Growth

This weekend, Etsy featured my original painting in their Weekend Deals Storque article. Seeing my painting show up in an e-mail definitely excited me!

I wish I could say I sold everything but I didn't. I didn't sell a damn thing! Is that Etsy's fault? No. The economy? No. Blaming those things won't get me anywhere.

What have I learned? If you want the big opportunities, you have to be prepared for them. I have 30 original paintings in my shop, which is pretty decent but I have no prints, nothing that gives a different price point. I am not leveraging my art. That is the truth and it really doesn't hurt at all. If I can be in one article, I can be featured in another.

The more I work at this, the more I realize there will never be one thing that gets me there. It will always be a consistent continued effort and growth. I have been featured in a Storque article twice and on the front page several times. If you read the forums, you would get the impression that your business takes off when those things happen. Maybe some do.

There are really so many factors in a business and I am learning them firsthand. School can teach you certain things but experience teaches you something totally different.

Of course I am not giving up. I don't see any reason to. There are people that really enjoy my work and I am going to continue working. Now, the question is, how can I add value? In other words, what do my potential customers see as value?