Art Business Planning – Setting goals and finding ways to improve

A lot of us use the new year as an opportunity to say goodbye to old habits, and work towards new goals. For me, that includes some intense planning sessions for my personal and business goals.

I like to take a week or two at the beginning of January to assess where I am with my goals, see if I can trim anything out of my routine, and figure out what steps I need to take throughout the year to achieve my goals.

It’s all about counting backwards. So let’s say I want at least half of my income to be from passive sources. First I will list out all the ways I know how to make passive income, including some ideas that require further investigation.

Then, I methodically write down the steps required to be able to make each one successful.

They might not all end up working for me, but I like to try things for myself.

I draw on my past experiences a lot. If something worked for me last year, how can I improve my workflow to yield even better results? If something was a major struggle, do I really even want it in my life?

Making a comprehensive list of what worked and what didn’t gives me a strong idea of what direction to lean. After all, we only have so many hours in the day, and so much energy to spend. I want to make mine count.

When it comes down to it, the goal is to live a life of joy and freedom right? It takes a lot of hard work, constant hustle, careful planning, and maybe even a bit of luck to make that happen.

This year, I made a little chart that visualizes my business. You can really easily do this too. Start with identifying what your main exports are. For example, mine are creating artwork and photography. That is 90% of what I offer to the world. 

Then, identify what you do with those exports. How do they manifest themselves, currently?

Visualizing your business in this way is a great start to figuring out a plan of action.

Meet our new kitten!

I would like to introduce you to our new kitten, Floki! He was born December 1, 2020 and is as cuddly and playful as they come. It’s been…a LOT…to be a new parent and deal with introducing a kitten to our older cat, Vader. I have to break my work day into small 2-3 hour chunks of time while he sleeps, and in-between I’m feeding, grooming, and playing with him as well as being a referee between the cats. But oh, my heart!!

Winter in the Highlands

Here in the north east Scottish Highlands, January is one of the coldest months, but also one of the most beautiful. There’s something so magical about the atmosphere this time of year. 

In my little down it doesn’t snow that much, but even just a dusting is enough to turn everything quiet and inspire me to pick up my camera and go out.

You’ll rarely catch me painting outside this time of year, but it’s perfect for gathering inspiration. I especially love the fact that I don’t have to wake up as early to catch the sunrise. I can enjoy a hot cup of coffee before bundling up and heading out to see the early morning light.

The light is away quickly, so the majority of my day is spent on my computer or at the easel.