John McDavitt has owned and operated McDavitt Design, an artistic service business, for the past 13 years. After earning a substantial income in one month airbrushing t-shirts as a teenager John decided that he would be an entrepreneur. Along the way John has created and designed murals for residences and businesses. He has been involved in designing, creating and operating a successful haunted attraction, The Asylum Experience. John's now renders services including sculpture, illustration, product engineering and computer design for clients including Thomas the Train, Felt Kids, Lamaz Toys, Wilton Industries, Badger Airbrush and others.
In this seminar presented at the SEA (Self-Employed Artists) conference in February 2008, visual artist John McDavitt shares some of what he has learned as an artist/entrepreneur. He addresses topics such as the various types of business entities an artist may start, how to go about building and exploiting your network of professional contacts, why it’s important to know your own preferences, strengths and limitations, how to balance home and work life, and how to find your natural market.
In this segment of his presentation, "Entrepreneurship in the Arts: Creative a lucrative business!" visual artist John McDavitt discusses the importance of "relational equity" in working with clients, and addresses the need for entrepreneurs and professionals to be able to admit when they’ve made a mistake.
In this segment of his presentation, "Entrepreneurship in the Arts: Creative a lucrative business!" visual artist John McDavitt discusses how missing deadlines can cause irreparable damage to the relational equity between an artist and a client. He then dives into the differences between a sole proprietorship, an S-Corporation and a C-Corporation, and the importance of paying taxes to a businessowner.
In this segment of his presentation, "Entrepreneurship in the Arts: Creative a lucrative business!" visual artist John McDavitt discusses networking for artists, and why relationships are central to the business of art.
In this segment of his presentation, "Entrepreneurship in the Arts: Creative a lucrative business!" visual artist John McDavitt discusses how to find your niche as an artist and businessperson, and why it is important in both arenas to understand your own strengths and weaknesses.
In this segment of his presentation, "Entrepreneurship in the Arts: Creative a lucrative business!" visual artist John McDavitt discusses how to find your market (e.g. the people who will pay money for what you produce).
In this segment of his presentation, "Entrepreneurship in the Arts: Creative a lucrative business!" visual artist John McDavitt discusses the importance of taking care of your health, and then dives into a discussion of controlling the amount of debt assumed by your business and why this is of critical importance to a business.
