Arts Entrepreneurship Intensive
Build strength in your community!
Support the economic strength of your community with real business education designed specifically for artists and craftspeople! Our live on-line courses are taught by experienced artists accredited in the NC REAL Craft Curriculum. Our instructors bring their experience to the course and provide participants with the support they need to create sustainable, profitable art and craft businesses.
Are you an artist looking for available courses? Click here to check out our scheduled workshops.
Want to learn more about our business training for artists?
what artists say about the course
I started with absolutely no clue as to running the business end of my art and now I feel that I have much better resources to set up a business plan and to price my items in order for me to actually MAKE money. How crazy is that??
Frieda Kehler, Gnome Affair, Raleigh NC
I realized through my pricing review of my products that I was under pricing many of my items and have adjusted accordingly...it allows me to be a more sustainable business.
Rick Gardner, Binky And Belle, Apex NC
I came in not knowing what I didn't know, and now I know! The class provided a method of examining the potential success of my business, and was very useful. What started as a "what if?" became "what next" and then, "well, why not?" I am poised to ramp up and launch in late 2021.
Michelle Folkman, Greensboro NC
Course curriculum includes
Pre-course participant interview
Budgeting for Business
Cash Flow Statements
Pricing for Profit
Retail and Wholesale Sales
Organizing Accounting For Taxes
Regulations and Insurance*
Employees
Marketing and Promotion
Self-worth and Combating Imposter Syndrome
Our instructors combine their personal experience and the best in current business education with the REAL Craft Entrepreneurship Curriculum. Our NC REAL Craft accredited instructors are experienced, successful craft artists and educators with strong ties to both the retail and wholesale markets. They will bring their own experience to the course to help participants build successful craft business.
*Instructors tailor this information for your geographic service area
more from course participants
For many years, I patched together my professional and artistic practices. ..I’ve had so much business of art training through Arts & Science Council, Creative Capital, and others. (I also teach other artists marketing, strategic planning, etc.) But, this course was craft — and production/income — oriented…It was, perhaps, one of the better business training experiences I've gone through. Even in the areas I already was strong, I learned new material, approaches, and challenges to increase productivity and build a financially successful glass practice.
I registered for this course knowing that I needed help with the numbers aspect of my business. Tiffany and Cynthia had the perfect examples + formulas to help us small businesses understand our own numbers and provided us the tools to make adjustments we'd want to improve our business.
I know I'll be referencing these equations + examples throughout my business' journey.
For Economic & Workforce Development Organizations
Those working in the arts sector in your community not only impact your economic vitality, but also make your community a fun, diverse, beautiful and creative place that people want to live, work and start businesses. By bringing this course to your community, they will get business training tailored to their work AND their learning style. More importantly, you will show this sector that you value their work and their community impact.
For Nonprofits
If your organization works with creatives, this intensive course will provide your community with the business skills they need to move beyond the ‘starving artist’ mentality. Artists and craftspeople can succeed when they have the business skills they need to correctly price their work, record and account for their income and expenses, budget for sustainability and confidently create the work they know will sell.
For Art Councils &
Commissions
The arts and creative sector in your area is largely made up of small businesses, sole proprietorships and single-person businesses that have unique needs often not met by typical small business education programs. Artists and craft artists or artisans need to learn the skills required to maximize their income to create sustainable, profitable businesses. Stronger arts businesses pay more taxes, pay more employees, and produce more work to benefit your community.
Interested in bringing this intensive to your area?
About Our Arts Entrepreneurship Intensive
This course is not pre-recorded. Each course meeting is 2 hours of live instruction offered via Zoom. All participants are also invited to a private Facebook group where the course cohort can interact with one another in between each session and instructors can share relevant materials, and provide coaching. Additional course content is also delivered weekly in scheduled Facebook live chats where participants can ask specific questions. Course materials are delivered electronically prior to the course start date and participants retain access to an online folder containing materials. The dedicated Facebook group remains after the course concludes and our experience shows that many participants continue to interact with one another and support one another. This format allows for participants from your constituency to bond with one-another and to have real interaction with their instructors.
Developed in cooperation with folks at Penland School of Craft, Handmade in America, Haywood Community College and The Sequoyah Fund, the REAL curriculum takes basic business and entrepreneurship training further with activities and experiences designed for visual artists and craftspeople alike.
Meet Our Instructors
Tiffany Coley
Tiffany is a jeweler and silversmith with a background in tech business. With over 15 years of teaching and craft sales experience, she sells her work to galleries and stores around the US and works out of her studio in Durham, NC. Tiffany brings to the course her deep knowledge of selling crafts at both retail and wholesale as well as how to create a focused product line. Learn more about Tiffany Coley's work here.
Cynthia Deis
Cynthia is an artist, author and art educator with over 25 years of experience in designing and selling crafts, running a retail crafts store and creating and managing craft-focused pop-up markets. She brings to the course her experience with large wholesale accounts, managing staff and creating multiple income streams. Learn more about Cynthia Deis’ work here.
Melanie Stoer
Melanie Stoer is a glass artist and management consultant, spending the last 20+ years balancing her corporate world with a passion for fine craft and design. She brings a wide range of skills to her students - from project management and corporate training, to grant writing and marketing for small art businesses. Learn more about Melanie's glass business here.