"While driving into Versailles, one might miss the unassuming storefront at 120 Lexington Street for The Gallery, a photography and art store opened last January by Paul Atkinson. Paul has been in the artistic and creative industry for many years, but recently has become more heavily involved in the art of photography.
Paul's actual job now is as a commercial photographer, shooting parties, weddings and other events. So why would he want to open up a gallery and add that to his workload? He points out that until now, few saw the work that he did for himself. Residing in rural Nonesuch, he finds much of his inspiration in the plants and flowers and animals around his home. But without some sort of outlet, only friends and family would ever see that work. So Paul decided to open a gallery to expose his personal work to the public and to help grow the art culture in Versailles.
How does Paul draw traffic to see his work? Every month, he has a show at the gallery with a guest artist showing their photography or artwork. And in the future, he plans to expand the concept to include other forms of creativity, such as local pottery. Invitations are sent out to a list he's compiled from those who have been in the gallery before and to others whom he knows to be interested in art in general. It seems to be working, since he always has a good crowd for these events, and local artists are beginning to approach him to be featured in a show. Another factor that helps is that he has been able to attract "names" to the gallery and the shows, including William Shatner and Congressman Ben Chandler.
But Paul hasn't stopped at just displaying and selling the photography and art of himself and others. Recently, he has become more involved in the art of photopainting, which is computer "painting" a photograph so that it becomes more like artwork than just a photograph. He's also set up to do studio shots at the gallery, plans to add framing services in the future and is open to other areas of expansion as they make sense.
With all of this activity and effort, though, his goal isn't to make a great deal of money. He wants the venture to be self-supporting obviously, but money wasn't the reason for this in the first place. He wanted to expose the work he has done and is very proud of to the public and perhaps have the satisfaction that his work is hanging in area homes and businesses.
With an obviously limited marketing budget, Paul can't do much more than the invitations and shows and the occasional print ad. In spite of that, though, I think his new venture will be a success and perhaps exceed his expectations. The reason is simple: he is truly passionate about his work, and he wants to bring that to others. You only have to talk to him to understand that.
It's often been said that you should find a line of work that you love and that you are almost guaranteed then to be a success. While your business might already be successful, I also hope that you truly enjoy what you do. It's difficult to market yourself and your product to others if you don't really believe in it. You might want to reflect on what you do and how much you enjoy what you do. If you do love it, that's wonderful. If not, can you relight the spark that got you there in the first place? Can you readjust your business or your role to make it something you truly enjoy? As a last resort, examine what you really would like to do and see if you can realistically make a change.
Paul does what he wants to do, and that's what will make his gallery a success. Follow his example and find a way to enjoy your business or career. What have you got to lose?
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