Art Business Consulting

Are you an artist struggling with the challenge of growing your small business? Need strategies to more effectively market and sell your work? I offer art business consulting services to artists and creative entrepreneurs.

 

Carolyn Edlund, founder of Artsy Shark

I’m Carolyn Edlund, the founder of Artsy Shark, and an art business consultant. I’ve worked with hundreds of artists, makers and creative entrepreneurs in personalized business strategy sessions to overcome roadblocks and reach their goals.

As an artist, you have more control over your small business today than ever before. You can choose from a variety of marketplaces and different business models. Therefore, it’s important to understand your options, and which ones are most appropriate for you. With that in mind, I’ll share insights on thinking like an entrepreneur, understanding the industry, and pursuing goals with purpose. We’ll work together to help realize the vision you have for your own small business.

During the consultation process, we may focus on big picture planning, or get into the details of marketing and sales strategies that are right for you. Our conversations may range from developing your body of work, to pricing, production, understanding specific markets and how business is done.

 

I have spoken with, webinared with, and YouTubed with many self-proclaimed art coaches. You are the first who delivered so much real advice and counsel in one hour. I don’t know how to say thank you enough. ~ Katy Bishop

How You Will Benefit from Working Directly with Me

  • Do you know where you stand? Is your artwork, handmade collection, gift or greeting card line marketable? What needs improvement? Find out how you can increase your sales or get into the marketplace successfully.
  • I will help you find clarity on how to talk about yourself and your creative work, and how to present it to the right audience to get the results you want.
  • We will highlight specific strategies and ways to increase your income. Whether you are pursuing fine art sales, plan to sell wholesale, license your work, sell online or use other channels, I can help you.
  • We may work directly on your website content, or create a marketing plan and step-by-step strategies so that you learn how to communicate effectively, network with the right people and get traction in your art business.
  • I offer total support and personalized mentorship, and act as an accountability partner to help you avoid getting off track.
  • You will receive a clear written follow up detailing each consultation and offering insights for your business, and a recording of our consultation video call to keep for review.

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HOURLY CONSULTING 

Book an hour of personalized consulting for your creative business here. This high-intensity session will address challenges you are facing now and provide strategies designed to help you overcome them. This consultation will take place on Zoom. You’ll receive an email follow up that is so complete you don’t even have to take notes!

ONE HOUR PERSONALIZED CONSULTING $195.00

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After the consultation, I took your advice to heart and went to work. The results? A solo show with seven paintings and two commissions sold, a gallery spot with a painting sold at opening, a life painting event and auction which got me the most and highest bids plus a solo show coming up next year! ~ Manon Sander

 

60-DAY “TAKE ACTION” CONSULTING PACKAGE

This option gives you three consultation sessions over 60 days, with weekly contact between those sessions. 

Working together on an ongoing basis really gets results. Artists who choose this option should be highly motivated to transform their business to a higher level. This all-inclusive package includes: 

  • An initial one-hour Zoom consultation to pinpoint your strengths and define your challenges. We set priorities to move forward with your personal situation and financial considerations factored in.
  • A comprehensive email recap of each discussion, including insights, next steps, and resources to move forward. You will also receive a link to download a recording of the consultation.
  • Each weekly email exchange checks in to keep you on course, gauge progress, and answer questions. 
  • You will receive two additional hours of consulting – after 30 days, and at the 60-day mark, each with an email recap to outline our discussion, insights and next steps. 
  • My goal is to be your coach, mentor, cheerleader, and business strategy partner and will tap into 30 years of experience to bring you information in concise and useful ways.

This is a game changing relationship. Are you ready to move to the next level and create the sustainable business that you know you deserve?

60-DAY CONSULTING PACKAGE $695.00

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During the past year, I have interacted with marketing consultants, hoping to improve my online presence/experience. By far the most successful of these consultations was with Carolyn Edlund. Through her guidance I have reached out to local publications, leading to a detailed interview on my photography, which was published. One of my images also adorned the cover. ~ Robert R. Lott

6-MONTH MENTORSHIP AND BUSINESS BUILDING PACKAGE 

This option gives you six one-hour art business consultations spaced over six months, with full access support.

Are you are launching a new business, and need ongoing guidance? Are you re-tooling, seeking new markets, or planning to “go big” by scaling your production this year? 

This long term relationship digs down into small details that can make a big difference in your business. It may involve steps in a teardown and rebuilding of your website, or planning to enter a new segment of the marketplace. It may involve building a collection, and pricing it profitably. We plan marketing and sales activities, implement them, and evaluate results. As an accountability partner, I will help keep you on track while you work intensively and seriously on your small creative business.

This all-inclusive package includes:

  • Six monthly one-hour Zoom consulting sessions to evaluate, prioritize and create strategies for moving forward, tailored to your business vision, goals and personal situation.
  • Email follow up recapping every session, with checklists, resources and any referrals needed.
  • Links to recordings of all of our video consultations. 
  • All-access email contact for feedback, review and discussion during our 6-month intensive working relationship. You receive ongoing email discussion and feedback to encourage you every step of the way.
  • This level of mentorship and interaction is designed to give full support to your creative business, using my expertise and knowledge of the industry.

Is this package right for you? Artists and creative entrepreneurs who are a good fit for this package must be prepared to work hard and communicate regularly. Building a business is challenging and requires persistence, patience and planning. My goal in working with clients at this level is to keep you on-course and focused on reaching major goals in your art business.

6-MONTH MENTORSHIP PACKAGE $1895.00

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(Payment plan is available for this package. Contact [email protected] for details)

 

Once you book my services, I will contact you within 24 hours to set up a convenient time for our first appointment. Have questions or need more information? Contact me at [email protected]

 

What Clients are Saying . . .   

I contacted Carolyn when I realized what I was doing to advance my career was never going to work. After painting, selling and exhibiting my work for over 20 years, my career as a figurative painter had come to a standstill. I knew I should be much more successful at this stage of the game and that is a very painful thought. So I scheduled a meeting with Carolyn and my only regret is that I didn’t contact her years ago. She is genuinely interested in helping artists attain the level of success we all dream about and has the skill, knowledge and expertise to back it up. Her style is elegant and understated, yet extremely powerful. If you are still wondering if you should schedule a consultation, stop analyzing and just do it. Do it now! It will be the wisest decision you ever made! ~ Cynthia Chartier

I have never worked with an art business  consultant before, but was at a crossroads with a new project and wanted some input on which way to go. Carolyn was phenomenal! Within just an hour, not only did I receive amazing overall guidance, but also real specifics. I was further blown away when I received a detailed summary by email, complete with resources and links. I’m looking forward to working with Carolyn again! ~ Hillary Carlip

I’m generally not one to pay for common sense advice, but I was at a point in my handmade pottery business where I wanted to make sure I was on the right track. Carolyn’s no-nonsense, pragmatic suggestions were extremely helpful to me. During our 3 month long consulting package, I was able to make minor tweaks to my business that have put me on the path to a more successful year than the last. Carolyn also gave me ideas of things I could implement over the next two to five years to ensure that my business continues to grow over time. Even if you feel certain you are on the right track with your business, it helps to hear someone with decades of small business consulting experience confirm that you are doing the right thing. I highly recommend her services! ~ Osa Atoe

My cartooning business was poised for growth, but I had no idea how to set myself up properly. Carolyn helped me set up a solid platform to build from and the tools necessary to push forward with confidence. I am making more sales than ever and I look forward to watching my business take off. Thank you Carolyn! ~ Kelly Kincaid

Within 6-8 weeks of our first conversation, Carolyn guided me from business concept design to being ready to launch a company. In addition, through her presence and reputation in the market, her extensive list of contacts, and great personal generosity, Carolyn has the ability to insert people into the market at a level of exposure that would take many years and a lot of money to develop on one’s own. She is whip smart, knowledgeable about every phase of running a successful creative business, a gifted promoter, and a valued collaborator. ~ Richard Clifford

Carolyn is brilliant. I was singularly impressed by her keen insights into my business model, and her broad knowledge of business methods and the fine art business in general. During the hour we spent together she “kicked the tires” in great depth and was able to identify and question every possible component of the business model that might need to be modified in some way to insure the success of the venture. She then sent me a highly detailed email recounting the points we had discussed.  ~ David Tulbert

Not only did Carolyn provide me with questions that helped me to find the direction for my art, but she also equipped me with valuable resources, contacts, and websites specific to the needs of my business. She was realistic and honest when evaluating my art and answered all of my business questions in great depth. Carolyn is an asset that can be utilized at any stage of your business. ~ Tyler Brazil

We are starting a greeting card business and have availed ourselves of Carolyn’s consulting services twice. After each consult, we’ve turned to each other and said, in unison, ‘That was money well-spent.’ Her advice is concrete and specific; she has walked us through setting goals, developing our line, and understanding the business. She consistently addressed our concerns and answered questions we hadn’t thought to ask. We would definitely use Carolyn’s services again. ~ Kathy Dodd and Mary Bogucki

Carolyn is a knowledgeable professional who is a delight to work with. She gave me the confidence I needed. Not only did she coach me, but she sent a detailed email after every conversation with next steps, and kept touching base with me to make sure I was on track. Worth every penny! She’s extremely affordable, gave me a direction and plan, and told me about resources I would have never known about otherwise. ~ Anne-Marie Lockmyer

I worked with Carolyn on an hourly consult basis. She has been generous and thoughtful in her advice, and offered me specific and very smart ideas that I had never thought of. I am putting her suggestions into action immediately and am excited to see where they lead. Unlike many coaches in arts who are all about ‘self-esteem and empowerment’ without the street cred, Carolyn is upbeat but realistic and businesslike in her approach, leaving me feeling encouraged but focused on a practical to-do list to move towards my goals. ~ Iskra Johnson

I got more than I had hoped from our conversation. We had some good dialogues to determine the right approach to some issues; Carolyn seems astute at assessing the ballpark or level in which an artist might operate. Carolyn was full of insight into areas that I had overlooked, or where I was limited by things not being within my normal focus. ~ Thomas Paquette

I greatly appreciate all the guidance Carolyn provided me. I started with the hourly consulting and decided to continue to the 60-day “Take Action” Consulting package right away, and I am so happy that I made the right decision. She took me in the right direction, and gave me a tremendous amount of valuable ideas that were plausible for me to advance my business. I love her upbeat consultation and thorough follow up. I feel like I made a year’s worth of improvement in a few months with her. Thank you very much, Carolyn! ~ Keiko Suzuki

Within 10 minutes of talking with you, I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I had found a ‘real, experienced, from the trenches, know what your talking about, marketing and promotion specialist’ and I’m grateful for your coaching. Thank you. ~ Louie Rochon

Several months ago I began working with Carolyn Edlund after reading her extensive blog and powerful endorsements. Through her expertise and specific instructions, Carolyn has helped me take giant leaps forward with my artwork and website. She’s amazing!  ~ Carol Grace Anderson

Carolyn’s expert advice and generous support accelerated my growth, kept me focused on key details, and uplifted me when I felt discouraged.  ~ Barb Kollen

Carolyn is an amazing motivator, totally sharing in my enthusiasm, supporting my ideas and validating my dreams. . . Whenever I start to feel off course, I book a session and she helps put me right back on track, with support and amazing ideas. I absolutely value Carolyn’s work, finding it to be an indispensable part of my business’s success. ~ Michelle Berlin

My phone consultations with Carolyn left me enough to contemplate and work on for months. Her personalized evaluation of my specific challenges and strengths were both clear and insightful. Carolyn’s past experience gives her a unique perspective to help me build strategies in developing effective relationships with retailers for my art and jewelry. ~ Robin Urton

Consulting with Carolyn has been invaluable. Her keen insight helped me clarify my vision and take practical steps towards making that a reality. She has a beautiful way of being present and listening in to one’s specific situation. Unexpected discoveries unfolded as she gave a view of integrating old and new passions and pathways to support my art business. Caring and direct, Carolyn’s thoughtful follow up of strengths, challenges and strategies, plus resources generously offered, put it all together. ~ Nina Gorbach

Carolyn’s critique and suggestions are a fabulous kick start in the exact places I felt stuck in developing a cohesive presentation of my work and totally aligned with my goals. Her clarity in identifying strengths and weaknesses with an objective perspective were perfect, and inspired me to immediate action. It was just what I needed when I needed it. ~ Betsy Lewis

Carolyn’s laser accurate insight helped me get unstuck. Every sentence she spoke was loaded with information about marketing, content, or ideas to further my vision – I look forward to working with her again. ~ Cindy Fort

I’m very satisfied by the responses to my questions concerning my marketing strategies, as Carolyn was very kind, objective and to the point with her answers. I’m taking this knowledge to heart and re-energize my art career. ~ Joshua Lance

Carolyn’s advice cuts straight to the quick of what needs to be addressed. She ‘got’ me and heard me, but also made sure to leave me with very clear, actionable steps. Overwhelm didn’t even have a scant chance! ~ Sheryl Brown

I received an enormous amount of valuable information to think about and implement. She possesses a world of knowledge and her questions helped focus and prioritize what I need to research, read, and work on. The best part? Her summary of our tele-consultation is the blueprint for the next actions I need to take to introduce my art into the world. ~ Renee Goetz

Carolyn helped me understand the strengths I bring to the work I am feeling called to do, helped me clarify the audience for my workshops, an discussed with me strategies for bringing everything to fruition… her questions were insightful, and her enthusiasm was contagious, even over the phone. ~  Cindy Brown

I am so excited! It was the kick start in the brain (butt) I needed. I was spinning my wheels waiting for something to click that might have otherwise taken years. If you are struggling, or are even on the cusp of discovering your potential as a self-sustained artist, please give her a call. I was not asked by anyone to plug ArtsyShark.com. I just know a good deal when I see it. ~ Amanda Mauck