2020 in Review

Kind of a yearly thing that I do on this site, although this year is different. I’m tired of qualifying everything I write about 2020, you? No more in this article. I know that you know about the nature of 2020. Anyways…TO THE REVIEW! Reminder, this is all ’bout the business, not really personal reflection (there’s a different blog for that).

What Did I Do, Create, or Experience This Year that I’m Really Proud Of?

I completed a new series of coastal artwork that I’m proud of and people have responded super-positively to. It’s been very gratifying to have them succeed so well. I created several other works as well. Having a lot of time on my hands as the market schedule was obliterated, I was really productive! I also navigated 2020 well enough to survive the winter slow down and make it to the 2021 season (barring unforeseen circumstances). I expanded my retail presence with great success, and I’m working on broadening the scope of income streams in 2021. Totally nailed Inktober this year, too! In the final week, I’m planning a new art piece that is so far removed from my comfort zone in every aspect that I’m surprised I haven’t talked myself out of it yet. (Be brave, Peter, do the thing!)

What Mistakes Did I Make that Taught Me Something? What Lessons Did I Learn that I Can Leverage?

I didn’t plan out my retail expansion as I normally would, and went with the seat-of-the-pants approach. It sort of worked. It also caused me more anxiety than I needed to pile on this year, and left my host shop repeatedly asking for more stock. Making a regular delivery schedule will solve both issues.

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I learned that as much as I like selling at farmers’ markets, my current schedule of them doesn’t align with my mid-term goals for my art business. I can leverage the recognition of that to adjust my focus and schedule to better align with those goals. This winter, I’ve only planned one personal art project, and a couple of smaller business projects. Now I can start that pivot as early in the new year as possible while still getting some downtime.

What Am I Willing to Let Go Of?

Reflecting on last year’s review now. I believe that I also have done a fairly good job with letting go of the imposter syndrome…not completely, but I can tell I’m in a much more confident place than a year ago. Part of that comes from surviving 2020 as a market vendor, and from selling a bunch of original art during the holiday markets. I focused on the right things more this year…go me!

For 2021, I’m challenging myself to make space in the business for unstructured time. I want to let go, at least somewhat, of such a regimented schedule. I feel that it serves my business well to have some structure, but I’ve missed the balance. It’s tougher to switch things quickly and easily when the need arises. I’m not sure what these changes look like. I’ll be grabbing some paper and figuring it out before too long.