If you are an artist you are a small business

Business lingo may seem anathema to the arts but we gotta get over that.

If you want a long-term, sustainable, and productive career as an artist, (do you? do you really?) then you are starting a business and you are a business person. Ack! Oy! Drat! It's not that bad really.....you don't have to sell out or become the devil if you start talking about "product" or "market share" or "demographics." It's just words. Know 'em, use 'em, love 'em.

Artists usually turn to service organizations for business training and we do offer all kinds of great services like that. BUT (and not to shoot The Field or any other service org in the foot!) there are other Small Business helpers out there that might just behoove you to tap into. Take advantage of any and all services that may help you succeed. They are here for you.

For example, SCORE!
One of our ERPA artists has been doing some stuff with SCORE and she says "SCORE has been very helpful. You can do individual counselling or take classes. We have done both. Classes give a good overview, and then you can meet with the specialists to talk about specifics. We found that it can be difficult to register for the classes...so we have just started showing up. We haven't been kicked out yet:) " Most (if not all) of their stuff is free and alot is available online.

"Also NYC Business Solutions Center is a good resource too. They also offer seminars and classes. We have made some good connections there too."

If you use either of these places, tell us what you think. We need to know how it works for you.