ACE Newsletter

MAKING HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

Merry Christmas,

Despite the date, we are still completing and shipping out the final commissions!  Somehow Christmas crept up on us with sales moderate and then suddenly they took off! We're not complaining. Like anyone who relies on their own efforts to produce their livelihood, we were happy.  But we also had to hustle!
 Since there are many ACE members from other countries let me just say that there is an old American saying (back from the era when everyone farmed) that one must "Make hay while the sun shines."  So to a non-farmer just what does that mean?  To cure properly, hay must be dry before being stored in a barn. So after it is cut, it is cured a few days in the field before being gathered (now baled) for storage. Even the big round bales you see nowadays cannot be rolled into their forms unless they are completely dry.  Damp hay will mold and at the very worst, create heat that can smolder and possibly set the barn on fire!  So the adage that "one must  make hay while the sun shines " is a reference to no matter how many hours are necessary, no matter what else is going on, when the hay was ready to be cut and the sun was going to shine for at least 3 days, NOW was the time to get going on it! All other work slowed or was set aside while that very critical crop was cut, dried, gathered and stored!

In today's world, making hay while the sun shines continues to be an apt phrase of wisdom for the self employed individual.   For the self employed artist, it means doubling output levels or inventory for those times of year when sales are expected to be good. There is no doubt that Christmas is a major holiday that all retailers hope will either add money to their busines fortunes or pull them out of a hole!  They are all trying to make hay while the sun shines!   Commission art  is a great example of that!

The same thinking applies to artists who live in areas where there is a tourist season.  If your art product is a product that the buyer can purchase and take with them, then the time to be making your art product is when there are no tourists!  To build up a proper inventory, you have to motivate yourself to create your art product  when no one is buying!

One of our goals at Art Career Experts is to motivate you either through written words or our audios. (you really should treat yourself to our new package audio/ebook!)  We know all artists want to earn year round, not just seasonally.  But in reality, consumer buying runs in trends and seasonally, so BE PREPARED!

Make Hay while the Sun shines! If you are unprepared for the seasonal
consumer rush, not only will you lose money, you will enjoy the Holidays less.  
So if you were caught off guard this year, don't worry.   As soon as the Christmas Holidays are over, we will be in our New Year Business Plans mode and THIS year, it WILL be different for our artists!  So for now, relax with your families, enjoy the festivities, traditions and joy of the Christmas Season!

Merry Christmas,

Theresa and Steve