Rockstar Mentor

Episode 42 - Fan Mail Friday

Today's fan mail Friday episode comes from what Roberta in Seattle Washington who writes in and says "hey Sonya I love listening to all of your podcasts, I hope to get myself started for the holidays selling my mini sculptures. I noticed that when listening to some of the first few episodes you had referenced music at the end of each episode, and then I see you don't do that anymore, I love music and love listening to music while I create, are you going to be doing that again?"   Hey there Roberta, thank you so much for writing in... and yes you are correct, one of the fun visions I had for myself when creating the podcast was to play off of the "rockstar" name. Aside from writing all the episodes, and of course getting all of the content for the episodes, addressing the Fanmail Friday episodes and researching the songs.  I felt would be pertinent to each episode got to be a little bit too much on my plate.    I know a few people have asked me about that and I might revisit it again someday. With my art business Sonya Paz Inc. and my teaching instruction at VinoPaint.com my plate is a little bit full. Just a little bit!   I will let you know that any artist or anybody who listens to music while creating it's truly a benefit, not only is it inspiring but it helps with passing the time, get you in a good mood, it makes you appreciate the sounds of music and styles of music that are available today, brings back.   I know for me I'll hear a song and it'll flash me back to a time when I was a kid or I was in high school, I know that that is relevant for quite a number of folks not only artist, that music will play a large role in who we are, how the music shapes us as people, as individuals, as professionals, as moms, dads professional artists, politicians, just about everything. I did believe that using the Music reference at the end of each episode would give a fun little boost or taste of different sounds and different inspirations for this podcast but as I said it got to it was a great idea but I needed to keep focusing on all of the feedback I was getting for this podcast.    If you're listening to this podcast and you like if you have a certain playlist or you have a band either local or will know that you listen to write to me and let me know would love to share with those are here on the air, you can reach me at mentor (at) rockstarmentor.com.   If you are on iTunes would love to support us by giving us a five star review please do so and if you don't have iTunes you can still hear us via our website at RockStarMentor.com. And of course we are on Patreon.com so if you really super-duper want to support us then you can spend as little as $5 per month to get great free value from our podcast and you'll get awarded with some amazing gifts as well.   I don't want to forget that we have an amazing sponsor this brush guys at the brush guys.com who have amazing specials and you can say 5% by using the promo code rockstar in the shopping cart.    I want to be sure to thank Roberta for acknowledging my amazing idea for the prelude of this Rockstar Mentor podcast series and hopefully I will revisit researching more music as an extra little bonus in some of the episodes.  

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Today's episode is about how to prepare yourself and breathe for success this holiday season.    Ep. 041 Overwhelm Solutions for a Bustling and Profitable Holiday Season   If many of you artists, are like me, then you think procrastinating is a good thing in regards to being creative... however probably not the best thing when it comes to the countdown to the holiday season. This episode focuses on what you can do to help alleviate some of the stress associated with deadlines for this bustling holiday season.    Listen to how to be the best of your creative self and how to ask for help and delegate to make yourself and your staff successful.    I know for me I tend to want to do everything myself, but I have developed a trusting team of staff (that I actually like to call friends instead of employees), but they help me out greatly and I empower them to help me manage very important aspects of my art business.    You can do this too! Delegation trust not only builds a great staff but it also is part of the amazing relationship building that I keep telling you about. It's really important to and trust others with things to help you be successful.    So breathe, tune in and enjoy this highly informative episode of the RockstarMentor.com   For the full summary of these show notes visit me at http://rockstarmentor.com/blog

Please visit our website to sign up to be on the front lines of amazing information and free downloads that I have prepared especially for you. http://rockstarmentor.com

Visit me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/crushitmentor

Visit me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/rockstarmentor

To support via Patreon is greatly appreciated! https://www.patreon.com/rockstarmentor

To learn more about me, my art and colorful product line, visit Sonya Paz through my artist website, http://SonyaPaz.com

Thanks to "The Brush Guys" they can be located at http://thebrushguys.com they offer the best in all things brushes for all mediums and amazing specials on art supplies. Save 5% on your online order, use promocode: ROCKSTAR

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Episode 040 

The magic, the paper and the value of $ 0.47   Today's fabulous question comes from Stephania in Como, Italy! That is certainly a long ways away and I am absolutely tickled to have received a question from halfway around the world.    Stephania's question is in regards to thank you notes, she writes "Sonya my husband and I have been fans of your art since we saw it in Florida in 2007. Since then I have started outdoor painting and have sold some pieces. I really like your podcast and I am enjoying hearing all your great testimonies.  I I still have the thank you note that you sent to me along with the certificate of purchase and I treasure it along with the artwork. I am not sure if since I am new to painting if this is too much for my new customer?    This is a fantastic question and I have a huge fan of the hand written note! I believe in a few different podcasts I have mentioned the magic behind taking a few moments to hand write a thank you note for someone who has not only purchased your art but commission you to do art as well.  I will tell you that this has so much more power in it than just an email. An email is easy, you type out a few words you copy and paste a few things you address it and you hit send and then you forget.    Yeah, sure you have a record of what was sent in your sent mail but when you actually take a few moments get a thank you note use your hand use your ink create the message give the gratitude for the person or persons who have purchased your artwork, that message is 1000 times stronger than an email. In my opinion it is the best $.47 you can spend. And in my opinion that is a very small fee for a lifetime of collectors that you can gain.    Now of course, I don't know how much the postage is in Italy but, I am sure that it is still very reasonable.   This is one of those times where you could have a few notecards with your art on it, if you're not in a position to manufacture some, then makes some prints of your work and mount them on small note cards. In today's day and age with all the resources we have available to us it's a no brainer!   I love writing thank you notes, this is where I can get creative it doesn't need to be a novel, you simply need to let your client or customer know that you appreciate the fact that they have supported you and how much it means to you.4   And of course I'm a doodler so I always end up doodling around the back end of the envelope I think that's something that will make you stand out and it's something that they will truly remember. I had collectors years ago who kept everything that I sent to them they kept every document every envelope and everything from each artist that they had collected over the years and I'm going to tell you, that was impressive.      The magic is in the motion, go for it, do it! You will be glad you did. Stephania I thank you so much for asking this question and sharing with me your journey!!   If you are online and you want to know more about how to market your art successfully and passionately, check out RockstarMentor.com.    We are also now on Patreon and the link will be in the show notes, if you would like to support the show (for even as low as five dollars per month) you can do that and benefit from your support we have some programs where I can I will like knowledge your support and send out some freebies out to you as well!   This is a rap everyone, Fanmail Fridays are designed to get your weekend started with t

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Ep. 039 Take That Leap for Success... NO Permission Necessary

Just do it!

Greetings friends and listeners
If you are now tuning into this episode then I just want to let you know that my name is Sonya Paz, I am a professional artist, entrepreneur, shameless self marketer, I have created my own product line and owned my own Galleries.

In 2012 I decided to close my huge gallery that I had in downtown Campbell, CA and go back to the "studio by appointment" business model.
I was a tad burned out on retail, but mostly every ounce of energy and time was put into the gallery and I was losing who I was not only as a person but as an artist, as a mother and as a daughter, a wife and friend. I wanted to take time to travel and to absorb and get back some of what I felt I had lost over the past years.

I will say that I do not regret anything about having the gallery, it was phenomenal, it was a wild ride and the ultimate high that you cannot possibly imagine unless you've done it. But there is time that we need to take for ourselves. I decided to focus on the commission work that I was working on and take a good couple of years to regroup and reinvent and get back into the creative mode.

At the end of 2014 I felt like I needed to get social again, I needed to be out there, meeting people, inspiring people, start to network and get back into the groove of things, on my terms of course.

A couple of friends encourage me to start doing the wine and paint party circuit, I really never felt as though I would be the person to teach but this type of learning this type of teaching in the style of environment was not only fun, but inspiring and fulfilling on so many different levels.

So I started VinoPaint.com I could teach different styles of artwork, to get people creating, bring out an inner artist within themselves they never knew they had. But it was also a calling for me that was amazing. I was able to use my public speaking skills, my humor, my love for music, my admiration for everything creative and it's been awesome.

Many of the local folks who had visited the gallery were pleased to see that I was out and about, and doing something new and enjoying this new style of teaching. And believe it or not, people really wanted to learn how to create from a professional artist!

By now you might be asking yourself "Is this podcast a self promotion for VinoPaint?".... well, it wasn't intended to be a giant commercial for myself or for my business, but when you own your own podcast and after three dozen plus episodes I think it's OK that I talk about it.... and shamelessly promote. LOL
The point is is that I had to overcome certain fears, I had to break out of the comfort zone and move in a direction that I would never known if I had loved it or hated it unless I tried. If you are on the fence with trying something new take the leap, then go ahead and make that jump. Not everything is a breeze, especially if you're outlaying money then there is a specific commitment involved.
You will never know unless you try.

If you would like to learn how to boost more of your confidence with a coach, an artists who has done it all in this art industry, check out RockStar Mentor.com. I have full on one no one coaching, all the way to 15 minute phone call pep talks!

This is my 39th podcast for RockstarMentor.com, and I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to have the opportunity to reach out to you, and get your feedback, hear your questions, answer questions on the air and know that you're you're going to kick some butt in with your art business!

If you like this podcast and would like to support by a small weekly subscription for as low as $5 per month (or more of you like) and you feel that you'd like to help support the podcast, please check out my Patreon page and you can visit me at http://patreon.com/rockStarmentor
I will acknowledge yo

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Episode 38 Fanmail Friday

Today's question comes from Paula in New Brunswick New Jersey Who is a new jewelry maker in there and has questions about her display. She writes in "Hi Sonya, I am a polymer clay jewelry artist and I am starting to get ready for holiday craft shows in my my town. I'm trying to figure out the best way to display my jewelry and I see a lot of other jewelers with white elaborate set ups. What would you recommend for someone just starting out?"
(correction, I recited Paula's name as "Patricia" my apologies for the error).

Thank you so much Paula for writing in, and congratulations on taking the leap to start selling your jewelry!

There are many ways to accentuate your display for doing any type of show, and my personal and professional opinion I would do as much Unique displays that will flatter your works.  There are lots of companies that sell pre-fabricated displays, but I would like to do something that is unique to my work and will help set the foundation. Here are a few essentials that I would recommend:

1.) Make sure that if you have a table set up that you don't bring product for three set ups, bring just enough that you know won't be too overwhelming but you'll have back up stock available. 

2.) Always have a mirror on your table, people will buy more when they can see what the jewelry looks like on them. 

3.) Get some small nesting bins, things that you could put inside and use these for your risers on your table. 

4.) Be sure that you have a couple of table cloths or lovely table coverings or scarves that you can use for color for your booth, one as the main drape and the second one to use for covering your risers. 

5.) Creating high and low risers will give your table a lot of depth

6.) If you have some pretty plates you can easily pour some rice, or even black beans into the plates and display bracelets and necklaces quite nicely. Gives a nice organic look and is very inexpensive. 

7.) There are several jewelry supply companies online and I will notify couple of the show notes, I guess it all depends on what look you're going for but try to make your table as personal as possible.

8.) Always make sure you have your business cards and a bio on your table as well as a photo of you creating your work. This will really help connect your customer to your creating process. 

Your table should set up should really reflect what you what your creations look like. 

You want to stand out and you want to be very individualistic with your table. If you just have the standard jewelry display, much like the leather or velvet pre-fabricated displays, you will just blend in like everybody else at the show. 

You can also find really inexpensive fabrics that don't even necessarily have to be a traditional tablecloth, go to your local fabric store and find remnants of fabrics that you think would ask at your table or booth. Starting out with an expensive options at the beginning will allow you some creative freedom as your display and your designs grow. 

There you have it Paula! hope you can send photos of what you end up doing, I would love to see your work as well as what you end up doing!

Hey everyone, all of the episodes of the RockstarMentor are available on the RockstarMentor.com website under the podcast section and h

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Rockstar Mentor - Episode 037

It has been one heck of a crazy weekend and dealing with all kinds of challenges technical and mechanical I might be a little bit on the punchy side today. .... But that's OK, I am your art coach, it is my job to push back and it is my job to get a little bit in your face so with that said....

Today's topic focuses on the way we communicate. I want to just point out that this information I am providing to you today is not necessarily only for artist this is the way you communicate in ALL areas and aspects of your business, and in this specific case, ...your art business.  

When I started doing this podcast I must have gone through 10 to 20 versions of the podcast and I listened back to a variety of ways that I was speaking, and I'll tell you it's pretty challenging to speak into a microphone with nobody around,  but I had to close my eyes and capture the vision of having people sitting and listening to me. 

One of the things that you start to do when you start to do public speaking is listen to yourself and how many times that you pause, how many times do you use the arm, how many times do you use the unnecessarily, overused word "like". I've listen to so many podcasts and so many public speakers and really good public speakers will watch and detect what they say and have train themselves to not utilize a lot of words when speaking. 

Especially podcasters, I know that there are ways to edit the podcasts but sometimes I will listen to a fantastic podcast but the over use of certain words will distract me so badly that it makes me lose sight of what I'm doing listening to their audible mess. 

Now when communicating with your client, "your perspective collector" you want to be sure that you are fine tuned in all of areas and aspects, this is probably where role-playing would come into play but you can certainly find tune your public speaking in so many ways. Record yourself and listen back, are there overused words or is your message not getting across in the proper format, are you not getting to the point, or are you beating around the bush so hard that even you're getting lost in your own message?

I'm going to list a couple of great podcast that you can listen to that will help you as a public speaker. But not all of us are this is going to be public speakers, the point of this podcast episode is to reflect on yourself how you were sounding when conversing with your client, a.k.a. lifelong collector. 

Now if you go back decades and decades and centuries ago you will find out that people in the business arena did face-to-face business, when the telephone came along they spoke on the phone via telephone, and then of course the modern technology of faxes came along and people started to do business by way of fax. But it all all boils down to one thing, voice to voice, and face-to-face communications are critical. This is how you should be interacting with your clients.

Unless your collector specifically asked you to text them don't text them as a way of communication, it's really impersonal when you're conducting business. I would say email is the better format if you have to communicate and document the artwork that you're doing for them, state a price or document a size of an artwork, a price and other critical detailed information.

Please do not get in the habit of texting your customers hey "what's up?" "are you ready yet", "what's up dude". Not professional.  

Picking up the phone and talking to your customer vo

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Today's question comes from Allan in San Francisco who says "Hey Sonya, good job on the podcast have been loving everything you're doing so far. I'm a little apprehensive to ask this question because we've had this conversation before but I'm still in a rut when it comes to asking for the sale and blowing it by talking too much! Can you give me three quick viewpoints on what not to say when trying to conclude the sale!

Hey there Allan, thanks so much for writing in and yes one of the things that artist need to do or anyone get a sales position is to ask for the sale and stop talking, (LOL)

One of the things that I have seen while working with artists and clients, when you've received a commitment from your customers we all tend to fill in awkward airspace with blibber-blabber.

1). I know many of us struggle with this and one thing you can't do is let your customer see you sweat. This only lowers the confidence of your professionalism and it also shows weak points that you don't want your customer to detect because in their eyes, you are a rockstar, you are amazing and they are about to handover a large sum to collect your work. 

2). Second of all, you've gotten a commitment from your customer (and you need to stop talking). I have seen time and time again where artists will say "are you sure"?, I've also heard others asking the customer if "it's OK" to agree on price, in other words you've agreed on the price of the work and they've agreed to pay for it because they respect your time and your work, you blow it by saying "I hope that's OK".  Again, stop talking!!

3). Don't talk about the price any longer, you concluded that, now the excitement of packaging it up for them to take home or if you were going to be shipping it you prepare your paperwork to get all of the information you would need to do that.

In my art marketing workshops i've had  artists who have confessed to me that they'll start to bargain with the customer and it always end up bargaining into the wrong direction of you lowering the price, Stop talking. 

You are a rockstar. You are an artist, you are creating fine pieces of artwork. This is your work, this is your blood sweat and tears. Don’t blow the sale.

Allan, I hope this helps out with your dilemma, I do recall speaking with you on a couple of occasions in regards to this very subject and I'm telling you you will do so much better if you just stand firm, be prideful of your work, and again stop talking.... Don't say too much.

So rock stars I want to remind you that I have not only hourly coaching sessions but I also can do it in 15 minute increments if you need something quick to get yourself boosted up to gain your confidence and to rock 'n' roll with your art business. Check out RockStar Mentor.com in the coaching and mentoring section for more information.

I'm so glad that you all turned in today for fan mail Friday, many thanks to Allan for this awesome question. Would love to hear how you are producing and promoting this new avenue of selling. If you need additional help feel free to reach out to me on the website or email me at http://rockstarmentor.com. 

I hope you all have a rock 'n' roll and weekend this is where delving into the fall so's most of the art shows are concluding in the bay area, if you are going to be doing any harvest festivals or indoor shows this fall and holiday season I hope you're going to rock and roll!

I am your host Sonya Paz, I look forward to talking with you next week an

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On the Rockstar Mentor podcast today I am thrilled to bring you Lee Lonitz of DesignForSite.com, Lee is a CEO of Design for site and he is a marketer, social media strategist, web developer and on the show today we are discussing how to give your website your best "A" game as well as tips and ideas for raising visibility and audience on your social media. 

This is a really great informative interview and Li's information is:

DesignForSite.com

And

LeeLonitz.com

You could also locate him on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/designforsite/

 

For the full summary of these show notes visit me at http://rockstarmentor.com/blog

Please visit our website to sign up to be on the front lines of amazing information and free downloads that I have prepared especially for you. http://rockstarmentor.com

Visit me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/crushitmentor

Visit me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/rockstarmentor

To learn more about me, my art and colorful product line, visit Sonya Paz through my artist website, http://SonyaPaz.com

Thanks to "The Brush Guys" they can be located at http://thebrushguys.com they offer the best in all things brushes for all mediums and amazing specials on art supplies. Save 5% on your online order, use promocode: ROCKSTAR

 

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Episode 034   Greetings friends and listeners, today is Fanmail Friday and I have a question from Sarita in Meridian, Idaho who asks, "Hi Sonya, I am in the process of getting my website finalized and I have given my images to my web person, she is telling me that I need to remove the watermarks from my images, but I remember from a previous podcast you said that watermarking the images is necessary, can you please explain this to me again in detail?   Greetings Sarita, and thank you so much, I know that so many web people want to make things simplistic and they feel that the watermark is going to compromise the aesthetic from the website..... Ummmm not true!   it's the same as if you were telloing them to not to allow them credit if they put their name at the bottom of the website. So, in my opinion, the answer is no, do not remove your watermark.    However, I will say that the watermark does need to be thought out and doesn't need to take up the whole entire span of your image, it also should not be blasted across the center of your image, often times this is a turn off to the consumer and it should be in a lighter transparent layer something that isn't over taking images but will let the average viewer who might stumble on your images in that big fast Internet Highway know who who created the work.   I also know that some web experts want to place high-resolution images spanning 1200 x 1200 pixels.  Eeeeek!!!  If you provide this size image, provide images that will benefit images of open spaces, images of your studio, photos of your exhibits with lots of people in it, a photo of you with your booth, a grouping of your artwork in a setting. But I do not recommend that you put one image 1200 pixels by 1200 pixels because then it can easily be "borrowed" from your website and utilized unfavorably without your permission.  Sad, but true.    I have provided art images on my site that are no more than 500 pixels wide, this will translate well and be nicely visible on tablet, laptop, smart phone etc. the whole point of putting photos on your site is so that people can see your work and anything larger than that it's going to take up unnecessary space and you want of course people to purchase prints of your work or other products that you have available.    If you keep the watermark modest on the lower section of the on the image, this way  you should be safe.    Sarita, I am excited that you are close to launching your website and would love it if you would send me your final link so we can check out your amazing art! I hope that you will send in questions that you have that you would like for me to answer on the air about any obstacles that you are encountering or any questions that you might have.   

For the full summary of these show notes visit me at http://rockstarmentor.com/blog

Please visit our website to sign up to be on the front lines of amazing information and free downloads that I have prepared especially for you. http://rockstarmentor.com

Visit me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/crushitmentor

Visit me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/rockstarmentor

To learn more about me, my art and colorful product line, visit Sonya Paz through my artist website, http://SonyaPaz.com

Thanks to "The Brush Guys" they can be located at http://thebrushguys.com they offer the best in all things brushes for all mediums and amazi

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Today's episode focuses on how you can support your local artists by not only visiting them and supporting them at their shows, but to be sensitive of the time you spend with them in respect to their other guests.

I know many of us who have had shows, will know that the time spent with a collector can be a profitable and rewarding experience, and as much as we love family and friends to visiting us at shows, it's critical that they understand that our time at the shows is not all glamour, it's a lot of work. 

Now, I have been a fan of other people's art and have attended many exhibits and exhibitions and I want to support. I don't expect them to spend a lot of time talking with me but I do want them to know I'm there to support them. If there is a guestbook at the event I make sure to put my name in it and write something nice to let them know that I was there. If I do have the opportunity to see them, then I tell them briefly how I enjoyed  their show. But I also want them to know that I realize that they're busy and simply just want them to know that I wish them the best. 

Sometimes when having an exhibit it's always good to have an extra support person there, almost as if they were a "handler". Someone that can keep you moving along if for some reason you get trapped into an in-depth conversation where you may not have an opportunity to break away. 

Now I don't think that I'm being snarky saying this, but it is a reality. They can be  losing potential sales and relationship building with someone who may want to learn more and is ready to buy their work.

For the full summary of these show notes visit me at http://rockstarmentor.com/blog

Please visit our website to sign up to be on the front lines of amazing information and free downloads that I have prepared especially for you. http://rockstarmentor.com

Visit me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/crushitmentor

Visit me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/rockstarmentor

To learn more about me, my art and colorful product line, visit Sonya Paz through my artist website, http://SonyaPaz.com

Thanks to "The Brush Guys" they can be located at http://thebrushguys.com they offer the best in all things brushes for all mediums and amazing specials on art supplies. Save 5% on your online order, use promocode: ROCKSTAR

 

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