E10 | Mix It Up: Diversifying Your Art Business for Sustainable Growth

00:00 Introduction to the Quietly Thriving Artist Podcast
00:15 The Importance of Diversifying Your Business
00:31 Understanding Business Diversification
02:51 Diversifying at the Product Level
06:19 Diversifying at the Production Level
07:32 Diversifying at the Platform Level
12:29 Diversifying at the Service Level
14:49 Diversifying at the Customer Level
17:06 Recap 
19:26 Your Journey 
21:38 Conclusion and Encouragement

Dive deeper: Learn how to create passive income from your art

Referenced Episode: E6 - Embrace What Works in Your Art Business

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] Welcome to another episode. I am covering a big topic today, and that is diversifying your business. I'm going to be sharing with you why you may want to consider this, how it can help you grow your business, and how that translates into real world examples. Okay. So let's start with the basics. What does diversifying your business even mean in this context? I would say that it simply means that you are not relying on any one thing, or any one person -yourself, to bring in revenue and, or to do all of the work. In other words, it means that you're not putting all of your eggs in one basket.

[00:00:56] You can think about this in the same way that financial advisors always advise against putting all of your money on one stock. It's simply just too risky to do that. And so in order to create a healthy, or balanced portfolio, you should diversify with stocks and bonds and all that stuff. And even if you don't invest, you've probably heard that concept before.

[00:01:19] And as an artist, if your business relies on a single product service platform or person, again, that would be yourself. Then it becomes wholly dependent on that offering and/or your own capacity, which let's be honest is limited. You know, there's only so much that you can do in a day and you only have

[00:01:41] so much energy. And the fact that being solopreneur means doing it all yourself is really kind of insane when you really think about it. Not only do you have to create the art, which involves an immense amount of creative, emotional, and physical labor, but you also have to market it, and then update the website, and package and ship your orders, and then be your own customer service rep

[00:02:06] and do all the admin stuff like bookkeeping and filing taxes, et cetera, et cetera. Y'all it's a lot! So let's acknowledge that it's a lot, and it's easily a job for like 10 people.

[00:02:18] So no wonder thinking about growing your business feels like a daunting task, because there's just no breathing room. And though this may seem a little counterintuitive because it sounds like you're adding more work to your plate, but diversifying your business can actually lessen the load of doing it all yourself, most especially generating

[00:02:39] revenue. So you might be wondering how that's possible. Well, let me share with you the five levels of diversification and how each one can support you in different ways. 

[00:02:51] So let's start with the first one, which is diversifying at the product level. This is adding a new product to your current lineup. So that you're not only selling one type of product. For example, if you only sell original paintings, then adding a new product, like art prints, would lessen the pressure of having to make and sell all of your paintings in order to meet your income goal.

[00:03:17] Another advantage of adding a new product is that you can introduce a new price point, whether that's high or low, and reach more people, and/or lessen your workload. So let me explain. If you are offering a new product at a higher price point, that means that you don't have to generate as many sales or orders because you're bringing in more revenue with a single order.

[00:03:41] So the sale of one of these higher priced products can equal the sale of several smaller orders. It can also free up your time because you don't have to make, package, and ship a ton of small orders. And also, a higher priced product can hit a different type of audience who wants something extra special of yours.

[00:04:00] Alternatively, if you offer a product at a lower price point, you can convert some of the people in your existing audience, or attract a newer audience who loves your work but maybe they're not ready to invest in a painting or your highest level work, but you know, they still want to own something of yours.

[00:04:19] So offering something at a lower price point gives them that opportunity. For example, I offer phone cases with my art on them, and they are significantly less expensive than my prints. And they are what I would call an easier buy because the customer doesn't have to think about where they're going to use it or what size they should get, et cetera.

[00:04:41] Like there's a lot to consider when buying a large-scale print, but someone who wants a new phone case already knows what size they need, and they just need to pick their favorite design. This allows them to have something with my art on it that they can carry around every day, and pretty much all day.

[00:04:57] You know, we're pretty much glued to our phones. And that's kind of another benefit is that it doubles as a form of marketing. Like I had mentioned in a previous episode, if we just think about marketing as getting your name out into the world. This is definitely one way to do that because they see it every day and it keeps my art top of mind.

[00:05:20] But also the people around them will see it too. And if they ask where they got it from or if they can see it, then they'll see that it came from me because it has my name printed on the bottom of the cases.

[00:05:33] Now, I do want to mention that if you are selling something at a lower price point, you want to make sure that you're not overworking yourself for less money. Like, let's say you decided to sell hand-painted holiday ornaments, which are a lower price item than your original paintings. You know, maybe they sell like hotcakes, which on the one hand is really great, but then you could be left scrambling to create all of the different ornaments needed to fulfill those orders.

[00:06:01] And that can lead to burnout. That's just something that you want to avoid. And one way to do that would be by taking like pre-orders or limiting their availability. Another way is to offer a product that is not made by you, and this leads me to my next point.

[00:06:19] Diversifying at the production level. So if you're offering a new product, you of course have the option to do it yourself, but if you're already at your production limit and you're thinking, “There is no way that I could introduce another product and make it myself.

[00:06:35] I am tapped out as it is!”. Then, depending on the product, you may be able to outsource the production and the shipping by creating a product that can be drop shipped. For instance, my phone cases, which I just mentioned, are a print on demand product. So the customer orders a product and it gets sent to the manufacturer who then makes it and ships it on my behalf.

[00:06:58] Another example would be fine art prints that your printing service ships directly to your customers.

[00:07:05] But even if you can't dropship, and it's something that you have to ship yourself, having someone help you with the production of your product can help bring in more income without adding too much extra work. 

[00:07:18] Before I bought my own printer to make prints, I used to have the printing lab make them for me, and then I would package them and ship them myself.

[00:07:27] Alright, so the third one is diversifying at the platform level. So this includes selling on different platforms or maybe introducing wholesale or even adding a gallery or two in the mix. The point here is that selling on different platforms allows you to reach more people in places where people are already shopping for what you sell.

[00:07:50] Now there are sub-levels within this. Some will require more maintenance than others. For example, I started out selling on Etsy and that is a platform that requires constant maintenance. You have to add new products and update listings, do keyword research, etc.

[00:08:08] And so the same can be said with platforms like Saatchi and Artfinder. You have to put in the work and you have to give it enough attention in order for it to perform well. Because it's basically like managing another website. But the benefit is that their built-in audience can help minimize some of the marketing you do because people will find you organically.

[00:08:33] And then, of course, you have to fulfill any orders that come through from those platforms, but if they're generating sales, then that's a good thing! This one's a bit of a toss up because you might just trade marketing time for admin time.

[00:08:48] And just a note about online platforms. I know that some people are a little bit weary of selling on some of these platforms. Etsy is one that comes to mind because I've been hearing a lot of talk about it recently. And I just want to say that if it feels like there might be something there for you, then it's definitely worth trying.

[00:09:09] I know some people who are still finding great success on Etsy.

[00:09:13] All right so not all platforms are high maintenance, and this may vary by person, but in my experience, platforms like Society6, where I sold my art for several years, required very little maintenance.

[00:09:28] I hardly ever marketed it, and that's mostly because one of my artworks made it to their homepage, and it remained at the top of their art print collection page for many years. 

[00:09:39] And just a quick side note, it did take time for that to happen. It wasn't like it just happened overnight, so I don't want to give you the wrong impression. I think it probably took about a year or so for it to get to that point. But once it did, it meant that it organically drove traffic and sales to my Society6 shop, which generated passive income for me.

[00:10:02] And then to capitalize on that, I would just upload a couple of new items a month. But again, I saw no need to spend time marketing it because it did so well on its own. Could I have done even better if I had marketed it? Maybe, yeah. But not having to worry about it freed up time, energy, and headspace to pursue other things.

[00:10:25] And keep in mind that you don't have to limit yourself to just online platforms. You can also branch out by partnering with other companies, galleries, or businesses who have a physical platform. Location,

[00:10:37] For example, I work with a reproduction gallery that has a physical location. And since I'm a digital artist, a traditional gallery just wouldn't work for me, but the reproduction gallery has permission to sell select prints of my art on my behalf. And they handle all of the printing and shipping and customer service, et cetera.

[00:10:57] So this is a form of passive income for me, which means that the income it generates is independent of my productivity.  And that's the kind of support that allows me to spend more time creating art and less time doing all of the business related tasks.

[00:11:15] Another benefit to selling on various platforms or partnering with other businesses is that it can help grow your audience and/or bring press opportunities. Like from Etsy, I got magazine press and I was even one of their featured sellers. And at that time they would feature you on their homepage, and write an entire blog article about you, and include you in their email marketing.

[00:11:42] So it was a big opportunity for growth. I was also included in some of their roundup blog posts, and like I said, that really helped my business grow. And similarly, I got press by being on Society6. So my art was featured on Better Homes and Gardens, I believe. Maybe it was HGTV? It was one of those two for sure.

[00:12:06] And they also wrote blog articles that included my art. Saatchi also included my art on their new this week section on their homepage. So all of that stuff just creates new entry points for people to discover you and it increases the radius of your net when you sell on various platforms.

[00:12:28] All right. The second to last way to diversify your business is at the service level. Now, this one, you have to be careful, because in order for a new service to be beneficial, it should be a high-value service. That's going to make a big impact on your income but doesn't deplete your energy.and/or take up all of your time.

[00:12:54] An example of this could be offering limited commissions or custom work where you only take on a few per year. And because it's limited, you can then charge a premium, which ensures that your time and energy is well compensated and really makes a difference in your overall revenue.

[00:13:14] My example for this is that I have a service that is exclusive to art consultants and advisors. And if you don't know what an art consultant does, they are people who procure art for their clients. And the consultants that I work with have clients in the hospitality industry, healthcare, luxury residences, and more.

[00:13:37] And at this point in my career, a lot of the consultants that I work with have become my repeat customers and we have developed a relationship. And whenever they have a new project, let's say that they're finding art for a new hotel, then they already know about my service. And if it fits the project, they will pitch my art to their client.

[00:14:00] And if the client accepts it, then we start the process and I get paid. The big benefit is that. Because of my relationship with the consultants, I don't have to actively go out and seek these projects. The consultants bring them to me. It's almost like having an agent without paying for one. Of course, they are not obligated in any way, shape, or form to use my art in their projects, because they're not actually my agents, but because I render a high-quality service, there is a level of trust between us and they keep coming back again and again.

[00:14:36] And so this whole service helps generate income again, independent of my productivity. And this brings me to my last point, diversifying at the customer level. If you're currently selling to one type of customer, and I'm going to assume that you're most likely selling directly to regular consumers, then one way to diversify your business is to sell to other businesses.

[00:15:04] And so my example of working with our consultants would be considered B2B, which is business to business.

[00:15:12] The sales that I make from my website, on the other hand, are what is known as, B2C, which is business to customer or business to consumer.

[00:15:22] Another example of B2B would be something like wholesale.

[00:15:26] The advantages of selling B2B is that not only have you widened your customer base, but they also have different needs, and trends, and budgets from B2C customers. And this could be a good thing because whatever is happening with B2C habits, they might not apply to B2B customers.

[00:15:49] And so if your B2C sales take a dip, then your B2B revenue can help you get you through the tough times.

[00:15:59] Another example that I have, and I would love to get into this more is that I sold art directly to a hospital, and they purchased many pieces for their hallways and patient rooms,

[00:16:13] and they even became a repeat client for their other associated hospitals. This allowed me to sell a large quantity of art to a single client, which wouldn't really happen with a B2C customer, because a B2C customer would most likely buy a few pieces at most in one transaction, but the budgets and the needs

[00:16:38] of a B2B client are much bigger, and there's potential to make a good chunk of revenue with a single client. So, like I said, the potential is definitely there to make decent money without needing a larger audience. So you can get away with having a small list of B2B customers who bring you projects repeatedly.

[00:17:01] And, that is something that I experienced with my art advisors and consultants. Okay. So I have just given you a whole sea of ideas of how you can diversify your business at different levels. So if you feel like you're ready to step into that, if you feel like, “yeah, I need support in my business, I need to grow my business. I need to have more time to do things”. Then, now it's just about seeing where it is that you need that support and then trying to find the right services or products that can assist you with that.

[00:17:32] Here is a quick example. Recap of everything that we just went over. So if you want to increase the sales of your originals and/or products, then selling on an art-dedicated platform may help with that. Similarly, submitting your work to galleries can help get the word out about your art and generate.

[00:17:52] Sales, if you want to offer something new, but don't want to make it yourself, then you can look at what can be drop shipped or at least manufactured by someone else. If your time is limited and you want to increase your income, then offering either a premium product or service can help beef up your revenue and will allow you to work less hours because you'll be bringing in more per 

[00:18:19] premium product or high-level service. And finally, if you feel like you've maxed out your current customer base, then you may want to move into a different type of customer group, like B2B, which is business To business, or you can do a mix of both business to customer or consumer, and business to business.

[00:18:43] And also something to keep in mind is that you don't want to do them all at once. You want to slowly ease your way into adding these different things, because it does take time to set them up. For example, if you're doing something at the product level, then you're going to need to test it and then make sure that you like the quality, and then set it up on your website and, you know, figure out the marketing for that and all that jazz.

[00:19:09] And so it just takes time, but the most important part is that you are taking the initiative to do something. And then once you have one set up and have a sort of system, or workflow to maintain it, or quickly add to it, then you can move on to the next one.

[00:19:26] Like when I started Prima Studio, I had my website and then I had my Etsy, which was really where I was making the bulk of my revenue at that time via their organic traffic. So I had diversified a little bit on the platform level, right at the beginning.

[00:19:42] Also during that time, and I've talked a little bit about this in episode six, but I sold my original paintings and then immediately decided to add in, art prints because of the situation that I was in, I didn't have a lot of space. I didn't have a lot of money.

[00:19:58] And so prints were a great solution to getting some sales without a whole lot of upfront investing.

[00:20:05] And then probably about a year later, I decided to try my hand at Society6, and so I got all of that setup and created a whole separate line of products for that, and then just kind of let it do its thing, and I would update it occasionally. Then about a year, maybe just a few months after starting Society6, I became an artist for Minted. And then maybe about five or six years into my business, I started working with art consultants.

[00:20:33] And so, you know, that kind of gave me the first taste of doing direct B2B work. And that has really taken a lot of time to build over the years. It wasn't like I started working with art consultants and then by the end of the year, that was a major form of my income. It didn't quite work out that way, but anyway, that's a whole other topic.

[00:20:54] And then around the same time, I started getting my art into movies and TV shows. And then probably about like two or three years ago, I added the phone cases. And then last year, I added desk mats and mouse pads to my website. And for 2025, I've planned to add notebooks to the mix. Over the past almost 12 years, I have diversified my business at a platform level, at a service level, at a customer level, and at a product level.

[00:21:25] So pretty much all of the different levels that I have talked to you about today, but I have done that gradually over the years. It wasn't all in one fell swoop. So don't feel pressured to do them all. The best advice that I can give is to feel into where it is that you need support right now, 

[00:21:45] in this moment of your business. And what you feel that you have energy for, and what you feel excited by or at least curious towards. So tapping into your intuition is going to be the most important part. And I'm always, always, always, always, always, always going to encourage you to listen to your intuition. Only you know what's best for you and your business.

[00:22:09] And only, you know, what's going to work with your lifestyle and with the goals that you have. Only you really know what it is that you want. And so I can tell you to do all of these things, but in the end, it's up to you to decide what is right for you.

[00:22:25] Alright, that is it for me, I hope that you have enjoyed this episode, and if you did, please consider subscribing or sharing it with a friend, Thank you so much for listening, and I will see you over in the next one