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by J. Michael Dolan   
 Entrepreneurs are artists, and artists are entrepreneurs. Artists need to express their art, entrepreneurs need to exploit their art. Problem is, Art is always on the battlefield with Commerce:
Art wants nothing more than to be expressed. Commerce wants nothing more than to profit from Art. Art dreams about being admired. Commerce dreams about abundance. Art wrestles with the doubting mind of the artist. Read more tips here... |
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The very best way to get more people to repeatedly come out and see your band play live is word of mouth. When your live shows are great, people will like it and talk about you to their friends both online and offline. Besides the obvious point of playing good music that people like, there are 5 main areas of preparing for your gigs.
1. Your individual playing
The most important thing you can do (individually) to prepare for your gigs is to focus on playing your songs 'consistently well'. To improve this, practice your songs in a wider variety of environments and situations. Play your songs standing, walking, in the dark, under a strobe light (if you have one), while talking, without looking at your guitar, while friends are listening, etc. The key point is to practice playing consistently well in all those different scenarios. This will help your individual performances on the stage.
2. Your band's performance
When your band rehearses, you should NOT be focused on playing the songs correctly. If your band mates cannot play the songs flawlessly BEFORE the band rehearses, send him/her home to learn the songs. Once he/she has truly done that, then bring that person back to band rehearsals. Band practice is not about 'holding people's hand through the process of learning the songs which should have been learned at home. If you have a band mate who needs your help learning the songs, you can do this by meeting alone with that person to help. However, if this is a consistent problem, then you may need to replace that band member for someone who is better (or less lazy if that is the case).
Read more here! |
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Do you feel like you could really use some public recognition right about now? Are you frustrated that your peers are getting covered in the media and you are not? Worried that the only way to get some coverage is to shell out for an expensive publicist?
Fear not beautiful crafty entrepreneur! You can DIY.. and it really is not that hard. Here are some easy steps to BYOP:
Read more!
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http://pinterest.com/festivalnet/festival-tips-and-articles/ |
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the Writing Team of InsureEvents.com
This makes a perfect setting for an outdoor event. But, be forewarned, an outdoor event can easily be twice as difficult to organize as an indoor one. And, don't assume an outdoor event will cost less to produce than an indoor one. That is rarely the case.
Based on our experience and the feedback we get from clients, here are our top tips to help assure a successful outdoor event:
1. Plan ahead, plan way ahead.
The first step once you have decided on a date and location is to obtain a permit. Make sure you're legal. Nothing will shut you down quicker, and at the worst possible moment, than omitting this step.
Read more tips on outdoor events!
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Joaquin Reveron of videogamesmystery.com
First of all, getting a business license ID is a true necessary step to make when you plan to incorporate your wholesale or reselling business. In my advance wholesale business opinion, it is important to get a business license if you plan to sell one hundred thousand dollars a month in sales from a retail, wholesale or reselling business. However, there is no need to get a business license when there are many wholesalers and distributors that can cut you deals for wholesale merchandise in single or in bulk amounts legally.
There are different laws that regulate the reselling and wholesale business in many states in the USA, however, that is not an implication that you need a business license to sell wholesale merchandise.
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When I first started Booty Beltz my goal was to wholesale to as many stores as I possibly could. I hadn't been to many craft shows, and back 7 years ago they were not nearly as plentiful as they are today. But, my very first craft show was life changing! After dealing with endless store buyers, line sheets and NAFTA, I was thrilled to finally sell my belts directly to the end customer. It was so much fun and I loved being able to bring a bunch of stock, sell my heart out and then leave with a wad of cash! At first, I just signed up for any craft show and festival I could find. This lead me to become a traveling gypsy and I did at least 20 shows a year all over Canada. Some were fantastic and some felt like torture! I soon learned that you needed to do a little research before you mailed off an application. Here are some tips to help you find the most successful shows:
Read more tips here... |
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Blake Guthrie for helium.com
IF YOU'RE NOT HAVING FUN, THE AUDIENCE ISN'T HAVING FUN
It doesn't matter if you are a serious folk act, or a surf-rock band, if the audience senses you are uncomfortable on stage they will become uncomfortable themselves and only applaud because they are being polite. They might have paid a lot of money to see your act in a club, or they might have paid nothing at all, because it's an open mic night at a local coffeehouse, but a live performance is a fluid situation and no one likes to see an act uncomfortable on stage. Which leads us to our next bit of advice: Read more here! |
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Getting website traffic is step one. Now, keep those visitors in the loop and coming back. Here are a few tips on increasing engagement with visitors to your art website:
 "9 Knots" by artist Manon Sander
1. Make your Home page inviting with a compelling image of your work and a professional design.Be sure that your website is easily navigated. Frustrated visitors will just click away. 2. Craft your "About" page carefully, because it's not all about you, it's also about your website visitor.To keep them reading you need to create "emotional resonance." Tell your story in an authentic, personal way, in the first person. Include your photo so they feel that they know you. Don't get caught up in unintelligible artist statements that no one can decipher.
Read more!
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Bret V of Music Zen
How to Become a DIY Promoter:
Read more tips on becoming a DiY Promoter! |
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Brian Sacks of www.mobilefoodprofits.com.
If there is one sure way to kill your Mobile Restaurant it's not having it properly painted or wrapped. You see many are still skeptical eating "street food." I am amazed to see owners spend money on a vehicle and equipment only to scrimp and be cheap when it comes to the truck's appearance. |
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Michael Zapruder, Pandora Music Curator
So that’s the first thing you need to know. If you are connecting with an audience or community in a strong way; if you’re playing good rooms and getting attention, you will have a fine chance of getting into our collection. We know we can’t find everything, though, so for the many deserving bands that we miss for one reason or another (and for bands that are just starting out), we offer a web-based music submission process that is free and open to everyone. Here’s how it works:
Read more here! |
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The artists I've known over the years tend to share a desire -- they want to have a solid local or regional presence. In other words, they want to be recognized for their art within their community or surrounding community. In addition to that, they often desire to be a 'known name' within their local art community -- even if their art community is spread out between several towns/cities (which may very well be the case for an artist living in a small city or rural town). Establishing local / regional recognition can be an uphill battle no matter where you live. That said, many artists appear to forget that their art blog can help in the 'climb' -- even if it amounts to just one little step (connection) at a time. Before I delve into this further I want to offer some clarification. This Art Blogging 101 article was written with small city / rural artists in mind -- and how they can benefit from local online searches for specific art-related venues/events in their area. Artists living in larger cities may be able to benefit from this strategy as well -- though it will be more difficult to achieve. Especially if the 'big city' in question happens to have a very active art community -- and thus a steady flow of online content about art news in general. Point blank -- the 'numbers' can work against 'big city' artists... you'll understand if you read further.
Read more!
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J Michael Dolan
 The Internet provides us with an opportunity to do it all ourselves. However, there |
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Barb Fitzgerald of foodbooth.net
A concession business usually includes a commissary - a place to store and service equipment and stock between events. The commissary of a concessionaire who serves a simple menu may be something as easy as a little floor space in the corner of the garage, where, he or she has installed some shelving to store extra cases of product. However, concessionaires who operate complex operations, with large and diverse menus, need a space that functions as an equipment warehouse, stock warehouse, repair shop, and vehicle yard. Concessionaires often use what they have at home to serve this function, such as, their garage, shop or shed, and parking area, where their large collection of food service equipment and support vehicles is kept and serviced. This collection almost always includes standard equipment like grills, deep fryers, steam tables, and propane burners. With these four basic pieces a concessionaire can sell almost anything; from hamburgers, hot dogs, curly fries, elephant ears, stir fry, sausage for breakfast, and more. In fact, most dishes sold on the midway are prepared with one of these four pieces of food service equipment. The warehoused collection of equipment will also include ice chests, freezers, beverage and condiment dispensers, utensils, sneeze guards, tent poles and canvases, signs, propane tanks, water hoses, electric cords, floor mats, pop canisters, garbage cans, dish washing tubs, and much, much more.  |
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Ann Barber of National Craft Association
The secret to success in your art and craft business is to "Think Profit", not just at the point of a sale, but apply this thinking to everything you do for your business. Profits don't just happen with a sale. They are created by careful planning in every aspect of your business. Plan for profits!
 1. Make sure you have the total cost for the item before establishing the selling price. Be sure to include a reasonable labor charge, overhead and fixed expenses to your actual materials and supply cost for each item. If you don't price to cover total cost, you will not make the amount of profit you need to grow your business.
2. Be cost effective. Don't spend 10 hours creating an item that you can only retail for $30. Set a dollar amount for your labor. Design products that keep the time investment low and profit margin high. Evaluate how to be more time efficient with the products you make. Learn to group tasks together to save time. For example you are going to make 2 dozen of one item; cut all the ribbon needed at once, paint all the same color at once, do all the gluing of pieces together at once, etc.
Read more tips here... |
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An artist recently expressed her frustration at being turned down over and over again for a solo show of her work. She had submitted proposals to university and public galleries, and arts organizations with gallery space for more than a year.
Her sculptures were a series of vaguely grotesque organic-looking fleshy pods, and other pieces that looked like body parts or aliens. Asked what was unique about them, she cited a technique she had invented to work with foam rubber, which was her material.
She had previously been in a highly successful group show that toured the country. Her sculptures in that show were female nudes which made a provocative statement on sexuality.
What happened here?
The artist failed to realize that her work in the successful show related to a highly charged topic, and one that would appeal to many gallery visitors, while her current work doesn't connect with people emotionally. Nobody really cares about her foam rubber technique, and the shapeless forms of her work are more perplexing than interesting.
Read more tips here!
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David Codr of www.musicpage.com
If you are like me, you're tired of hearing how bad the economy is. But there's a silver lining to the bad economy for musicians and songwriters. A way to get paid while getting a ton of free exposure for your band. For years, motion pictures and television shows have paid big bucks to major label artists to license their music. These studios pay major label acts tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to license their songs to use in films and TV shows. But when the economy hit the proverbial crapper, many of the studios started to look for ways to cut their costs. They quickly realized that they could save thousands of dollars by using independent music instead of the songs from major label acts. Since independent artists don't have the CD sales, radio plays or name recognition of the majors, the studios found they could license great music that hadn't gone mainstream for $2,000 - $10,000 a track Its a win-win for everyone. The studios save hundreds of thousands of dollars. The independent artists are happy to get a few grand to use their song, plus they get the exposure of having their song in a major motion picture or television show.
Read more here! |
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Shane Mayer of Gyde.ly
A live event can really capitalize on this interactive growth by combining the actual event with an ongoing online presence. A new study by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project for the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts found that digital and social media greatly impact the way cultural events are experienced. The more interactive the event can be with its attendees, the better. It makes sense as people desire to be 'in the know' with up-to-date info, and event planners are taking notice.
Read more and find an app offer from gyde.ly and FNOhere!
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Deciding whether to enter the food service business with a vending cart or food concession trailer can be a difficult choice. During the course of a week I receive one similar question time and time again; "Should I start my business with a concession trailer or a vending cart?" The answer to the question is subject to a lot of things, but at the end of the day, if this is someone's first venture into the food service industry then I usually recommend a vending cart. For the individual who has little or no experience in the food service industry, a vending cart is a much easier and much more economical entry point than a concession trailer. Used vending carts can be purchased for as little as $3K and depending on the food service that the person wants to offer, little if any food cooking or preparation experience is required. Many vending carts are little more than freezers on wheels, offering ice cream, Italian ices and popsicles. Others are food warmers, offering hotdogs, pretzels and other hot, pre-prepared foods. The more complex carts are barbeques on wheels, allowing the operator to cook items to order such as hamburgers, sausages, hotdogs, and spareribs. In recent years, vending cart franchises have started, offering the budding entrepreneur a supposedly proven methodology to a specific product. Along with the methodology comes training in everything from the item(s) to be sold to an education on finding venues and bookkeeping skills. Robert Berman of mobilecateringbusiness.com
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The absolute, number-one, most important thing to remember when playing live music in front of an audience is this:
The spring and summer seasons are the busiest times of the year for us, and hopefully for you too. Warm weather blankets the entire country and everyone wants to be outdoors in the sun and fresh air.
One of the myths that is still prevailing in the wholesale business is the "business license and tax I.D need" in order to achieve wholesale success. It is a big mistake to get such an opinion as a fact and then making such message viral all across the Internet.
The absolute, number-one, most important thing to remember when playing live music in front of an audience is this:
There is an ever-increasing presence of technology in our daily activities, particularly through use of smart phones. According to Neilson, at least half of U.S. consumers are now using smartphones, and the proof is in the 'profile': 3 billion 'Likes' are doled out on Facebook every day, Twitter posts one billion tweets every 3 days and several hundred million photos are shared throughout the vast social media spectrum.