Student Interview$0 to $4k/mo

All right, three, two, one. Hey, everyone, Harry here. Today, I have Andres B. with me, and we're gonna be talking about how Andres made about $4,000 in sales with his contemporary sculpture. So Andres, why don't I just pass it over to you? Could you just briefly introduce yourself, and share a bit about yourself and your art practice?

Yeah. Hey everybody. My name is Andres B. I'm an artist living in Nashville, Tennessee, born in Cali, Colombia. I am a sculptor and a muralist. We're actually at a job site right now for a commission that I have. I'm covered in paint. But yeah, so it Andres B. And like Harry said, I'm a contemporary sculptor.

Excellent. So how long have you been doing contemporary sculpture?

So I've been in the arts since I was in high school. So I was about 15 or so, in the visual arts. And before that it was all music, but truly as a career, the last three years, I've been really focusing on it, and been getting out of the 2D box that I was in and expanding in volume with the work that I make. So for about three years, I've been making sculptures and experimenting a lot.

Excellent. Very cool. And what sort of collectors or clients really resonate with your sculpture? Who do you work with, typically?

Yeah, absolutely. So my collectors are people that enjoy an experience in the arts. So the work I create is more than just something that matches a couch, or looks pretty on a wall. It creates an experience. So what I enjoy incorporating is materials, paint, or shapes that really make people question, how was that made? What is that, what, you know, and it almost transcends dimension. So I like to create an experience for people, and my collectors really enjoy that. So they're people that are not afraid to go outside of the box, and they are people that are ready to experience something new.

Very cool. Very cool. What do you feel like makes you unique with your art style and your practice?

Yeah, that's a great question. So I feel like what makes me unique with my art style and practice is that I am self-taught. For me, it all started with graffiti, street art. So spray paint is still a big part of who I am and what I create with as a tool, but being able to extend from just the 2D surface, the wall, the canvas, the four corners, and expressing myself in full volume. So what makes me unique is that I put a lot of my essence, my spirit into the work that I create to help my collectors really experience a new dimension, a new realm through the work, to question their reality and to question, you know, what art is and what art isn't. So I really enjoy that.

That's awesome, man. Well, cool. Well, you know, thinking back, like you and I started working together just under like two months ago, not that long ago. So kind of, if you can, like try to remember back there, what was going on in your art practice at that time? What were some problems or challenges you were facing?

Yeah, I wasn't necessarily thinking very directly about my collectors and what kind of personality, what kind of things were driving my collectors. So through working with Harry, getting on the group coaching calls, listening to the different trainings and courses and the material, I've been able to hone in and really think about what kind of collector comes to one of my exhibits, comes to my studio, sees a piece of work, and what do they feel? How do they feel? What do they want to experience? So really helping me honing down my message and my target audience.

Okay. Got it. So, but I love that, and I think we can definitely talk a bit more about that. So when you were, would you say like maybe two months ago you were having shows, you're in exhibits, you're making sales, but you didn't feel like you understood kinda your collector that well? Was that really what's on your mind, or was there something else on your mind where you're trying to make more sales, or charge more, or get in touch with your collectors? What was going on back in the day?

Yeah, it's about two months ago. I really just wanted to create a system to hone down my sales process. So that's what Harry's also been helping me with. And that's where I'm at now, but yeah, about two months ago, I was really thinking like what system can I create to attract these collectors?

Okay. Okay. Gotcha. Gotcha. And were you trying to do that on your own before? Like had you made some sales?

Yeah. I had definitely made some sales, and I have an established collector base, but I can always grow. I can always get better. I can always improve. And so, yeah. So that's what masterminds are for. To grow.

Yeah, and were you like, did you ever have, you know, different conversations with different people? Oh, it looks like you switched it. Now you're back. Perfect.

Sorry, that was the job site. Didn't mean to do that.

No worries. No worries. So I was just, I was just asking, like, before we got started together, would you kinda have ad hoc conversations with people that were interested, and sometimes they would lead to sales, and sometimes they wouldn't, like, did it feel kind of random and chaotic, or kinda what did your sales process feel like back in the day?

Yeah, my sales process before was just a little bit more random, and more just on a whim. Now I feel that it's becoming more systemized, which is what I need, is to find a system that really, that I can really connect with, and that can really take step-by-step. And so that's what, that's something that's relevant to my practice, my art business, and also to Harry's program.

So where did you first hear about us? Do you remember?

Yeah, just a Facebook ad.

Okay. Okay. And what do you feel like piqued your interest?

So before, before I was fully focusing on my art practice, I was focusing on helping small mom and pop businesses with their content marketing. Yeah. And so I've been a part of different masterminds for... and I'm also a part of different masterminds for marketing and social media marketing, digital marketing, things like that. But I never really had heard anyone, you know, all the different coaches that are out there, blasting ads to people. I'd had never really heard anyone specifically focus on helping an art business. And so I really, it really caught my attention, because here I'm listening to someone talk about how they are being successful in their art business. They are selling consistently, and there's a system for the arts. So that really caught my attention. The fact that you, you know, you have helped so many people multiply their art business, scale their art business. So that really caught me.

Interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So how long were you doing marketing, you know, for small businesses and stuff?

About two years. So yeah, about two years before the pandemic happened and then things got really weird, and then, yeah, and now I've just been, I realized why not put 100% of my effort and then my creativity into things I actually care about, which is my own art business? So I knew how to help other businesses, but now I'm learning how to help what I care about, and what's mine.

That's super interesting. Yeah, I mean, with that background, you probably, you probably know a bit about social media. You know a bit about some of these techniques from like a marketing perspective, but I could see how that would be interesting to be like, wait a minute. How do I apply these skills and these techniques to art, you know? There's a lot of artists out there trying to do it, but yeah, there's not as much information on that as there is for if you're an accountant, or a barber or something like that, trying to get traffic, if that makes sense.

Yeah.

So what, like, I know we just got started. We really only been working together for a couple months. There's plenty more for us to do and work on, but what are like one or two kinda highlights or wins you feel like you've gotten from working with me in the program so far?

Yeah, I think a couple of the highlights of, of working with Harry's program so far has been the fact that I've been able to think more in depth about who my collector is. You know, what do they think, how do they act? What do they care about? Why do they collect? Why and how, and when and where, right? So I can approach the right people at the right time with the right message and the right product, the right work of art. So really thinking very in depth about that whole experience for my collector.

Cool. And like, to make it a bit more concrete, so I know you had a couple of deals that were in flight before we got started together, but they have landed in the last couple of months. Are there any interesting insights or anecdotes from some of those sales that you've done recently?

Yeah, so actually I do remember this instance where Harry helped kind of just encourage me, and in one of the live coaching calls, to approach my collector without hesitation. And I knew I was gonna go that following week... Actually, no, that evening I was gonna go see him. And I had the coaching call with Harry, and I just felt the confidence to name my price without really backing down, without, you know, feeling like the whole imposter syndrome. Like, "Oh, I don't know if I should charge that. I don't know if I should," you know, because this collector had already collected several pieces from me, but when I was charging like a couple hundred dollars for my work. Now I'm charging, you know, in the thousands. So it was something that was a little intimidating, because this collector is very, very established. But yeah, I was able to name my price, stand firm, and he just said, "Oh, okay, well now you're, you know, now you're getting all this media attention. Now you're getting all these other collectors. Now you're getting all these other shows, solo exhibits. I will pay your price." So he didn't hassle me. He didn't try... Like, he had before. Now it was just, okay, here you go. I love this art. Here's the check. How do you spell your name?

So you're saying like, when it was hundreds of dollars, he would hassle you? And then when it was thousands, there was less hassle?

Yeah, yeah. And I was more confident. Yeah.

Yep. Yeah. And why do you, why do you think that, like, what do you think, why do you feel like artists often struggle with imposter syndrome, in your experience?

I think as artists, we can struggle with imposter syndrome because we think that because creativity comes so naturally to us, that we, and maybe it took us, I don't know, an hour to paint something, that we don't deserve to be paid more than like an hourly wage or something. Where in reality, if you think about it, creatives are needed in every field, in every industry, and they're successful. So as artists, it might come easy now. But if you think about the years it took you to hone your craft, to hone your art business, to really get that style down. I can remember making a lot of really bad art, a lot of it, and wasting and spending thousands of dollars of materials, and things that ended up, you know, getting trashed, or ended up, you know, in an attic or something, collecting dust. But those are years and years and years that have taken me to come here. So yeah, maybe it took me an hour to make the work, but my value is the years, the decades that I've dedicated to making sure I'm creating another realm for a collector. So yeah, I think as artists, we can struggle, because it comes so easy to us, but I say easy saying like 10 years, 20 years easy, right? Something that might take us an hour or whatever, but I think we ought to charge more, and we have to believe in ourselves, because the world needs what we have to offer.

Totally, man. No, it's such a good point. Like if what you're delivering to the world is resonating with people, and it feels easy to you, that usually is a good sign. It means you're in a sweet spot, right? Like, they can't do what you can do, but you can do it with more ease. And it reminds me, I think it's Picasso. Do you know that story about Picasso and him drawing a little sketch? You know what I'm talking about? I think it's the right artist. Somebody approached him in like a cafe and said, "Hey," like, "would you draw," you know, "a little sketch for me"? And so Picasso draws a sketch, and then says, I don't remember how much it was. He said, that'd be $5,000 or whatever it was, a thousand dollars at the time, which was a lot of money. And the guy said, "Wait, why? That just took you 30 seconds." And he said, "No, it didn't. It took me a lifetime."

Exactly.

That's the exact point that you're making. And yeah, you can't discount the exploration and the R&D, you know, the research and development that you've put into you, where you are today as an artist, so-

Exactly.

Yeah. Nice, man. What else? Any other like wins or takeaways or insights that you feel like are useful to share?

Well, one of the wins is I'm installing this 14-foot-by-8 1/2-foot mural. It's all sculptural, 3D. And this is actually what I've been working on all morning today, but that's another win. It's a $6,500 commission, which is pretty decent, but I know that... My mindset is shifting from the pricing standpoint what my time is worth, what's value to me, because this takes me a few hours to do, whereas maybe a larger sculpture that I could charge about the same price, that standalone may take me less time. So I'm kind of re, like shifting my mindset on what I need to focus in my art business that brings the most revenue, and then multiply that instead of just taking gigs, just to take a job, you know. Now, with this particular piece, I'm really enjoying it because I am pioneering something that I haven't seen many people do. I actually don't see any colleagues in Nashville doing this at all. I don't see anyone really online doing it. So I'm pioneering it. So as I'm learning it and systemizing the process, it feels good. But once I have a much better system, I need to really think about what my time is worth, and what I need to be spending onsite rather than in the studio. So what, what can I be paid for? You know, like the price difference between the system or spending a long time onsite. I don't know if that makes sense.

Yeah, it's like not all $5,000 pieces are equal. If one takes you, you know, five hours, but another one takes you 50, then the calculus is very different, right? You won't treat your time as worth nothing.

Exactly.

That's so smart, man. And that's good. Like, you're starting to kind of detach your perception of value from like an hourly wage or an hourly amount of time that you spend on something. Does that make sense?

Absolutely. Yeah, they don't pay a surgeon for the one hour it took to operate on, you know, a body part. They pay the surgeon for the decades of dedication, the sleepless nights, and blood, sweat, and tears of getting to that point.

The competency. The competency and the expertise. And it's like, you might pay, you know, a dentist more money if they can spend less time in your mouth, right?

Yeah. Oh yeah. Most definitely.

So, no, that makes sense, man. That makes sense. Well, cool. Like, do you feel like any other areas of your life or business have improved? It's a little bit harder question, but-

I... So my wife is actually really into wellness, health, fitness. And so her watching me have a community, a mastermind of people I can tune into on a weekly basis, or listen to all these live coaching calls, and prerecorded calls, or training material. She hears me when I'm listening to it. And then she sees the progress and the process, and now she's starting to invest in her own self education. So she has a wonderful career, and she's paid really well, but she knows that's not her life's purpose. Her life's purpose is health and wellness. And so now she's inspired to become a coach, and using similar principles, which honestly, it doesn't matter what kind of business you have, you apply similar mindset principles to different areas of your life, to different businesses. Now she's thinking like, you know, I'm, she's hearing some of my calls and she's thinking like, you know, how do I craft my message? How do I find my niche? Who is my target audience? So now she's listening, and I'm bouncing ideas back and forth. Like, hey, listen, I'm learning this in class. You know, there's this video I just listened to on this mindset, like, how can you apply it to your audience? How can you, so yeah. Being part of the mastermind and me getting a little clearer is helping other areas get clearer.

That's cool. And like, it seems like it's allowing you guys to maybe unlock new dimensions or flavors to your relationship, and gonna kinda collaborate on those things. That's fun.

Yeah. Yeah. Most definitely. We definitely have big picture ideas of how we will incorporate art and wellness in packages, too. So yeah, that's a longer conversation, but-

TBD.

Yeah, TBD. Definitely like life purpose level things.

It's okay. You've got a long time, as you take it one step at a time. It's when we try to swallow, what do they say? Swallow the whale, that's when you choke or you struggle.

Yeah. I'm just trying to figure out what little bites at a time-

To take at a time.

But it feels good to have come this far. And I will mention, I did not finish art school, and what I've noticed from a lot of colleagues who did graduate high school, I mean, art school, they, a lot of them, well, they have ridiculous amounts of student debt, student loan debt, and a lot of 'em aren't practicing, or they're at a job that it's kind of just pays the bills. They kinda sorta like it. It's kinda sorta creative, but they have no creative, like, freedom. It's not their project. It's not like this, that I get to... I have full creative freedom in creating whatever I want. So yes, it is a job here. It is a commission, so it is work, but it's work that I have decisions on, that I make the final decision, whereas other creatives are stuck in like doing stuff for other people's dreams. And so, yeah, I didn't finish college. And I realized a lot of the things that I needed to learn were not going to be taught in college, like business skills, they don't teach you in art school.

If you don't mind me asking, like what, tell me more about that. Like, was it because of like, you just felt it wasn't a good use of your time? Are you like, was it something else that was like more of a personal reason? Or why did you decide not to-

Yeah, so I loved the school. I went to just wonderful professors, one of the best schools here in Nashville, Watkins College of Art, but it became really expensive. So I could, because of my political status, I'm from Colombia. Cali, Colombia. I am a political refugee. And so I'm not, I'm unable to get financial aid, FAFSA. I wasn't able to get private loans. So even if I wanted to be neck deep in student debt, I wouldn't be able to. But I feel that everything works for my good. Everything fits like a piece of the puzzle in the universe. And now I'm realizing like, I don't have student loan debt. I'm making art that I care about. I'm working on myself, and because I had to leave art school because I couldn't afford it, and it was just crazy expensive, I ended up just working corporate jobs. So I got these different corporate jobs that taught me different skills. And with these skills that I learned, I've been able to put, puzzle together the bits and pieces that I need to form a bigger picture. And with masterminds like these, like Harry's mastermind, I'm able to, to make more sense of it and really validate the fact that, yeah, I can turn my creativity into full-time, full-blown six figure, seven figure businesses.

It's so interesting hearing you say that. 'Cause I mean, it's, in a way, it's like, I think because of the path you've had to go down, it's like, I can tell just from our conversation and interactions in the past, like you have the humility to realize that like to have success as an artist, it's a multidisciplinary endeavor, right? You haven't shied away from learning marketing, learning sales. Like, you look at all that as an opportunity. And now, because you've done all that, like you can actually do what some of those artists that maybe did graduate from that are not able to do right now, right? You're actually being a professional artist. Does that ring true to you?

Absolutely. Yeah. So it's easy to say, woe is me. And that's what I said when I was in, you know, when I had to drop out of college, but now I'm like, wow, that was a gift. It was just, it was hidden. It was the gift that was hidden, because I learned so many things, and I'm grateful. I'm just grateful to be able to have an art business, and to have wonderful collectors, to have a good community, to have the freedom to create whatever I want and to design my own destiny. And I feel that the skills that people need to learn to thrive are not often taught in art school. And so I-

Higher education in general.

Or in general. Exactly. I mean, if anyone... Okay, I recommend like, if anyone is watching this video, and they're like, oh my gosh, on the fence, like learn what it is that you're truly passionate about, that you would do no matter what, and then figure out how to market it and sell it. So as you can learn-

It's like, I think a lot of creatives, they hope that there's a way where they can just spend every waking hour in the studio painting, and then someone else will like naturally take care of, but it's like, you have to combine the creative skill with learning sales and marketing, even if it feels uncomfortable, even if it's new to you. And if you can work through that uncomfortableness, push through that resistance, it's like the other side is, it's so much better .

Yeah, everything, there's a saying, everything you dream of is on the other side of fear. So do the scary thing now, you know. Maybe you don't know about marketing or sales. I don't know, get, take an internship learning marketing and sales. Like I dunno, a call center. I started at a call center. That was my first ever. And so I was taking phone calls back to back to back, inbound. And so I had to learn how to be quick, quick, think quick, speak quick. And it was bilingual. And so, and so I had to do it in Spanish and English, back to back-

Like, you'd switch from English to Spanish between calls sometimes?

Between calls. Yeah. I would, it would just like, whatever call comes in the queue, and if it happens to be bilingual, it just gets routed to me. So, yeah, man. So like learning those skills, and at that time, I was like, ugh, this is so miserable. I wish I were still in art school, but then years later just waking up and realizing, oh, I know how to do stuff that nobody in my art, in the classes, in the art classes that I was in learned, or like, they're still learning. Now they're like going back to school to learn like public speaking and things like that. But now I like, I'm more comfortable public speaking, or speaking on the phone, or talking about my work, or I'm comfortable getting uncomfortable. I think if you're comfortable getting uncomfortable, things will line up, start like lining up, and learn. You fail, get back up, learn, like, learn different skills.

Totally, man. It's so interesting. Like I, so I went to undergrad. I have a college degree, but... And I liked it. I liked the experience. It was good, but it really felt like in my mid to late twenties, it's like, I was unwinding a lot of things, like getting comfortable becoming uncomfortable. Like recognizing that you're not entitled to anything just 'cause you have a piece of paper, or you went to a certain school, or you have a certain credential. It's like, you have to become the type of person that can earn the deal. Like earn the relationship, earn the opportunity to make that sale and build... In y'all's case, you know, deliver a original piece or a commission. And yeah, it's like that stuff is, I've never worked in a call center, but I could see that being a really good refining fire, a proving ground to flush that out.

It is. It is a call, it is a fire. Yeah, absolutely. I just had to do it, and I ended up never going back to school, to art school, but I've invested in different masterminds that teach practical skills. And now-

Maybe you'll go back someday and guest lecture.

Actually, I have lectured at that college before, and this year... So the college that I attended briefly, the private art school, they got bought out by a bigger school, and they invited me to teach . So now I'm gonna be teaching this summer, teaching some summer camps, summer art camps. And so yeah, how the universe just makes things work. It's like, okay, now I'm being invited to teach at the school that I couldn't finish. And now I'm being invited to speak on stages for colleges. I don't even have a college degree. So I think it's just taking action, like taking action and believing in yourself, no matter how foolish you might look, but just taking that baby step and trying. And I think that the same thing with art, like making art, too. It's like daring to try something new, and to push yourself and to evolve, too, see where it comes out, because the best art that I've ever made has been like unexpected.

Exploratory, unexpected.

Just always experimenting, always evolving, yeah.

I was just gonna ask, like, you feel like, I wonder, I think there's a huge parallel there, because I would imagine, if you're an artist, and you're just so hesitating about every decision you make, and you're just going so slow. You probably just really can't get the number of repetitions in that you need to really develop your art practice and your style. Like, do you think that's true?

Yeah. Fail... There's a business quote. I can't remember who said it, but t was like, fail, and fail often. And then get back up. That's that resiliency. Just getting back up.

Yeah. And it's like, I think it's about action taking, right? Like anybody who has success, they, everyone who has success has had more failure than people that have no success, but they just have taken so much action that net, they have more positive action than negative action. And they just keep working on it-

Exactly. Exactly.

Do you feel like you've gotten like a return on your investment so far?

Yeah. Yeah. Most definitely. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have access to this course lifetime, right? Lifetime access? I feel like it's something that I'm gonna keep coming back to all the time, and then, oh, wow. I didn't catch this part. Oh, wow, I didn't catch this part. The community is very valuable too, because there's people in there that are selling like $10,000 a month, which is where I wanna be at, a consistent basis. There's people on there already. And there's people there who just started. So I'm coming in there and refreshing, I think the return on investment is high. It's just taking action. And you know, if you missed the live call, or you missed the, you know, a day where we didn't take one of the classes, just like, don't beat yourself up. Just start again, you know, Come back with a fresh mind. Beginner's mind. Yeah.

Yeah, and it's like, there's not really a competition. It's not like you have to worry about, are you falling behind, like other people. It's just like, are you becoming a better version of Andres, or a better version of Harry? Like, are you just getting better each day? Or, you know, maybe you take a day off, but the next day you get back into it. And as long as you just keep kind of improving, you're gonna get where you need to go. You know?

Yeah. I just tell people, my friends, my family, I just tell them like, take baby steps every day. Just one baby step.

What's the one thing that you can do, to like, yeah, move forward?

Mm-hm. Just the one thing. 1% better every day. It's a compounding effect. So 1% better every day. One baby step, one action. And if you fail, that's okay. Try again the next day. Or try again the next step you take.

And, well, thinking back to like our conversation together, or maybe I think you probably spoke with Thierry. Like, why did you decide to do business with us?

Really, I feel that you have a good energy to you, and the course you have is good, but also you have a solid understanding of marketing. So you have a marketing and sales background, which is really good. Other masterminds I've been a part of, they're either just marketing, and like they're trying to sell some sort of B2B marketing service, and there's no art, or it's like marketing taught by artists, in a way, instead of marketing taught to artists about the business of art by marketers and business people, if that makes sense. So like, I know Harry's business is to teach people, but Harry's, you know-

I'm not an artist.

About the art business. But Harry is a marketer. Harry is a marketer and professional salesperson. So he's teaching that, but with the context of art.

Everything's tailored to art.

Exactly. And again, I think everything, and I tell this to my wife all the time, 'cause we talk a lot about the philosophy of sales and marketing. It's like, everything is marketing. If you think about it, everything is marketing, and everything is sales. You just put a package over it. My package is business. And, I'm sorry. My package is art business. But like the driving force behind it is marketing and sales. Like everything is marketing, and everything is sales, in a way.

Another way to look at it, I think if it's like... Sales and marketing is just applied communication. Right? Do you want to influence people? Do you want to motivate them to take some sort of action? If you do, and you wanna do it well, hey, you're in marketing, you're in sales .

If you think about it, like too, exactly. Like if you post something on social media, Instagram or Facebook, you want to ultimately drive likes or comments, if you're playing the social media game. In a way, you're marketing or selling yourself. You see someone you like, I don't know, at a bar or something, and you wanna get to talk to them, or get their number or whatever you want, you know, to just become friends. It's like, okay, so how do you market yourself? How to communicate. So applied communication, just like Harry said. So if you learn those skills, and add the element of what your purpose is-

You can't be stopped.

That's a good, winning formula. Yeah, exactly. Mm-hm.

Yeah, and it's... I think it's hard for people that haven't had a lot of experience with it to understand like how much subtlety and nuance there is in the communication, but it's like, they don't, I think it's hard for them to see how much of a leverage, like a source of leverage and scale it can make in your efforts. Like, it can make the whole difference. It can, it can 10 times what you're doing. It takes like it's not working to make it work, and work in a big way.

Exactly. Exactly. And I'm in a place where I'm just trying to refine everything. Refine my marketing, refine my message, refine my website, refine my marketplace, things like that. But I'm getting this feedback from Harry as a coach, I know that I can message him, and hey, Harry, I'm stuck here, or I can go post in the group, hey group, I'm stuck here. Or I can find a study partner, and say, hey, study partner, I'm stuck here. What's next?

Have you been in some accountability buddy sessions?

You know, I have had a few messages with people, but because I'm not on Facebook as much, I haven't really stayed in touch, but I do have some connections there. Actually, Preston, I believe, I saw one of your interviews with him, and his success story. And like his story is really inspiring, and he's just doing really awesome things with his practice. He's taking off. And I reached out to him. But what I've also been inspired to do is to, 'cause there are a lot of artists in Nashville, but 90% of them don't see themselves as an art business. They think the two are like oil and water, but that's not, that's not true. Ultimately, artists create a product, whether we wanna believe it or not, we create a product, and it's tangible or digital, but, and ultimately collectors are our customers, and we sell things. So our, this class has inspired me also to try to find the 10% of artists here in Nashville, in my local area who are business people, business art, and start like a conversation around that. So I am getting more motivated to start talking about art and business.

Yeah, plug in with those folks, and then bring 'em on over, bring them to the club.

Yeah, no doubt.

Well, was there anything that kinda kicked you over the fence, so to speak, when we were, when you were thinking about moving forward?

I think the fact that you know what you're talking about when you're talking about marketing and business.

Yeah, so not having any art background, but more of the sales background in that perspective is valuable to you.

And I know that a conversation I had with Thierry was once I reach my goal of 10,000 a month on a consistent basis, there are ways to scale that- Further.

And that's where, you know, I could receive help from Harry or the team on much more advanced marketing skills, Google Ads, SEO, sales funnels, advertising, et cetera, et cetera. So really, scaling is the choice that I can make, a choice that I can make. And I think, I think really the conversation with Thierry made it easy for me to see that I could get to 10K a month on a consistent basis. It's just having a very solid offer, art offer, and consistent leads, and a sales process. So really, it comes down to getting organized, and getting a system together, which is really what I need. I have the art part. I don't necessarily need to learn more art skills, because I've pioneered my style. It's not like I'm trying to be somebody else's style as far as the art goes.

Yeah, and you'll just keep innovating on that anyways .

I'm just gonna keep innovating, exactly, on my own, but I know what I really, really need is the systems that can be foolproof, and I feel that that's what the value here is with Harry's program.

Well, it may be kind of a silly question, but like, would you recommend others work with us?

Yeah. Most definitely. If you're on the fence, I mean, if you really think about it, if you are already selling art, how many sales is it gonna take for you to cover the fee to become, to come in the group? So think about, okay, well, have you ever sold that many pieces before? Have you ever sold that much before? If you can do that, you can cover the fee for that. You could even, I dunno, you could even ask friends and family for commissions to cover the fee, or whatever, because it's going to ultimately multiply. If you really think about like planting a seed, and you want that seed to be fruitful. Think of it as a seed. And it's a small price to pay, really, for a lifetime of accountability and systems and ways to scale. So I would say invest in your education. Self... Like college education will make you rich, but self-education will make you a multimillionaire. So like, however you can self-educate, and masterminds, people that have been there, done that, and that can do it, that have done it better than you, and that have failed before, and that can help you, and get back up. I feel like it's pretty self-explanatory, the benefit there, yeah.

And with that in mind, I mean like what sort of artists do you think we're especially a good fit for?

I think artists that are ready to scale in their business, like I was. Like, maybe you've made sales here and there. You've gone from selling your art at art galleries that take a 50% commission, which is pretty high, and to maybe selling it... And, you know, maybe you've started selling art for a couple of hundred dollars. Then you've got the confidence, now you're selling your art for a couple of thousand dollars. I think if you're at that point, where you're like, oh, people really want my art, and I can sell it for a couple thousand now confidently and consistently, I think you're at the place, the perfect spot, the sweet spot to get into a group of people that can then help you systemize what you've already built on. If you just think your art is a hobby, I wouldn't recommend it, if you don't plan on like scaling within the next year or two, and leaving like your job to focus fully on your art business, then it may not be for you. But it is for you if you are at that sweet spot where you're confident with your numbers, and you're confident in the work that you're making, then you're, it's the perfect place.

Nice. Nice. Well, thanks, man. Well, yeah, like why should someone who's listening take action right now?

I think someone who's listening should take action right now, because if you say maybe I'll do it tomorrow, you probably won't. You'll forget. The email will get lost. The web browser will end up getting closed, or lost in your hundreds of tabs on Safari, on your phone. You probably won't, you know, you'll probably end up unsubscribing or whatever, and you'll forget. You'll forget, and you'll stay at the same place, selling your work for a couple hundred dollars on and off, and working a job that you're miserable at. But if you start now, you know, a year from now, you're gonna be like, wow, I'm so glad I started a year ago, instead of like five years later, wishing you had started five years ago. So yeah, now is-

I was saying like the best time to plant a tree is what, a year ago? Next best time is today.

Yeah. Just plant that seed. Plant that seed and take action. Take imperfect action.

Yep. Yeah. And it's, you were saying something about you probably will just forget. It's like, yeah, it's just, it's really easy to get comfortable with the status quo, right? But it makes me think of the difference between like wanting something versus deciding something, right? A lot of us want something. We want a new car, we want a certain lifestyle. We want this. But then other people decide, like I decide I'm going to become a professional artist in the next one to two years, and if you can get yourself to that like decision mindset, like, this isn't an option, I'm doing this, it's gonna happen. And then you commit and you join. It's like, you're gonna have a great outcome and a great experience. But if it's this kinda like hobbyist fancy, of like, yeah, it'd be kinda nice, but I don't wanna have to do anything.

Exactly, exactly. Just decide. So you're already an artist. You've already overcome that big obstacle. When I tell people I'm an artist, they're like, "Oh, I can't even draw a straight line." And if you're an artist, you've probably heard that before. "I can't draw a straight line. I can't even draw a stick figure. I'm not an artist." But that's a lie. Everybody has that same creative spirit. And what I see lacking in a good 99% of people who have already decided they are artists is realizing that they are also artists of their destiny. We can create and manifest our own reality. So if you wanna manifest and create a reality, design a lifestyle that says, I only sell a couple of hundred dollars worth of art every other month, then that's your choice. But you can, with the same creative energy that you're creating that reality, you can easily flip the script and say, oh, I can consistently sell $20,000 a month worth of art, because you can design your lifestyle that way. It's just like how you switch your creative brain to say, you know what? I am worthy of this. I do deserve that, and I can create it. I can design it and manifest it. So use that same energy-

It's like the art practice, like your actual art business is a piece of art in itself. And if you choose to work on that and put creative energy into that, not just into the canvas or into the sculpture, like you have so many more options available to you. That's basically what you're saying-

Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. So if you want it, create it. If you want it, create that reality. Create the environment that is inviting to a consistent six figure art business. Five, six, seven figure art business. Create the mindset, create the space. So for me, the biggest area was I was struggling with, it was that I didn't have a proper studio space, so a consistent studio space for it, so how could I have created a reality that allowed for me to make work, and show work, and sell it, right? But now, as of last summer, my wife and I bought a house, we designated a studio space, and now I've been selling more consistently. Now I'm realizing, okay, sweet. So I'm selling about, you know, between 2 to $3,000 a month consistently. How do, what do I need to do to my practice? What do I need to design? What systems? What do I need to delegate? What do I need to implement? What mindset do I need to do? What actions do I need to take daily in order now for my studio to be able to produce 5,000, $10,000 a month? So that's where I'm at right now. It's like mindset shift, and then taking action. So do I need more, do I need to a better place to store inventory? Do I need a better system of uploading photos to the internet in the marketplace? Do I need more networking? Do I need to post more online? Do I need to go and join more Facebook groups, like, or do I need to... Just what systems do I need to implement? How can I expand my mind, and my thinking, and my environment to welcome that?

Cool, man. That's exciting. So, yeah, I mean, on that note, like kinda, what's your plan for yourself in the next three to six months?

Three to six months is I wanna have a three, I'm sorry, a 10,000... Sorry, $10,000 month, consistent month, in sales. So I wanna have consistency in sales, 10,000 a month, and have those just systematized. Have a consistent practice of posting online, because I've found a lot of my collectors online, social media, mostly. Instagram has worked really well for me. So just a consistent practice of posting, and just have a well-oiled system, but yeah, 10,000 a month. But I also want to design opportunities that are revolving, that I can, every year I know that sale is coming, if that makes sense.

Yeah, some evergreen events, or exhibitions, or things like that.

Events or exhibitions that I know I can sell or fundraise X amount of money that I need per year, or per location, yeah.

You know what you're sounding like to me? You're sounding a bit like an engineer.

There you go.

You're building a system. It's systemizing things. It's the secret sauce, man. If you can just systemize things, and identify what's the bottleneck. And then within that, it's almost like those constraints can breed massive creativity, right? And you unlock all this success and growth from that. So I'm excited for you, man. And I can't wait to support you and help you as we go through those initiatives. Should be fun.

Thank you, Harry. Yeah, I appreciate that. And as I'm developing more of these things, I wanna definitely reach out to you and the community, and then just kind of workshop all of that. As much as I love the one-on-one like making, I know that, I know there's more levels to it. So I'm excited.

Well, so what's your, as we wrap up here, like what's your number one piece of advice for artists who are listening out there?

Stay ridiculously curious. Stay ridiculously curious, fail, and get back up. Try again. This time you're gonna have a new perspective. Ask for help. So stay ridiculously curious. Fail, get back up. Ask for help.

Yes. I love it. That's a great message, man. So if people wanna learn more about you, and follow you online, where can they find you?

Yeah, absolutely. Instagram or Facebook, @Andres, A-N-D-R-E-S, B-U-S-T-M, and then andresbustm.com.

Awesome. Well, good stuff, man. It was great catching up, and can't wait to see what you do next.

All right. Thank you, Harry. You too. Appreciate you.

Peace.

Peace.