I like to create a general theme for each New Year. My 2022 theme is “clear.” I want to clear out the mental and physical clutter to create space for the important things. While I’ve always run a pretty lean business, I know I have room for improvement.

Whenever I’m looking to simplify my art business, I start with a mini audit. I ask myself the following questions:

• Which aspects of my business are bringing in the most revenue?

• Which aspects of my business do I enjoy most?

• Which aspects of my business are causing the most headaches?

• Am I spending time on unnecessary tasks?

• What parts of my day do I enjoy most? What about least?

• When I think about my dream business 10 years from now - what does it look like?

• Do any aspects of my business exist solely to please others?

After you’ve answered these questions, you should have some clarity on next steps. Now I’m going address areas I’m focusing on, in order to simplify my own business. Maybe a few of these will resonate with you.

Simplify Communication

This is a big one for me. I absolutely love hearing from fans, but I know I could spend all day responding to messages and comments if I’m not careful. This was part of the reason I left social media. When someone reaches out to me, I usually go out of my way to write them a long message back. While I care about every artist’s individual growth more than I can put into words, I know I need to focus on reach, so I can make the biggest impact with my time. I want to double down on blog posts and video content so I can reach more artists.

So, what have I done to simplify communication thus far? Well, I recently disabled comments on my blog. I’m not sure if this is a permanent change, but it’s something I’m trying out for the time being. If someone goes through the trouble of writing me, I have trouble not responding. Even if it gets in the way of me accomplishing a meaningful project. To all of you who are regular readers here - I so appreciate you and I hope you understand my intentions here! I’m hoping by making this shift, I can post more frequently, and get around to creating more teaching content.

I’ve also been working on an e-mail auto response with answers to FAQs. I get a lot of the same questions over and over. In general, e-mail is a major time suck for me. I’m used to checking it hourly, from when I did client design work all day. Now that I’m illustrating full-time, there’s no need to check it as much as I do. By having an auto-responder up, I’m hoping this will help me check e-mail less frequently. I apologize now if you e-mail me, and I don’t respond. I’m so sorry! I’m not purposely ignoring you. I’m just trying to cut back in this area.

I know I can automate responses on Etsy too. The main questions I get are if I offer digital downloads, if I do custom work, and where I get my frames from. I have auto responses prepared for all these common questions.

Lastly, I plan to remain off social media for the majority of the year. Direct messages and responding to comments are time consuming. Again, I love hearing from fans, but I must protect my energy and focus on reach.

Use Your Website as a Business Plan

Years ago, I stopped creating business plans. Many people may disagree with this approach. However, I know firsthand how much time can be wasted on things like this. For me, they’re a major distraction tactic, because I actually like planning. One day I had an ‘aha’ moment. My website navigation is my business plan. It’s all I need. Today, my website reflects how I see my business in my mind, and how I want it structured. Since taking this approach, I’ve felt more clear-minded. For future endeavors, I have inactive placeholder pages on my site. This strategy also allows me to prioritize certain aspects of my business, by listing those pages first.

I plan to spend more time this year organizing my website and eliminating areas that no longer serve me. When auditing my business, I just log into the back end of my website in order to make assessments. My best advice to artists whose business feels disjointed is to spend time getting your website in order. Think carefully about the structure. Be cutthroat as to which aspects of your business are a waste of time, and delete them from your website navigation. To take this a step further - set income goals on paper for each tab of your website. For future endeavors, create inactive tabs and give yourself dates as to when you’re going to address these projects, and in what order.

Follow Both Money and Joy

In order for any endeavor to be worth my time, it must have financial potential and it must bring me joy. Anything that doesn’t tick both boxes eventually has to go. It’s okay if something brings me joy, but no money. I call that a hobby. It’s not going to pay the bills, so I do it outside of my work schedule.

The problem lies in anything that makes me money, but doesn’t bring my joy. I understand having to do work to make ends meet. I did client design work for years past the point of enjoyment. However, you should always be working on an exit plan. It can’t take up all your time, because you’ll never be able to create another income stream. When I was doing client design work, I always had one foot in my Etsy shop. That was my escape plan, and eventually it worked out. It was tough to do both for a while, but mentally, it’s what I needed.

I’ve really come to reap the benefits of this strategy over the past year. I’m finally doing what I love most days, and I feel so clear-headed. I know firsthand that if you don’t enjoy your work, it can turn you into a different person. It can make you feel scatterbrained and like you aren’t present in your own life. Chasing your joy will ultimately simplify your business, because it makes the tough decisions easier. I love the saying, “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no.”

It’s all About Big Projects

Most entrepreneurs make the mistake of getting caught up in the day-to-day, and never getting to the big stuff. Unfortunately, the big stuff is what makes us feel like we’re moving forward. We never remember the e-mails we send, but we remember not getting to that course, or writing that book.

Once I made the realization that progress works this way in our minds, I realized I have some changes to make. I already mentioned how I’m cutting back on two way communication, but I know that’s not enough. I need to focus on one big project a time and actually put it on my calendar. I’m going to be better about planning monthly. This month, my focus is on my 30 day illustration series - that’s it. Next month, I have a new project that will replace my series. It’s a big one, so it may even span two months.

Just by making this shift in my mind, I feel more clear-headed. I have one big thing going at once, and the day-to-day can wait. A good litmus test is how you respond when someone asks, “What are you working on right now?” Your response should be a sentence long. If it’s not, it may be time to shift the way you approach your work as well.

Simplify Your Space

I truly believe our workspaces are a reflection of our mental state. By restructuring your space, you can take an outside/in approach. A few years ago, I redesigned my space, and I haven’t touched it since. All this time, clutter has piled up. I have art supplies on my shelves I haven’t used in years. This year, I want to revisit my space so it works better for me. When it comes to a workspace, I like minimalism. I can think more clearly when there’s less stuff around me. The space also needs to feel cozy, with rugs, candles, and great lighting.

This year, I’m going to take my space down to the studs, and reconfigure how it’s organized. I want it to contain everything I need, and nothing more. If there’s furniture that’s not working, I want to replace it. I know it’s going to be a project, but I think it will do wonders for my business. I’m working in a different way today than I was working a few years ago, and I want my space to reflect that.