Rethinking 2020: Changing your goals in changing times

FLEXIBLE ARTISTS WIN

Unless you’re a global researcher or a stickler for following speculative world news, I don’t think anybody was expecting this to happen.

2020 is looking wildly different than 2019, or any year of our lifetimes.

That means what we thought our goals for this year would be are certainly changing.

If you recall, my major goal was to increase my outreach efforts. I wanted to really put myself out there and be heard. I wanted to travel further with my art shows, get published in a newspaper or magazine, and team up with other artists on cool new projects.

But it looks like social distancing is changing all of that.

One of the most useful skills for any entrepreneur, artist, or business person is flexibility.

You’ve got to start changing your goals when goals need to be changed; you’ve got to be willing to make new plans when previous ones become impossible.

ASSESSING PREVIOUS PLANS

I had a killer lineup of art shows for this spring and summer. Maybe you did, too. Most have been canceled for obvious reasons. So we can scratch events and out of state tours off the list.

Many folks aren’t willing to collab in person or gather large groups for events. Any collabs from here on out are likely to be digital only. That could work, I guess, but it erases my plans for a joint product with my favorite candle maker off the list.

I could still paint a series that is magazine-worthy, or pitch my business story to the media. That can easily be done over the phone or email. But with all that’s going on, most outlets are covering pandemic-related topics only. I’m not sure I want to make an entire project based on something that brings me so much stress so the media will pay attention to me.

ANALYZE YOUR NEW OPTIONS

So what should you do if all of your goals need to be changed? Well, you’ve got a few options.

Option 1: analyze the goals you already have, like I just did above. Which ones can you tweak and still accomplish?

I could still do art shows with an online exhibit. Many groups are doing this already.

I could still collaborate with another illustrator as long as they make digital art.

I could still paint a series to pitch to the media if I focus on the current topics at hand.

Decide if you want to pivot with the goals you’ve already set. If you aren’t willing to tweak them, that’s okay. Sometimes I get a vision in my head of what accomplishing that goal will feel like, and if I change it, it won’t be worth it anymore. If you feel that way, just set it aside for next year and come back to it later.

Option 2: replace your goals with new ones.

If you can’t tweak it, replace it. What else can you do given the circumstances?

Maybe you want to build your body of work up. If you’re stuck at home during this time, this is totally achievable. Even if you’re still working, it’s not like you’re going anywhere after work. Most businesses have been forced to close. Take this time to paint more!

Maybe you want to get more followers on Instagram. You can spend more time interacting with art lovers online and posting more. Collab with other artists in this aspect!

Maybe you want to learn more about what inspires you. Some people are driven to action in quiet moments home alone. Others feel like they can’t create because they feed off of the energy of being social. Which is it for you? Explore your inner art habits.

If one of your goals is a big moneymaker, like my art shows, you may want to replace that with another money-making goal. For the sake of being transparent, I make ⅔ of my art income with art shows. That’s a big chunk! I’m realizing my business is fragile without them. So I’ll personally be working on replacing that temporarily and ramping up another revenue generating source to lean on in the future. If you want to learn about keeping multiple sources of income in your art business, read my post here.

If your money-making source is blocked by all of this as well, make sure to brainstorm new ways to solve that and create goals around that.

Option 3: you can just take a break.

I may choose not to replace my goal of collaborating, and just put it off until later. It’s not dire for my business, I really haven’t been doing it in the past and was just doing it to try something new. I can easily push that off and focus on two main things instead.

With everything going on, stress is at an all time high. Maybe you can delete a few plans and relax instead.

Be flexible with changing your goals.

CHANGING YOUR GOALS IS A CREATIVE ACT

As we have seen recently, many businesses can go under when their boat is rocked. Local businesses, my favorite coney diners, in-person service based businesses, and many others are struggling right now.

But some businesses are thriving.

And not because of their inherent nature and the nature of a public space lockdown. Services like Amazon and FedEx basically just inherited new customers and high demand by default because other businesses were mandated to close. That’s not what I mean.

What I mean is the businesses that got creative, no matter their circumstances initially, are thriving too. Those who were changing goals in their business quickly and with brilliant ideas.

Piano teachers started doing lessons online. Boom. Galleries started hosting virtual walk-through tours. Boom. Musicians are live streaming shows. Boom. The local bakery took orders through PayPal and delivered pies to people on Easter. Boom. Fabric artists sewed together masks because suddenly people were in the market for them. Artists held sales for the redecorators who were stuck at home and decided to do some serious spring cleaning. Fitness coaches focused on at-home workouts. The list goes on.

So when you’re changing goals in your art business, think of creative ways to serve your audience in a way that they really need it! What kind of art do they want right now? What are you doing when it comes to packaging, safety, shipping times, content messaging, subject matter, and selling that makes you different during this time?

How are you setting your new goals around that?

Brand new problems call for creative solutions.

Which goals do you hope to replace, and what are you spending your time on during this time of crisis?