Kadoya Artrepreneur Program (KAP)

 
 

DBA: Doing Business as an Artist

Consider joining DBA for one module or the entire series of ten classes to learn what the opportunities are for creatives in our local economy. Each class offers an opportunity to learn from thought leaders and to network with other creative entrepreneurs.

 

Etsy Maker City Grant

DBA will be offered as part of the Etsy Maker City Grant Educational Program in Pueblo, Colorado and to Creatives & Artists in La Junta, Colorado in 2021. The book will be available soon online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Lulu, and Ingram.

THE CALL

Artists are, by nature, inventors, engineers, explorers, and discoverers.  Artists see possibility everywhere. Monetizing talent, however, is a daunting task for an artist. At Kadoya Gallery, we recognize that creating a sustainable life in the arts is complicated, that there is no singular approach to building a creative enterprise, that it doesn’t happen quickly, and that success has its roots in relationship-building. With a mission to help artists build a sustainable life in the arts, we provide a program to artists called the KADOYA ARTREPRENEUR PROGRAM (KAP).  

Kadoya Artrepreneur Program (KAP) is a new art-centered business development program taught by working artists and open to all artists and creatives:

  • Providing over 40 hours of college-level instruction via DBA: Doing Business as an Artist

  • Reviewing practical business tools, platforms and methodologies

  • Demystifying the world of business

  • Affirming the title of “Artist” as a credible profession

At the program’s heart, is the philosophy that a sustainable career in the arts is attainable by earnestly developing one’s skill and expertise in a chosen medium, understanding and proactively engaging in the arts community, confidently articulating one’s story and purpose as an artist and strategically seeking patrons for one’s work. KAP  provides practical coursework covering pragmatic, professional practice tools of art and business following a general outline of discovering, showing, telling, and funding “the story.” 

The KAP Toolbox

  1. Log of Studio Hours (at least 120 hours total) 

  2. Annotated list of area heritage and cultural resources 

  3. Landscape journal for creative ideas and marketplace branding 

  4. Product line list with both retail and wholesale prices 

  5. System for record keeping and organization 

  6. Written mission, values, and vision statements for the artist’s business 

  7. Three goals and three objectives to reach each goal 

  8. Artist Statements (three versions required:  one typewritten page, one-two paragraphs, and 25-30 words) 

  9. Customer Profile 

  10. A small window or table display of the artist’s work 

  11. Diagram and photos of the artist’s booth for use at a show 

  12. Documentation of five hours spent with an art mentor 

  13. 6 professional quality product photographs of artwork 

  14. 2 professional quality process photographs (the artist at work) 

  15. A logo for use in the artist’s business of art 

  16. A business card for use in the artist’s business of art 

  17. A brochure for use in the artist’s business of art 

  18. Hangtags to use on the artist’s work 

  19. A sample of packaging for use in sales, customer transport, and shipping of the work

  20. A sample of business transaction materials (eg. invoices, statements, receipts, and order blanks) 

  21. 2-minute video presentation 

  22. Research of four shows (one local, two regional, and one national) 

  23. Research of credit card/PayPal capability 

  24. Proof of participation in an area show 

  25. Ten hours of internship with a creative sector business 

  26. Press Release 

  27. Press Kit 

  28. A Quality Portfolio 

  29. A website 

  30. E-portfolio 

  31. Resume and cover letter for use with a gallery 

  32. Studio Budget for the coming year 

  33. Mini-proposal for funding a project in line with the artist’s goals 

  34. Plan outlining the artist’s strategies for marketing 

  35. Business plan to use in building a business of art 

KAP also provides each artist validation for doing the art that brings them the greatest joy and the reminder that they must commit to seeking their authentic voice in their medium. We ask artists to lean all the way in to their potential, reaching beyond what they’re simply capable of doing and to really access their unique genius. It’s not enough to just be “artsy.” Once they develop their unique body of work, we teach them to authentically articulate the story of their art – the “why” of what they do. Artists find relief knowing that they don’t need to develop a sales schtick or become someone else to sell art.

We recognize that the matter of money is further complicated by decades of philosophical wrangling between artists who believe that selling art equals selling out, that true art can have no declared monetary value and by a culture enamored with, and thus helping to perpetuate, the mythos of the “starving artist.”  KAP provides affirmation of choosing the title of “Artist” as a credible profession and further works toward perpetuating a dialog which includes artists as small business owners.

KAP artists have examined their passion for art through coursework that encourages artistic growth and demystifies business from the perspective of discovering the story, showing the story, telling the story and funding the story. They have developed specific strategies to achieve carefully and sensibly planned goals and objectives.  They’ve taken the bold stand for possibility and have committed to the promise of art as a profession. Upon finishing the course and completing the tools, many artists claim that a sustainable life in the arts feels “doable” and that rather than reaching the end of a process, they feel they have encountered the beginning of the life they had previously only imagined. Many artists call the experience “transforming.”  

At KAP our artists are:

  • More confident in their business management skills

  • More specific and clear on their art business financial goals

  • Actively making art and pursuing their art businesses

  • In progress toward their art business financial goals

  • More satisfied with their art business

KAP artists generate economic activity in the areas of:

  • Employed/contracted new or more people for art business

  • Made capital investments in art business 

  • Increased state and local business spending 

  • Increased customer base

  • Increased inventory for sale

  • Increased investment in art business

  • Increased sales locations and prices for product lines

  • Increased out of state sales and percentage of sales from outside of Colorado 

  • Rented new space for art business

KAP artists have more than just talent; they have passion – passion enough to commit their energies to developing the necessary tools to create a sustainable life in the arts.  They have passion enough to lean all the way in to their potential, to identify the work that truly brings them alive, and to do that work every day in a world that tells them to get a “real job.”  They are BRAVE! And they’ve learned from other artists - people who “get it, and get them”- that developing and sustaining an art business is doable. These artists recognize and personify the fact that the arts mean business in the great state of Colorado.   

KAP SERVICES, CONSULTING, VIDEOS & WEBINARS

  • KAP Publications

  • KAP Videos

  • KAP Webinars

  • KAP Podcasts

  • KAP Newsletter

  • Technical Assistance and Consulting