FREE Investment Advice for Artists

By Val Gelineau, CEO and CoFounder PhotoSpin, Inc.

The best investment you can make is to invest in yourself and this goes for artists just as much as anyone. I, too, was given this advice early in my career as a photographer by my long time friend and former business manager, Errol Gerson. If you attended Art Center College of Design in the 80’s and 90’s you may remember Errol as a business instructor. If you graduated from Art Center you definitely attended his class prior to graduation. He was famous for the "invest in yourself" quote. He hammered home the fact that you should constantly be investing in your portfolio by continuously creating new content and better work. If there's one thing in this industry that has not changed it is this: invest in yourself to make money in the Stock Market.Now, the Stock Market I’m referring to is the photos, illustrations and fonts Stock Market. GD:USA's recent surveys indicate art buyers are spending more of their annual budget on stock imagery. Proof that this is a great time for artists and illustrators to pursue Stock opportunities, both Rights Managed and Royalty Free.Unfortunately, I've heard many of the reasons why people do not pursue these opportunities: * No time. According to the AC Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day or 28 hours/week. * The market is saturated. Every agency including the Big Three (Getty, Corbis and Jupiter Images) are always looking for great work and new artists. * Fear of rejection. One of my personal favorites. Welcome to being an artist, get used to rejection. * No money. Valid but not acceptable. If you already own the equipment, digital art is simply an investment in time. This goes back to investing in yourself. Think about it as expanding your creative ability. Create your own projects. It takes time to become a great artist. One of the great things about creative work is that you can be fully employed, self employed, or simply a free lancer. Which means you can easily join the 9% of the adult working population, close to 10 million Americans - now in the process of starting their own business (Inc./Gallup survey: "Americans at Work.")Be honest with yourself. Do you really want to be a photographer, an illustrator or an artist? If you do - lose all of the excuses and do what great athletes do... Just Do It!

You are your greatest resource! Invest in yourself.