Make a Fortune on Talent
If you or someone you know can paint, sculpt, or draw well you can earn a lot of money. It is easy, fun, and you will be doing exactly what you love to do. So, what is this mystery business? An art gallery! Even if you yourself have no talent in the arts, you can find those who do and open a gallery, selling their work on commission.
To begin your business, you need a space and talented artists. If you are the artist, you can fill the gallery with only your art, or you can bring in others to add variety. Should you be using only outside work, I would suggest a few different artists to appeal to a wider audience with varying tastes in artwork.
As for the space, any decent location will do. Your gallery can be fairly small to start out with, there is always time to expand later. If you live in a good location, your garage or an extra room could be easily converted into a gallery. It is important to have good lighting in a gallery, either natural or artificial. Consider in your opening budget the cost of small spotlights, which can be placed above or near each piece of artwork. Check, the minimum distance from objects before buying the lights, you don’t want to set your merchandise on fire.
A gallery should have an appealing and appropriate atmosphere. Walls should be plain, not attracting any attention. You can choose music according to the mood you want to set, lighting as well. For a darker, more somber feel, you might put on classic music, dark walls and no overhead lights, only the spotlights. A brighter feel can be created by painting the walls light and allowing a lot of light in the room. As you expand, you may end up in a building with many rooms, which allows you to create different moods in each area.
If you are selling your own work, you can set the prices at whatever you feel is a fair attractive price. However, selling other people’s art requires a little different technique. Usually the artist will tell you how much he wants for his work. You should add between 15-25% to this price as your commission. If the price will be too high, you will need either to renegotiate with the artist or find a new artist.
Publicity is important, especially if you are a little off the beaten path. Advertise anywhere tourists will see your advertisement. Hang attractive flyers basically anywhere you can. Art interests many different types of people, so don’t aim at just one market.
Hosting events in your gallery, such as a wine-tasting evening, can bring in good publicity as well. You can set these up or offer your space to businesses that would like to take advantage of your offer to host an event for them. Make sure that you stick to upper class events where no one will be drunk and in a destructive mood.
An art gallery can take a while to get off the ground, so be patient, and start your marketing early, before you open the doors. With publicity and great art, you will be a success.
Sources:
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/29771_art-gallery-location.htm
http://www.fabjob.com/ArtGalleryOwner.asp
http://www.125aday.com/books/304/start-art-gallery.cfm?gclid=CPXk6Y6GipQCFSY1agodxB9HWw
http://www.artslant.com/sf/main/about
http://www.ehow.com/how_2069216_open-art-gallery.html
