Thanks to Ramit Sethi (iwillteachyoutoberich.com) and Cory Huff (theabundantartist.com) for this post.  Very insightful and straight from the hip.

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Last week I heard a story about an artist who makes handmade buttons at parties. For $3 he will come to your party, do a custom painting on a 1 inch by 1 inch canvas, and then turn it into a button for you.

For $3.

I couldn’t believe it. Neither could everyone around me who heard the story. It seems like everyone there knew that this artist should be charging more. Too bad that artist didn’t.

Compare that to my friend, we’ll call him John. John makes sculptures. They range in size from very small to very large. He has a thriving business where corporations call him and ask him to build something for them, and they pay whatever he asks. $30,000 – $50,000 was his last asking price that I heard.

What’s the difference? It’s a matter of beliefs.

The Starving Artist Myth

Many artists have bought into a romanticized notion that art is somehow more legitimate if it is created by poor people. This notion was popularized in the mid-19th century by the writer Henri Murger, who wrote Scènes de la vie de bohème a famous French novel about a group of poor artists living in the Bohemian quarter of Paris. The book was wildly popular and it became trendy to be a poor artist.

Over the last 150 years, Murger’s ideas became entrenched in popular culture, and artists hold to the notion that art is a product of the financially unsound and morally superior.

The Starving Artist Myth forces artists down a path that isn’t helpful.

Recently, a friend of mine mentioned on Facebook that she was trying to raise some extra money because she wanted to move to NYC to pursue her dream. I was really excited for her because she’s a tremendously talented artist. I messaged her and offered to help her come up with some good ways to do that (I do a lot of work with artists, especially in teaching them how to sell art online). A week went by without hearing from her, then two. I messaged her again, hoping to use her as a source for this article, but a week later all I had heard from her is that she’s too busy working at her survival job.

Many artists believe that the poverty and suffering that comes from this kind of busyness is conducive to better art – but I disagree. Being in touch with emotion and having strong technique make better art. Poverty and suffering are distractions that pull us away from being able to do the things that we really love doing.

Artists are not the only people to fall into this trap.

It is my opinion, and some will want to lynch me for this, that artists and entrepreneurs come from very similar backgrounds. They have a passion for something that can make a difference in people’s lives. They want to do that passion all the time – some of them just don’t know how to support themselves while doing it.

How to Dispel the Starving Artist Myth

Remember: Normal = Poor. Crazy = Rich. People expect a lot of crazy, creative things from artists and entrepreneurs, and they’re willing to pay for it. Whatever you do, do it with gusto. Look at Ramit. He teaches people how to be rich, and he does it with flair and excitement, and a lot of passion. He makes people some people angry – but he’s making a ton of money doing it. People love him for the passion that he has. If people love someone like Ramit, they’ll love artists even more (sorry, Ramit – as much as you make fun of us, people love artists).

Do something people love, and eventually it will catch on. When I first saw Etsy.com, I thought it was garbage. All I saw was a bunch of home made doilies that weren’t even all that well done. But you know what, people LOVED Etsy. Artists who turned up their nose at the site now sell original works for over $3,000. Etsy has developed a reputation for having high quality, original merchandise that appeals to buyers of all kinds.

Take advantage of the Warhol Economy. Andy Warhol created a movement that revived New York City. City planners took advantage of the burgeoning art scene to create incentives that attracted more businesses to the parts of New York that were dying. There are cities all over the country that are desperately trying to attract artist communities to their cities. You can read more about it in Elizabeth Currid’s PhD dissertation turned book, The Warhol Economy (which, by the way, is a great example of how to turn your god-given talents in to money).

Give yourself permission to make money. This is one that I struggled with early as an artist, and again as a budding entrepreneur. I didn’t believe that it was possible to make the kind of money that I make now. I would sabotage myself by passing on opportunities because I didn’t think they’d really pan out. When something great would happen to me, I would tell myself it was luck and that it probably wouldn’t happen again. Once I flipped that switch, it changed everything for me.

How did I flip that switch? I’ll simply say that it took two things: changing the connection between my self-worth and money; and learning what I needed to do in order to make money.

Protect your vision. When you aim to change your life many people around you will attempt to take you down. Most of the time it won’t be intentional. Your friends and family, as well as coworkers and other acquaintances, will question your decisions, even your motivation. This can be demoralizing and cripple your efforts before you ever get started. Find people who encourage instead of question and support instead of doubt (or, even better, you can call out whiny complainers before they gain any momentum).

“But I don’t know how!” It’s almost impossible to make it as an entrepreneur without some help. Whether you pay someone or find an amazing mentor who will help you for free, you need someone more experienced than you to help out.

Who knows what the future holds for that $3 painter or my actress friend who wants to move to New York City? It could well be that they find their niche and end up fabulously successful – but first they’ll have to make the decision to be ready for more. They’ll have to stop believing in the Myth of the Starving Artist.

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Cory Huff is an actor turned entrepreneur who does freelance social media consulting, and teaches artists how to sell art online at TheAbundantArtist.com.

Original link can be found here: http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/artists-are-terrible-at-money/

The window of time right after you leave the stage.  You know, when the adrenaline is still pumping and everything is magnified – that’s when I am at my most vulnerable.  I stand at the door and personally thank each audience member for coming to see the show and this has led to some pretty memorable moments.  The following comments are from major studio execs, book publishers, talent agents, theatre producers, and more.

‘I’m with Harper Collins and I’m offering you a huge book deal.  Now.  Here’s my card.’

‘You will never worry about money for the rest of your life.  I’m an agent at CAA.  Call me.’

‘You will star in every film I make. You’re the next Eddie Murphy and then some.  Let’s meet this week at Sony.’

‘I will personally introduce you to Will Smith and he will LOVE you.  Call my office.  Seriously.’

‘In six months you will need a personal assistant because you’re going to be in high demand and I’m the one who will get you there.’

These comments are usually followed by countless meetings and lots of phone calls that make you feel like you’re dreaming.  My nickname for these meetings is the ‘Evian Tour’ because every meeting begins with the assistant handing you a bottled water.  I spent more time in the bathroom than I did in meetings.

Inevitably the meetings died down and things didn’t move quite as fast as I was led to believe.  After months of unreturned phone calls and dealing with their selective amnesia I was left with an empty feeling.  I kept asking myself: Is everybody in this business fake?  Needless to say it was a discouraging experience.  But I also learned a valuable lesson.

A verbal commitment is only as good as the paper it’s written on.

There is nothing more plentiful in this business than promises. How do you know what’s real and what’s bullshit?

Because if it’s real you’ll have it in written form and you’ll have it soon.

With no accountability you have no leverage.  Broadway/West End producers and Hollywood execs can and will ignore your phone calls in ways you never thought possible.  Unless you stop chasing them.  Once I stopped calling these people four times a week the smoke cleared and I was able to manage my expectations in a productive manner.  It is impossible to make concrete business decisions when emotion is involved and performers are emotional people. Learning to remove emotion from the equation helped me realize that out of the 20 or 30 people who wanted to be ‘in the Kahlil business’ only four of them were willing to put it in writing and commit to finances and a time frame.

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In the International Bestseller Four Hour Work Week Tim Ferriss often refers to the Pareto principle.  The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.  In other words everything that glitters ain’t gold so stop waiting for it to shine.  Make the best use of your time by concentrating on the ‘promises’ that have accountability attached.  No return call after three tries?  Move on.  Emails not being answered?  Delete.  Time is money.

Be gracious, be thankful but get real.  People are what they do not what they say.  Don’t be afraid to make people put their money where their mouth is when it comes to your career.  You’ve worked so hard to get here and you don’t get what you deserve – you get what you negotiate.  NEVER sign anything on the spot and never sign away all of your rights. Need some legal advice?  Comment on this post and we’ll point you in the right direction.

People in this business can only treat you the way you allow them to treat you.  Stand your ground and find your 80/20.

Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com

‘We are one skill away from the success we so greatly desire.’ – Unknown

What’s yours?

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When I moved to Los Angeles in 2001 I was broken.  My life was in pieces (three to be exact) as I arrived in Studio City with all of my worldly possessions: three suitcases, my Isuzu Amigo and my desire – which could hardly be called that because I was scared to death.  Scared to move to LA but I had nowhere else to go.  Scared to do the ‘acting thing’ but after performing at Caesars Palace as a comic for three years I felt like I was ready.   Scared of my own shadow…but I was so broke my shadow was welcome company.

I quickly fell into the hamster wheel of what aspiring actors in L.A. ‘do’.  Get a crappy day job.  Find an acting class.  It was my delusional way of convincing myself that I was doing something for my career while holding down a day job ‘just in cast things didn’t work out’.  Fear.  And then I found Jeffrey Tambor’s class.  And fear took on a new meaning.

Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development) is one of the most respected character actors in the world.  You can find more about him here.

His class wasn’t one that allowed you to sit in the back and watch. Newcomers had to do a monologue.  My monologue was funny as hell, so I thought. The audience of 200+ actors were rolling in the aisles.  Jeffrey tore it apart.  He offered to give me my money back because I was wasting his time – ‘you’ll get work’, he said.  ‘The question is, do you want a career?’.   Another guy got up and started doing a scene about his family – it was really compelling.  Jeffrey told him to pack it up and hit the road – sympathy has no place in this business.  One by one he picked us off, male/female didn’t matter.  He honestly offered to write several of us checks unless we got onstage and showed him something we were afraid to do with our talent.   Doing things in your comfort zone leads to complacency and complacent performers can’t cut the mustard.  Grow or Die.

For me it was drama vs comedy.  Jeffrey suggested that stand up comedy didn’t allow me to show the depth of my skills.  He had me do the same monologue in a dramatic way but without making it so obvious that I wanted laughs, (Uta Hagen – play the intention, not the laugh) and not only did the audience laugh harder, it changed me forever.   All of a sudden the fear of not being funny on stage was fuel instead of an excuse.  I was proud to not be just another funny black guy in LA.  The monologue Jeffrey helped me cultivate became the foundation of my award winning one person show Basic Training.

Find your performance fear and work it.  Because life is short…one day somebody’s going to take your body and put it in a wooden box.  And then they’ll cover it with dirt, sing a few songs and walk away.  That’s how the story ends.  What will you do between now and then?

Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com

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This is a guest post from TJ Dawe, a successful Vancouver based writer/performer/director who’s toured solo shows at more than eighty comedy and theatre festivals in the last decade and a bit. He’s got six published plays, a humour book, and his directing credits include The One Man Star Wars Trilogy, which played Off-Broadway in New York for five months. He alsoblogs, tweets, podcasts, and has stuff on youtube.

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The Shawshank Redemption flopped in the theatres. Later people started renting it, talking about it, buying the DVD. Now it’s ranked number one on the internet movie database’s user poll of every movie ever made, surpassing the next contender (The Godfather) by almost 100, 000 votes. Why has everyone become passionate about this flop? Here’s my take: because it’s an analogy for being stuck in a day job.

I don’t know anyone who’s spent time in prison for a murder they didn’t commit, but the vast majority of my artist friends toil in soul killing day jobs to make ends meet. How do you muster the energy to create after getting home from an exhausting day doing something you hate?

In the two decades of his incarceration Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) builds a library, teaches prisoners to read, and digs an escape tunnel – outside of the accounting work he does for the warden and guards. I grew up with the notion that artists work in the throes of divine inspiration. That can definitely happen. But Robertson Davies (Fifth Business, What’s Bred in the Bone) started each new novel by writing a series of notes, outlining the story, the characters, and everything he’d need to research. This took three years. In the meantime he edited and wrote for a newspaper, helped raise three daughters, and later, taught and administrated a graduate college. Philip Glass (Soundtrack for The Hours, Kundun) drove a cab and repaired appliances, working on his compositions every morning. Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Choke) repaired diesel trucks and went to a novel writing workshop one evening a week.

Spending a little time each day on a project gets your mind working on it no matter what else you’re doing. In spare moments a problem might unlock itself. Maybe something you see or a random utterance from an overheard conversation will make a light bulb click. Can you find an hour a day for your art? Half an hour? It might not sound like much, but it adds up if you keep at it. Don’t have the time? How much time do you spend on Facebook?

When Dufresne escapes, the other prisoners don’t have a clue. He hadn’t shared his plan with even his closest friends. A lot of people talk about how they’re working on a screenplay, or how their band is gonna be huge. Be careful of this. If someone’s genuinely making their career happen, great. But talking about all the things you’re going to do can be a substitute for doing the actual work.

Dufresne’s tunneling takes nineteen years. The long slow climb isn’t as sexy as overnight success. We don’t see it much in biopics.

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But doing something each day can give focus and purpose to your entire existence. Any day job is more endurable when there’s even a possible exit into something better somewhere down the line. And those nineteen years are going to pass anyway. If there’s an injection of passion in your every day, your life will be better whether you make it or not. And you just might wind up on a beach in Mexico, sharing margaritas with Morgan Freeman.

-TJ Dawe

Share, Tweet, discuss, comment and Facebook this post – we can all use a margarita now and then!  Day jobs don’t have to be life jobs.  The choice is yours.

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Sometimes being inside the “industry”, I take a lot of the language that we speak for granted and I forget that at times the people I deal with on a daily basis don’t always speak the same industry dialect. So, I thought I’d write a post addressing one of the more popular questions I get: What is the difference between an agent and a manager? An agent and manager have vastly different jobs. Why, you ask?
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The easiest way to sum up the difference between the two jobs is: An agent is typically responsible for only the live aspect of a career, whereas the a manager is responsible for managing an overall career, not just live appearances. Think of an artist’s career like a hockey game (since I’m Canadian and it is Olympic time!). The coach (aka. the manager) is directing his players as to how to play the game. The agent would be the centre and is responsible for the offense. All the other players each have their roles and they are all directed by the coach. The coach also has a boss: the owner (aka. the artist).
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As coach of the artist’s team, a manager basically acts as a hub or a filter for all aspects of the artist’s career. For a musician, this might include the record label, publicists, endorsement deals, social media consultants, merchandising, website designers, and agents. All of these team players would report to the manager -  even the agent (Wayne Gretzky had to listen to his coach too). To continue with the music example, the manager may have many agents working for them in different parts of the world. I manage an act that has an agent in the US, Canada, London and Singapore. All of these offensive players report back to me, the coach, for their given territories.

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Now, forget the hockey analogy. There are times where it isn’t worth having a manager. In comedy for instance, a lot of high earning comedians will work directly with an agent as their businesses may be entirely focused on live bookings, therefore paying a manager may not make sense.
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The role of the agent is typically very sales based. Their job is to get you gigs. When the artist has a manager, the agent, artist and manager would together lay out a strategy for touring or attracting live shows. The agent’s job is to implement the strategy and bring offers for performances to the manager. The manager, along with the input of the artist, then chooses to accept or pass on those offers.
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To sum it up, a manager’s job is typically more a partnership with the artist in implementing an overall business strategy and an agent is usually responsibly for a very specific role (live bookings) in artist’s career.
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- Justin Sudds – Gigsmacked.com

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Feel free to comment or let us know what you think