E12 | Is Your Art Business Prepared for Emergencies?

 

In this episode I dive into a topic that's super important but often missed by artists: Can your business handle an emergency?

I discuss how crises can shake up art businesses and share some practical tips to keep things running smoothly, even when chaos hits. From saving up and creating passive income to outsourcing and automating your marketing, I provide the lowdown on keeping your business steady during tough times. Tune in for insights on building a resilient business that can withstand the unexpected.

00:17 Can Your Business Handle an Emergency?
00:42 Personal Experience with the L.A. Fires
03:47 The Importance of Preparing Your Business for the Unexpected
05:17 Creating a Resilient Business
06:23 Financial Strategies for to Get Through Emergencies
07:23 Generating Passive Income
12:07 Keeping Things Running During Emergencies
16:34 Communicating with Your Audience
19:49 Recap and Final Thoughts

Mentioned Episodes:

E10 | 5 ways to diversify your art business for sustainable growth

Additional Resources

Shanna Skidmore - Finance Expert for Creative Entrepreneurs

Leverage your existing art to create a supportive business with passive income. Learn how with Passive Revenue Streams for Artists

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Quietly Thriving Artist Podcast, a podcast designed for sensitive and introverted artists who are looking for alternative ways to build a flourishing business that works in harmony with who they are. I'm your host, Patricia Vargas.

[00:00:13] Hello and welcome to another episode. Today's episode is an important one, and the topic that we're going to discuss is generally not something that is often talked about when people talk about starting and running a business as an artist. And that topic is, can your business handle an emergency? Can it survive when things turn to chaos? And so what prompted me to think about this were the L. A. fires that happened recently. So I live in L.A. County, and I'm about 20 ish miles from where the Eaton fire happened in Pasadena. 

[00:00:55] And when it was going on, I could see the blanket of smoke from my window. And it just looked like this giant barrier on the other side of the mountain. It kind of reminded me of the Fold from the Shadow and Bone story and show. And it's just so heartbreaking to know how many people lost their homes and their possessions, that carries so many memories. And my heart goes out to anyone who was affected by these fires. They were so scary. And I'm about to share a story, and I know that this is nothing compared to

[00:01:31] what the people who actually had to evacuate go through. It's just such a small fraction of that. But those of us who live in LA County, and I believe also Orange County residents might have experienced this as well, but we got an evacuation warning on our phones about a day or so into the fires, and the warning told us to gather our essentials and our pets and our loved ones and just be prepared to leave.

[00:01:58] And when I first got that alert, I immediately started thinking of All of the essential things that we would need in case we did have to evacuate. Like I said, even though the fire was on the other side of the mountain and several miles away, the way that everything was spreading, it just felt like it could've really made its way over to us, and so,

[00:02:23] to me it felt real and I did panic a little bit. Luckily for us though, about 20 minutes later, we got another message on our phones saying that it was a system error and that we were okay. But hearing that loud siren really set off my HSP, and so my nervous system was pretty much wrecked for the rest of the day.

[00:02:45] It was so hard to relax, like, just knowing that all of that stuff was happening.

[00:02:50] But in those 20 minutes that I thought that I had to leave my house, like I said, it felt real, and I know that that is just such a small portion of what the people who actually had to evacuate must have felt like, and it's not a good feeling. And there's just so many things going through my mind in those 20 minutes.

[00:03:08] So I thought about what kind of food we should take, what kind of clothes we should pack, trying to think of where our important documents are, what we should take. And then I thought about how we were going to transport and set up a safe space for our two cats. And also where would we shelter?

[00:03:24] Because to go to my family, who lives north of L.A., We would have to pass through at least three different fires just to get there, because somehow all the fires were near the freeways. So there was just lots of stuff going through my mind, but some of the last stuff that I thought about was my business. It was not at the top of my mind at all.

[00:03:46] And I have found this to be true in other types of emergencies, like the death of a loved one, or if you get really sick yourself, or someone in your family gets really sick, especially if they have to go to the hospital. Those things are generally all-consuming type of situations. And your business is suddenly no longer a priority because you're in crisis mode or in the midst of a life-changing event, or you're physically ill you just don't have the headspace to even think about how your business is going to keep operating without you.

[00:04:27] Sometimes you just don't know how long you're going to be away for from your business, or from being able to operate like normal. Sometimes it could just be a few days, which is fine, but sometimes it could be weeks, which is a little more concerning.

[00:04:43] And then sometimes it could be months, which

[00:04:46] at that point, it can really affect your business. That's why I think that this episode is super important because even though we don't want to think about it or like to think about it, because it is a little bit doom and gloom, it is important to think about how your business can survive when chaos happens.

[00:05:06] Because if your business isn't set up in a way that can sustain your absence, then it only adds another layer of stress to an already stressful situation. Okay, so let's talk about how we can create a business that supports us through times like these, or at the very least, minimize the stress.

[00:05:27] And I'm gonna share some of the stuff that has helped me over the years. So one thing that I have noticed is that the biggest cause of stress is money, or commitments that you have, but those are typically also tied to money. Like if you were in the middle of doing a commission and then something happened and you Might have to cancel or postpone that payment,

[00:05:49] But it boils down to the fact that your business needs money in order to run and stay open. As you know, a business has bills that are due every single month. Everyone's overhead is going to be different. For some of us, the amount that we pay in business bills is basically the cost of living of another person.

[00:06:12] And if you fall behind in your payments, that can quickly rack up debt or deplete your savings, either your personal savings or your business savings or both. And speaking of savings, that is one thing that you should have. And I say this as an entrepreneur who has been in business for a long time and disclaimer, I am not an accountant or financial advisor.

[00:06:38] So these are just the lessons that I have learned, but generally you'd want to have enough liquid cash in your business bank account, not your personal bank account, to cover a few months worth of expenses and your pay if possible.

[00:06:54] And thinking about business finances is not fun or exciting and can be super confusing. And so Shanna Skidmore is my go to resource for learning how to manage finances as a creative entrepreneur. She makes it super easy. She breaks it down in a wonderful way.  Her course really helped me build up my own savings, and now I always aim to have a certain amount in the bank at all times.

[00:07:23] A related question to this money topic is, how much of your business is dependent on your capacity and active participation to drive sales or generate revenue? In other words, can your business make money without you? Because even if you have some money in the bank, it may or may not cover all of your expenses.

[00:07:47] Even if you do start using that money, it's eventually going to start depleting, right? And so don't want to get to the point where it's at zero, because then you're going to have a whole new problem. And if we can replenish it while we're using it, then that would be ideal. But also again, during these times,

[00:08:10] it should be in a way that's not going to stress you out, right?

[00:08:13] Because if you have to step away from everything for who knows how long. You know, sometimes we don't know how long those emergencies are going to last. Like, if a pet is sick, which I would also count. Because I had, three cats. One of them passed away, over a year ago. But at one point, all three of them were very sick, and that took a lot of time and a lot of effort to tend to them and care for them and make sure that they were healing and stuff.

[00:08:43] Or like when a family member is sick and they have to go to the hospital. A lot of that takes so much time and mental and physical and emotional energy. And so if you have to step away, but feel like you can't because you have to generate revenue to stay afloat.

[00:08:59] Then that just adds another stone to your already heavy backpack. And you can feel this push and pull between wishing that the world could just stop and let you catch your breath and knowing that you simply can't.

[00:09:13] And so how do we fix that? How do we create a business that supports us through those tough times? One of the solutions that has really helped me, and you heard me talk about this in episode 10, is to add in revenue streams that work independently from you. Meaning that they generate revenue on your behalf without your constant attention. I would say that currently, about 20-30 percent of my revenue is generated by fully passive income. Meaning that I don't have to actively market, make, or ship that thing, that specific thing, in order to make money from it. I would consider my long term licensing deals with print galleries as an example of this.

[00:10:01] And then I have about another 20 to 30 percent of it is semi-passive income that requires some input, like my phone cases. If an order comes in all I have to do is push it through to the manufacturer, and I can easily do that from my phone. And this is only my opinion, but I would think that it would be beneficial for most artists to have a source of passive-ish income that would cover your overhead or even just a percentage of it. Like if it can cover the bare minimum to break even, that in itself would relieve you of a massive burden knowing that you don't have to make and ship

[00:10:44] advertise - that you don't have to do anything to generate that money and that it's going to be coming into your bank account every single month or quarterly or however it is that you have it set up. And knowing that you're going to have that coming in can feel like such a relief and it gives you some breathing space and it allows you to make a money plan. And when you're able to make a plan It really does reduce the stress,

[00:11:11] because now you're not just left wondering how you're going to get through it.

[00:11:15] And I have seen firsthand how valuable this is. 

[00:11:20] Again, I keep going back to the examples of having family members that have been sick. There've been times when we've had to drop everything and go tend to them and be by their sides or be with them in the hospital and things like that.

[00:11:34] And again, all of that is so time consuming, energy consuming, and knowing that I didn't have to worry so much about my business, that really allowed me to focus on what was happening right in front of me. And it is something that I have been incredibly grateful for time and time again.

[00:11:54] It's good to think about these things now because it does take time to build up your savings or add a new revenue stream. So the sooner that you can do either or both, the better off you'll be in the long run.

[00:12:06] Okay, another thing to consider is what is the absolute minimum equipment or supplies that you need to run your business from a different location. I honestly had never thought about this before until the fires happened. So what would you grab if you had to leave everything else behind? I think for me, as a digital artist, I could get away with just my desktop,

[00:12:36] which, luckily, my husband built as a small form factor computer, and my drawing tablet. So just with my computer, I could continue to make art, if I It was in a situation that allowed me to continue making here and there, and I would still be able to license my stuff to art consultants, which isn't super time consuming to do. And I really only need my digital files to be able to do that. So that would help my business out tremendously.

[00:13:08] Now, the only thing that I wouldn't be able to do myself is make my prints, which I love to do in my own studio. And unfortunately, I don't think that I could just simply haul away my giant 44 inch printer with me, which weighs several hundred pounds. And

[00:13:25] that brings me to another question. If you sell products like prints, can you have someone else make them and ship them for you? And if so, do you currently have a backup company in mind?

[00:13:40] So having some of these secondary products can be really helpful even if it's not your main source income. So say you're a painter and you get most of your money from your paintings, but say you also sell prints or just some other types of products. Those may be able to be manufactured and shipped by someone else.

[00:14:02] And that would allow you to keep accepting and fulfilling orders without you having to do all of the work. And in turn, it would continue to generate revenue and keep your business running. So, if you currently don't have a backup company, it's definitely something that you should start looking into because it does take a little bit of time to find a good reputable company.

[00:14:23] You gotta make sure that you have enough time to get samples and test their quality, and see how they package stuff, and rate their customer service, and all that stuff. And sometimes it takes a couple of tries to find a company that you are happy with. I have a couple of companies that I personally like to use for dropshipping prints when I can't make them myself.

[00:14:51] And I totally trust them to do a good job for me. And on a related note, do you have marketing systems that work without you? For example, I use Pinterest, SEO, and email automations, which I've talked about in a couple episodes already

[00:15:09] to help bring in sales. And those are not things that I have to do every single day or really even every week. And some of them, I don't even have to do at all, like the email automations. That's just kind of, you set that up once and then you're done type of deal. And so I can leave them on their own.

[00:15:26] And Pinterest, which does require you to be a little bit more active, but you can take a break here and there and it's not really a big deal, because it is a search engine and most of the people will find you through their search results and not by chance on a feed like Instagram or TikTok. And so if I take two to three months off, it's not really going to tank my business.

[00:15:51] Emails and Pinterest pins are also something that can be batched fairly easily because they don't require as much production time as Reels or other video based marketing. But if you do like to do Reels and other videos, those could also be batched and scheduled as well. You can also repurpose older content while you're getting through your emergency.

[00:16:19] That way you don't have to create anything new. You can just repost older stuff.

[00:16:23] Okay. So all of the things that we have talked about so far cover money and the production side of your business. But there's one more thing that I want to talk about. And that is that if you ever have an emergency and you realize that it's going to take longer than a week, and that it's going to impact the operations of your business, then it's good practice to notify your audience, your clients, and customers of your situation. People are so much more understanding when you give them notice.

[00:16:59] It's really when you pretend that everything is normal and you keep accepting orders or projects, and then when things aren't being fulfilled on time and your customers are wondering where their order is or why you haven't replied, etc. That's when it causes issues. You know, you don't want to be scrambling and stressing out to get things out on time when you really aren't able to do so. And then you're having to send a bunch of apologies to people. And so, if you're having a hard time, don't pretend like everything is okay.

[00:17:35] Just let people know from the get go. You don't have to give them all of the details if you don't want to, you don't have to dive into the entire story you can keep it super concise, because the most important thing that they're actually concerned about which you know, they'll also be concerned about your well being, but mostly they'll be concerned about how it's going to impact them. Like if they're going to purchase something or if you're going to start a project or something.

[00:18:01] You can just say “Hey, something has happened and I won't be able to do X, Y, Z (which could be, like, fulfill orders, take commissions, et cetera) for X number of days or weeks”. Or if you're still taking orders, 

[00:18:15] you can say “Hey, something has happened but I'm still accepting orders, except that they will have a slightly longer lead time (then insert them out of time) or they'll be produced by a trusted partner (or whatever it is)”. You know, you can use your own wording for that, I'm just throwing out some ideas.

[00:18:32] So just let them know, it's totally fine. They'll absolutely appreciate you for letting them know.

[00:18:38] A few other places where you should add this type of information is one, send out an email to your newsletter subscribers. Two, make a social media post and add it to your bio description. Three, if you can add a sticky banner to the top of your website, then add in any info that impacts orders or projects or people being able to contact you.

[00:19:03] And four, if you are accepting orders, and it's going to have a longer lead time than normal, then add that to your order confirmation email. And then the last one is, add it to your email signature. You can just write something like, “I'm currently dealing with an emergency, it may take me 2 4 days to get back to you, thank you for understanding”.

[00:19:26] Or whatever you feel like you can manage, and again, you can use different wording. The point is that you're setting an expectation.

[00:19:34] Alright so those are some of the things that I have found helpful in keeping my business running when emergencies happen, or anything that disrupts business as usual. 

[00:19:49] All right, so let's just do a little bit of a recap because I feel like we covered a lot of things. 

[00:19:54] The first one is making sure that you build up your savings account for your business. And of course, also for your personal savings account as well. The next is see if there's a way for you to add in a revenue stream that doesn't require your active participation. I think , licensing is seriously a really good one for 2D artists because all you really need is images of your art to be able to license those. And there's different types of ways to license your art, and I'm not really going to get into this here, but, you know, when we think of licensing, sometimes we think of product licensing, which can be a very involved process, but there are ways to license your art.

[00:20:40] Like I said, working with print galleries and art consultants and things where it's just a much faster trans action, and it's not a whole production to be able to get paid.

[00:20:52] Okay. And then the third one

[00:20:55] is if you had to leave everything behind, what would you take? Like what are the bare essentials to run your business from a different location?

[00:21:05] And the next one is if you have secondary products, or even your main product, like prints are my main product, can they be produced and shipped by someone else? So can they be drop shipped by a different company? And if they can, do you already have a backup company in mind? And if you don't, it's a good time to start looking for one.

[00:21:28] Okay. The second to last one is, do you have marketing systems in place that can work without you? Again, Pinterest, SEO, email marketing, also batching and repurposing older content is a great way to fill in that marketing gap when you just cannot produce new content. And then the very last one is notifying your audience and your customers and clients so that they know what is happening in your business and that you can set an expectation of when you can get back to them, when you can fulfill that order, when you can finish that commission, when you can deliver XYZ.

[00:22:09] And it just makes this a lot less stressful when you know that you are not disappointing people, because you've already set that expectation. All right, I hope that you have found this episode helpful. I know it was a little bit of a doom and gloom. It's not something that we tend to think about or like to think about.

[00:22:31] But it is an important one and I hope that it gives you some food for thought of how you can structure your business to support you in all types of situations. Because as much as we don't want to admit that bad things happen, or tragedies happen, or people get sick, like, that stuff does happen.

[00:22:48] It’s part of life, and we can't necessarily avoid it forever. And so we do have to be conscious of how our business can support us during times like those.

[00:22:58] Okay, that is it for me. If you liked this episode, please consider subscribing and sharing it with a friend. Thank you so much for listening, and I will see you over in the next one.