Standout Creatives: Business, marketing, and creativity tips for solopreneurs launching their ideas - 40: Josh Rivedal on His One-Man Show, the Importance of Marketing, and Learning from Failure

40: Josh Rivedal on His One-Man Show, the Importance of Marketing, and Learning from Failure

03/01/16 • 78 min

Standout Creatives: Business, marketing, and creativity tips for solopreneurs launching their ideas

Josh Rivedal is the founder and director of the I'mPossible Project. He is also the author of two books and the star of his own one-man show. In this episode, Josh talks about overcoming his near suicide, the importance of marketing for artists, and the lessons we can learn from failure.

Here are three things you can learn from Josh:

The Power of Storytelling

One thing Josh has learned from all his trials and tribulations is the power of story. Josh's career jump started through the help of his one-man show. It helped spark the idea for his second book and the formation of his I'mPossible non-profit organization.

Stories are one of the most powerful things we have as humans. We are wired to tell stories. They are what allow us to connect with other people. Josh used the power of his own story to bring awareness to suicide prevention and social justice projects. They have become the foundation of his career.

Artist Need to Embrace Business and Marketing

Josh believes artists are against the idea of marketing because they are not good at it, but you can't be good at something you don't attempt. Instead of pushing against the idea of business and marketing, embrace them just like you embrace you art.

Art businesses, just like other businesses, are here to provide a solution to a problem. Art isn't a luxury when it's good. It's a necessity. So embrace marketing and treat your art like a business. This will help you create and sell more of your work.

Learn From Your Failures

We need to get over failure. We have been taught to avoid failure at all costs, but it has hampered our ability to grow. When we try to avoid failure, we stop experimenting. We don't try new things because we are afraid they won't work.

Instead of avoiding failure, embrace it. That doesn't mean we should try to fail. It just means we need to be willing to fail. The point is to learn from your failures.

Josh believes you have to be willing to fail to succeed. Failure is just part of the process. Thomas Edison attempted making the light bulb 10,000 times before finding the right solution. No one is above failure. Once you realize this, you will be able to use it as a spring board for success.

More shownotes from episode 40 with Josh Rivedal

Here are three things you can learn from Josh:

The Power of Storytelling

Artist Need to Embrace Business and Marketing

Learn From Your Failures

Instead of avoiding failure, embrace it. That doesn't mean we should try to fail. It just means we need to be willing to fail. The point is to learn from your failures.

More shownotes from episode 40 with Josh Rivedal

Previous Episode

39: Juan Sepulveda on Creating vs. Marketing Your Art, the Power of the Right Mindset, and Diversifying Your Income Streams

Juan Sepulveda is a painter and the creator of The Winding Stairs Podcastand The Gentleman’s Brotherhood. His art focuses around the lessons and symbols of free masonry. In this episode, Juan talks about marketing and creating art, why you must have the right mindset, and why you need to diversify your income streams.

Here are three things you can learn from Juan:

Marketing and Creating Art Require Different Ways of Thinking

Artists are often opposed to the idea of marketing their work. People often criticized Juan for selling his art because they couldn’t sell theirs too.

If you are having trouble selling your art, you need to separate your artistic creation from your business. It requires to completely separate parts of yourself to be able to sell your art. You need to be able to put on different hats depending on whether you are selling or creating your art.

You can’t let selling get in the way of your creativity. Let your creative side work its magic on the art, but then, when you are done, you have to switch hats. Juan believes you have to be authentic to your inspiration, but you also have to be wiling to sell your work once you are done creating.

Your Mindset Means Everything

Your mindset determines everything about the way you approach the world. Just look at one of the artists you admire the most. They have the same amount of time as us, and sometimes they have even fewer resources, yet they are still able to create something amazing.

Juan believes that you create your own limits. We are the ones who confine or restrict ourselves from achieving our true potential. The good news is, in order to change that, all we have to do is change our mindset.

If your favorite artist can get their painting in a museum, you can too. Learn from those who came before you, and apply those lessons to what you want to accomplish. Just know that you can do it, and you are on the way to achieving it.

Diversify Your Income Streams

If you are relying solely on selling your art to make a living, you are missing out on some great opportunities. Art sales are hardly steady, and if you rely on that income, you can get yourself into some trouble.

Diversifying your sources of income can lead to more stability with your finances and with your life. Juan does not just create art. He also does public speaking and a podcast to help promote himself and his art.

By creating other income streams, you can have a bad month selling your art and not have to worry as much. These other income streams will allow you to rest more easily without worrying about selling your next painting to survive.

View more shownotes for episode 39 with Juan Sepulveda

Next Episode

42: Charlie Gilkey on Mindsets, Business for Creatives, and the Power of Art

Charlie Gilkey is is the creator of Productive Flourishing and the host of the Creative Giants podcast. He describes himself as the result of mashing up an entrepreneur, Army officer, and philosopher. In this episode, Charlie talks about mindsets, business, and the power of art.

Here are three things you can learn from Charlie:

Drop the Artist Label

Many artists have painted themselves into a corner by calling themselves an artist. They are afraid of the fraud police that tell them they’re not good enough to be an artist. There’s a story they tell themselves about what it mean to be an artist.

While it can be empowering to call yourself an artist. That label also carries a lot of weight. If you feel the heaviness of the artist title, Charlie suggest dropping it. He advocates “focus on the craft” rather than “evaluation of the craft.

The challenge of the artist label is, “It’s an invitation for people to evaluate your work.” It can be hard to been seen this way, even though that is one of the reasons we create art.

“We want to be seen, but we’re scared to be seen.” Often times the thought of being an artist can be unhelpful. When you feel that weight, like Atlas holding the world on his shoulders, drop the label and just create.

The Myth of Perfection

As artists, we have this vision of what our work will look like when it’s complete. We spend hours on end trying to achieve that vision. Often times, it can prevent us from actually releasing our work.

It is in these moments that you must move on. Charlie thinks that what you’ve created is “more beautiful than that perfect image that you have in your head.” That piece of art can change and inspire lives, but it can’t do that if they never see it.

Perfection is unattainable. If we waited for perfection every time we create a piece of art, we would have nothing to show for it. Don’t use the excuse of unfinished work for not selling or showing your paintings to others.

There’s a sacredness in allowing someone to buy a piece that you’ve poured your soul into. Be willing to let go of your art, even it doesn’t meet your standards of perfection.

The Art of Pricing

Artists often have trouble determining the right price for their work. According to Charlie, they are making it much harder than it needs to be.

Far too often, we become too attached to our art. We think the amount we sell our work for determines our worth, but that simply is not true. Art is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Charlie suggests looking at the art market and using it to choose your price. Go to an art fair, and see the range of prices people are willing to pay, then just pick a number. Don’t try to analyze it to death. These prices work because others are already willing to pay them.

Art is hard to quantify because it’s so subjective. People buy your art based on the way it makes them feel. If you can get your art in front of people who want to buy it, they will pay you what you are worth. Just make sure you find people who are willing to pay you in kind.

More shownotes from episode 42 with Charlie Gilkey