Making a SmART leap this year

Leap year only comes every four years. Why not spend it wisely? I’ve recently discovered Laura Trevey’s SmART book for artist entrepreneurs. It’s chock full of helpful advice as well as her colorful artwork. Laura is a talented artist, watercolorist and business woman herself and practices what she preaches.

Here are few tidbit takeaways:

• Find a way to differentiate yourself among others offering a similar product or service.

• Create a business plan and right it all down. [We are revising ours  right now so I now how much time and work this takes.]

• Create a logo that represents your brand and shows continuity by color and style on everything that represents your business.

• An artist is not paid for their labor but for their vision – quote from James Whistler

• Organize your office/ studio space so that it is most efficient for your time management so the more work you can get done, the more time you’ll have to play. [She shows you tips and visuals on how to achieve this for your office.]

• Start a blog so you can engage with your followers and show your work while increasing your business. [More specifics and technological tips in her book.]

• If you think your work is 80% finished, then you’re done. [I had a hard time with this one because  my work tends to be detailed and I always see improvements but I’ve gotten better at realizing that sometimes a piece can look overdone so better to stop when you’re ahead.]

• Don’t worry about giving away your secrets, your readers will respect you for sharing your talents.

On this note, you’ll have to check out Laura’s book with a checklist of exhibitor items, details on online strategies and her wonderful blog, Bright Bold and Beautiful, to get more helpful insights. This is where you can see how successful she has been with social media.

Below is just a small sampling of her bold, bright and beautiful artwork. She likes butterflies too!!

And chickens.…

Laura, by the way, was very kind to write a post on Casart coverings a while back. If your want to see more posts with bold color,  leap on over to Slipcovers for your Walls, where you can read about Pantone’s color explosion prediction for upcoming fashion.

BTW, leap year is extra special for me, since it my every fourth year wedding celebration that gets celebrated twice in one year.

Happy Leap Year!!