#small business help business advice

[mewsmagic]

Here's a lil comic strip about how you can protect your art before sharing it to the public!!!

Against AI and against art theft too!

Click on 'read more' to see the extra tip I mentioned at the end!

Geez been working on this since the Meta AI things blew up but I only finished just now!!

Here's the extra tip I mentioned at the end:

you can use http://haveibeentrained.com to search for your images and find out if your work has been used for AI.

In there, you can choose to opt out, but AI companies are not obligated to respect it so it isn't too much of a protection unfortunately 😭

Also be aware that they are associated with AI and they did try to badmouth glaze so artists wouldn't protect themselves; which's very bad for a company that allegedly are on the side of the artists.

Also!!! There's a new type of AI that I was just made aware of last week, Copainter.

It completes unfinished work, which can be used for 'stealing and claiming it theirs', so put a cat picture in the next wips you post as well!

Funny protective measure I know LOLLLL but here's the tests for yall cynical people:

Perhaps I'll complete this comic with this info one day, but just these 10 slides took a looot of work so probably not happening anytime soon 😭

Thank you for reading everything though, I really appreciate it and hope this will help 🫶 be careful out there, privacy issues have been crazy recently!!!

[ashsomethingart]

So You Want To Be A Professional Artist! (Free Resource for Artists by Ash Something)

So You Want to Be A Professional Artist: A guide to selling art and commissions, and other tales Written and compiled by: Ash Something

Here's a folder I put up on google drive containing both versions, as well as assets I used to create this!

Version 1: Standard formatting for general readers, in Docs format 150 pages of real-world experience being passed from ME to YOU, absolutely free! Version 2: Dyslexia-Friendly version formatted with the font OpenDyslexic (In PDF form since Google Docs didn't support the font). 289 Pages of the same, due to larger font and spacing inherent in the font design _________________ This digital document covers subjects such as: -Copyright and Trademark Law -How to brand and market yourself as an independent artist -How to arrange and present your portfolio -How to find and close commissions -The ins-and-outs of working with clients -Managing mental health while working full-time freelance, and work/life balance -Social media marketing, working within the algorithm and so forth -How to do your taxes as a self-employed individual -Free and low cost resources and how to fund your business or get started without funding

This document is FREE! Free to use, free to share, free to spread, implement or whatever else! Offered under the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License! The only thing you CAN'T DO is edit or claim it as your IP as it IS (C) Ash Something Art Help me get the word out and try to improve the lives and businesses of artists everywhere!

[phoenixyfriend]

Just as a heads up in regards to the ko-fi prompts:

I am not an expert on the stock market by any definition, and I do not recommend getting your financial advice from me.

If you send in a prompt on the subject, I'll do my research to answer it, but please know that stocks and investments are not my area. I've gotten three stock-related questions recently, and while I can guess why it's a popular subject, I really need you all to know, for legal reasons, that I am not an authority on this specific topic.

(While talking to my mom a few weeks ago, I mentioned a non-stock post I made for the ko-fi prompts project, and she very insistently told me that I need to tell everyone THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE so I don't get sued if someone makes a bad call based on my commentary. So just. I'll do my research to answer to the best of my ability, but it will take some time and will come with a 'this is not professional advice' disclaimer.)

[cameronf129t]

Are my prices fair?

[jjongolese]

please give me some advice lol

so, i was thinking about doing a cupsleeve event as a joke (mainly a one time thing just to see how it’s like.) however, i am not a small business, nor i would even consider myself an artist. so pretty much, it would be impossible if i try to create an event with nothing to show or give.

nonetheless, if i ever was to make a cupsleeve event, it would 100% be centred around shinee, having all the members involved and nobody getting axed out. but the problem is that… most of my drawings are nsfw… and a lot of them are jonghyun centred… so i can’t really show those ones, especially since shawols don’t really have a big number based on the last event i’ve been to. however, that was when an idea popped into my head.

this may sound weird, but hear me out… jonghyun showing off his moons with the caption “the moon is mooning.” you know, the reference of him being a moon, showing his moons… which is called mooning… the moon is mooning… gen z slang for moon is looking good- I’LL STOP SAYING MOON-

this has been in my head for MONTHS- and i’m currently trying to sketch out the design that i wanted to do. i’ve told this to couple of people, mainly those that are vendors to have a shawol and business opinion. as a shawol, a lot of them like it. they thought it was funny and unique, and if it could be used as a gifty item (aka a key chain, pin, etc) it would also be a great humorous gift to give to a shawol that only they would understand. however, the business side is a bit… scary. it’s already highly debated when it comes to adding jonghyun and how he should be portrayed, but to have a provocative, implied sexual innuendo item may lead to controversy… which is bad for my business…

i don’t know if i should do this… is it too much? will shawols hate me? should i ask more people?

[redthefluff]

I need some advice

Recently I've been doing lots of paintings and small crafts and sending them to friends, not at any cost just because I like doing it. I've had four of them tell me I should start and Etsy but I'm nervous, the most I've don selling online is a Kofi and I closed that after a few months.

Does anyone have and tips or pointers on how to start selling paintings online?

[nissaanimist]

Trying to open my own LGS

Quick clarification, what kind of LGS I'm talking about trading cards (Magic: the Gathering, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh), table top RPGs (Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu), board games (not your father's board games, stuff that gets a start on Kickstarter), and Miniatures (stuff like Warhammer 40,000)

So ever since I picked up card games in my teens and set foot in a Game Store. I knew that I wanted to do something like it. But for me it's not about making money (though being my own boss and such is a plus) what I want to do is create a space for people of all ages to gather and bond and have a great time. Because I never had that growing up. I had two or three friends that we sometimes had a sleepover and stayed up playing video games. Never did I go out and make friends, it was hard for me.

I wanna change the fact that there isn't a place for people like me and kids growing up like I did. I want a place for a community of people to be able to buy what they want exactly, and then play with their friends or make new ones. I know me personally I hate giving my money to places like Walmart for these kinds of products cause it almost feels a little hollow. Cause I'm just getting product with no interaction with a store owner or other customers saying "Oh hey you like that game too!"

I am at square zero, I've just been digging around online like a dog trying to find that bone he buried last spring. I'm taking notes on what I can and trying to figure out what I need to do and the steps to get there. I have read many posts all over the place, but I figured it was time to go in and ask myself to get the specific answers I've been looking for.

[aggressivedaikons]

Hi lmao I need some tips/advice on how to start selling Kandi (on Etsy specifically)

Okay so for like, the last year, I’ve been really getting into Kandi, and been actually serious about it. I’m super hyperfixated and really passionate about it, and istg I have at a minimum one new single a day, or more during the summer.

I’ve been really wanting to make all this into something bigger though, especially since I’m underage, and have sensory issues on top, so I can’t/am hesitant to go to raves (i think it would be hella awesome though :3). So I’ve been really wanting to start an Etsy! The only issue is I’ve never ran an online store/small business before??? I’ve always wanted to, but could never decide on a product. But, now that I have, I’m super anxious and lost on where to start.

So I rlly just am posting this to hopefully get maybe one or two tips at least, from literally anyone who’s operated a small business before. My biggest concerns are a. Initial products, b. How to market/advertise myself, and c. How to do the photos well/edit them without straying too far from the actual item.

I’m not expecting too many replies/reblogs, but eh, it couldn’t hurt to try yk? Also tumblr has been (relatively speaking) the nicest platform I’ve been on, so I feel safest posting this here 😅 lmao so yah tips n stuff would be super nice and appreciated 🥰💕🧸

[corvidiss]

#smile at people #a majority of the time people will smile back and you win Human Points #learn how to compliment people and do it often #Normalcy is a perspective that changes depending on who is looking but kindness and a positive attitude shows the same view to everyone #basic politeness with a little extra effort is amazingly difficult at times #but it goes MILES

Genuinely good advice from @aroace-get-out-of-my-face

can someone recommend some beginner normal behaviors for someone looking to become normal

[barely-a-person]

GENUINE QUESTION

how do i figure out pricing for selling art/jewelry/etc.? ik there's like, material cost and labor cost but as for figuring out specific pricing that still feels morally ok for me to charge someone i just dk

[truthinlifetarot]

🌟Personal Tarot/Oracle Readings

These are the Same Day PDF Readings that I currently offer. They are good for when you need a quick reading on something that troubles you. Sometimes you just need a little bit more confirmation.

💖Same Day Love Reading | For Guidance, Advice, Confirmation, Validation and Vindication💖

🔮Same Day General Reading | For Guidance, Advice, Confirmation, Validation and Vindication🔮

💵Same Day Prosperity Reading | For Guidance, Advice, Confirmation, Validation and Vindication💵

[jawnwicks]

Some of the most important parts for me:

“Friendships are built of repeated low-stakes interactions and returned bids for attention with slowly increasing intimacy over time.”

"Deeper friendships are formed with people from those kinds of groups when you do things with them outside of the context of the original interaction."

"Smalltalk is a social script of exchanging trivial conversation about non-personal topics in order to pass a brief period of time together.

This sort of conversation is about figuring out whether you want to get to know each other better, so it's kind of a behavioral test. It's assessing "can I have a pleasant, brief conversation with this person?" because people usually want to know if the answer to that question is "yes" before they share more details of their lives."

"If the person speaking responds to your sharing of personal information with a request for more information (asks about your sister) or by sharing some of their somewhat more personal information (roses are blooming) they might be interested in continuing to gradually share more information. If they respond with more smalltalk, they probably aren't interested in becoming closer friends ... [but] maybe at some point they'll share something with you and it'll be your turn to decide if you want to get to know them better."

"Once you've seen someone several times, you will begin to know little things about them. ... If you want to become friends with them, ask them about these things and offer information in return. Start casually and don't pry for more information, and be sure to share about yourself as well. Eventually you will get to the point that you can have a comfortable conversation on topics of shared interest for at least a few minutes."

"If they agree to meeting up for the thing, they are interested in continuing to develop the friendship. If they don't want to meet up then continue at the same level of interaction as before and perhaps later on down they line they'll ask you if you want to plan a meetup."

"Once you have hung out on purpose a few more times you've got two choices: set a regular meetup, or hang out elsewhere. Setting up a regular meetup is the relatively casual option here; it keeps things in the same location and keeps the context of the friendship the same while still increasing interactions and intensifying the relationship. You can have perfectly good, if somewhat casual friends, who you see regularly in one place and rarely outside of that place."

"Hanging out in a new place changes the context of the relationship; suggest a hangout in a place that makes sense for the mutual interests you've learned over the previous months of getting to know the person."

"If you’re talking about the weather as in the first example, but you mention where you grew up and what the weather was like, that can be inspiration for the other person to also talk about where they’re from! But, unlike with a question, if they don’t want to share that information they can usually dodge it without having to make it extremely obvious that that’s what they’re doing."

Wait, so you said that you can learn to trust others by building friendships, but how does one go about doing that? Wouldn't someone I don't know be creeped out or annoyed if I suddenly walked up and started talking to them?

Friendships are built of repeated low-stakes interactions and returned bids for attention with slowly increasing intimacy over time.

It takes a long time to make friends as an adult. People will probably think you're weird if you just walk up and start talking to them as though you are already their friend (people think it's weird when I do this, I try not to do this) but people won't think it's weird if you're someone they've seen a few times who says "hey" and then gradually has more conversations (consisting of more words) with them.

I cheat at forming adult friendships by joining groups where people meet regularly. If you're part of a radio club that meets once a week and you just join up to talk about radios, eventually those will be your radio friends.

If there's a hiking meetup near you and you go regularly, you will eventually have hiking friends.

Deeper friendships are formed with people from those kinds of groups when you do things with them outside of the context of the original interaction; if you go camping with your radio friend, that person is probably more friend than acquaintance. If you go to the movies with a hiking friend who likes the same horror movies as you do, that is deepening the friendship.

In, like 2011 Large Bastard decided he wanted more friends to do stuff with so he started a local radio meetup. These people started as strangers who shared an interest. Now they are people who give each other rides after surgery and help each other move and have started businesses together and have gone on many radio-based camping trips and have worked on each other's cars.

Finding a meetup or starting a meetup is genuinely the cheat-code for making friends.

This is also how making friendships at schools works - you're around a group of people very regularly and eventually you get to know them better and you start figuring out who you get along with and you start spending more time with those people.

If you want to do this in the most fast and dramatic way possible, join a band.

In 2020 I wrote something of a primer on how to turn low-stakes interactions with neighbors and acquaintances into more meaningful relationships; check the notes of this post over the next couple days, I'll dig up the link and share it in a reblog.

[plushflower]

Occasionally, we all need a helping hand! 🦾🤑 Business Information poised to take your enterprise to the next level.📈📊

[medicinemane]

I don't know, here's my problem with all that gratitude stuff people are always pushing

I'm here finding myself grateful for the really bad unexplained stomach problems I had for months that randomly flared up so bad I couldn't leave the house safely somedays (literally missed my last doctor's appointment cause it turned out that wasn't a day to be out and about)

Like unprompted, not as some kind of exercise or something, I find myself being like "yeah it may have royally sucked, but it really has helped me get a feel for how my stomach is doing so maybe I appreciate it"

Feel like that's fairly gratitude minded when you can find yourself being grateful for basically months of being sick, you know?

...so fuck off an let me be. If me organically being grateful for a painful time in my life where a lot of nights I'd be worried about going to sleep and dealing with issues so bad I was worried about how I was gonna be able to take this trip unless I got lucky... if I just on my own end up being grateful for that and still want to put a bullet in my head, maybe gratitude isn't a cure all

Maybe piss off with it, you know? I'm the first to say it's good to be grateful for shit, and frankly even walls (even when there's insulation issues) are a fucking blessing and I'll always thank my house for everything it does for me

Still not a magic bullet against depression and I get fucking sick of everyone talking like it is one... like if I just gratituded harder I'd feel better

[bokomori]

How To Make Money Off Of Your Art?

Okay so does anyone know how to start selling your artwork? I want to start making some money and saving up and whatnot. I'm not 18 yet so a parent would have to oversee the account. I'm interested in print and demand sites since I don't wanna buy a lot of supplies and end up getting no orders, and I'm not sure if I would get orders so I don't wanna waste any money. I've researched things like Redbubble and INPRNT and those seem like really good options. Just want to test out the waters for right now.

I've thought about commissions but I'm lowkey nervous about it cause I don't wanna screw up someone's stuff so😩✋🏾