Sunday, March 9, 2014

Spend less, Earn more.....


It's tax time again. This usually means stress and sadness when we actually see written down on paper where our money goes. We use turbotax, and the process is pretty simple, but to see how much money we could have had if it weren't for all those things we pay for..... ugh.

On the other hand, I sort of enjoy the process of getting all of my business receipts together and seeing how my itsy bitsy business is coming along. This year, for the first year, I showed a profit after all of my out of pocket expenses. Now this isn't saying a whole lot because I am still not paying the rent around here, but still, it was nice not to see yet another break even or loss on the books.

I broke it all down, where my earnings came from, where was my spending- galleries, online sales, my studio, shows and festivals.

Interestingly, my spending was less than half of what it was the previous years, and I showed a profit. Spend less, earn more! Good concept, right?! I was fed up last year with al the money I was spending on show fees and application fees and just fees in general that were not benefitting me all that much. Remember, I paid around $700 to be at the miserable CDCG show and made $300, ouch!

So in 2013, I cut way back on the train to fame.  I stayed home more and sold from here. The galleries that had my work sold less than 1/4th of what I did out of my home studio, hmmmm......
One gallery sent me a check for $42 for the entire year..... hmmmm.....

One festival cost me $50 and I made $700, that was money well spent. The Chatham Artists Studio Tour costs me around $250 and it's my largest chunk of money from one venue for the year. Money also well spent, and I have return customers every year. When I spend time with Etsy, it also works well for me. I sold two necklaces this week, never left the house, and my Etsy bill last month was $8. What didn't work? Sadly, galleries. I like the galleries I work with and would like to continue a relationship, but is it worth the time and effort? Maybe, but not a priority right now. also, the big "designer" shows don't work for me. Not my peeps. Who cares..

It's good to have this review every year. Last year, when we did taxes and I saw the loss and spending, I cried. It seemed like such a waste of time and I seriously put in a lot of time in 2012. Why? What was the use when I was showing such a loss? I felt like I didn't work very hard in 2013, but I must have done something, there were earnings and I was able to report a profit finally. All of this is good information for going forward.  It seems I need to be more selective with shows I do, spend more time with selling from my studio, and focus less on filling out application fees and writing checks for application fees. What is up with that anyway?!

The weather has been nice this weekend, flowers and trees are budding, feeling the call of my studio. Soooooon! In the meantime, thank God Gerry has an amazing job and tolerates my art quest. He shot his last regular season ball game last night, Duke/Carolina. He shot over 100 basketball games since September and trust me, he is about to come unglued. Looking forward to April!!!! In May, Wesley and I will travel to Kentucky. Wes has been invited to the monastery to continue filming the monks. Lots to look forward to!!

5 comments:

Dennis Allen said...

Congrats to Wes.That girl is going to be famous if she's not careful.Thanks again for the photo tips they helped.

Michèle Hastings said...

Spend less, earn more... I like that concept!
We have done some reevaluating this year too. Dropping some shows and galleries, trying out some new ones. We tend to see more profit at the lower entry fee shows, and they are usually shorter in duration which is a plus.

cookingwithgas said...

By the way.....That picture of Gerry is a riot!
Good lessons for many who are chasing the art dollars.
Wesley,she is going places. She is a one of a kind, you guys all are.

Lori Buff said...

I hear you. I have sent images to a show, with an entrance fee (maybe $35) in the hopes of getting into the show and paying shipping (possibly both ways). The pots are reject, put up on Etsy for pocket change, they sell right away and Etsy takes less of a cut than the gallery. Spend less, earn more = smart.

oldgreymareprimitives said...

I have lost my mind. Went in on a booth antique/craft mall with my boss/friend last Monday. Place re-opens today. I have scrambled all week to get stuff in with 0 notice. lol I shopped my yard and drawers to fill the space....

again...... I've lost my mind- save me?

Somewhere along the way I bet your kid runs into my kid in "the Business" :D