This is the page where public live chats take place.  We talk about the business of art. Feel free to join us.  You can sign in as a guess or use your Twitter name.

Next community live chat  Wednesday August 26th 7PM

• Description: Restart is a class designed to support you with beginning, restarting or refocusing your creative business. This is a day long course with eight sections.  At the beginning of each hour a lesson is offered and the student has up to an hour to compete the task presented.  Listen to the introduction audio for more information.
• Instructors: Rosh Sillars
• Introduction audio class: yes
• Number of audio files: 8
• Number of videos: 0
• Number of PDF’s: 0
• Related links: http://www.wordpress.org
• Comment Line 206 202 3568 | question@prosperousartists.com

Audio section list:

1. Introduction and developing goals
2. Your environment
3. Accounting
4. What works
5. Who do you know?
6. Web Site
7. Sales
8. Networking

Join the forum discussion on this post - (7) Posts

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Dear community member,

As you know, Dean and I have worked hard over the last couple of years to develop good content for http://www.prosperousartists.com.    In March, we decided to turn our Web site into an educational resource: The Prosperous Artists Academy.

This change will give us the flexibility to create classes and share even more information with you. We are still in the process of producing our classes and deleting and editing our old posts. (They really need it.) Note: Our podcasts always will be free.

Since you are a current member we are automatically upgrading you to the apprentice program free of charge. You may take full advantage of all we create and offer to the apprentice level of enrollment. There is no catch.

Well, there is one thing you need to do. Please send us an e-mail (roshgroup@gmail.com) to confirm your desire to be a part of this new program. If we don’t hear from you,  we will take your name and e-mail off our list before our official launch next week.

If you remain, your user name and password will remain the same.

Check out our new site. If you have any suggestions for the community, classes or content, please let us know.

All the best to you,

Rosh

Now is the time to organize and prepare for the new year.  Dean and I will have a podcast ready on Wednesday that focuses on 2009. Until then, we have the opportunity to get the inertia going and build  a running start into 2009.

Inertia roughly means that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.  If you are a lump on the couch, you most likely will continue to be a lump.  It’s hard to get yourself out of that position.  Once you do get moving again, take action and work on projects that tend to keep you in motion. 

Start with a few projects to get yourself moving.  Create a list of the things you need to do between now and the end of the year.  What actions will put you a little ahead of the game at the start of 2009?

If you wait until 2009, starting from square one can be a challenge.  Get going now. 

My goal is to put most of my new marketing idea foundations in place before January 1st.  I don’t want any barriers at the start of a new year. I just want to create, act, and earn more business.

What do you need to do?

Rosh

Here are some helpful Web sites for the prosperous artist:

http://www.shownd.com/  Shown’d is an online resource for artists, photographers and designers to display their work.  The site also offers opportunities for employers looking for talent and talent looking for employers.

http://www.shazam.com   Hear a cool song? Don’t know the artist? Just hold up your cell phone and shazam will tell you.

http://pixelpipe.com/  Upload your work once and send to all your social sites with a push of a button.

http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/   Creative community resource 

http://www.retaggr.com/ Your online social media business card

http://www.twilite.tv/ Original programming and a social network for artists

Do you know any good sites for the prosperous artist?

Rosh

If you’ve every been out late one evening at a bar or restaurant, an event is sure to happen within thirty minutes of closing time – the last call. Your server or bartender will give you that final chance to order a drink and have ample time to enjoy it before they turn up the house lights and do all their side work in close proximity to you to remind you their night is coming to a close.

Here is your last call for fiscal and calendar year 2008. Ask yourself what needs to get done before the strike of Midnight on January 1st, in between the holidays and all the events which are December. Make a list and then set your priorities on the list. Don’t be seduced by the prospects for 2009 and the dreams of the New Year. What ever it is you need to get done, finish these tasks first. Remember, you can’t really cook a great meal with a sink full of dirty dishes.

Don’t let the pop of the champaign cork and the bright lights of the Times Square Mirror Ball serve as triggers for excuses, regret and anxiety. Your friends at Prosperous Artists have officially been given your last call for 2008. You have ample time to get many things done – Take care of business!

Question: What are the tasks and items I need to complete by the end of the year, and what am action steps am I taking to get them done?

– Dean L.

thanks to 

Freelance Switch

N.C. Winters

A friend of mine just received some great news. 

The banks were about to call in his company loans, revenue was drying up in the middle of the Detroit desert, time was short and the options didn’t look good.

In, what could have been their last days, the team put together a plan and approached a very large client with new ideas.  They told the client that they knew major changes were ahead and they would help in the transition.  The client accepted the offer with a very large contract.   The company was saved.

They didn’t give up during a time when many would have.  It’s a rough economic time; it would be understandable, excusable and maybe even acceptable to do so.  They didn’t fight for what they had and they didn’t shy away from risk by trying something new.

They looked forward to creating new value for their client. 

What new value you can you bring to your clients?

Rosh

Here’s a double-edged sword to consider: If you had a problem in your chosen pursuit, who would you call to walk you through that issue? If someone else had that same issue, would they be comfortable calling you?

I enjoy being a resource for a circle of people, because I can say the same about them. Rosh and I are great two-way resources for each other. Our strengths overlap in some areas. In those areas where our talents differ, we encourage each other’s excellence. I have a small but powerful kitchen cabinet of people with whom I enjoy talking and working through situations. It is gratifying to help them move forward.

Watch out for those who want you to be their uncompensated resource and reference guide. You’ll know these folks by their requests for your ideas and insights, by their need for you to coach them and prop them up. Most notably, you’ll realize they rarely, if ever, reciprocate.

 I have distanced myself recently from one such person. We all know someone like this.

Be wiling to be a beacon in your area of expertise or an advocate for your industry and ideals. Share thoughts, ideas and insights with those who truly appreciate them and will share the same or other things of value with you. Watch out for the sponges, they will soak up everything and leave you with nothing.

Question: When do I give? Does it feel rewarding?  With whom do I need to be more careful?

– Dean L.

When you are designing, planning or creating for your business there are two words that will derail your efforts every time:  good enough.

Good enough is not good enough.  Do your best and offer your best.  If the words good enough  cross your brain or lips take a step back and rethink your actions.

You are better off doing nothing than offering “good enough.”  I’m not saying perfection is the goal. Striving and waiting for perfection will prevent you from accomplishing anything.  But, “good enough” is usually substandard and represents you and your company poorly.

You are better off without such representation. 

Rosh