It can be daunting to take the step from painting as a hobby to accepting commissions. Your art is needed and you’ve got more creativity inside you to offer the world. If you’re reading this, I know you’re ready to start and grow your art business, and now you’re probably curious to learn a few resources that will support your expanding creative art business.
These are the business tools and other things I couldn’t get through the day without running my wholehearted art business.
30+ Resources to Manage Your Art Business Success
We all crave creative connection with painters going through the same thing, and someone we can ask all the things when we start selling our paintings. That’s why I created Painting for Profit, a coaching and membership program loved by fellow painters just like you.
In this membership you’ll get clarity, a wholehearted community, and all the support you need for each season of your painting journey. From painting tools to marketing – Painting for Profit has what you need to thrive as a commissioned pet portrait painter.
Next, I’ve put together 30+ resources I rely on to keep my art business running, or have in the past and still like, while being mindful of my cash flow. Some of these are necessary when you start out, others are tools for when you’re ready to grow your art business even more.
Receiving the money you’re worth // PAYMENT PROCESSING
Yay! You’re selling your art and now you need to receive the money you’re worth. It’s best to offer a secure way for your customers to pay you, plus an easy and fun tool for you to use! I love Found. It’s an all-in-one banking service for small businesses (but you don’t need an official business structure to use it). You can accept payment through invoices (which is great if you’re accepting commissions!). You can also link a Venmo or PayPal account to Found and accept payments that way too. More on Found later.
In addition to Found, I use Stripe to accept payments on my website for courses, and Wave for really nerdy bookkeeping. I used PayPal for many years and recommend it as well.
Keeping track of debits and credits // BOOKKEEPING
You don’t have to ‘make it big’ to keep the money you make from your art separate. In fact, I highly recommend doing it right from the start. Keeping an accurate log of income and expenses helps you track your growth, even if it can feel a bit scary or unnecessary when there’s not a steady stream of cash flow. I love Found (free), which is an all-in-one banking for small businesses. I use their debit card for all my expenses and track cash flow via their app. There are smart tax tools, invoicing, bookkeeping, cash backs, reporting and more. It’s great! I also use Wave (free), and used Quickbooks for many years too.
Communicating // EMAIL
I love the written word (you know this if you get my weekly the emails painters love) and prefer to communicate via email. You probably already have an email… Who doesn’t these days? When you’re leveling up and taking a step into creating an art business it’s best practice to have a separate email for your business, and even better if it’s with a professional sounding name. When I started I used studioeriksdotter@gmail.com and once I expanded I invested in Google Workspace, which is a secure business email with larger storage (perfect for all those pet photos from clients) and it’s ad free.
- Gmail
- Google Workspace (use promo code “F3WLW9UD6F79C9P” and get 10% off your first year with Google Workspace Business Starter)
Get your website up // WEBSITE CREATION + HOSTING
The most important thing is to start getting your art out there. Now, you can start with sharing your art on Instagram, or using a website builder or do it all from scratch. I prefer owning my own website, instead of sending traffic to an art platform like Etsy.com (where search engine optimization goes to the company instead of you, and it’s the same if you only use social media), but it was fun when I needed it. The important part, though, is to take action in a time where there are great and easy options to simply start sharing your beautiful art.
- Social media
- Etsy.com
- Squarespace
- WordPress.org
If you build your own website, you need to register your domain name (yourname.com) and have a place online to host the website. I’ve used two different ones in the past and moved over to Namecheap in 2020 because it was more affordable. Their customer service chat has saved me many times. If you use Squarespace for your website building, they have their own hosting and domain.
Create Your Logo, Graphics and more // DESIGN + IMAGE CREATION
When I did my relaunch of StudioEriksdotter over a decade ago, I used a brand business to create my logo and brand colors. If you’re just starting out and don’t need a brand vision, I recommend Canva as a great tool to play around with to create not only your logo, but images and creatives for social media. I like creating my own stuff and use Adobe Photoshop every day from enhancing the reference photos my clients send me to image creation.Â
Grow your email marketing list // LIST BUILDING + EMAIL MARKETING
Even without a website, you can start growing your newsletter contact list by using a simple opt-in form in your social media bio. You need an email marketing provider to collect those emails and to send out an automated thank you email. For many years I used MailChimp which is free with less than 1000 contacts. Today I use ActiveCampaign because I need certain functionalities. My newsletter started with just family and friends on my list back in 2009 and that’s OK. Get in the habit of sending out a newsletter on a regular schedule, like monthly, so you can practice. (note: you don’t want to send mass emails from your gmail address as it can really hurt your deliverability.)
Get the support you need when you need it // CONSULTANTS
As painters and creatives, we have to value our time. It can feel overwhelming and time consuming figuring things out on your own that is outside our wheelhouse. I’ve used Upwork over the last several years and I’ve met some of the best people to support me, for video cutting and marketing, such as copy writing.
Bookmark this page because I have so much more to share with you soon.
Other Random Things
Press Play on Your Creativity: I love using Audible and Libby (free library app) to keep me company while I paint. I’ve listened to countless of books while I paint my custom pet portraits. Check out my blog series Audiobooks to Paint to if you want some good reading tips, then grab a free trial from Audible and get 2 audiobooks for free.
Productivity tool: I’ve mentioned before how I like to set a timer on my phone or my Audible app to paint for a certain amount of time. I recently got this productivity timer that a couple of friends have recommended. And I have to say, there’s something magical and useful with this little productivity cube.Â
Favorite pens: Do you love pens as much as I do? When I heard Elizabeth Gilbert (the author) swears by this purple pen and Marie Forleo (entrepreneur) loves this black one, I just had to give them a go. They’ve been my go-to’s for years now.
Cozy Creativity: If you want to increase the coziness in the studio, check out my post on 3 Ways to Bring Coziness to the Creative Process with my favorite things. And if you’re looking to support your wellness in your creative journey, add yourself to my studio email that painters love so you don’t miss it when it’s out.
