The Do’s And Don’ts Of A Creative Career Change
* Updated December 2024
Looking To Make A Creative Career Shift? Here’s What You’ll Need.
So you want to switch careers and become a full-time artist... you’re certainly not alone!
There are countless working professionals who every year decide to take back control of their lives and make a creative career change.
Many of the world's most renowned artists had day jobs before becoming the legendary cultural icons we know today. Jeff Koons worked on Wall Street, Richard Serra moved furniture, and Mark Rothko taught elementary school.
The road to becoming a successful artist is a long and winding one, but luckily we’ve done a lot of research on how to make that path as rewarding as possible.
Here’s our list of Do’s and Don’ts for your creative career shift towards becoming a successful artist.
The Do’s and Don’ts Of Becoming An Artist
Don’t Listen To The Negativity
“Artists don’t make any money!”
Everyone has their own opinion, and chances are the people in your life will let you know what it is they’re really thinking about your decision to make a creative career change.
Whether it’s your great aunt or your best friend, one or more of those people are bound to have something negative to say.
Humans are practically hardwired to focus on the negative things over the positive because of a little something called negativity bias, and when associated with a career change, negativity bias can seriously impact anything from your confidence level to your motivation.
Surround yourself with people who will uplift and support you on your journey to becoming a successful artist!
By staying focused on the positive aspects of becoming an artist like creative entrepreneurial freedom, meeting new people and sharing your art with the world in a more meaningful way, you’ll see more success as an artist and have a better time doing it!
Don’t Expect Immediate Results
We’re willing to bet that your pre-art career wasn’t built overnight, so don’t expect your art career to magically blossom into a successful business in a short period of time either.
As with any new pursuit, making a creative career shift and becoming a professional artist takes time, practice, and dedication. Set goals for yourself, like how many paintings you’d like to sell in the first year or how many new connections with art professionals you want to make, but be easy on yourself!
Don’t Put All Of Your Eggs In One Basket
We can’t overstate enough the importance of diversifying your income. At first that might mean working a part time job as you support your new art career – many artists do just that in order to pay the bills!
As you get more seasoned in your new career as an artist, you may find that it becomes necessary to create and sell your art in different ways than you anticipated, like making prints, selling your art on pillow or phone cases, or other avenues.
Luckily, there are many successful artists who have found themselves diversifying how they sell their art online and have shared their knowledge with us. Check out 5 Ways To Successfully Sell Your Art Online for tips on setting up a successful e-commerce presence for artists!
Do Your Research
While you don’t need much in terms of supplies when starting out making art, you will need to stock up your art business toolkit with helpful information and resources. What will you need to make a creative career switch and become a successful artist?
Important art business points to look into:
Who is your target audience?
How will you sell your art?
How will you market yourself?
How will you keep track of the works you create?
How will you keep track of and in touch with your collectors?
Many of these points will be addressed when you make your artist business plan, but they’re worth thinking about before you hit the pavement with your art career.
Do Make A Business Plan For Artists
Hold up… business plan? For artists?!
Yes, even creative entrepreneurs like artists need to have some kind of plan for how they’ll create art, make money, and manage their business on a daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly basis.
Creating a business plan for artists requires you to think about a few main things that might not have crossed your mind previously:
Listing out your business goals
Researching your competitors
Figure out your financial situation
Creating a marketing plan
Creating a sales plan
This isn’t just another laundry list of administrative tasks to do – in fact, you’re probably making a career switch in the first place because you don’t want to do more boring paper pushing!
The thing is: business plans for artists, when done correctly, will set you up for success and take a huge load of work off your plate in the long run so you can focus on having a sustainable and successful art career.
Do Connect With Other Art Professionals
Build your network! The art world might seem mystifying and aloof from the outside world, but from the inside, it looks a lot like other industries you may be familiar with. Start befriending other artists in your area by attending open studios, searching for them online through social media, or joining a local artist group.
Your art community will most likely naturally expand to include more diverse arts professionals like curators, interior designers, art coaches and advisors, fabricators, and more. All of these people will serve to boost your art biz and build your confidence as you navigate your creative career change.
Do Create A Great Artist Website
Even aspiring artists need a place to show off their work. Your artist website serves as a one-stop-shop for art lovers who are looking for great art and the artists who create it.
Do Sell Your Art With Superfine Art Fair
“My connections to collectors from the Superfine DC fair still echo to this day.
With my one-of-a-kind creations going to collectors’ homes, sales that lead to numerous commissioned works, generating continuous interest is something I couldn’t have asked as a better art fair experience.”
– Lina Alattar, Superfine DC 2019 artist.
As the leading art fair for independent artists, we’ve helped hundreds of artists make lasting, valuable connections with collectors and admirers alike through our art fairs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Washington DC.
Exhibiting your art with Superfine is the best way to add art income to your list of wins when you’re working on becoming a successful artist. With virtual and in-person fair options, we have a fair that’s the right fit for you. Apply now!
Do Make Art You Love
This seems like a no-brainer, but there are many artists who are trying to make it big who think the ticket to becoming a successful artist is by copying those who have already made it. We’re all about borrowing and acknowledging great ideas, but potential collectors can tell when you are being genuine with your art.
When you’re not making art you love, you’ll find yourself having difficulty finding art collectors. You want to connect with people who are invested in your art and will continue to give you support time and time again.
When you make art that comes from the heart, admirers and collectors will connect with it on a more personal level – in short, they’ll stick around for the long haul! Find the right collectors for your work by staying true to yourself and making art that lights you up.
With the right support and tools, any working professional looking to make a career shift can become a successful artist. Surround yourself with people who believe in you, do your research, and stay true to yourself by making art that you love.
Set yourself up for success by creating a business plan for artists that will guide you through making good, long-term decisions for your business, and look into selling your work at fairs that specialize in promoting and uplifting works by independent artists like Superfine.