Financial Management Resources for Artists

Having an emergency savings fund eases financial stress when the worst happens. Here are three strategies to start building reserves to keep setbacks from becoming roadblocks.

An astute business and tech savvy blog from metalsmith Harriete Estel Berman. This blog has a wealth of information on all aspects of an artist’s business, including a set of professional guidelines developed by a stellar committee of craft professionals for the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG).

Famous for their excellent weekend-long intensive art business workshops, Creative Capital has a series of one-topic webinars. You will need a computer with speakers, but no special software. The cost is $25 per 90 minute session. Check their calendar for times and topics.

You may be denied credit, insurance, employment, or rentals if your credit score is too low. Learn how to improve it from the agency that enforces laws that regulates aspects of the credit industry, the Federal Trade Commission. Also, find out how to receive a copy of your credit report from the nationwide credit reporting companies and how to have inaccurate information removed from your credit report.

You can find financial planning literature, ask a certified financial planner (CFP) questions, or find a CFP. Through qualified partnerships with other organizations, the Support Center can provide individuals with pro bono financial planning assistance. The site contains numerous articles on financial planning for a variety of situations.

GYST is a software application for PC and MAC for tracking artworks and other career-related items such as artist statements, contacts, etc.

The Profitable Artist is a handbook for artists in the performing, literary and visual arts, compiled by arts professionals and the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). The book guides the reader through five broad substantive topics that are often overlooked by artists: strategic planning, finance, law, marketing, and fundraising. Each topic area is reinforced by real-world examples and applications of the material.

A credit card can be a useful tool in running a craft business, but too much credit card debt can lead to serious financial problems for your business and your family. In this program, Frontline and The New York Times examine how the credit card industry

A collection of money management tools from the National Endowment for Financial Education and other organizations reviewed by SmartAboutMoney.org. Also, see http://www.smartaboutmoney.org/LifeEventsFinancialDecisions/tabid/299/Default.aspx for index of information based on life events and financial decisions.

A summary of tax related issues for visual artists by certified public accountant Peter Jason Riley of Riley & Associates, P.C. This resource will help you determine if your art enterprise is a business or hobby in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service and guide you to better understanding of business income, inventory, expenses, equipment purchases, and claiming a home office deduction. Included in the resource are links to business income and expense worksheet templates designed specifically for visual artists. The Riley & Associates’ website has similar tax issue summaries for performing artists and writers.

Get education and support around cash flow management, credit and debt, savings and investing and financial planning. Explore and address limiting beliefs and behaviors around money.