As a creative entrepreneur, you may want to start working on commission for whatever it is that you make. This is where a client has the idea and you create the idea, also known as, “working on commission”. For me, this became a more reliable stream of income for my studio, and for many creatives, a profitable way to run a business.
From my personal experience as a commission artist, I’ve created this list of 7 tips to help you start accepting commission projects using whatever medium you create with.
Before we dive into the 7 tips to start working as a commission artist, the most valuable advice I can offer is to listen to your client. They are the most important aspect of any commission project. Their wants, needs, and ideas need to be heard and highly valued. But, does this mean they are always right? —- No.
Working on commission is not like any other service based business where the old adage goes, “The customer is always right!”. Instead, you are the creator of the work, and you ultimately know what will look aesthetically pleasing or function best. This means you will need to learn how to respectfully educate your client on why a certain idea of theirs may not be the best fit for the project. You are then tasked with offering a different solution to your customer that still makes them happy. This can lead to all kinds of creative problem solving and, within commission projects, those problems have to be solved together rather than on your own. The idea of “creating on a team” is something I encourage you to sit with before accepting commission work.
Tip 1: Create an Online Gallery
Whether this is a website or a social media presence (I suggest both) you need a place online to highlight your very best work and artistic style. When I started, it was more important to have a physical album of all of my artwork, which is also helpful in some scenarios.
Tip 2: Professional Contact Information
Create a free, professional email address (not your old MySpace log in) through Google and be sure you have a phone number where people can reach you. If you’re just starting out, your email and phone number should be in your bio on all social pages and easy to read on any website or business cards that you may make. Legible contact information is how you will get commission work, as well as be a way for your current clients to easily contact you throughout a collaboration. Creating a free Google business listing with your studio name (and website/socials if you have them) is also a very effective and easy way to get new business and your contact info into the world.
Tip 3: Know Your Pricing
Make a list of your pricing information that only you can see. As a painter, I started by listing out what sizes of work I wanted to offer and next to it would be my cost to make it and next to that, would be the cost to the client. Pricing is a whole other blog post, but be sure to consider the cost of your materials, time, shipping fees, processing fees, tax rates, room and board, and any travel costs associated with the kind of work you make. This list will help you on sales calls when quoting work and act as a cheat sheet so that you can sound confident when speaking to potential clients.
There are a lot of differing opinions out there as to whether or not you should put your prices on the internet for everyone to see. What works best for me has been to list my lowest price point on my website with the words “starting at” next to it. This weeds out the folks that are just fishing for pricing and gives me time to work with people who are more serious in committing to a commission project.
Tip 4: Make a Business Card
Business cards are not dead- especially for creative people. We have the ability to make our cards look like small pieces of art using the work we make as part of the advertisement. From magnets to plastics, there are so many ways you can make a memorable first impression with a great card that someone may even want to display. Design and print your business card using Canva or Vista Print and save some money by planning the bulk purchase of your business cards around big holiday sales!
Tip 5: Payment Processing
Cash and checks are obvious ways to accept payment. However, it’s important to also have a way for people to pay you by way of online transactions. I suggest either a free PayPal account and/or a free Square account as an easy way to accept payment with cards. You can also create an Etsy account and list your commission service as a product in your shop. Be aware, even with the free versions of these apps, you’ll have to pay their processing fees.
Tip 6: In-Person Shows
A presence at local shows and community events is a must. People have to know that you exist and that you are willing to work on commission. If you can’t afford the vendor space or set up fees just yet, bring your cards to every show you attend and actually talk to people about what you can offer.
Tip 7: Work for Free
The willingness to take on select free work in the beginning of your career and/or donate your time or creative outputs to events has the potential to expand your opportunities to work with certain clients and companies. I’m of the belief that you get what you give!
Bonus Points :
A. After you’ve taken a few commissions and you start to understand your own process, I suggest that you document your step-by-step process so that you can better estimate future projects. I have my process boiled down and published on my website so that potential clients are able to clearly understand what will happen if they hire me. Creating a simple method around my commission process was probably the best thing I did early on in my career, not only for myself so that I wasn’t saying the same things over and over, but also for my potential clients, so that they could hire me with confidence. See my step-by-step process called The Artemotiv Method HERE.
B. Send handwritten thank you notes!! I don’t care if it’s on scrap paper, it’s important to take the time to thank your client for choosing to work with you. This is a great opportunity to also ask for a review if you know the client enjoyed their experience. Reviews are the number one tool to snowball a commission business (Another reason to create a free Google business listing! Reviews can be posted there, or on Facebook).
The most important part about starting to take commission projects (beside your willingness to listen to your client) is professionalism. Network your service with a simple, solid framework of your design process and what you have to offer and your commission business is sure to bring some financial stability to your creative practice. These 7 tips were designed to help you start a creative commission business with little to no investment!
If you have any questions about starting your own commission art business, please drop them in the comments section and I would be happy to try and help you.
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