Growing a small business from art

We've just crossed a huge milestone recently which is to get our business registered. This was an idea being tossed around but finally came into fruition after seeing the reception we received from craft fairs, even from our friends and family.

Just like a flower, a business needs help to grow.

Being a new and small business, there are a lot of things we need to learn, such as how to sustain and grow this business. Therefore of late, I've been reading E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber and listening to their podcasts. My husband introduced this book to me when he saw my interest in starting my own business. So in this post, I'd like to veer away from our normal posts and share with all of you what I've learnt today about growing a business from art.

The podcast featured Tara Reed, an artist and author behind Tara Reed Designs sharing some of her ideas and tips for artists to grow their business. Here are some salient points I took away from the podcast.

1. Keep your EARS and EYES open for business opportunities & trends.
2. Think about LICENSING your art (not sure how it works in Malaysia though).
3. STUDY the industry you are getting into.
4. Create a SYSTEM that can make things more EFFICIENT.
5. DOCUMENT every task so you can "train a monkey" to do it.
6. Consider OUTSOURCING if you do not need to be doing what you are doing; think what gives more value to your business.
7. You cannot shoot for the stars if you're doing everything yourself; don't be a CONTROL freak.
8. Get out of your own way. Don't create EXCUSES or be AFRAID to try something new or ask for help.
9. Be FLEXIBLE. Don't have preconceived notions about your art or what your customers want.
10. Be OPEN to new ways to do things, don't stay comfortable in a routine. I.e. social media marketing.
11. UNDERSTAND who your market is.
12. Create emotional CONNECTION with customers to create LOYALTY.

If you are also an artist in Malaysia starting a small business, share with us what other tips or ideas you've gathered along the way. If you would like to listen to the podcast, click here.

Square Art is Malaysian small business being watered and fertilized to grow. If you would like to know more about us or our products, visit us on our Facebook Page or follow us on Twitter.