RUSH ORDERS – PART I

"In a Rush"
PBGV
Pen & Ink with Watercolor
Copyright 2013.  Anne M. Hier. All Rights Reserved.

Now that all the holiday commissions are completed you might want to rethink your policy (if you have one) on “rush orders.” There are two types of rush orders – those created by the artist and those imposed by the client. Let's discuss artist created rush orders first.

Artist created rush orders produce a lot of stress and are totally unnecessary. There are several common scenarios. For example, you receive an order and start the piece. Soon, another commission comes over the transom and you begin work on the new order. And another. Now you have several started works, nothing finished, and deadlines looming. So, you put the clients off and burn the midnight oil to either complete the work right at deadline, or worse, deliver the project late. Because you haven't allowed enough time, either you, the client, or both, are not completely satisfied with the finished piece. This is not good for your business.

On the other hand, you might be an artist blessed with more work than you can handle in the allotted time. Everyone wants a portrait for a Christmas gift, the orders are flooding in, and you must work around the clock. By the time Christmas arrives the orders are successfully out the door, but you are too exhausted to enjoy the holiday. Who needs that kind of stress?

However, the vast majority of artist induced rush orders are caused by procrastination. If you are a chronic procrastinator I'm not interested in why you torture yourself in this manner. You'll have to ask yourself the tough questions on that - which usually boil down to either a fear of failure or a self-sabotaging fear of success. You need to make the decision to change, and procrastination is a very tough habit (or lifestyle) to conquer. Nevertheless, I can offer several suggestions to help eliminate the stress of rush orders of your own doing.

1. KEEP REGULAR WORK HOURS. Too many artists spend more time taking their creative temperature than actually doing the work at hand. You can't wait for the muse to light if you told the client the commission will be done in two weeks. Whether or not you work at your art full time, part time, or as a hobby, set regular work hours for yourself and make the commitment to keep them. 
   
   
2. WORK A 50-MINUTE HOUR. If you go into hyperfocus and don't get out of your chair for five hours while you are working on a project you will be exhausted. This is negative feedback, making it mentally difficult to get back into the work. Buy a kitchen timer and set it for 50 minutes. When the bell goes off, get up from your easel and walk around, make a phone call or a cup of tea. Take a ten minute break and go back to work refreshed. Again, set your timer for 50 minutes. The added benefit is that you will become keenly aware of how much work you can accomplish in an hour's time.
   
   
3. LEARN TO SAY “NO.” If you have so much work coming in that you are pressed to complete it you have several options. When client demand exceeds the supply of your time to create the artwork you should raise your prices. Alternatively, and most importantly, you must be up front with your clients and let them know your order book for the month is full. Explain you cannot rush the order and produce quality work. If the portrait is for a gift, suggest a gift certificate. Let the client know when your calendar is available and take a small deposit to hold the date. Do not allow yourself to be pressured to cave in to impossible demands on your time and the quality of your artwork. 
   
   
4. REFER THE WORK TO ANOTHER ARTIST. Artists are surprisingly possessive of their clients to the point of disappointing a client or potential client by turning down work and offering no alternatives. With the internet and social media it is very easy to locate other artists whose work and price range are comparable to your own. If the client MUST have a portrait for a special gift by a specific deadline and you have no time to complete the job, refer the customer to another artist (presumably, an artist whom you know provides great customer service and delivers work on time). If you do so you can make two friends for life, even if the other artist never refers a future client to you. There is no sense being a dog in the manger if completing the client request is impossible for you. The great motivational speaker Zig Ziglar always said, “You get what you want by helping other people get what they want.” There are plenty of pets out there and you can't possibly paint them all. Share the wealth.
   
   
5. CREATE A WORK ORDER LIST. Create a form on your computer with the following categories: Date (order received); Deadline; Client Name; Description (size,medium, other elements); Date Started; Date Completed; Date Shipped. If you are a procrastinator it is extremely important to write this information down. Make several copies of your order list and prominently post the list over your computer, in your studio, or even on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror, if you are really a difficult case. You want to keep these deadlines before you and complete the work – preferably before the deadline, not at the last minute.
   
   
6. KEEP IN CONTACT WITH YOUR CLIENTS. With email, websites, free blogs, and Facebook it is easy to keep in contact with your clients while you are executing the commission. Many artists post work in progress (WIP) so that the customer can see the portrait as it develops. This is a great help to the artist to keep to deadline. It also reassures the client that the work will actually be completed. The principal drawback of showing WIP is that the beginning stages of an artwork may confuse the client who cannot visualize the finished piece. This is a minor consideration, however. Whether or not you show WIP is your choice. Nevertheless, if you absolutely cannot meet a deadline, for whatever reason, let the client know in advance. NEVER miss a deadline if the client has a drop-dead date unless you have dropped dead yourself. Good customer relations should suggest you find a way to compensate your customer for the inconvenience of late delivery, generally in the form of a discount.
   
   
7. UNDER PROMISE, OVER DELIVER. Exactly how long does it take you to complete a painting or drawing of any given size? 3 hours? 3 days? 3 weeks? One of the traits of procrastinators is the inability to accurately estimate how long it will take to complete a project. Invariably, procrastinators significantly underestimate the time needed. If you promise a painting will be done in two weeks but it really takes you four, you will quickly develop a credibility problem with your clients. Barring unforeseen problems, you should have a very accurate completion time frame for each size and each medium you produce. Artists get in trouble when they know a certain piece takes two weeks to complete and they tell the client the work will be done in two weeks. This leaves no breathing room for contingencies. Literally, don't paint yourself into a corner. Always add more time to the quote. For example, if you can complete an 18 x24 pastel portrait of two pets in three days, tell the client the work will be done in two weeks. The work will be delivered either early or on time, the client will be thrilled and you can remind yourself how lucky you are to be paid for doing something you love to do.

In Part II we'll discuss client requests for rush orders.

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THE BUSINESS CARD

      Despite instantaneous electronic communication with world-wide reach, the printed business card is alive and well. In fact, the lowly business card is still the number one method of getting the news out that you are serious about the artwork you create.

      Sooner or later, some stranger will ask what you do for a living. Don't be surprised if this person expresses real interest when you say you are a pet portrait artist and that they would like to see some of your work. At this point, you may be asked for a business card. Don't be reduced to reciting your website url or writing your name and address on a napkin because you either have never ordered any business cards or don't have any with you. What stranger would want to do business with you if you don't act like you are in business? When you lose the opportunity to reach a potential customer you lose more than one because satisfied customers tell their friends.

      From this moment onward, you are NEVER to go out in public without some business cards in your purse or wallet. And you are NEVER to come home without having posted some on a community bulletin board or, preferably, personally putting one in someone else's hands. Think of all the stores in your area that have public bulletin boards. If you do pet portraits you also have the vet's office, the pet food store, the grooming salon, and animal shelters. Additionally, every time you sell your art or pay your bills, include a business card. Those who send out bills include advertising flyers in their envelopes. There is no reason you can't do the same.

n.b. - I do not suggest including your business card with your IRS tax forms:))

      Prior to personal computers and the internet, business cards were relatively expensive for artists just starting out (I paid $90 for 500 when I began working professionally). Additionally, business etiquette rules dictated a horizontal format and engraved printing – black ink only - with dignified fonts on heavy-stock white or ivory paper. Information on the card was reduced to name, address, phone number and a line for your profession – doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief. Any attempt to break the mold with a vertical format, colored paper, illustrations, or “wild” type faces just about insured you would not be taken seriously.

      How lucky we are today. We can design our own cards digitally with no up-front typesetting charges. We can order them online with home delivery in three days. Colored cards are now accepted for most businesses, and it is possible to include small illustrations of your artwork that are of remarkably good print quality. While cards should still be printed on paper with some substance, it is no longer necessary to use the most expensive paper available. Indeed, business cards are now so economical to produce that liberally distributing them no longer produces pangs of budgetary anxiety.

      Pictured is the business card design I used for 2012. Since I wanted to evaluate the vendor quality, my initial order through Vista Print was for only 250, which they doubled with an advertising code and included free shipping – for only ten dollars. At that price, your business cards should be reorded frequently and given away like candy.

If you can only afford one type of traditional print advertising, it must be a business card.