How should I think about delegation and letting others help with my art business?

Think of running an art business like running a restaurant. You’re the cook, but you’re also trying to be the receptionist, maitre d’, waiter, bartender, sommelier, pastry chef, and busboy. If you’re wearing all those hats, your restaurant can only serve a couple of diners per night—it can’t grow beyond that. Delegation is difficult, especially for artists and photographers who are natural solopreneurs, but it’s essential for growth. When you let systems or people handle tasks that don’t require your unique creative skills—things like posting to social media, fulfilling print orders, website maintenance—you free yourself to focus on the only two things that truly need you: creating the art and doing the personal marketing only you can do. The work others do might not be exactly as you’d do it, but it gets done, and that consistency over time creates significant bottom-line growth.

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Asked by an artist struggling to let go of control · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2024-10-30