Art Biz Voice: To Give or Not to Give, Simple Guidelines

Dear Mr. Trump,

I’ve been away from my blog this week working on some of my charity work.  I really feel that charity work is incredibly important but of course not at the expense of the business. I look at charity work as an integral part of my work ethic and my business plan. 

Because I am an artist I am in a unique place to build my brand while helping some worthy causes I believe in. I can help them fund raise while building their reputations and also build what I call foundational care for daily expenses. I occasionally will help fund raise  for animal charities, many of whom are sanctuaries and rescues. I also try to occasionally work with charities that help people in crisis as well.

Click image to view larger.

Sometimes these sanctuaries and rescues fail, usually, because of poor planning and too much repeat dependence on fund raising for their daily expenses. When they fail there comes a huge rift between them and the public trust.One misstep in planning and animal care due to a bad economy can lead to a spiraling decline in donations. The animals in their care suffer because of lack of donations. No one wants to be associated  with failing animal charities or animal charities that raise huge sums of money only to euthanaize the majority of the animals they bring in. It is even worse when the leaders of these charities have suddenly stopped all fund raising efforts because they simply didn’t know what to do or they have lost interest because it is so overwhelming to them.

As a result of the change in the giving practices, I think, mostly due to the tight economy,  I have put together a set of guidelines for all the charities I consider working with. I of course adapt them slightly for newly created organizations.

What I consider before I give to or work with a community

1. Persons involved in The Charity already support my business.

2. The Charity has good business practices, including foundational support for every day expenses.

3.The Charity is highly visible with regular community access and education. It has a good reputation for service and available programs that reach out to the community.

4. The Charity has  active highly visible fund raising programs through out the year  that maintains a steady flow of nurtured and new support for the organization. The face( generally a person) of the organization is active in fund raising and building community support continuously.

5. The Charity has a transparency policy with public financial accountability. This means proof the money is being spent on what it is collected for.

6. The Charity not only nurtures givers, it nurtures and values its volunteers. This includes a reward for effort program and training program  for volunteers.

7. The  Charity sees my work as valuable and protects the investments my collectors. They not only understand that how they present the work during fund raising determines the value they also know how to get top dollar and increase the value of my work to benefit themselves.

8.  I agree with the objectives of The Charity and how they are implemented. Their work ethic, how they carry it out and the pride they take in their events and location, all play a part in their reputation. If  I disagree with their objectives, I don't want my name associated with their organization. If the actions of  The Charity are completely different from the objectives or they lack professionalism and polish then I don't  offer to support them.

Its so much easier to support people who appreciate your efforts.


Have a great weekend
~Linda

ArtBizVoice: In Mentorship Language is Everything

Dear Mr. Trump,

 As an artist, I speak the language of Artists. We sometimes speak little; sometimes in long flowery phrases of description, that translate into color and brush strokes. As a Journalist and Writer, I speak the language of a reporter, asking too many questions and trying to build pictures in my head of details and minutia, that I can share through the written word.  As a business person, I understand a growing vocabulary each day; however. I still have conceptual trouble trying to  think outside of my emotions and into practical successful business practices. When I translate business language into a picture its easier to understand.

This is where I think we artist’s always run into trouble. We are conditioned to solitude, with extreme explosions of creativity, that demands focus in order to do our best work. If we work totally alone we actually develop a language set that only we understand. If we are lucky, we also have an assistant who understands it too.

The small amount of time we have outside of the studio requires, at least for me, direct concise answers to our questions so that we can let the information process in our brains. Then we can come back into the conversation at a later time and correct the problem or adapt to a business process we didn’t understand before.

Convincing some business people to give us the non-idioms, strait talk version of a concept in “every day people” language is sometimes very difficult. Especially, if the person talking expects us to understand what they are saying the first time and dismisses the us if  we don’t understand.  It can be even worse if the business person is trying to impose their preferences on a very creative person who’s skills sets run to non-conformity, especially if it seems to be conformity for conformity’s sake. Artist's often understand the nuances of business but have little knowledge of the lingo.

This is one reason I think that mentorship is really important. A good mentor realizes the creativity, out  of the box thinking and exuberance of the artist .  A good mentor speaks in direct simple terms that  answers each question while still being factual and tactful at the same time. A good mentor is going to recognize the process the artist uses and help them translate good business practices into it. A good mentor will not only give practical help, they will also learn from the person they are mentoring.

Understanding that creative emotion can translate into good successful business, can have a healthy out come, without the frustration of communication breakdown, because people don’t understand one another. All that it really takes is the desire to make it happen and a mentor with the ability and willingness to view things from a new perspective he or she had not thought of before. (Artist tend to be trained that way already)

My thoughts and prayers are with all of those in the North East today who are still without power after the snow.

Blessings,

~L

ArtBizVoice: Social Isolation, On Social Media?

Dear Mr. Trump,

I have been on Social Media since the autumn of 2008. I’ve noticed that every time Facebook rolls out a new change it isolates people more and keeps them hooked into a very narrow number of  topics.  The method behind this seems to be the gathering of more and more information about each person and what they like, buy, topics they discuss and the type of food and entertainment they are likely to spend money on.  Then target market to them via paid promotions and advertisement.

There is a flaw in the idea. The Flaw basically is that by manipulating the population on the social media they actually skew the marketing data they are collecting.   Unless we have a huge number of boringly excessive compulsives out there in cyber, land I do not think that this is an accurate measure of what potential consumers like.  I also do not think it accurately represents the buying or the web use of people.   It’s tainted and it actually forces people into a sort of controlled boredom. 

Most people don’t want to be force fed information or social interaction. Yet these days that is exactly what Facebook is doing, they force feed or completely deny feed and limit interaction between friends, associates and potential clients. My solution is to look more to twitter for my information source. I both share there and look for current information.  For searches "Google" and "Ask" are my top choices; however, I have noticed that Google is leaning to the “isolation” business model so I haven’t decided how that will work for me.

I think that the saving grace has been the group structure. Both Google+ and Facebook have this. Google+, with its circles and Facebook with its closed and open group options.  Even though the groups are more narrow in topic and opportunity, they do generate leads and repeat business if you stick to offering services with in the scope of the topic. Even if someone doesn't interact with you for moths at a time, if they are in the group they will still see the group activity in the live feed. That is about the only place where your activity is not limited. And when the groups are open to non- members to view their is more potential to be seen.

I have to admit that it is always a good day to learn something new. It does make it more difficult if you are a small business trying to grow  to work hard at making the best product you can only to have it be hidden from the world.  

Have a prosperous day,
~L

ArtBizVoice: Accessibility

Dear Mr. Trump,

This morning I found a site for artists in business. It suggested that I enlarge my business by becoming involved with an interior designer or a corporate art consultant.  I would love to do that. I’m just wondering how that might be possible.  I really am not going to be able to pack up my massive portfolio and hop on public transportation and travel to where they are. First while I am independent, I am limited in my independence due to mobility.

Seriously, if the store is too big or the parking is too far away I have to do without. Walking is a problem for me.  I have to juggle a cane and carry things. Accessibility is not just a level doorway. It is also the distance the disabled must walk from where their ride is parked.

I have heard business owners say. “ Oh we are so lucky we don’t have to have handicapped accessible entrances to our building because its grandfathered.”  They lost my business because I couldn’t navigate the stairs.

 I was thinking about this the other day. If more building designers and business managers knew the practical limitations of their elderly and disabled clients perhaps they could adapt their buildings to be more accessible. And they might not lose that business. 

I know that some businesses are trying to cut startup costs and renovations the best they can. I wonder what the figures are, the numbers of people that cant access the building and the amount of money that the business looses, because of it.  I am guessing its somewhere between 10% and 15%.  That percent could make or break a small business. And for a larger business it could means millions in business that they are not realizing. Its not about what the law allows, its about what allows those who are potential clients to participate in your business.

With an aging population and even more people becoming disabled at an earlier age due to injuries on the job and just wear and tear on their bodies,  I can see how this is a big drain on the economy if they cannot contribute to the economy.

When a business does not address accessibility, it disengages a portion of its potential client base.
New and creative solutions need to be found to not only allow the disabled to participate as clients but also to participate as employees.

I’ve lots of new projects coming up this month. It’s becoming very exciting.
Blessings of the Day to you.
~L

ArtBizVoice: Preventing Dancing Mediocrity in Your Business

Dear Mr. Trump,
I love your philosophy of excellence. The goal of being the best possible while making yourself and what you do better and better.

I have been keenly aware over the last few months that there is actually a dancing mediocrity in most of our culture today. I have actually been trying to figure out why.

This mediocrity can be as simple as an employee sweeping the floor but instead of actually using a dustpan they pile all the dirt in the middle of the floor, then pick up what they can see to place in the trash can. They actually use their hands to pick up the dirt. The last activity in this scenario is to simply swish the broom through the small bits and spread it out all over the room. When you ask them if they swept up the floor they say “yes”. But the floor never gets clean. This is kids stuff. I mean really this is the sort of thing a little child does during chores... until they are trained.

So why on earth would anyone go through an activity that is small but incredibly important for most businesses  but only do enough to say "Yes, I did it."

My theory :

a)these people have never been trained to take pride in their work?  (Maybe)
b) these people have been trained that this is the way its done? ( They probably do it this way at home)
c) these people understand the concept of sweeping and accomplish it as the goal but they do not understand that the goal is actually to clean the floor from the corners to the center and make it shine?
d) they are distracted by cell phones and ipods and are not focused on their work so they don’t even realize what they have done or not done? (easy fix: turn them off during work hours)
e)Every aspect of their life is so filled with drama that it spills over into what they are doing at work. The distraction is so bad that they hinder everyone else from their work and productivity drops?( this is deserves its own blog post)

Everyone of these things combined makes for a dirty floor even if it is swept. And this is the major hurdle that employers have to overcome. Even employees have a good work ethic and are dedicated to the job, the language becomes the issue, even when everyone in the workplace speaks English.

Let me illustrate what I think is the most prevalent issue in the current rise in mediocrity. When I say to someone sweep the floor they I expect it to be spotless when they are finished. And I want to be able to walk barefoot over the floor and have my feet be clean and have the floor be smooth. That means not only do I need to communicate how I want it done and why,  they need to not only understand what I expect and how I want it done. And they need to understand that their job performance is rated on results not busy work that never gets done.

One thing we don’t want is a shinny tile floor and the most important client  of the decade to be walking into  the building just as the sunlight shines through the window and hits that pile of dirt someone left because they didn’t know the difference between sweeping and making it spotless. 

We survived the winds and the rains last night. It always amazes me as to how the sun shines brightest just after a really active storm. Have a blessed day.
~L