The Thriving Christian Artist
The Thriving Christian Artist
330 - 5-Minute Mentoring: The Problem With Friends And Family Discounts
As consumers, most of us enjoy getting a discount and saving a little money whenever we can. A free stack of pancakes at IHOP? Sign me up!
I have a friend who is a big bargain-hunter - he hits up every thrift store in every town he visits in the hopes of finding a treasure. And he finds a lot of them!
But as a business owner, discounts are a different story…especially if there are people around you who ask for or expect them! It can really put you in a tough place as a business owner.
On today’s episode of 5-Minute Mentoring, we’re talking about how, when, if, and to whom you should give discounts on your art. So take a few minutes and listen!
Running an art business isn't for the faint of heart (or is that the faint of art? Ha!). If you could use some guidance on how to build a business that helps you thrive spiritually, artistically, and financially, here are 3 ways I can help:
1️⃣ Get my FREE Guide, “5 Biggest Mistakes Artists Make When Pricing Their Art” Struggling to price your art in a way that feels authentic to you and your faith - but still makes you money? Make sure you’re not making any of these mistakes!
Download here ➡️ https://thrive.matttommeymentoring.com/5-biggest-mistakes-when-pricing-art
2️⃣ Read the Book: Check out my book “How to Price Your Art: Pricing with Confidence for Sales & Profit” on Amazon ➡️ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XBP733
3️⃣ Create Art and Profit: Discover how to create the art you love while still providing for yourself financially in my “How to Price Your Art” workshop.
Get more details here ➡️ https://thrive.matttommeymentoring.com/how-to-price-your-art-evergreen
Connect with me online:
https://www.matttommeymentoring.com
https://www.instagram.com/thethrivingchristianartist
https://www.facebook.com/thethrivingchristianartist
https://www.youtube.com/mjtommey to watch the podcast on YouTube!
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Well, hey, my friend, do you struggle with whether or not you should be giving away your art or giving discounts to friends and family? Lots of artists do. It doesn't feel great. And I'm going to talk about some ways that you can begin to combat that today here on Five Minute Mentoring.
UNKNOWN:Five Minute Mentoring
SPEAKER_00:Have you ever wanted to have someone in your life who you could ask real questions about your art, your business, and even your walk with the Lord? Well, that's exactly what we do every Friday here on Five Minute Mentoring, where I answer one question from one of my awesome podcast listeners in order to help you start really thriving as the artist you know God created you to be. Well, hey, my friends. So glad that you are with me today here on 5-Minute Mentoring. You know, I'm talking to artists every day inside of our mentoring program, and I'm watching Facebook and looking at Facebook posts. And a friend of mine today actually put a post up bemoaning the fact that one of her friends was asking for a discount on their artwork that she had created. And you're like, oh, I feel weird, all this kind of stuff. And it brings back all these memories of so many questions that I've had over the years from artists online and the mentoring program at conferences about, man, I'm creating art. I'm doing the best I can. I'm loving Jesus, you know, trying to start my art business and get it off the ground or grow it. But I feel this pressure to give discounts or give away my art to friends and family or people at church. And I just, I don't know what to do. Help, help, help. Because on one side, You know, people feel this pressure that, well, you know, this is a gift from God and you should give everything away. And on the other side, you know, people are like, I got to pay the bills. I got to grow my business. I got to pay for supplies. And so amid all of that, it's a big issue. I wanted to give you a few things that I gave my friend actually on the Facebook comment today. I want to give you a few things that I think will be helpful for you as you begin to navigate these waters. All right. The first thing is this. Most artists who struggle with this, Think that it's their family or friend's fault when in actuality, get ready, I know, I know. It's actually because most artists train their friends and family and church folks and that sort of thing. They train them to do this. Why? Well, because they don't value their own art. See, if you don't value your own art, if you're not confidently pricing it the way it should be, if you're not taking your art seriously, if you're not treating it like the gift of God that it is in your life and the vehicle through which God wants to bless you financially so that you can not only do the thing that call to do, but also be a blessing to others, then guess what? other people don't take it seriously as well. And when other people don't take it seriously, they think, oh yeah, sure. She's just creating this as her little hobby thing on the side or his little thing that he does that he just gives away to everybody. And so they end up treating you like you have trained them. But once you begin to take your art seriously, once you begin to price it in a way that makes sense, once you begin to confidently pursue it, when you have studio time, when you're creating great art, when you're taking classes or when you're out there at shows and you start portraying that, hey, I'm a serious artist. I have a business. Guess what? People take notice. And they all of a sudden start realizing, oh, yeah, this is their business. This is not just that little thing they do on the side. This is actually their business. It's how they make their living. And you begin to talk about that in that way to your friends and family so that in a nonchalant kind of way, just as a matter of conversation, you're talking about your art as your business, as the way you make your living, not just as this little thing that you on the side. You'll be amazed when that kind of conversation begins to just be the normal conversation of your life. Most of the time, people will start to get the hint and begin to treat you and see your art differently. All right. Now, for those that don't, and we all know we have that crazy cousin or that aunt or our mom and dad or whoever it might be that doesn't quite get the hint, that's when you've got to be entirely comfortable to set some boundaries. It is entirely appropriate for you to be able to say, oh, you know what? I wish I could give a discount to everybody, but this is how I make my living. And when I think about my supplies and my studio time and all that sort of thing, plus trying to make money from my art, I'm just not able to, but I'm sure you understand that. And this is how I make my living. And you can totally do it. in a way that, again, is life-giving, but is completely clear, all right? Don't get into this thing of, well, okay, maybe, and what should I? I know I feel bad about it and all that. No, you don't. Listen, you don't have to feel bad. for charging prices that are market prices and taking your art seriously and letting other people know what's appropriate for you. That doesn't mean you're being ugly. That doesn't mean you're being hard to deal with. That just means you're setting a boundary. And other people in your life that are healthy individuals should absolutely recognize you. Number three, I would say your real friends and family who love you and want God's best for you, when they know that you're serious about this, they shouldn't want to ask for discounts. They should want to be paying full price. And so again, A lot of times this is an internal thing that artists are dealing with. You may feel like, oh, I should do it, but you should never, ever, ever give a discount or give your art away out of compulsion. You know, I think the Bible is really, really clear, especially when it talks about giving. You should give out of a heart to bless. You should give out of a heart of generosity. And if you want to give your art to somebody at church, to somebody that you feel like the Lord tells you to give it to, or to a family member as a gift, listen, complete freedom. Absolutely feel the complete freedom to do that, but never, ever, ever, ever, ever do it out of guilt or shame or compulsion because somebody's making you feel bad or because you feel like you should. The last thing I would say is this. When you learn to actually price your art in a way that has profit built into every piece that you're creating, and yes, that is absolutely possible, what happens is Number one, you begin to take yourself more seriously. Number two, other people see that as well because they look on your website, they see your prices. They're like, oh, okay, he or she, you know, they're legit artists. They're doing this as their business. Number three, though, you are beginning to buy yourself time and energy and focus. Why? Because when you sell your art for a reasonable price, you're building profit into your business. That means that you can quit that part-time job. That means that you're not running around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to figure out how you're going to pay for your next art supplies. That means when it comes to doing something like joining the mentoring program or coming to a conference or class to learn and to grow as an artist, you're not scrounging for money. Why? Because you're actually charging the prices that you need to charge in order to build your art business, to receive the financial blessing that God has for you, and so that you can turn around and be a blessing to others. Now, listen, I know that that might be a lot of information about pricing your art and that sort of thing. And you may start thinking, oh my gosh, I wonder if I'm even pricing my art in the way that I need to. Listen. there's a book for that. I wrote it. It's called How to Price Your Art. It's a super, look how small that is, super small book that you can grab right now at the link below. Not only is there the print book, there's a Kindle version, there's an audio version. I've even got a 90-minute training that's super inexpensive that you can actually go through, watch me go through pricing art, teaching you the formula that I've taught for years in my own art business as well as artists in the mentoring program. Plus, in the book and the training, I talk about all of the other ancillary issues that affect pricing and that are the things that really allow you to start charging higher and higher prices, meaning that you get more time, more focus, more energy, more resources to do the thing that God has called you to do as an artist. Listen, all that's available right now. You can click the links below and grab any of those that make sense for you. Bottom line is, don't feel the pressure to give discounts and to give away your art when that's not what's on your heart. Do what God's called you to do. Receive the financial blessing. Grow a business that can become the vehicle through which God blesses you and then he blesses others through you. All right. I love you, my friend. Until next time, remember you were created to thrive. Bye. Hey, my friend, it's Matt. Listen, real quick before you go, I wanted to let you know that we've just launched the website for our 2022 Gathering of Artisans conference. I know, can you believe it? I'm like, I'm so ready to get back together in person. And listen, the website's got all the details about this year's workshops and speakers and more. Listen, if you've never been to Gathering of Artisans, all I can say is there is nothing like it in the world. Imagine three full days of creating in the studio with other Christian artists and We'll be right back. with me several times. He's the author of The Story of With and other books that you'll know. Also, my friend Luke Allsbrook, who is a renowned artist and has an incredible story of how God's led him through his life as an artist. And even little old me, I'll be there as well, sharing with you each night in leading worship. Listen, all of that wrapped up in four days of community and connection with other Christian artists here in the mountains of Western North Carolina at the beautiful Ridgecrest Conference Center. Now, like I said, all the details about this conference are on our website at gatheringofartisans.com. And since this event almost always sells out, I want to encourage you to go ahead and pre-register. What that actually does is it allows you to get first opportunity to register for classes before we open the doors to the public. And the best part, no money is required until we actually open registration in April. So go ahead right now to gatheringofartisans Get pre-registered. Again, no commitment, but you get in line and it gives you the opportunity to register before everybody else when we open the doors for that in April. And then start putting together your ideal schedule for the conference, for all the workshops that you want to take. And listen, I hope you just start getting excited, inviting a friend and making plans to be with us in August at Gathering of Artisans 2022. All right, my friend, go to gatheringofartisans.com and I hope to see you in August. All right, bye.