THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman: This is why most artists never reach six figures. And it’s not what you think. I want to tell you about a conversation I had recently with one of my coaching clients. He’s talented. His work is selling. I mean, he just installed a $3,500 glass commission, and he sold a print for $2,500. He’s getting traction on LinkedIn, and collectors are noticing him. And opportunities are starting to open up in a real way. But when I asked him what he was working on that week, he told me that in order to build his email list, he was making original art to send to new email subscribers as a free gift, not a printed postcard, original four by six inch pieces, his actual work given away. Now, I had already told him not to do this explicitly. We had talked about it and here he was doing it anyway. And that’s what got me. Not just that he was doing the wrong thing, but that he already knew it was the wrong thing. And he did it anyway because it felt productive, because it felt safe. Because nobody was going to reject him for making art in his studio. Meanwhile, the art consultants he was supposed to be reaching out to. Still waiting.
Speaker 2: It’s the Inspiration Place podcast with artist Miriam Schulman. Welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast, an art World Insider podcast for artists by an artist where each week we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the art. And now your host, Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman: Hey, it’s Miriam Schulman here. Welcome back to the Inspiration Place. I’m your host, artist and author of the book Artpreneur The Step by step guide to making a sustainable living from your creativity, as well as founder of the Artist Incubator coaching program. And today, that story I just told you, that’s what the theme for this episode is. Because Marcus not his real name, but he. That is the fake name he agreed to. That’s what we’re going to call him in today’s episode. He he liked he’s like, oh, like Marcus Aurelius. I was like, yeah, sure. He’s not the exception. I never like make episodes about embarrassing stories about my clients if they were the exception. Unfortunately, this is a pattern and it’s very common. I see it everywhere. Yes, with beginners, but also with artists who already have real sales, real collectors, real proof that what they’re doing is the wrong thing. And that’s why many of them still can’t break through to six figures. Not because they’re not talented enough, not because they’re not working hard enough, but because they’re focusing on the wrong things. So let me finish telling you about Marcus. When I dug into what his week actually looked like, here’s what I found. He was spending his studio time creating these original four by six inch pieces to give away hand drawn, one of a kind as a free gift for email subscribers. Something I told him not to do.
Miriam Schulman: And yes, building your email list is a good idea. And yes, postcards are a good idea, but not original printed. Meanwhile, he had a list of our consultants he hadn’t reached out to yet. He had galleries he’d been meaning to pitch, and collectors who’d expressed interest and never heard back from him. That’s the high value work. The high value work was sitting right there. He knew what it was. I had told him exactly what to do, and instead he went back to his studio and made free art. Now here’s where it gets really interesting, because when I pushed back on this, he told me about his plan for the envelopes. He was going to use vintage stamps from the 1950s and 60s to make the mail feel like art, like an experience. And I want to be fair. There is something charming about that idea. Physical mail does stand out. A beautiful envelope does get opened. And he did choose a beautiful brown thing to use. But I said, Marcus, really just use a forever flag stamp. So I’m not going to tell you that. That’s crazy. But here’s what it is. It’s gold plating. The procrastination. Because he hadn’t sent a single letter out to an art consultant. Now, to be fair, since that conversation, he has five that he has sent out because I yelled at him enough. But when we had the first conversation, he hadn’t reached out yet, and he was already thinking about which vintage stamps to put on the envelope for the wrong mailing.
Miriam Schulman: This is what high functioning procrastination does. Yeah, I’m going to say that again. High functioning procrastination. I love that term. It doesn’t just find you in the wrong task. It gets you fully committed to that wrong task. It gives you a project within the project. It makes the avoidance feel not just productive, but inspired. And look, building your email list is a great idea. Sending postcards to grow it also a great idea. I’m fully behind both of those things. But there’s two problems here. First, the freebie was original artwork. Hand created one of a kind pieces, not a printed postcard. His actual art. His actual art given away for free. That’s your inventory. That’s your livelihood. A printed postcard costs you almost nothing, and it’s still a lovely thing to send. Original art should never, ever be a freebie. And second, even if it had been printed postcards, Marcus had our consultants that he hadn’t contacted yet. That’s the work that was waiting. That was the work that I said would move the needle for him. Build the email list and do the outreach. But if you only have the bandwidth for one this week, do the outreach. It’s always about looking to see what’s the one thing. If I did, this week would make me the most money? And for Marcus, it was reaching out to our consultants.
Miriam Schulman: The vintage stamps can wait until after you’ve done the work that actually matters. Now, the reason I’m telling you this is not to embarrass Marcus. Not his real name. And he knows I’m telling the story. I’m telling you because I think you might have done this, too. Maybe not the same exact thing. Maybe not postcards, but come on, we’ve all done our version of this, I know I have. Maybe it was the perfect font for your artist statement. Maybe it was the color of the hearts for your envelope. Maybe it was spending a week on your Instagram grid when you hadn’t followed up with a single collector. We all have a vintage stamp story. That’s what makes high functioning procrastination so insidious. It doesn’t feel like avoidance. It feels like dedication. Okay, before we keep on going, I want to make sure you have the bigger framework because by now you know that the biggest problem is not that you’re not posting enough. The problem is you’ve been handed generic marketing rules that don’t translate into selling art. Now, in my free masterclass, How to Sell More Art Without being Insta famous, I break down the five mistakes that are quietly killing your sales. Things like believing cheaper is easier to sell. Trying to sell on Instagram, things like that. Okay, so it’s totally free. Go to SchulmanArt.com/masterclass
Miriam Schulman: Okay, I have two more stories to share today that will help you see this even better. Let’s talk about Sophie again, not her real name. I didn’t ask Sophie if I could use her story, so I’m going to definitely change some details to make sure she doesn’t feel embarrassed, but she’ll probably recognize herself anyway. Sophie just sold out. Sold out her show at one of the most prestigious art fairs in New York City. Thousands of serious collectors walk through those doors, and Sophie didn’t just show there. She sold out. And by the way, I asked Sophie sold out there last year, too. She already has gallery representation. She already has real collectors, so she has proof at the highest level that the market wants her work. I’m going to tell you about two different coaching calls when we got on a call together. I was genuinely excited to find out what she was going to do next, and she told me she was exploring alternative spaces and indirect partnerships like furniture, showrooms and non gallery venues. No. Okay, now I want to be fair to Sophie because she is not lazy and she’s not clueless. She’s working every single day and she was thinking about her business constantly. But here’s what I told her and what I want you to really hear too. It’s like she was running in place. That’s what it looks like from the outside.
Miriam Schulman: Lots of motion, lots of effort, but no forward movement because running in place feels exactly like running. You’re exhausted doing it until you look down and realize the ground isn’t actually moving beneath you. It’s like running on a treadmill. And here’s the thing. Sophie’s problem never was visibility. She’s just sold out at a very big show. People know who she is. This is a really important distinction because I see a lot of artists chasing visibility when that’s not their problem. If you have a sold out show, you do not have a visibility problem. What Sophie actually needed was to raise her prices and get into higher end representation that could support those prices. The showroom she was researching, that’s not where her collector lives. And those aren’t people who know how to place artwork. So when she brought this up, I redirected her on the spot and we sat down right there and we built her outreach list together, our consultants from New York to Maine, Greenwich, Westport, Philadelphia, Boston consultants who place work exactly like hers with exactly the collectors who will pay her new prices without blinking. And the pitch wasn’t going to be I’m looking for representation. It was going to be. I just had a sold out New York show, and I have pieces ready to place with your clients right now. That’s the sentence that gets an art consultant’s attention.
Miriam Schulman: The difference between Sophie’s running in place and Sophie actually moving forward was not talent. And it wasn’t even time. It was direction. Okay, I have a third story to help you really see this clearly. Another fake name, of course. Eve. Let me tell you all about Eve. Isn’t that the name of a book all about Eve? Her version of this is the Sneakiest of all. Eve is an artist whose work explores dark matter and quantum physics. And because of that, her natural audience isn’t necessarily the typical gallery crowd. It’s scientists, physicists, researchers, people who understand her work on a level most collectors never will. And Eve had done something remarkable. She held an open studio and a group of physicists came, eight of them, and they stayed for two hours. And they asked extraordinary questions. They were genuinely moved by her artwork. And after that, one thing led to another, she was invited to exhibit at a particle accelerator. Scientists wanted to collaborate with her on a research project. A communications director suggested a podcast series with her as the artist voice dream scenario. Yeah, these are her perfect clients in every sense of the word. They understand exactly what she’s making and why it matters. So did she ask any of them if they wanted to take a piece home? She didn’t. She made sure the price was available. She mentioned her work was available, but she never made the direct ask.
Miriam Schulman: She never said, would you like to collect this? Would you like to take this home today? And when I asked her about it, she said she was worried about making them uncomfortable, about jeopardizing the exhibition, the collaboration, the partnership. But here’s what I said to her, Eve. By not asking, you’re not protecting the relationship. You’re holding it at a distance. You’re keeping it permanently in the exciting planning phase, which feels great, but you lost the plot because this isn’t turning into a sale. Planning is fun. Collaboration is exciting. Exhibitions are prestigious, but if you’re doing it in a way that none of it leads to a financial outcome, you can’t make a living as an artist. That’s the sneakiest version of high functioning procrastination, because it’s wrapped in the most interesting, intellectually stimulating packaging imaginable. Of course, you want to talk about dark matter with physicists. Of course, you’d rather discuss the project and then make the ask. But your perfect collector was standing right there in front of you. But she just walked them out the door. Now, I want to tell you about Bo. Yes, her real name, Bo Sapphire. Because this is what it looks like when you get it right. Bo did an art show in San Diego, the same show she’d done the year before. Same venue, same audience, same boat. Except this year, Bo raised her prices significantly. I don’t remember what they started at.
Bo sapphire: I sold one original that I discounted it because one of the frame corner was damaged. So I let it go for 700.
Miriam Schulman: And I was like, oh, that’s kind of low. She could definitely ask more and she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Bo sapphire: I felt like I had a panic attack after I did it, but I wasn’t sure it would work.
Miriam Schulman: I said, okay, put it at 2000 on your website and in person. Ask $1,800. So these are original mandalas at $800 and prints. I don’t remember what I told her to put it at, but she sold them for $100. Now she did something else, though she’d never done before.
Bo sapphire: So I had to spend 2 or 3 weeks to just be grounded. Like she said, I was doing meditation every day. I’m still doing it. And then so went to the San Diego show. I had one goal was, nothing’s gonna affect me during the show. I have to be present. I have to be grounded. And it worked.
Miriam Schulman: Instead of greeting people with, hey, how are you? Which gets you fine, thanks. Or when somebody says, I love your work, instead of saying thank you, you know, very polite, creative stuff. When people walked in, she said, what drew you into my booth? What caught your eye? That question does something powerful. It gets the collector talking about your work in their own words. They start explaining why they love it, and in doing that, they start talking themselves into buying it. And one couple came back multiple times. The wife kept saying how much she loved a particular mandala, and Bo asked, would you like to take this piece home? And they said, yes. $1,800 the year before at this show, Bo only made $2,000 for the whole weekend. This year.
Bo sapphire: I sold 9000.
Miriam Schulman: $509,500. Same artist, same show. Same art, but different prices, different confidence, and the willingness to make the ask. That’s what changes when you stop doing safe work and start doing the work that’s closest to the money. Now let’s talk about why your brain does this. So why does this happen? Why do talented, driven artists keep finding their way back to the wrong work? Because your brain is wired to protect you from rejection. Think about what it actually feels like to pitch a gallery to follow up with a collector who hasn’t responded, to look someone in the eye and tell them the price. There’s real risk in all of that. Someone could say no. Someone could not respond at all. And your brain, in its infinite helpfulness, offers you an alternative. It says here, make something interesting, plan something. These feel like work and nobody can reject you for them. Marcus made original art instead of calling consultants. Sophie researched showrooms instead of pitching galleries. Eve got lost in the excitement of a collaboration instead of asking for the sale. Yeah, your brain would rather help you stay safe than make you real money because these tasks genuinely are work. You can’t even call yourself a procrastinator. You are busy all day. You have things to show for it. Here’s my plan. Here’s my mail art. Here’s my new showroom. Okay. That’s what makes high functioning procrastination so dangerous. It has a very convincing disguise. Here’s how you know this is your pattern. Are you working all day? But nothing you did actually led to a sale. You keep improving things that already work.
Miriam Schulman: Tweaking a website that already converts. Redoing a bio that’s already good enough. Most of your tasks don’t involve another human being. Oh, let’s underline that one. You feel busy, but underneath the busyness, there’s a low grade unease. Like you’re running in place but not going anywhere. And here’s the question I want you to ask yourself at the end of every workday. Did anyone have the opportunity to say yes or no to me today? If the answer is no, you didn’t do revenue generating work. And here’s the filter I use before I decide what goes onto my list. What is the one thing I could do today that would make me the most money? Start there. Do that first. Everything else gets in line behind it. So good news. Marcus is now sending letters to our consultants. Yes, they have vintage stamps on them. I’ll let them have his stamps. Sophie is pitching higher end representation with her sold out show behind her. Eve has another opportunity coming to make the ask. And Beau, I’m so proud of you. Beau walked away from a single weekend with $9,500 in art sales, and she’s following up with a San Diego gallery who wanted to know how much she sold that weekend. She also has the knowledge that her prices were still too low. None of them changed their talent. None of them worked harder. But these artists are changing their focus. You don’t need more time. You need better priorities. Do the work closest to the money now. If you recognize yourself in any of these stories today, if you’ve been busy but not quite moving in the direction you know you could be, this is exactly the work that we do inside the Artist Incubator, and more specifically, all the clients I’m talking about are in the inner circle.
Miriam Schulman: That’s the difference it makes. It’s an identity expansion that gets you thinking on a different level, asking higher value questions of yourself and asking higher value questions to close the art sales because you can’t see your blind spots. Now, if the inner circle is something that you want to do, I actually only open registration for new clients three times a year, depending on when you’re listening to this. You can find out more by going to SchulmanArt.com/BIZ. You can read all about it. It is by application only. You must have a track record of sales for the inner circle, and you must already have a website. If you don’t have those, the Artist Incubator is a great place for you to start. It’s for artists of all levels, from advanced to those just starting out. Many people in the inner circle get there through doing the incubator either first or they join shortly thereafter. So again, you can learn about all my programs at SchulmanArt.com/BIZ. Now if this episode hit home, please share it with an artist friend. This is the kind of shift that can change the trajectory of a whole career. I’m Miriam Schulman and this is the inspiration place. I’ll see you the same time, same place next week. Until then, stay inspired.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to the Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on facebook at facebook.com/SchulmanArt, on Instagram @SchulmanArt, and of course on SchulmanArt.com
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