This is a short reading note for The Profitable Artist: A Handbook for All Artists in the Performing, Literary, and Visual Arts by the New York Foundation for the Arts.

The book is helpful if you are a new artist at the beginning of your career, especially if you’re interested in applying methods from tech startups to creativity and the arts.

Actionable takeaways

• Art projects also require a sustainable strategy — not a pure pursuit of commercialization, but a plan, a goal, and a vision, like a startup, to reach the achievement you actually want.
• An art project includes so many aspects. As an artist you are starting your own company, so it is reasonable to apply business knowledge inside it.
• Art creativity + continued study + entrepreneurial training → a structured framework → launch and maintain profitable, stable, or sustainable art projects.
• Write down mission and vision, then set goals and benchmarks, then make plans to reach them.
• Analyse the market, audience, and art products — SWOT, SMART, BMC, Lean, and similar models.
• Learn enough about legal issues, contracts, and finance to avoid rare but difficult situations.
• Knowledge of marketing and fundraising helps the work grow.