Maria Brophy > Quotes

“Daily, ask yourself: “What can I do to reach my right buyers? Who can I team up with? Who can I call? Where should I go?”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Don’t give up on your clients! Create a reminder system for yourself to follow up with every client, and don’t stop trying to reach them until you get a “yes” or a definitive “no” from them. A “maybe” doesn’t count. If you get a “maybe” then you aren’t finished following up.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“If your work is good, people are going to copy it. You have to accept that. This is just one part of business that you have to deal with. You can’t let your worries stop you from posting your images online. The art business is a visual one; you have to show the world your work for you to be able to sell it. There are ways to protect your work from copycats and art thieves. The most important is to file copyrights to your artworks. This will give you legal leverage if your work is stolen and being used commercially. I cover this more in the chapter on copyrights. I recommend placing a subtle copyright notice or your signature or logo or name somewhere on the image, where it’s not obstructing the beauty of the art. A few examples of copyright notices are: “Artwork (c) 2017 Drew Brophy” “Artwork (c) Drew Brophy” “(c) Drew Brophy” “(c) Drew Brophy, all rights reserved.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Social Networking Tool #1: Decide who you want to meet Before attending an event, decide WHO you will meet there. Examples of people you might want to meet would be: A gallery owner that you’ve been trying to get a meeting with.
An art collector.
Influential art dealer or broker.
Your area’s best interior designer.
An artist that you admire.
Licensing manager of a large company you wish to work with.
Anyone you want to connect with personally.
Write a list of the names of at least three people you wish to meet at the event. If you don’t know names, then write down the types of people.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“When I was in the insurance industry, we used the phrase “get out and press the flesh” often. We knew that no matter how many flyers we mailed or advertisements we placed, the best way to sell was to get out and meet people in person.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“The next step is to brainstorm new ways to reach your right buyers, by going where they go. Once you start focusing on reaching your right buyers where they actually are, you’ll begin to see big things happen in your art career. We are going to stretch and think differently about selling art than you’ve ever considered before. They aren’t teaching this stuff in art school and you won’t find it in any other book. But it is one of the most effective ways to get your art into the hands of buyers. What I’m encouraging you to do is to think differently than most artists think. In the next chapter, we dive deep into HOW to connect with your right buyer in non-conventional ways.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Unconventional Places: Be open to the possibility that there are many unconventional ways to sell your work. You will come up with ideas as you brainstorm them. Sometimes the best place to sell your work is right under your nose! One artist that I work with is a bartender, and her goal is to transition to a full time artist. She sells one or two original paintings every week. Not bad for a part-time artist! I asked “where are you selling it, how are you reaching your buyers, and who are they?” What she told me next just blew me away.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Where do my right buyers spend their spare time? (i.e. traveling to the mountains, black tie events, at sports games, at certain trade shows, etc.) Write down what kind of art you make and who it will appeal to—and then write a few places your right buyers are likely to hang out or events they will attend. For example, “I create environmental art that demonstrates the damage caused by plastics in the earth. My right buyers are passionate about saving the world and attend black tie events for charities that specialize in this area.” Now, name three entities you will contact, that are already connected to your right buyers:”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“is SPEED. When a successful person gets an idea, they jump to action quickly. Just sitting around and thinking about something gets you nowhere. When an opportunity or idea arises, you have to take action immediately to get results. Good ideas and opportunities fizzle out and die if you don’t act.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Converse by asking open-ended questions to get them talking about themselves. Never assume, based on the way someone looks, how much they can afford to spend on art.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Selling art is a numbers game. To sell art in high quantities, you must reach high quantities of people.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“View each “no” as a temporary thing. A NO will turn into a YES when the timing is right, if you are there when it happens.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“My art is a contribution to the world. People who need my art are happy to exchange money for it. My art is a contribution. My art is a contribution. My art is a contribution.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“That experience helped me learn to accept the hard truth that our brand and style is not going to be a match for everyone. We have our people, and they love us. And the other people, well, they have their own thing going on and we just don’t fit in. And that’s okay. Remember that you and your creations are worthy and that there are many opportunities lining up to accept you and your art right now. You just have to look in the right places to find them. Don’t give up when you’re pushed away. Keep looking for the perfect match. Be patient.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“HOW TO GET HIRED OVER SOMEONE ELSE According to one event planner that I have done a lot of work with, event planners are looking for the following items when hiring an artist for an event: Reliability is number one. The event planners have a tough job pulling together everything for a big night. They re-hire the artists that they can count on to be on time and do a great job. A clearly understood brochure, pamphlet or email describing what the artist does. There should be prices and photos of the art, the artist making the art, and if possible, of the artist at events. Ancillary Items that the artist offers for purchase that can be given to guests at the event. A people-person; someone who can talk to the guests.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Never allow yourself to feel rejected. It’s not a rejection when people don’t buy. It doesn’t mean that your art isn’t good enough. It means that the person isn’t ready for you yet, or they don’t get what you’re doing, or they don’t need it right now.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“The financially successful artists were not applying for grants or entering contests. Instead, they were employing the strategies of business owners and putting an artistic spin on it.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“There are countless ways to promote your work. You don’t have to do everything all at once, now. It’s best to choose one method to implement at a time. Learn how to do it well, spend time on it, and once you feel you can do it in your sleep, then add another promotional tool, and repeat. Consistency is key.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“There’s an old saying that says that if you’re good at sales, you could sell ice to an Eskimo. But that’s not fair, why would you waste an Eskimo’s money on something they don’t need! Keep your integrity. Never sell something to someone that isn’t right for them.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Every artwork has a story behind it. Tell the story so people can latch onto it and build a personal connection with it. Then they’ll be proud to own the piece because the story resonates with them. They will retell the story when it’s in their own space.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“As a successful creative, your art becomes your life. Your work life and your personal life spills into and over each other. Your art becomes intertwined with how you spend your days, the people you surround yourself with and the places you go. This is why it is crucial for an artist to be the sole director of their art, career and lifestyle.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE TO YOU? Success has a different meaning for each person. Most of the artists I work with say that they will consider themselves successful once they can support their family with their art. Some will only consider themselves successful when they have reached a desired achievement or have impacted the world in a positive way with their art. Only you can decide what success means to you. Below are examples of what success looks like to some people: Earning a healthy income to support a family Living a lifestyle that enables you to do the things you love Developing a reputation for creating meaningful art Making a true difference in the world with art Developing a technique that becomes a new standard in the art world Becoming known as the best in your genre”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“If your work is good, people are going to copy it. You have to accept that. This is just one part of business that you have to deal with. You can’t let your worries stop you from posting your images online. The art business is a visual one; you have to show the world your work for you to be able to sell it.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Grab a pen and your notebook and take a little time to think. Answer the following questions: MY STORY: What is one interesting, memorable or unique story I will tell buyers about myself or my life? (i.e. how I became an artist, how I learned to create in the way that I do, etc.) What is one interesting story I can tell about my most current artwork? 6 How”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“On the next page is the Artist Clarity Worksheet, which will guide you to determining what you really want. IMPORTANT: To get the most out of all of the exercises in this book, don’t type your answers into a computer or electronic device. Instead, write your answers into a notebook or in this book. Using pen on paper accesses a part of your brain that is wired to find answers that are deep inside you. This is what will help you get results. If this doesn’t make sense to you, do it anyway. Often, we don’t even know the answers we are seeking, but when we sit and quietly write on paper, ideas and thoughts come to us. If you don’t know what to write, then write anything you want, just to get the energy flowing. The process of writing leads your mind to grasp for answers, often buried deep inside you. Take your time daydreaming as you answer the questions. Make sure to enjoy the process—dreaming about your ideal lifestyle should be fun and fill you with enthusiasm (if it doesn’t, keep exploring until you find a vision that does!)”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“If you are planning to paint something just for this event, paint it in the theme of the party and if you can, incorporate something subtle about the company in the painting. We often do this, and when we do, it entices the company to want to buy the painting. If it’s a “shy” crowd, get them interested. Some crowds are fun and lively, but others can be tough. If you find yourself in a group where you’re feeling invisible and no-one’s coming to see your work, then put yourself out there and draw them in. After all, that’s what you were hired to do—to entertain and be an addition to the event. To engage the guests at an event, be very friendly and smile and ask: “What do you think of the painting?” “Are you enjoying the party?” “Where are you from?” Or Drew’s personal favorite, “Hey, you want to finish this painting for me?” A little humor helps in every situation!”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“What do I intend to become known for in ten years? What new skills do I intend to learn that will further my art business? How much money do I intend to earn? Yearly $_________ Monthly $_________ Weekly $__________ NAME of two influential people that I wish to meet this year: _____________________________________________________”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“QUANTUM LEAP TO BUYERS WORKSHEET Name: ___________________________ Date________________ Instructions: This is a brainstorming session. Take 15 minutes with a pen to paper and write out 10 ideas for each question. All ideas count! Who can I team up with, who is already established, to reach my right buyers? Which large companies would my work be a fit with? (i.e. If you draw robots as your main theme, think tech companies) Which Large Charities? (i.e. If your art is inspired by a cause or world problem, which charities or celebrities care about the same things?) Which Trade Shows? (I.e. if your work is music inspired, think NAMM Show or other music industry shows)”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“Take your story, no matter how boring or exciting you think it is, and find a way to tell it in an interesting way. Include it in your Biography in your portfolio, on your “About” page on your website and repeat it any time someone asks about you. People will remember your story and then they will remember you.”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.

“How do I stand out in a field that is so competitive? How do I find people who will love my work? How do I get my paintings in front of more buyers? The answer to all of these questions is the same; and that is, to establish a niche. When we focus in one area, and we consistently work on it, we get better and better at it. Eventually, we become the go-to person in that niche. We become KNOWN for our work. Once we are known for it, people will come to us for it. See how that works?”
― Maria Brophy, Art Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind.