Artists Barter To Increase Their
Return On Investment
By Gary Crook
An artist and
arts education friend and colleague of mine responding to a recent
blog, made passing mention of her use recently of barter and her
artwork. More specifically, she bartered free dental care for the
posting of her wonderful paintings in her dentist�s office.
At
ArtBusinessMentor.com we�ve made mention of this tactic often as
an excellent way to increase value for the artist by protecting or
extending their cash resources. Bartering increases your return on
investment (ROI) � your art career � exponentially. It does this
directly by enabling the longevity of your arts practice through the
conservation of cash, by bartering your art and arts services for
something else you need.
Now understand
this before exploring the world of barter, value in labor is a very
subjective commodity for everyone. More often than not, the value
you demand for your labor depends on the urgency of that demand. For
example, depending on the urgency of say dental work needed, that
urgency will very much dictate how much you get in exchange for your
art services. Understand this also, that �urgency� goes both ways!
Meeting this �need� can sometimes work to your advantage and/or
disadvantage. It�s no different than a cash based exchange.
Therein lies
the beauty of this particular arrangement for the artist. Because,
let�s face it, material costs alone are very little value compared
to the creative labor value you�d like to charge for your artworks.
Therefore, �value� and price in the arts cannot be justified by
product material costs alone but with the addition of the �creative
time value� � which has l-o-n-g been a point of debate for artists
and investors alike.
This is an
excellent way to conserve precious cash dollars, for say, rent and
heat which are very difficult to barter. By saving as much cash as
you can for these other difficult areas, you are ensuring the
longevity of your arts practice > thus increasing the awareness of
your work > thus increasing your value.
Time equals
value...so you had better get to negotiating! Especially, with other
expensive labor value individuals who will exchange their value for
your arts-inflated time value. Go, get out there and barter! By
utilizing barter extensively you�ll get more exposure for your work
than you might with just cash alone. Thus, insuring your arts
longevity.
For more
information see
http://garycrookartist.com or
http://artbusinessmentor.com.