Hi Everyone, in preparation for our Podcast talk tomorrow, I thought I would provide you with an overview of the system I created to manage my art business, hopefully it will serve as a reference point to our discussion tomorrow. I have been using a version of this cobbled together system for more than 9 years and can’t imagine doing art shows without it. I can easily retrieve information to help me plan my next show season, track my inventory, prepare for taxes (retail sales and federal), determine which images/sizes I should take to show where I have a history, communicate with patrons and even track my production cost. Knowing the true net profit from a show has been invaluable in my business decisions. I now have data and reports from more than eight years of shows and purchase history.
I'm not a wiz kid but soon on I knew I needed to develop an effective account/data management system. You will need to do the same, maybe through Quickbooks, or building your own database as I've done, or an excel spreadsheet, or whatever works. Of course my system is customized to my needs, but there are similar systems out there that you can purchase. I can't speak of their effectiveness (see ARTsala).
Here's a general overview of what I created and I hope you will join Alison and me tomorrow as we discuss the more "left brain" parts of our business:
(select image to enlarge)
Replies
Wow, is right! This is exactly what I'm working on as we speak! I use Quick books Simple Start, and have no really complete capabilities to track inventory. I use Excel spreadsheets that I'm constantly revising, trying to get the best "capture" for me. I will be very interested in this Podcast.
I'm ready and eager to speak with you, Leo.
Leo, this is so impressive. It will be a nice contrast to what Alison does and will give listeners another option.
Wow! Thanks for providing this in advance, Leo -- impressive! Can't wait to talk to you. Obviously you are ready for questions.