SPOILER: none of them require TikTok dances or “finding your niche.”
Let’s Start With This: You’re Not the Only One Who’s Figuring It Out
If you’ve ever sat in front of your half-finished website or scribbled 13 versions of your bio and still hated them all—welcome. You’re in excellent company.
Most artists didn’t get into this to become marketers, business coaches, or pricing strategists. We just wanted to make stuff. But eventually, if you want your work to be seen (or sold), the business side starts creeping in… and yeah, it can feel overwhelming.
So if you’re a little allergic to hustle culture and just want a sane, low-pressure way to start making money from your creativity—you’re exactly who I made this for.
So What Do You Actually Need to Get Started?
Here’s what I’ve seen (and lived): you don’t need 14 online courses or a $2,000 branding package. You just need a solid starting point.
Here are the five core foundations every artist should have in place if they want their creative biz to stop feeling like a random pile of projects—and start feeling like something real.
1️⃣ Your “Why” That’s Actually Yours, But let’s just call it your mission, m’kay?
No need to write a manifesto here. But if you don’t know why you’re making the kind of work you’re making, it’s going to be hard to know who it’s for, how to price it, or what direction to go next.
Ask yourself:
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What do I care about enough to keep showing up for—even when I’m tired?
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What do I want someone to feel when they see what I make?
Write it messy. You’re not submitting it to a museum. You’re just giving your future self a little compass.
2️⃣ An Artist Bio That Doesn’t Make You Cringe
You know those bios that start with “Ever since I was a child…” and you immediately check out? Yeah. We’re not doing that.
What you need is a simple, honest paragraph that explains who you are, what you do, and what you care about—with your own voice, not some gallery-speak nonsense.
Try this:
“Hi, I’m Jordan. I make mixed media portraits of people and pets on patterned backgrounds. My work is all about memory, story, and finding joy in the small things. I use fabric, paint, and a little bit of chaos.”
Done. You’re now 10x more approachable than someone trying to sound like a catalogue entry.
3️⃣ A Dream Buyer That’s Not Just “People Who Love Art”
Your art isn’t for everyone. And that’s a good thing.
But if you’re trying to sell to everyone, you’ll end up connecting with no one.
Think about the kind of person who gets your work.
Maybe they cried when they saw one of your pieces. Maybe they emailed you three years later to say it still makes them smile. That’s your person.
Describe them like a character. What do they care about? What kind of home do they live in? What kind of stuff do they hang on their walls?
Knowing your dream buyer makes writing your posts, pricing your work, and planning your next steps way less guessy.
4️⃣ A Starting Price That’s Based on Reality (Not Fear)
Pricing is where a lot of artists get stuck. It’s emotional. I get it.
But underpricing doesn’t make your work more accessible. It just makes your business unsustainable—and usually you resent the whole process.
Start simple:
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Time spent
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Materials used
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A little buffer for your talent, energy, and brain power
If that number makes you sweat a little, that’s normal. If it makes you laugh because it’s too low—go back and try again.
No one gets their pricing perfect on the first try. But you’ve got to start.
5️⃣ Three Next Steps That Don’t Involve Burning Out
This isn’t about overhauling your whole life. It’s about momentum.
What are three small things you can do in the next 30 days that move your art biz forward?
That could be:
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Finally post your new bio
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Price two recent pieces
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Email that coffee shop you’ve always wanted to pitch to
No big launches. No 90-day plans. Just stuff you can actually do.
You Don’t Need a Guru. You Need a System That Works for You.
None of this is revolutionary.
It’s just the stuff that actually helps when you’re trying to build something real from your creativity—and not burn out doing it.
And the good news? You don’t have to figure it all out alone.
Want Some Help With This?
Inside the Minted Makers Co-op, I guide artists through all of this (and more) during our free 10-day challenge called the Fresh Mint Sprint.
It’s built for creatives who want:
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A no-pressure space to build their art biz
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Clear steps without cheesy marketing fluff
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A community that doesn’t live on Facebook
Whether you’re brand new or trying to restart with intention, we’ve got a spot waiting for you.
🎯 Click here to join the Co-op + start the Sprint
No pressure. Just progress.
And maybe a little lofi music while you write your bio.
