Artpreneur

Earlier this summer, I bought several books that I thought would help me focus on my business. And I finally got around to reading the first one. Artpreneur by Miriam Schulman. 

What I Thought

I must say, I love this book. I found it very helpful and insightful, and I can’t wait to start incorporating what I learned in this book into my business.

According to the back of the book, this is a step-by-step guide for creatives to transform their passion into a profitable business. And Schulman delivered. I took many notes and highlighted several passages in this book.

She included several action steps, along with her own experiences, some of the psychology behind buyers, and human nature in general, along with stories from other successful artists. I found some of the psychology to be interesting. 

What I Learned

One of the more interesting things I learned is that our brains can’t tell the difference between a real threat to our safety, and something that just makes us uncomfortable. Another thing that I found interesting, is that we are wired to track threats, so we tend to focus on the negative things that happen to us, and we completely overlook the positive things.

Additionally, I learned a good deal about how to interact with people in person and online, and how to come up with and execute goals. I think during the next couple of weeks, I’m going to revisit my goals and update them to reflect what I’ve learned.

The final thing I’m going to mention that I learned is that we build self-confidence by doing what we say we’re going to do. If I tell myself that I’m going to do something, and then I don’t, I’m teaching myself that I can’t be trusted. But if I continue to do what I tell myself, then I’m proving that I keep my word and that builds confidence. 

What I’m Going to do with that Knowledge

In the next month or so, I’m planning on incorporating these three things into my business. Eventually, I want to add more action steps into my life, but I have to start somewhere and I don’t want to overwhelm myself.

1. I’m going to start keeping my promises to myself. Even if it’s something I don’t want to do. I wrote out a daily to-do list for this week and next along with the time I want to spend doing each thing. Today is the first day I’m trying this so hopefully I can build this into a habit.
2. I need to start an email list. I’ve been putting this off for too long, because, honestly, I don’t want to do it. But I know that it’s something that will benefit me in the long run. I’ve already done some preliminary work for when I’m at craft fairs, I just need to buckle down and commit.
3. In the next couple of weeks, I need to revisit my goals. There was a chapter about goal setting and then what you need to do once you have those goals figured out. So I’m basically going to do what that chapter said to do. 

I have tried to read several business-related books, but none of them were geared toward creative businesses, so I’ve always given them up because I didn’t perceive them as relevant. So I’m really glad that I found Artpreneur and stuck with it.

Overall, I loved Artpreneur by Miriam Schulman. This is one of the books that I would definitely recommend to anyone and everyone who is trying to build a creative business.

What books would you recommend? I’m always on the lookout for something new to read.