39: Juan Sepulveda on Creating vs. Marketing Your Art, the Power of the Right Mindset, and Diversifying Your Income Streams
Juan Sepulveda is a painter and the creator of The Winding Stairs Podcastand The Gentleman’s Brotherhood. His art focuses around the lessons and symbols of free masonry. In this episode, Juan talks about marketing and creating art, why you must have the right mindset, and why you need to diversify your income streams.
Here are three things you can learn from Juan:
Marketing and Creating Art Require Different Ways of ThinkingArtists are often opposed to the idea of marketing their work. People often criticized Juan for selling his art because they couldn’t sell theirs too.
If you are having trouble selling your art, you need to separate your artistic creation from your business. It requires to completely separate parts of yourself to be able to sell your art. You need to be able to put on different hats depending on whether you are selling or creating your art.
You can’t let selling get in the way of your creativity. Let your creative side work its magic on the art, but then, when you are done, you have to switch hats. Juan believes you have to be authentic to your inspiration, but you also have to be wiling to sell your work once you are done creating.
Your Mindset Means EverythingYour mindset determines everything about the way you approach the world. Just look at one of the artists you admire the most. They have the same amount of time as us, and sometimes they have even fewer resources, yet they are still able to create something amazing.
Juan believes that you create your own limits. We are the ones who confine or restrict ourselves from achieving our true potential. The good news is, in order to change that, all we have to do is change our mindset.
If your favorite artist can get their painting in a museum, you can too. Learn from those who came before you, and apply those lessons to what you want to accomplish. Just know that you can do it, and you are on the way to achieving it.
Diversify Your Income StreamsIf you are relying solely on selling your art to make a living, you are missing out on some great opportunities. Art sales are hardly steady, and if you rely on that income, you can get yourself into some trouble.
Diversifying your sources of income can lead to more stability with your finances and with your life. Juan does not just create art. He also does public speaking and a podcast to help promote himself and his art.
By creating other income streams, you can have a bad month selling your art and not have to worry as much. These other income streams will allow you to rest more easily without worrying about selling your next painting to survive.
