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Woodturning (rec.crafts.woodturning) To discuss tools, techniques, styles, materials, shows and competitions, education and educational materials related to woodturning. All skill levels are welcome, from art turners to production turners, beginners to masters. |
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running a business as an artist
I'm a woodturner in Tucson, Arizona, who is just starting out with
creating my business, and I'm hoping some of you can offer some advice. I will be operating as a sole proprietorship, but I'm wondering if I should operate only under my own name or also under a registered business name ("doing business as"). Do vendors and banks and such attach more legitimacy to businesses with a registered business name? It seems to me that as an artist, I should be promoting my own name, but at the same time, I want to appear as professional as possible. This basic question is holding me up as far as applying for a tax license and also setting up a web site--again, do I use my own name or a business name or a more-generic identifier as a domain name? Also, how do you begin approaching galleries without an established track record? Should I have a complete portfolio, a bio, and such prepared before I make first contact? I have designed business cards and have created a rudimentary web site through my ISP. (http://home.comcast.net/~myturn for anyone who's interested. I plan to register a domain name and set up with another web host as soon as I finalize my choice of a domain name.) I've also designed a card to go with each vessel that identifies the wood the vessel is made of and also has a personal statement and contact info (basically an expanded business card). I've heard that some galleries prefer that customers get no contact info for artists, however, so that the gallery won't lose any sales. Should I remove such info from the card? Print two versions? Wait till I see what individual galleries prefer? What is the best way to approach galleries? Should I phone to make appointments to show my work, or should I go in person, with samples of my work, in case whoever makes such decisions is available on the spot? Should I write with photos or slides of my work? Any other thoughts on getting started? Thanks, you all. I welcome any suggestions. |
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