Make Money Making Art with Ann Rea

I am giving this workshop a thumbs up because I got my money's worth. I got enough value from the course to make it worth the money I paid. It does have some issues though. There are huge gaps in the information that have been left out or edited out that leave you wondering what's going on. For instance, the business plan or money making plan as she calls it, starts out very well and the rest of it isn't there. She does introduce a new way of thinking about marketing art.

I'm glad that I took this course. I feel more confident about getting up my art enterprise. I was able to work through the exercises and fine tune my goals. Ann gives a lot of great advice, as does the studio audience.

I got such a lot from this course - I have been procrastinating about my art, finding lots of "vending machines" to earn money and failing. I am now on course to actioning my passion!

I think Ann lays out the basics of how to survive and then thrive as an artist. You can see by many of the critical responses why so many artists fail (not wanting to meet the wealthy ie their customers or that money is bad ie not becoming an independent artist free of the day job). I admire that she took the effort to put together a solid course to improve artists by getting to the real reason they create, which becomes one of the key ways to market vs. size, medium, etc. which doesn't mean anything without a story.

Loved how Ann went into depth with understanding an artist's mission and purpose for creating art. She emphasized how important it is to focus on service to others with our art. She explains it so clearly with many examples. Understanding an artist's avatar is key to being successful selling our art. It was a wonderful workshop! I enjoyed immensely! Many, many Ah moments!

The message is sound: Do your own thing but understand that if you want to make money as an artist you have to find a market. Then, behave as any business person does: Develop a plan, define your goals, network, have a serious on-line presence and be confident that having worked hard you deserve to be paid. I think Ann is right in that she suggests if you want to make a serious living from art you have to aim for the luxury market, but not everyone's art is really suited to the luxury market. So, I'd say take her advice with a grain of salt. Maybe you'd like to sell lots of cards at $7 each, because you're more comfortable in the $7 crowd. The question then becomes: How do you sell enough cards at $7 each to make a living? That's where the planning, networking and creativity come into play. The course is a bit too long, I think, but it's not bad value for the money. Thanks.

Ann provided organized presentation inspiring me to take action. You get more than a 50 step Action Plan you are getting time with an artist who has already been there and is running a successful creative enterprise as a micro-business. The number one thing, is that if you want to make money you have to run it like a business. There is a lot of content in this series, so you may have to review again. Well worth the money I have already set some goals and beat my deadline. You have to do the work and it is not easy. So far well worth it. I have my four edit of my Mission and a UVP. So excited.

I don't even know where to begin. This class was the MOST refreshing, inspiring, and motivating art business class I have ever had the pleasure to stumble across. As someone who had just about given up on being an artist ("I'll just learn computers!") I am thrilled and relieved to have found this course. Ann offers real and tangible ways to get your art business on track, without "playing the game" or submitting to the tired (and completely untrue!) starving artist myth. This class provides step-by-step instruction on how to get moving with a successful art business, and while I'm only in the early stages of the course instruction, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am excited, nervous, afraid (!!!) and overjoyed to be an artist and business person. Thank you, Ann for helping me reclaim my power!

Ann has such a refreshing take on the art market that it takes a while to shift into her gear. Once you 'get it', that you are in charge of your art enterprise then the steps she takes you through make a lot of sense. She presents the idea that if you want to be financially successful in a creative enterprise, then you have to treat it as a business with your art as the product. This might not sit well with all artists. You have to first decide what your end goal is and if it aligns with what she is teaching.

Well worth it. Over delivered.

No more starving artist paradigm!! I LOVE this class SO much and I am only on Segment 5. So generous, so thoughtful. I am a career coach and I help analytical professional women who miss their creative side bridge the gap into discovering a career they really love, so I am taking this class to continue to help support their journey and be able to more clearly articulate the path ahead of them no matter their creative medium. (Though I work primarily with mindset vs strategy.) I am putting so many pieces of the puzzle together. I have been a student of business for a long while, but never thought about ART that way - particularly as solving a problem. Ann says: "Make it about THEM, when you make it about them, it becomes about YOU" -- I can't quite put my finger on it, but it FEELS like what she is talking about is tapping into the collective oneness. That idea of what do "WE" want to create? VS a "selfless" persona which is what it seems MOST people make that mean (ie "how can I chameleon myself to what I *think* people around me want so that I can make money?"). OR, being so AFRAID of being a chameleon, that we aren't open to SEE how what we want to create actually meets what others want. We just have to be open to the connection, and then take responsibility for articulating it. Ann articulates this in a way I only intuitively knew before. So I just want to thank Ann for the thoughtfulness she put into your process and for sharing it, and being a leader of the revolution. It only makes my commitment and confidence to my career path and passion. This is possible for anyone who is brave enough to step into the journey. This further proves the point, and helps you FEEL it -- the only thing between you and your dreams is you (and that is the GREAT news!)

This came at such a great time. I totally agree with some of the other reviewers - it's an intense course and if you do the work, it can really profoundly affect you. It's made such an impact on me that I want more. I just signed up for her Making Art Making Money Semester and can't wait to start the work. -Linda R

Thank you, Ann. The finding our mission, and creating value above and beyond our art is SO valuable and powerful. It gave me clarity and confidence. It's beyond words. And just watching you and listening to your ideas about sales and marketing gives me so many new ideas about my own marketing and sales. You've inspired me to put my creative juices in my business, too. Thank you.

I watched it once, and now I am starting at the beginning again! So much to absorb! I was struggling for so long to figure out why I do what I do and how I bring value to my customers and fans. I understood my target audience inside and out (or so I thought) but this course brought me even closer to them. Through the exercises I now clearly see the "why" and am beginning to effectively communicate to my "tribe" how I can be of service to them. I love the story telling and the laughter. Truly a beautiful course!

Thank you, Ms. Rea, for sharing your experiences aimed to help artists succeed in building their artistic enterprise. Starving artists do exist, but only because they believe that lie. Although I'm not yet ready to quit my job to play music and paint full-time, I do have an action plan and road map that will get me closer to the goal!

This was an excellent course with a wonderful presenter. I would like to propose another myth for consideration: It is a myth that "people only buy something that alleviates a pain or solves a problem". I am an artist and art collector. I have never made an art purchase based on this myth. When beauty speaks to the soul, it does not matter what the vision or mission of the artist is because how it speaks to me may be very different than the artist's intention or purpose. For me, aesthetics do matter and have their own intrinsic value. Never the less, I think everyone can benefit by clarifying a vision and mission for their life and work. Just something to consider....Thanks for a great course. RL

This course has already changed my life and I haven't even finished it yet. Yes, changed my LIFE. I have been "pursuing" (now I realize I really wasn't doing anything to make it happen) a full time career as a fine art/commission painter. Before this course I was totally lost, and I didn't even know why. Any painters out there who are thinking about purchasing this course, DO IT! It is so motivational I haven't even done all the steps yet, I just have it playing in the background while I paint and it is such a kick in the butt to figure out what you're actually doing, why, and HOW to do it. Ann Rea is just what I needed. She's straight forward - no nonsense and thinks wayy outside the box. I really hope she does more Creative Live, because I will be there!

This is the only course I've watched all the way through - I cleared my schedule completely and for two days poured into this course. Ann's insights are amazing and well worth the price of admission. If you'd rather never see your business take off, keep doing what your doing and don't buy this course. Answering WHY you're in business is crucial; that's just the beginning.

In my opinion, this is the meatiest course I have viewed on CL. I am in the process of relaunching my business in a very different world than photography was a few years ago. What was cool is that this course really backed up where I am at in my life right now. One thing it really did was give me concrete ways to implement what I had been feeling in terms of approaching my business. I am also looking forward to going through the course again as I go through different steps to grow my business. It is scary, but I am excited to go down this road at the same time!

I am ready to hear and implement Ann's course. I love her message and intend to fully absorb her teachings. My only comment is I wish the work book was more comprehensive.

Not sure how she did it but out of a total fog, someone has suddenly spoken to me in my own language about concepts and struggles that I've been having for years and put them all together in a step by step, "this is how you get it done"... I've read books, taken other seminars, listened to plenty of speakers... but for some reason the things Ann said in her two day stint on Creative Live just spoke to me and I'm grateful and excited to have a path through the maze. I had a magazine deadline during the broadcast, so I was trying to listen and watch and work at the same time. That's what made me decide to buy the program. I wanted to go back and do the work. Finally the magazine is put to bed this week and today I printed out the workbook, soon to starting re-watching CL and follow along. Thanks again for putting it all together Ann and CL. Utterly awesome and inspiring! Wish I could afford you as a coach, but can't so this is the next best thing.

No doubt about it, this was by far the most brilliant and engaging business program for artists that I have ever witnessed! Thank you so much for all the work that everyone put into it, and especially to Ann. I was amazed at her energy and passion, this made the entire course very enjoyable as well as hopeful as to our future possibilities. It felt like drinking from a fire hose at times, but since I bought the course (best investment ever!), I will be able to return to it over and over as the plan evolves. Thanks again to all involved, you have no idea how valuable this experience was to me personally...life changer! THANK YOU!

As a struggling artist for 30 years I know that there must be something wrong that I have sold very little. I went to art school and did the NYC art life living in Chelsea with great integrity and authenticity. With the idea that I must now treat my art as a business, I did not know where to turn. I watched this course from start to finish and took notes. The content is so powerful that I bought the anytime course so I may review and have the book. Now I am hopeful. Thank you.

The part on past great artists and their missions, target markets, and USP alone was worth the price of the course. Defining your USP as an artist, before this, was difficult to say the least. Thanks to CreativeLive for the professional studio and HD video. Thank you Ann for sharing your talents. I plan on working together at some point in the near future.

Thank you for an exceptional course. I've hired coaches, taken sales training classes, personal development classes, all with the intent of making myself less of an artist and more of a business professional - and I hired ALL the wrong people! Beware of business classes and coaches that tell you 'it doesn't matter what your business is, the elements are all same'. Bulls%*t. I finally learned from someone who can truly relate to where I am now, and where I want to be. The students in the class were all wonderful and I appreciated their honesty, testimonials, and questions. As Ann said many times, "we don't do this alone" and now I get it. Thank you, Ann, for taking the yellow brick road less traveled and then clicking your heels together to bring us Home!