The Art Biz

Most artists didn't design their art business — they drifted into it. In this solo episode, Art Biz host Alyson Stanfield invites you to slow down long enough to ask a question most artists never take time to ask: if you were starting fresh today, would you build it this way?
In this episode, Alyson covers:
Why most artists are running a business they drifted into rather than designed — and why that matters
What a business model actually is (and why you already have one whether you designed it or not)
The difference between examining your business and evaluating it, and why the order matters
The foundational question she asks every new private client before anything else
The six areas to examine when you're ready to take honest stock of what you've built
Read more, get links, and see featured artists
Mentioned
Stop Being Busy, Start Being Strategic (258)
When You Want to Sell More Original Art (257)
Beyond Information: Why Artists Need Frameworks (251)
Email me to discuss strategic consulting for your long-term art career goals.
Think you'd make a good guest on The Art Biz? Read This
The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

Being busy is boring.
In episode 258 of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that most artists are so deep in execution mode that they never step back to evaluate, redirect, or ask whether any of it is actually working. This episode draws a clear line between working IN your art business and working ON it, and explains why both matter, but one gets almost all of the attention.
IN THIS EPISODE
Why execution without direction is just activity, and what it costs you.
The side-by-side difference between IN and ON work across four common artist tasks
The two failure modes: too much IN (reactive, no filter) and too much ON (perfect systems, no execution)
What working ON your business actually looks like in practice, including the questions to ask
Why multi-year plans have lost their usefulness, and what to hold onto instead
QUESTIONS TO ASK IN YOUR "ON" TIME
What is actually working — and why?
Is this still where I want to go — and why?
What on my to-do list no longer serves me?
What has the best potential for a long-term payoff?
Where am I playing it too safe?
How can I enjoy my art business even more?
Read more, get links, and see featured artists
Email me to discuss strategic consulting for your long-term career goals.
Think you'd make a good guest on The Art Biz? Read This
The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

Selling products — giclées, pillows, aprons, notebooks — made sense when you started. But if you've been asking how to sell more original art and not getting traction, something may need to shift.
Host Alyson Stanfield draws on her background as a museum curator and educator to explore what actually gets in the way and what to do about it.
In this episode:
Why the pivot to products is understandable, and when it starts working against you
The fear that drives you away from leading with originals
What collectors are actually buying when they choose to live with original art
The screen equalization problem: why your $4,000 painting and your $40 print look identical online (and what to do about it)
Two tactics for selling more original art
Read more, get links, and see featured artists
Check out Elevate Your Art: Museum-Quality Standards That Command Higher Prices
Email me to discuss strategic consulting for your long-term career goals.
Think you'd make a good guest on The Art Biz? Read This
The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

Artist and tax advisor Hannah Cole knows firsthand how shame can poison an artist's relationship with money. When her dad's accountant asked "When are you gonna get a real job?" instead of helping her understand quarterly taxes, she experienced the dismissal that makes so many artists avoid financial conversations altogether.
In this episode, host Alyson Stanfield and Hannah explore why artists develop allergies to money talk and what it takes to build confidence with your numbers.
Hannah reveals:
Why "when are you gonna get a real job?" creates a lasting money allergy
How believing money corrupts prevents you from advocating for fair pay
Her ritual for making bookkeeping feel like self-care instead of dread
Why you must have a separate bank account for your art biz
What losing 20 years of art in a hurricane revealed about capitalism and grief
Connect with Hannah:
SunlightTax.com
The Sunlight Tax podcast
LinkedIn: Hannah Cole
Instagram: @sunlighttax
Tiktok: Sunlight Tax
Youtube: Sunlight Tax
 
Email me to discuss strategic consulting for your long-term career goals.
Think you'd make a good guest on The Art Biz? Read This
The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

Daniel Sipe and Karlë Woods didn't set out to start an arts organization. They just wanted to talk to artists during the pandemic. Four years later, Lights Out has produced 95 artist documentaries, thrown 18 popup exhibitions across Maine, and built a funding model that includes everything from $10 monthly donors to six-figure state contracts.
Their story, shared with host Alyson Stanfield, offers a masterclass in starting before you're ready, investing in what matters (yes, including marketing), and building something sustainable through collaboration rather than competition. They reveal:
Why a power outage became the best thing that could have happened at their first art show
The $800 investment that felt reckless at the time but proved essential to their credibility
How they turned what could be seen as competition into their superpower
The state contract that nearly bankrupted them before it saved them
The simplest way artists can support arts organizations in their communities
Read more, see images, find resources mentioned
 
Connect with Lights Out
Website
Videos on YouTube
Instagram
Email me to discuss strategic consulting for your long-term career goals.
 
Think you'd make a good guest on The Art Biz? Read This
The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.