How should artists think about the timeline and horizon for building an art business?

Artists never stop creating—it’s not a career you retire from, it’s wired into who you are. You’ll be creating for the rest of your life. That means your time horizon isn’t six months or a year; it’s 20, 30, 40, 50+ years. At 45, you have 40+ years ahead. At 55, 30 years. At 65, still 20 years—more than many companies have existed. The wrong question is ‘Will this pay back in six months?’ The right question is ‘Will I be glad in year 5, 10, 20, 30 that I started today?’ Every artist 30+ years in says the same thing: I wish I’d started sooner. The best time to start was 30 years ago. The next best time is today. Don’t be the 85-year-old still asking ‘How do I get my art out there?’ when you had all that time. Start the basics now.

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Asked by synthesized from teaching · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2026-05-01