Why is the collector list called the 'retirement fund' or 'pension' of an art business?

A collector list is like a pension or 401k because it provides ongoing revenue for the rest of your career. If you cultivate it properly, it pays you year in and year out. As it grows and matures, these collectors increasingly handle your sales automatically—you create work, let them know about it, and they buy it. Without a collector list, you’re constantly scrambling to find new buyers. With one, you have predictable, recurring revenue from people who already know and love your work. It’s the foundation of long-term financial stability in the art business.

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Asked by synthesized from teaching · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2021-04-13