird, but I LOVE grocery shopping. It’s one of my favorite things to do out of the house. If I have a task I’m particularly dreading, I take myself out after to do some meal planning. Either that, or I go for a hike. The second thing I do to motivate myself is a little thing I call “nice cream”. I am sweet obsessed, but too much sugar makes me feel sick. So, I make nice cream (spoiler: it’s just frozen banana, cocoa powder, and oat milk). The third way I motivate myself is to watch TV. I’m a total sci fi lass and I love getting to vegetate for a little while after doing something I don’t like. Find your own motivators! 

10. Do you know what every successful entrepreneur that I know has in common? They know their value and how they provide value to others. If ever you lack motivation to create or run your business (and yes, it will happen), make sure you know the answers to those questions. Write down what value you bring to the world. Refer back to that answer often. Make your answer a natural part of you. You’ll have to take breaks – that’s normal – but it’s good to go back to your why. 

Your Immediate To Do List:

1. Choose the time of day you work best. 
2. Write down your biggest goals of the future and save them in a place you can access regularly.
3. Write out all of the ways – no matter how far fetched – you could make money from your craft.
4. Get yourself a physical daily planner.
5. Set an email response goal for yourself.
6. Type out any email templates that would be helpful.
7. Establish your firm pricing and create a handout for it.

Would you like me to host an online seminar about this? Comment and let me know if it would be helpful!

Let’s get really honest really fast here. I consider myself a good business person. I make decisions swiftly and effectively most of the time. I have strong ideas with a lot of follow through. But the reality is that being a good business person isn’t all about gavel banging and big ideas; that is just the fun stuff. I’m good at the fun stuff. I can take pictures for days, post on social media endlessly, find topics to write about on my blog, etc. etc. etc…

But that isn’t the GRIT that it takes to run a successful business.

Let’s define successful business. I don’t just mean a “working” business, or a “bringing in money” business, or a “getting by” business. I mean a business that runs smoothly, is profitable in the ways that it wants to be, and treats clients in the most respectful way possible.

I started my business when I was 22 years old, and was 21 when I started laying the groundwork for it. I was very naive. I had no experience in running a business or in business at all. I never even bothered to take a class in college despite having that available to me (Oh what I would do differently now!). I would say that I entered into my business selfishly. Not in every way, but in some ways that ended up being really detrimental to my work. The number one way I messed up from the get-go is thinking that I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do. Let me explain.

My stubbornness in wanting to do only what pleased me was really good in some ways. It allowed me to focus like a lightning rod on the tasks that brought me joy. That proved to be helpful in starting a very specific business that eventually grew in only those aspects. I wouldn’t do that differently at all. I would never go back and accept odd jobs or different types of photography sessions because that was not my passion and therefore not my pursuit.

What took me six or seven years to learn was how to separate what I want from what my clients deserve. A business requires two types of respect: respect for your clients and respect for yourself. I had respect for myself, enough to only do what I loved. I lacked in respect for clients. I did what they asked for the most part, but I did it in my own time. I lacked respect for other people’s time, and in doing so, didn’t respect my own time.

For years and years I told myself that I simply got too many emails to deal with it. I wouldn’t respond to people, or I would take months to get back with people. It cost me money in jobs, but far more importantly, it cost me relationships. My attitude was that I was above it all – that I could respond whenever it suited me and I rarely thought about that person waiting. (Well, I might be exaggerating at how bad I was, but still, it wasn’t good!). I decided at some point that I wanted to change my behavior so I hired an assistant. She helped a lot and I was able to mostly stay on top of my work. It was a wonderful 2 1/2 years. And then that ended, and in October I found myself alone again working as a business of one.

Come December 1st I knew I wanted to make a change, and I didn’t want to go back to my old ways of being unreliable. I liked the feeling of being in control of every aspect of my business. In that way it felt the same as doing self-portraits. I love being in full control, so why not in business as well as creativity?

On December 1st I reformed. I became a totally new business person. I made these significant changes:

1. Email Labels. I have had email labels for a long time, but I really got to using them properly. I made two folders, one called “Fresh Greetings” and another called “Pending”. Every time I would receive an email I would put it in Fresh Greetings, and when I answered it, I took it out. When my Fresh Greetings folder was empty, I knew I had finished my emails. My Pending folder is for emails that couldn’t be responded to yet.

2. The 24 Hour Policy. I decided I would not let any emails go unanswered for more than 24 hours. I carved time out every single morning for 20-30 minutes to knock out my emails. I am a morning person, so I use my best energy on tasks that aren’t as much fun as taking pictures or writing, etc. So, my best 20 minutes are spent emailing. Further, as emails come in through the day, if I am conveniently at my desk and can answer, I do. I don’t let it linger. I used to think I would look too “uncool” if I started answering people immediately, but it is better for everyone.

3. I shifted my attitude. I used to see emails as annoying or time consuming. Now I see them as neither. I look upon the sender with genuine love and appreciation that they took the time to email me. I want to give them that same respect by sending my heartfelt thanks to their message, or to give clients the respect they deserve with a prompt reply.

From December until now I have completed a photo a day challenge, spent a full month traveling, and am selling my house. Busy, right? Even in that chaos, I haven’t gone more than 24 hours without responding to an email. Further, in January alone, I received 3 emails from clients thanking me for being so easy to work with – for making decisions quickly and for responding immediately.

I stopped the toxic behavior I was exhibiting. If there was a decision to be made, I used to put it off for weeks if I was unsure. Now, I make it immediately. I don’t wait and let it linger, I simply search my soul and say what I feel is best. Sometimes it means outright turning jobs down, or taking them, or telling people to hold off for a better time. Sometimes it involves answering interview questions right then and there, and other times I simply can’t at all. This new way of working has revolutionized my time.

The downside is the increased desire to check my phone and make sure my inbox is cleared, that all decisions are made etc. So, the next step in my business reform is to lock my phone up after a certain time of day until I wake up. Productivity should only be taken so far. How far? As far as you can take it to be on top of your work while not letting everything you do need a productive excuse. Read more about that idea in this incredible article.

And it isn’t just emails. It is everything. For example, I have a tax day on the first of each month. I organize and categorize my receipts. I backup my files once a week. I follow up with people by creating events on my calendar to remind me.

The big change I made was IMMEDIACY. I always thought that was crazy. I thought people who were on top of their emails didn’t have a personal life, or were addicted to their phones. That doesn’t have to be true. I spend most of my days without a phone in front of me. I try to be in the moment for whatever I am doing, truly committed. I have found that I have more freedom – with my time as well as in my mind. I no longer stress about getting back to people. I no longer worry about if I’ve missed a deadline. And while I do suffer from thinking even more about my work now that I’m on top of it, I know that I can change that as well and not let the immediacy of my business bleed into my personal time.

Yes, it could all crumble and I could slide back into my old ways. But so far, so good. I’m 4 months into working alone again and I have never had a more smooth running business.

Want more details or to share what works for you? Leave a comment!

I am arranging a small mentorship for anyone interested in this topic.
A totally-free, just-because-I-love-business, Skype session with about 10 or so people.
To turn YOUR business around and to help each other grow!
Want to join? Let me know below!

Is there anything in the world that is more comforting, reassuring, and kind than showing someone love and receiving love in return? I can’t think of a single more important thing to focus my energy on. Far outweighing business and fun, love is a category all it’s own. Focusing on it, even acknowledging it, can drastically help with all areas of life.

How often do you apply love to your business? First think about clients. Most of us have heard of the five love languages – if you haven’t, it’s a quick study. Think about how you like to receive love, and think also about how you like to give love. What makes you feel most safe and fulfilled? How do you know that someone cares about you? Once you understand the five love languages, you are better prepared to face business.

Clients are people just like you or me. They want that extra feeling of security and, ultimately, love when they invest in a business. Therefore, it is up to us business owners to give it. One way is to understand how you best give love and use that more in your business. If you give love by giving gifts, figure out an extra special something to include in each sale you make. If you give love by words of encouragement, perhaps write a note to the person who is investing in your business.

Or, take it one step further, and see how you can incorporate more than one love language into your sales. Figure out how to show someone you appreciate them by showing them love.

What is your love language? How do you like to receive love? What makes you feel most secure and happy?

How do you give love? Is that different from how you like to receive it? Do the people in your life tend to fall into one category or another?

What practical steps can you take to show more love to those who make your life possible?

For me, it is not just about business but about my personal life. I have a terrible tendency to focus so much on what my dreams are that I neglect the people closest to me. I have been making a sincere effort to analyze those around me and understand how they like to receive love, and then give it – not in grand gestures, but in everyday ways that make life a little bit sweeter. And what I find, in return, is that the people around me are just a little bit happier, and I am too.

What’s your biggest regret in your photography?

Worrying too much about people copying my work to realize that if we all help one another, everyone can be elevated. I try to correct that way of thinking every day.

When you started with artistic photography, what motivated you and what made you keep going at the beginning when you had few skills with photoshop or with your camera?

There is one simple thought that has motivated me more than any other, and it is understanding that everyone starts with nothing. It is the one thing that can connect us all. We all begin with an imagination, and the tools we use to express that imagination are the building blocks to our future. I used to get frustrated and still do when it comes to technique, but I always come back to that valuable reminder that even the best started with nothing, and I can persevere.

Very few people see my pics and I don’t want to be annoying. Any advice on how to spread them or get more likes on Facebook?

I hear that! I struggle with the same thing, as I think most people do who are trying to put their passion into the world. My Facebook advice is this: Post pictures directly to FB as they are more likely to engage an audience. Respond to people when you can in a personal manner. And post valuable information either about your images or about your philosophies and opinions.

How does one make a living off fine art? Is it all about trying to get gallery shows and sales through galleries? Is is a constant marketing issue? Do you market to galleries or someone else?

There are a lot of ways to make a living as a fine art photographer, especially since “fine art” simply refers to someone who creates for him or herself first and foremost and then sells the resulting product for money. I personally sell through galleries and that is how I do a lot of my marketing. I allow the galleries to place ads in magazines and take my work to art fairs which is how the majority of the sales are made. I also license my images online for album art and book covers, and do an occasional commissioned portrait. I also host artist retreats to feed my creative soul. I “market” on social media, so I spend most of my energy writing blog posts that will be relevant and entertaining to my specific audience while posting on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve never done any in-person marketing, aside from submitting to magazines and galleries.

I have a Canon 1000D, not best out there, and I’m always intimidated by photographers with better equipment. Do you have any advice on how to be more confident in your work?

I used to be intimidated too. Just a couple months ago I was at a photography convention and someone asked me to help them set up lights for a class they were teaching. I absolutely froze and then spouted out how I had no idea how to set up lights. A soft box? Oh no…I felt completely inadequate, just the same as I felt when I had no idea how to work my Nikon D80. But the most important thing to remember is that art can be created with anything at all. A point and shoot, a pinhole camera, the highest-end DSLR or my old Nikon D80. It doesn’t matter what is capturing the image as long as your imagination is at work. The equipment and technique will come, and a better quality product can result, but never believe that your equipment is letting you down.

I will never forget once when I did an interview and the question was: What is your favorite tool in Photoshop? I answered by saying “the erasure tool”, and the magazine wrote back asking me to choose something else because hardly anyone uses that tool. I refused, because in my opinion it is not the technique that makes the art, it is the individual.

When did you decide that you should submit to galleries? I have been thinking about submitting for a while, but I’m scared and I’m not sure if my work is “worthy”. Did you feel the same way or am I just doubting my work?

I still feel that way ALL THE TIME! There is not a gallery that I’ve submitted to where I haven’t felt inadequate in some way. The mere feeling of inadequacy, however, should not be what is stopping you from submitting. In my opinion, an artist should have a solid body of work before submitting. I believe that should be at least 10 images that you feel are strong and can back up with good information either about how it was created, why you created it, and so on. Further, you should have a website, even if it is a template or blog, that cohesively shows your work in an easy-to-digest manner. The last tip I have is to understand, at least roughly, how you want to size, edition and price your work. From there, you’re good to submit as long as you are smart about who you are submitting to!

How do you manage to keep on shining as bright as you do? How do you manage to keep going against all odds? I’m pretty confident in my work & who I am as an artist but at times I feel overwhelmed with the negativity I receive from it. I’m not one to apologize for my work but at times it does get me down. Especially when it’s from local “established” photographers from my area. I know there is no right or wrong when it comes to how you express yourself with your art & imagination, but they do not seem to know that.

Whew trust me I hear that. I have been torn down quite a few times about what I do, why I do it, and I’ve listened to opinions about if I should be doing the work that I do. There are two points that I want to make about this. Just because you hear negativity doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there who feel just the opposite. If you don’t hear it, it may be that you aren’t sharing your work in the right places. Join groups that cater to your style or your vision or opinions. Join a meetup where other creatives who are more open-minded can be a support group for you. I have my own support group that I rely on all the time. If someone says something that hurts me, I tell my husband. We always work through it. My next point is to realize that you have no idea, most of the time, why someone is saying what they are saying. If someone spreads negativity, keep in mind that you don’t know them and they don’t know you. It is good to spark debate, but it doesn’t always feel good to be the target of hate. Be respectful of people even if you don’t feel it is deserved. You never know how your kindness can change the life of someone in need. Hate is very often a cry for help.

What is the funniest or craziest story from a shoot?

There was that one time I filled my car with maggots from the elk spine I picked up in the forest…
That other time when a park ranger found me halfway in the creek with my model half-undressed as I was shooting underwater, and we got wayyyy kicked out of that park.
Then the other time when I ironically got kicked out of another park while shooting underneath a SHERIFF sign.
There was that time when I tried to sink a wooden bed in a pool, and 6 hours later decided to just take a nap on it while floating in the water.
There was also that time in Scotland when I was trying to climb a fence to get into some old ruins and got scared right at the top, got my butt hooked on some barbed wire, got seen from the road, and then, 10 minutes later, realized the door was open the whole time.

I have a current list of about 25-30 scenes I would love to shoot. The inspiration comes easy to me, it’s the applying it/getting it done is the hard part. My questions are, how do I go about getting a model for them when I have $0 for them and I am by no means photo material myself. 

Whenever I am organizing a shoot, I try to be as transparent as possible about the process. I will send sketches, a description of the photo that I hope to achieve, and my terms in very plain words. If I can’t pay, I let them know that. I also let them know exactly what I can give – maybe I pay for transportation or dinner. Maybe I offer a small print in return, or a high-res file. Maybe it is simply about the collaborative process. Maybe I offer them a blog post dedicated to the shoot. I look on model mayhem and ask around on Facebook, and I always try to make the first time I work with a model a shoot that will result in at least one image for them, while also not being a shoot that is very important. I try to build up trust with a model before we collaborate on something that I need to work.

I am working on 52 week self portrait and last week I shot the first one outside. I always shoot inside my home because I’m too nervous about what people will think and even some times I worry about publishing my photos online. A couple of times people have asked questions like, “what are you even trying to do with taking pictures of yourself”? How do you overcome this?

I did the same thing when I started – I always shot indoors because I was too nervous of people judging me should I shoot outside. I did self-portraits for ease because I was too nervous to ask anyone to model…so I identify with you completely. However, I have learned something so powerful, I think everyone should adopt it as their mantra: No stranger cares that much about me. Seriously though…am I right?! No one does. If you were to see someone that you don’t know doing something strange in public, what would you think? Chances are it would be a funny story to share with your friends and that’s it. It would be entertaining. So if you are that person doing something a bit weird, does it really matter? No one cares! I started thinking that way and have overcome so much in terms of my shyness and insecurities. I photograph myself all the time now wherever I am inspired, because I know that at worst someone will laugh at me, and at best I will inspire someone else to pursue their passion.

Those who create self-portraits do so for personal reasons – we all have our reasons. Mine personally though is to put myself in the worlds that I wish I lived in. And if someone doesn’t like that, they don’t have to look. Stand up for what you believe in and do so kindly, and the rest will fall into place.