Whether painting or pottery, starting a successful art business is a fulfilling way to turn your creative venture into a profitable business. While you may be focused on the beauty and inspiration of your pieces today, you may find you want to make money from your artsy endeavor. If you’re not sure how to start your business, this guide can help you with tips on how to successfully launch and grow your art business, as well as develop a unique artistic style and build a solid brand.
Once you’ve learned how to set up your business structure, you can focus on marketing your art and managing your finances, all while navigating common challenges like pricing work and connecting with the right audience to purchase your pieces.
Whether selling original pieces, prints, or offering commissioned work, we’ll provide practical advice to help turn a passion into a sustainable business. With tips on leveraging social media, setting up an online shop, and expanding networks, this art business guide offers valuable insights for showcasing and selling art professionally – no matter your art style.
Starting Out with a Blank Canvas
You know that feeling when you’re staring at a blank canvas before putting the paintbrush down? If you’re feeling that way about starting an art business, it’s okay. With a few art business tips, you can actually turn your artistic passion into a business.
To get started, set up an area in your home that will be your office. Make sure you have the equipment you need to do your art, as well as a computer or laptop for the business portion.
A simple starting point is to go to your local city or state website and apply for a business license. From there, you can choose the type of business structure you’d like (sole proprietorship to partnership to Limited Liability Company). Make sure to sign up for any tax alerts for your business so you can pay your taxes on time, too.
It’s also time to write a business plan, or hire someone who can. A business plan can also help you secure financing, if you will need that now – or down the road.
If you need help with getting the capital you need to launch or grow your business, Guidant Financial can help. One example of financing from Guidant is Rollovers for Business Start-ups (ROBS), or 401(k) business financing. With this method, you can use your eligible 401(k) funds to start a business debt-free. See Guidant’s full funding solutions overview.
Want to write a business plan that’ll get approved for a loan? Check out our guide to writing a loan-winning business plan here.
Building Your Brand
Building a brand is where you get to shine with your creativity! If you love sketching, you can be creative with the name of your business and your logo. Maybe your logo is sketched by you in black and white, with a catchy name that captures the essence of your drawings. Or perhaps you have colorful, modern art that requires a more colorful presentation when it comes to your branding. Let your type of art determine how you move forward with branding. Struggling to come up with a business name? You can always start with your name.
Take a look at what other artists in your area (or online) are doing, too, both for inspiration and to ensure you build a niche where you stand out for what makes your art unique.
Get started on your marketing strategy early, too – you can start with a website or blog and move forward from there. If you’ll be selling from your website, make sure to set up an e-commerce component to your site. (Some site builders like Shopify and Squarespace make this particularly easy.)
When thinking about your website, consider what you want the main goal of it to be. Are you mainly selling from your site? Or do you want to inform your audience about your art and the artist (you!)? Or, maybe you want to host a blog and discuss art-related topics. Thinking about this now will help ensure you meet your goal and appease your potential customers.
Another way to market and sell is by providing office hours or studio open house times where people can come see your work. Make sure you show it off in a visually appealing way, and ensure your space is clean and clear of clutter so prospective purchasers can focus on the main event: your artwork.
Where else can a professional artist sell one-of-a-kind works? Here are just a few ideas:
- Online sales, as with Artwork Archive
- In a local store or boutique
- Partner with a coffee shop, restaurant, or wine bar
- Host a booth at an art fair or art market
- Art galleries
- Join art organizations for more options
Not sure what your niche is? Use this simple, three-step guide to determine your niche now.
Getting to Know Your Customers
Before you get too much farther in your planning, take a moment to think about who your customers are – and what they want to purchase (and why). Consider their demographics such as age and where they live.
Then, take time to write up a persona for your target customer, or target audience. This can be part of your business plan that you write. Discuss how they prefer to shop (in person or online), what age group they fall into, and how much disposable income they have. Check out Forbes’ guide on How To Identify Your Business’s Target Audience.
Setting Your Pricing
When it comes to pricing your pieces, you can do a little research in person or online to see what similar art is going for in the industry. It’s useful to look at how similar artists or competitors price their pieces. This can help you set competitive prices that reflect your art’s value and align with market trends.
Don’t sell too low – or too high – you want to find the sweet spot that shows credibility but also not unfairly high prices. The good news here? You can always change your prices. You can even host sales if items aren’t selling as fast as you’d like or increase prices if you’ve determined your pricing is too low.
Remember to think about your cost of materials and time it takes to complete each piece when you’re pricing out your pieces. You can determine your hourly rate, and use that too. You can also seek out friends, family, or business acquaintances to get their opinions on your prices.
Selling Socially
Once you have a website, add your social media platforms to post about your work and market your business. Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok are just a few social media sites that are popular. You’ll find some sites – like Facebook – are more popular with an older crowd, whereas others are more popular with younger generations.
According to Hootsuite, “44% of Instagram users use the app to shop on a weekly basis, and 62.4% of social users use Instagram to follow or research brands, products, or services.” This same article even walks you through step-by-step how to set up your Instagram page.
Two other top tips for using social media in your marketing and sales are to make a content calendar so you know what you’re posting and when, and to schedule everything in advance. Follow a few of your favorite brands for a couple weeks to see what they’re posting and how often for more ideas on how to get started on social media.
Want more small business marketing tips? See How to Market Your Business Successfully.
Growing and Changing
Getting your art business up and running may be a side hustle or part-time gig for now, but know you can always ramp up to a full-time career selling your art. You’re only as big – or small – as you dream your business to be. With marketing a solid business strategy, business goals, and a marketing strategy, you can have a successful art business. And while it’s important to run your business professionally, watch your finances, and meet your goals, remember why you started it in the first place: your love of art. Chances are, your customers will become art lovers, too.
Transitioning your art business from a part-time endeavor to a full-time career is an exciting step. As you focus on refining your business and marketing strategies to reach your goals, consider partnering with Guidant Financial for your financing needs.
Guidant specializes in Rollovers for Business Startups (ROBS), a unique financing solution that allows you to invest retirement funds into your business without early withdrawal penalties or tax consequences. This can provide the robust funding needed to expand your operations, invest in marketing, or cover other critical business expenses – helping you grow while preserving your passion for art.
Thinking about starting an art business? Guidant Financial can help you pre-qualify for financing today.
“If you’re committed to it and you have a vision, then Guidant is the way to make it come to life.”
— Marc Warner, Bovine Burgers
Read the stories of REAL small business owners who work with Guidant.
