You cannot conduct business or grow without people. Creating relationships is one thing that makes work truly enjoyable. Two announcements:

 Today, I personally took on an artist apprentice. Jared emailed me out of the blue with the proposal and after some thought, I met with him. We talked and decided to give the process a try. I'll help him understand how to market himself as an artist. In turn, he will assist me in my artistic endeavors so that I may grow my businesses. I'll write more about the experience as it progresses.

 And yesterday, Zingerding added a second developer to the team. Rob is working with us on temporary terms until we figure out how he may fit in on a more official level. In addition to offering him the opportunity, it will help accelerate Zingerding's typically slow development.

 Welcome aboard, guys!

All self-employed artists are entrepreneurs though I don't think most think of it in those terms. To generalize a definition, people think of entrepreneurs as innovators and risk-takers that are often a little bit crazy. Hm, sounds like a decent enough definition of an artist as well.

 I had been working solo for years before I truly realized I was an entrepreneur. Sure I understood I was on my own making a living but I hadn't originally thought about it like a business. It takes business skills in any field to make it on your own. The arts are often seen as some sort of polar opposite of the business world, but the challenges of a corporate CEO and those of an oil painter are more alike than you think.

 Successful artists run their talent like a business. This doesn't mean that the "soul" of creativity is stripped from their art for the sake of commercialism. Marketing, networking and bookkeeping are facets of the big picture, as is the creative process. The edge that most artists don't realize they have is a high level of creativity. They should use it in the business side imagining clever ways to market and sell their work.

 Artists, view yourself as an entrepreneur. Take risks and be a little crazy.