1. To progress in a graduated series. 2. To adjust in amount according to a fixed scale or proportion (often fol. by down or up): to scale down wages.

This word gets thrown around a lot by marketing and business people as in, "Does it scale?"

You may have heard it. You may have asked yourself what the hell that means. Okay, I did. For a long time I would just nod my head as if I understood the trendy jargon. Like this:

"Does your business scale?"

"Um, I, uh... well, I'm an illustrator. Say, that's a nice jacket."

"Thanks! My girlfriend has a matching scarf..."

... and once again, uncomfortable truth of my ignorance is deflected.

Now I know what scale means, as in does my business scale? I'll explain.

My friend Gary used to say that "There's no money in freelance Graphic Design." I used to grit my teeth at that, but now I see that, in a way, he was right. There's a limit to how much money illustration projects will bring.

For example, a given project takes a certain number of hours. You can only work on so many projects in a day before you have to turn away business (you lucky dog, you). In effect, you're limited to a certain amount of income. Even if you raise your rates, you can only go as high as the market will bear, and then you're still stuck in this hourly limit thing.

The Illustrapreneur

Nathan Bowers reminded me of this fabulous title in a recent comment. I altered it slightly, but it's essentially the same: Illustrator + Entrepreneur.

It's hard for most artists to think about doing anything other than just makin' art all day long and getting paid for it. After all, isn't that why we got into this whole gig?

Sure it is.

As an illustrator and animator, I can only take my wacky art so far. Tastes change, art directors move, companies fold, and digital media becomes the standard. That doesn't mean I have to stop making my funtastic art, but it does mean I have to start offering more and different things to keep the art bus rolling.

I'm sure you've heard an artist complain that "All the work is going overseas?" Or, "Publishers aren't buying this year?"

As an Illustrapreneur the answer to this should be, "So what?" Here's why.

If you've created ways for your business to scale, those market changes aren't going to hit you as hard. What does "scaling your business" mean?

Scaling an illustration and animation business means creating ways of bringing in money without adding to the hourly workload. Here are some quick examples:

• Licensing your art
• Selling stock art
• Creating t-shirts to sell online
• Pitching a show to a network
• Creating your own subscription-based online entertainment network

There are many more ideas out there, but the point is that you're creating artwork once and selling it many, many times without adding to your hourly workload.

Maybe the thought of messing with the purity of your art by treating it as a commodity makes you want to hurl. Okay, I get that. If you like riding the waves of the market, then I'm stoked for you. Surf's up.

If the teeniest little part of you understands how even the purist artists who hate the idea running a business still have to sell themselves, then you might want think about becoming an Illustrapreneur.

If you already do this and have success, why not share? What did you do to scale your business? Why aren't you an Illustraprenuer? I invite your comments!

Just a couple things.

People

Since we're on the web and all, I get to easily share those online places and people that shape my days. These people make me think (in a good way) and help me grow as a person and an artist (and they probably have no idea). They're also my friends. I think of them as my trusted team of advisors.

Havi Brooks, Fluent Self

Havi's destuckification simply rocks. If you told me you found a more down-to-earth educator, I wouldn't believe you. She just gets people.

Initially when I read Havi's blog it made me all cranky. Self-righteous. Defensive. Her writing was and is simply awesome, but at the time I stumbled on it I was struggling with some serious what-the-hell-am-I-doing and where-do-I-fit-in-to-this-independent-business-world issues.

At one point, Havi e-mailed me about a comment I had left and we had a little conversation that was a turning point for me. She probably doesn't even know it and likely wouldn't take credit for it. Since then the way I see other people has changed. I'm not only more open to other viewpoints, I seek them out.

I also had the pleasure of hanging with Havi and her gentleman friend (more on him later) for an afternoon.

Nathan Bowers, UX Hero: Saving the world, one user Experience at a time.

Nathan is just brilliant. 

The way he sees technology and the user experience is an art form. In fact, he uses art to get across his ideas, which is where the brilliance lies. It probably helps that he's also an artist, which is a rare combination. We met up in Los Angeles one day and shared both sides of our brains. In the sitcom of my life, Nathan is Mallory Keaton's boyfriend Nick. Remember, he called dibs.

Naomi Dunford, IttyBiz

"Get off your ass!"

I'm not sure if I even need to say any more, but I will. Naomi is a marketing rock star. It doesn't matter that she isn't an artist, doesn't sell a clothing line, or fix Volvos. Whatever it is, she knows how to market it, because she knows people (again with the people). I attended her Marketing 101 class and since then I'm incredibly, amazingly more confident in my marketing efforts.

She also responds to my verbose and rambling e-mails. Now that's class.

Richard Miller, Calyx Design

After a year of Twittering about "Let's meet up," we've only recently had the pleasure of sharing hops, barley, and yeast in a glass. Richard is a brilliant designer and an incredibly smart guy (seems to be a running theme here... I see smart people).

Besides his awesome design work, he runs a blog called Sparkletack, which chronicles the history of San Francisco. San Francisco has always appealed to me (yes, me, the diehard Los Angeleno). It's sort of New York City Meets the Gold Rush. I loved spending time there (much of it inside City Lights bookstore, but whatever).

Anyway, for me Sparkletack feeds my California history jones and it's also a wellspring for artistic inspiration. The beautiful artwork in the frequently-changing headers alone will keep me transfixed for a good half hour.

Tara Reed, Tara Reed Designs

I've had art licensing on my mind for about a year now, but Tara has actually shown me how to do it. She's an amazing artist and one of those rare artists who truly understands the business side of things. Since I'm one of those rare business-thinking creatures myself, we hit it off. She's an awesome teacher. Since I've been reading her stuff, I know exactly how to get my art into circulation. The best part is, it's syncs right up with Naomi's "Get off your ass!" Step one: Get off ass. Or in my case, get on my ass (chairwise).

Money

I get grillified every time I talk about business terms like "pipeline or " numbers." People (artists particularly) seem to hate those words and the fact that I use them. I've been labeled "stuffy" and "disingenuous." Apparently I'm not "authentic" (latest buzzword) when I start messing with the hippy-trippy groove of making art and then asking my heart to do something with it while I think about nice things. This is also one of those "seeking other viewpoints" thing I mentioned before. If you have another way of thinking about this, please, please, please. I'm open!

I really do get it. I'm all about making the art first and loving the process (see last trippy post). If you create art by trying to please the mass market, it will look forced, like couscous at a biker rally.

However, I give out these little business-type secrets for free. It's not because I want to see artists picking out neckties at Niemann Marcus or watching CNN Financial News. It's because I lived in the corporate world for a long time and learned a thing or two about how to make it rain (did you wince at that one?). One of the things I learned was how to create and maintain a pipeline. 

What's a pipeline?

Pipeline is just a term. If that word makes you gag, you can use money hose, revenue conduit, or even Angie Dickinson. I don't care.

It's simply a reflection of the project leads you have coming in every week, month, year, whatever. If you can track the leads you've generated, the requests that come in, and the potential amounts of cash they'll provide, you can better predict what's going to be happening in your future.

It's so simple. I use a very basic spreadsheet in two parts. It looks like this (bogus info, of course):

*names changed to protect the innocent

You can see that I have columns for tracking everything from estimated revenue, to follow-up dates, to where the lead came from. Not only do I know how this all happened, I have some ideas about how to keep it happening. Or I know I need to change my approach.

The other part is a simple goals chart. Yep, I gots goals. The numbers are totally wacky here, but hopefully you get the picture. I predict how much I think I might bring in based on last year, figure how much I need to make, and somewhere between those two is my goal. It's not set in stone. Sometimes I adjust it up or down based on my pipeline. I set the goals to be challenging but not soul-killing if I don't hit them. Check it out:

*numbers changed to inflate my sense of self-worth

Every time I get a new lead, I plug it into my spreadsheet. When I review it every week, I have a very good picture of how much revenue I can potentially generate in the coming months, where it's coming from, plus how much revenue I need to generate. It doesn't create the leads or the revenue, it only tracks it. You have to do the work to create those leads, but tracking them can be extremely powerful and liberating.

That's it. It's so simple and yet generates so much eye-rolling and gagging in some circles. Those same people express frustration at not knowing where their business is going or why they don't know how to predict their own financial success or failure.

There's probably some software out there that does some of this for you. Go for it. Automate your tracking, awesomesauce! This works for me and I wouldn't be hitting you over the head with it if it didn't work. If I didn't actually use the business skills I learned over the years because of a hang-up I have over stuffy business words or practices, I would still be working full time in an office somewhere. 

But I'm not. I'm makin' art. For me. For you. Let's totally hold hands and sing! Let me close this spreadsheet first.

So what do you do to track your business's progress? This mind wants to know. Is it nothing? If it's nothing, how do you make it all work? Because that would be something to learn.

Creative businesses are fun! But, like any other business, creative businesses still require a lot of hard work. Most of us start a business because we’ve found something we are good at and passionate about, and we want to make a living doing what we love – for example, turning a favorite hobby into a business. Unfortunately, we often forget that there’s more to running a business than just doing the stuff we love.
 
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the creative side of what we do and neglect the business side. If you want to make money and move from “hobbyist” to “entrepreneur,” here are some tips to help you make the transition.
 
1.      Take yourself and your business seriously
 
Carry professional business cards, and not the free ones that have a generic template and advertising on the back. Put up your own website, even if you’re using a third-party seller. Get over the discomfort of approaching retail shops, galleries, media outlets and other professionals who can help you grow your business. 
 
When people ask you what you do, tell them! “I’m an artist.” “I’m a handbag designer.” “I’m a writer.” Don’t shy away or show embarrassment just because you might be struggling, or don’t yet feel “successful,” or still have a part-time job. Hold your head high and be proud of your creations! When someone admires your necklace say, “Thank you, I’m a jewelry artist.”
 
2.      Charge what you’re worth
 
If you keep your prices low from fear that no one will actually pay what your work is worth, you might as well stay a hobbyist. You have to take into account your materials, your labor, your overhead, your health insurance (you want health insurance, right?), vacations, family needs, retirement funding, and your general lifestyle. How much money do you want and need to make to have the kind of life you dream about?
 
You undermine the value of your work when you price according to fear and discomfort rather than looking at your own needs and what the market will bear. You also, by the way, undermine other creative entrepreneurs. Your customer then expects that every other soap maker, graphic designer and illustrator should offer their wares for the same low prices you do. So you hurt yourself by not bringing in as much money as you should, and you hurt the industry as well.
 
3.      Learn all the aspects of your business, even the parts that aren’t as fun
 
As I mentioned above, most of us start a business out of passion and excitement for what we do. And it’s infinitely more fun to play with paint, experiment with designs, shop for materials, mix flavors and visit galleries than it is to pay invoices, maintain your website, and send out press releases.
 
I’m not saying that you have to do all of those things yourself. You can outsource any administrative task, hiring contract workers or a virtual assistant for example. Have a bookkeeper do your books, a web designer update your site, a rep sell your products.
 
However, knowing the basics of how your business works will protect you from quacks, scammers and other shady or unprofessional types. Also, if you’re without help for a period of time, it’s great to know how to add photos to your website, place a magazine ad or balance your books.
 
Being an entrepreneur can be frustrating, exhausting and gut-wrenching. It can also be exhilarating, rewarding and an amazing learning experience. Take pride in your work, take pride in all of your successes, and be willing to learn and grow. See yourself as a businessperson as well as a creative soul, and your business will flourish.

Lisa Braithwaite is a public speaking coach working with individuals and groups to build their skills and confidence as speakers. Her philosophy of public speaking is that it's fun, it's an awesome way to express yourself creatively, and that authenticity and passion are worth more than a thousand techniques. 
 
Before launching her public speaking coaching business in 2005, she worked in the nonprofit sector in Santa Barbara for 16 years as an advocate, educator and trainer, creating and implementing programs, curricula, and training materials for nonprofit organizations. Her areas of expertise in the field of training and education have involved gender equity, domestic violence prevention, media literacy, adult learning principles, and communication skills development
 
In 1997, she co-founded Body Electric, an organization promoting sports, physical activity and gender equity for women and girls. In 2003, Lisa was honored for her work with Body Electric with the Louise Lowry Davis award, named for a pioneer in women’s sports. 

A lifelong jewelry artist, Lisa was the creative force and the "LB" behind Elle B. jewelry from 2004-2007, when she made the difficult decision to close up shop to focus on her coaching business.

Lisa received her B.A. in Theater from Pomona College and her M.A. in Education from UC Santa Barbara.

Website: http://www.coachlisab.com
Speak Schmeak blog: http://coachlisab.blogspot.com

When we took our kids to Paris a couple years ago, they marveled over the idea that people eat dessert for breakfast, like croissants and chocolate. What's not to love? Rich, airy pockets of flaky goodness.

©2009 Sparky Firepants Images

As much as I love flakiness in my pastry, I abhor flakiness in the art business.

You know the stereotype of the flaky artist, right? It sounds kind of romantic in a I-live-in-a-one-room-Village-tenement-with-six-other-artists kind of way. A Bohemian Rapshody, if you will. In High School it sounded like heaven. Make whatever art you want, wear a beret, smoke brown cigarettes, starve.

In High School you can afford to be a flaky artist because Mom and Dad pick up the tab. When you realize that Somebody has to pay for the cigarettes, and that Somebody is you, you might want to rethink the flaky persona.

I do not mean to say that you have to give up your creativity and start dressing like a JCPenney model. Keep your thrift store chic and your nose ring, and by God keep your wildly creative mind flowing with whimsicality and nuttiness. Don't get your kickers in a twist because you thought I said you should change who you are.

The reality is that the world of people buying art is a world of commerce. It's a world of budgets and decisions. The Art Director you're after to buy your stuff has a job to do. Part of that job is selling you to their boss. The boss has to sell you to the People with the Money, and those people have to sell you to the People Who Buy the Stuff for the Stores, and those people answer to their own boss, and that boss has to answer to your grandma who bought 10,000 shares of their store and wants to know why the stock is down.

So you might start to see why the Art Director does not want to work with a flaky artist. The Art Director wants to work with someone who communicates well, understands what they need, and knows what a gutter is and why you shouldn't have the main character in it.

So wildly creative, yes. Flaky, no.

Here are a few things you can do to make yourself at least appear non-flaky:

Make yourself easy to reach

Respond to phone and e-mail inquiries within 24 hours (at least). You've been trying to get the gig for, like... ever. Why would you screw it up by letting that Art Director's e-mail sit in your inbox for a week? Are you kidding me? 

You don't have to pick up the phone on the first ring or sleep with your Blackberry under your pillow, but for Suess's sake, return a frikkin' message, okay?

Learn about the project

Ask questions. If you don't know, ask. If you're stuck on why something is being asked of you, clear it up. You will look like a more of a pro than the bozo who just plows through and has to revise it later. Ask. That's what the Art Director is there for.

Even better, think of a solution before asking. For example, if an illustration calls for an airplane, don't just ask, "What kind of airplane do you want?" Rather, do your homework, try to understand the rest of the piece, and then suggest something. "I was thinking that a WWI biplane would work really well here, since we have that old Model T. Do you have a preference for airplane type?"

This is advice from one of my old bosses: Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions.

By the way, this is another good reason for not working on spec. How can you possibly interpret the client's need and offer the best solution if you haven't even spoken to them? Working on spec is not a professional practice for artists. Writers, maybe.

Stick to the Plan

This goes hand-in-hand with asking questions. If you're given an assignment that calls for cows in the upper left corner, don't turn in a layout that has chickens because you like them better. That is uber-flaky.

If your rough sketch of the race car is approved, don't turn in final art of a robot because you changed your mind.

Believe me, creative suggestions are always appreciated. Don't be a robot, offer some input, be a part of the process. That makes it fun for you and makes you fun to work with. However (huge however coming up here), never alter the layout without discussing it first.

You just gave the Art Director more work to do. She either has to tell you no, then wait for you to change it, or she likes it but has to explain to her boss why it's different and if the editor wants the original idea they'll have to wait for it a little longer.

Does that sound like a fun day at the office to you? Make yourself easy to work with. The harder an Art Director has to work to get your project accomplished, the less likely you'll be asked back.

These are just a few suggestions, but you hopefully get my drift.

To be a successful working artist, you can't be a flaky pastry. It sounds fun and it's a cool movie cliche, but it doesn't keep you working.

Be like black coffee instead. Black coffee is no-nonsense. It doesn't cloud things up with milk and sugar. It's bold, strong, positive. It comes in many flavors, but it always delivers.

Over the past year I've moved into the tighter, cozier space that is my niche market: children's educational publishing. It's nice and uncluttered in here. I can breathe a little better. My posts here have followed suit, focusing on children's book publishing and creating educational media for the little nippers.

Anyone who knows me vaguely well understands that I am all about art being a business. That is, art that you intend to make a living from. There are some who long to live simultaneously in dual worlds; Van Gogh's and Bill Gates's. Hope and luck do not make an art career (or an economy). Hard work and business acumen can.

My life drawing teacher at the American Academy of Art used to gesture across Michigan Avenue to the Fine Art school and, in his crackly Lithuanian accent, tell abstract students to join their friends. He was teaching us how to make a living with objective art rather than starve with subjective doodles.

Nothing wrong with Fine Art or Abstract art. I enjoy it immensely. It's just a chancy way of making rent.

I got carried away for a moment, forgive me. Back to the present!

I've been a longtime fan of Home Office Warrior, an excellent blog for, well, people who work from home. Even as one of those "artist types" I found an environment that's all about making money from doing what you love in your own home office. It ain't easy. At least there are others willing to share their wisdom and experience.

I was recently asked to be a regular contributor to HOW. It took me all of 30 seconds to consider before committing to a weekly post for the online magazine. I'm really excited about this and honored to be among some very smart people.

I urge you to check it out and add it to your feed subscriptions. There's so much knowledge there, it's crazy to pass it up.

So of course I'll still be writing here regularly, but I can focus on publishing and children's media here and write about freelance business issues on HOW.

It's a great opportunity and I'm honored to accept the challenge.

Thanks again for reading and I hope to inspire some great conversations in both places.

Prix fixe, indeed. Hmmm. Retainer anyone? What would happen if an illustrator changed the typical billing model for services (which I assume to be XX dollars for XX time or XX result)? Is it still possible to flip the artist billing model on its head, or have all sides of the head been explored?

I'm gonna start thinkifying this now. I'm curious to know other's thoughts on this subject. Designers? Illustrators? Animators? Freelancers?

What are your model-flipping ideas? Anyone is welcome to start or join the conversation, I want to hear from you!

At last summer's SCBWI conference, there was speculation that the universe of children's publishing was crumbling. Those fears were laid to rest by the speakers (editors, art directors, SCBWI staff), but it's sure to come up again. Like now.

According to this article at mediabistro.com, news of this kind is actually great for writers and artists. It's a slightly new game, but still winnable.

"[T]his is really an opportunity to grow and be challenged." - Jean Fewiell, Senior Vice President

Also, you have to love a Senior VP who references Star Wars.

How will you use this information? I'm curious.

I never knew the untold marketing lessons lying beneath the cheesy exterior of this holiday classic, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

Take a listen with me and follow along:

Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose

Be uniquely you, shiny red nose and all. Are you weird, snarky, or just really like Smurf culture? Be that. Be it on purpose and without apology.

And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glowed

Let people see you. Get out there. Help people see who you are, share your Smurf love.

All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names

Oh, yeah, that's gonna happen. Count on it. Actually, embrace it. If some people are beating you down or calling you names, it means you're out there, you're doing it. Bravo!

They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games

Yeah, that'll happen too. S'okay. Just keep lining up to get picked and eventually you'll get in the game. Or, you can find another team. Just don't quit the games altogether, mmkay?

Then one foggy Christmas eve, Santa came to say, "Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Your patience and game-playing will be rewarded. Don't wait for Santa, but know that if you keep doing that other stuff, he'll find you.

Then how the reindeer loved him, and they shouted out with glee, "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, you'll go down in history!"

Hey, I didn't write the song, okay? I just analyzed it for you. Now when you shop the aisles of your local Safeway, you'll have something new to think about while accompanied by the holiday classics.

What I don't mean is that creating the art itself is work. That's pretty obvious.

What I mean is, the process of making a living as an artist is work.

It would be great if I could just sit here in front of my Macbook creating cute, funny animals while slurping my coffee without doing anything else.

The truth is, I spend more time on marketing and networking than I do creating art. For me, that's cool because I just love doing that stuff. It's fun, it's a little game I play. It's a bunch of mad scientist experimentation and research and I geek out on it.

What if you don't geek out on that stuff? What if you hate it? What if you just can't get started or know where?

Three things you need:

1. You need me. What else am I doing here? Hit me up! Ask me questions. I've been at the struggling-to-pay-rent-my-portfolio-sucks end and the how-did-I-get-all-these-clients end. Ask me. Whatever. Please.

2. You need to follow these blogs and these people on Twitter. They are experts in getting unstuck and creating a business:

@havi The Fluent Self

@ittybiz Itty Biz

@GrantGriffiths Home Office Warrior

@garyvee Gary Vaynerchuck

3. You need to go get it.

Wow, that's deep, huh? If you're scratching your head or beating your fists on the table, saying, "but it's not that %^&*ing simple!" you are absolutely right. It's just a statement that means nothing on it's own.

What I mean is that you can't put up a cool web site then sit around and wait for the commissions to come in. They won't.

What you've got to do is put yourself out there, call some people, send cards, mail samples, go to conferences in your niche market (if you don't know what that might be, let's talk). You have to work to bring it in. Take some chances, fall on your face a little bit. You have to.

In the coming weeks I'll be expanding in the "Go Get It" idea so it doesn't just sit on my blog like a slimy marketing slogan. I'll show you how to "go get it."

In the meantime, you can always go to step 1 above. I'm here to help. All you have to do is ask.

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That's okay, I'll take the label. You know why?

Al Roker.

My buddy Al is the man on the street, talking to celebrities and people in the crowd. And the dude is on, ya know what I mean? He's not just announcing the parade, he's living the parade. Al could sell this parade to the Taliban.

Okay, so Al's not really my friend. I just wish he was my friend. We could have a Guinness at one of the pubs on 8th Avenue and he would say stuff like, "Isn't this the foamiest Irish brew you ever had? Seriously. Best beer ever."

People like Al Roker and my other wish-he-was-my-friend Gary Vaynerchuk have passion. They get into it, they feel what they're doing. It's not robotic or task-list centered. Everything they do is just awesome because they make it that way. It's on purpose.

Chris Brogan recently had a great post about thinking of your business in 2009 as if it it were a storefront. Its a fantastic analogy and the only thing I would add is to sprinkle a little Al Roker on top.

Okay, pour the entire bottle in. Yeah.

You really want people to enjoy doing business with you, don't you? People like to see passion in action and they'll come back for more.

Al Roker, be my friend!
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