How to Start an Art Gallery Business
Are you looking for a lucrative business to invest? Then you should consider opening an art gallery. The art business is one of the most profitable businesses globally, with millions of dollars of revenue recorded annually. You might be feeling that you do not have knowledge or passion for art to run this business. That is not a problem, as long as you have a passion for business.
In every industry, there is a business angle to it, and opening an art gallery is no exception to that rule. You may not have the passion or slight knowledge about art, but you can develop that before you start the business.
Moreover, you do not have to be an expert or take on a school course to start the business. Although having advanced knowledge of the subject would be of tremendous advantage in running the business. But as the company picks up, you can expand the minimal knowledge you develop. You can run some crash courses online to get to know the elementary of the subject before you think of starting the business, for this elementary knowledge might suffix for the moment.
In addition, art is a broad subject, with many areas, branches and specialization. And from the business point of view, it has a wide range of profitable ventures. You can decide to branch out to as many of the scope associated with the artworld, or focus your art galley on a special field of art. The option is the art industry is enormous, and you can take advantage of this broad scope in maximizing your profit in this venture.
Steps to Start Your Art Business
As a business owner, you want to make a profit; thus, you want a venture that will bring in considerable revenue. Then you can open up an art gallery. However, there are specific steps you should follow to ensure that this venture is successful.
The steps include:
- Understand the art market
- Acquire the necessary knowledge
- Decide the suitable model of business.
- Find a desirable location for your art gallery.
- Find a suitable design for an art gallery.
- Create your brand presence online
- Build a professional network for your art gallery.
- Plan for elaborate opening night.
- Create a long term sustainable plan
- Keeping it running
Now, we are going to discuss each step stated above. With the elaboration of the measures, you will get an idea of how to open and run an art gallery business successfully.
- Understand the art market
The first step is to research the art gallery business in your locality. Are there art galleries in existence, how many are they and in what areas are they located? You will want to know how these businesses attract customers and how much revenue they make over a specified period.
Before you start the business, you can make equities from experts. Get to know the various areas involved in running the business, such as meeting with artists, getting to know the kind of art in demand, where to source for the supply of the artworks, and how to promote your gallery. You can meet up with other gallery owners, speak with them, and get to learn how they operate their business. It is also essential that you know what the various art galleries in your area offer. With the knowledge of what they have to offer, you can plan how to make your art gallery unique by adding new features or products.
You should try and visit as many galleries in and out of your city. Talk with the owners and other experts to know the business demand as you learn what to offer and people to target. Also, get to know what the people in your locality will appreciate. The kind of art that will get them interested in visiting the gallery. You should understand that each region is unique with its history, culture, traditions, and beliefs. You will have to consider these in opening your art gallery and attract visitors around the location.
- Acquire the necessary knowledge
Before you open an art gallery, you should have had the necessary knowledge of art. You should know the names of the artists of some famous artworks and learn how to interpret artwork. You can acquire knowledge of art by attending seminars or taking available online art courses.
Another way to get in-depth knowledge of running the business is to engage art owners. With an idea of what you want in your art gallery, visit places with similar structures, especially outside your city. Interact with the managers and get to learn the intricacies involved in the art business. You can request from contacts of artists, speak with these artists, and get them to supply your gallery with their work.
You can also contact top galleries online and make inquiries about specific business ideas you may want to learn from how they run their business. In most cases, contacting gallery owners online from different locations or cities will yield better cooperation since they will sense no strict competition with your business.
Business owners can also employ art experts to manage the business and learn from the manager. The experts with in-depth knowledge in art will be involved in running the art part while taking over the decision and business angle. And in the process, you are learning from the expert.
- Decide on a suitable mode of business.
Now, the next step is to decide a suitable model of business for your art gallery. Draw a business plan or get an expert to draw one for you. The business plan will be your road map or guide, containing how to raise capital for the business and how to earn revenue. You will determine how much you will need to start the business, drawing a suitable plan of all you will need to begin.
And then how to source for capital to finance the business. This step is a significant part of the market, and you will be significantly involved in the transaction. With a proper detailed business plan, you can sort for capital from financial institutions.
And at this stage, you have to determine the revenue model of the business. The revenue model is the part that is of interest to most investors. You will provide details on how you plan to make money from the gallery. Are you going to derive revenue for sales percentage of artwork, from entrance fees, exhibitions, sponsors, and other methods? The process of income should be stated appropriately and how to engage the people involved.
- Find a desirable location for your art gallery.
The location has always been a critical factor in business, and the place for your art business should be chosen carefully. You should consider an area that is accessible, possibly in a business district to attract business. It is possible to locate your art gallery close to a competitor to entice people out of curiosity. They will likely want to see what the other art gallery has to offer, and with your research adequately carried out, you should be able to provide something different from the one along the area.
In choosing a location for your art business, you should also consider that you will host events and reception with lots of people in attendance. Therefore, you should consider an open place that can house many people, with functional parking space, secure entrance, and exit points. Find a location where people can transit to and fro from any part of the town. Probably, in the center of the city, a place with good security, with other businesses such as hotels, restaurants, cinemas which will ensure high traffic in the area.
The location should be secured where people can feel safe, with car parks and other social amenities in the vicinity. Remember that an art gallery should be a place of social gathering where people can meet and enjoy a vast art collection, making the environment as conducive as possible.
Get a real estate agent to look for a suitable place for you with all your required specifications. You should in no way compromise the specification about the location, for you plan on staying in this location for a long time. Thus, make sure you choose one that will suit the business, ensuring the art gallery’s success on a long term basis.
Read Also: How to Choose Business Location for Your Business
- Find a suitable design for an art gallery.
You are opening an art gallery, not an office or a store, so how you place your works for display is crucial. There are specific considerations you have to make when setting out the place for your art gallery. You have to consider the following:
- It should be spacious.
- People can move around comfortably.
- The lighting is essential for maximum effect.
- The room should be painted in bright colors.
- There should be no open windows.
- And there should be a hidden security camera.
The room where you will display the artworks should be spacious. There should be enough room to move around, for people to admire the artworks. Artworks can be placed on the walls of the room, and the centers of the room on posts adequately spaced apart. People should be able to admire the works without clustering or getting close to the works.
Furthermore, there should be proper lighting. The room should be bright enough for people to view and capture every detail of the works. Fluorescent lighting should be used in the place. With this in mind, you should also consider the painting of the room. Some colors will illuminate a room, and you should use those bright colors. Also, this is not a shop that displays its goods to people outside. Thus, there should be no open windows, for you want people to come inside the gallery.
You should also consider security in your design plan. With the mindset of allowing people to move freely, you should make the security as obscure as possible. With the use of advanced technology, you can install hidden cameras, metal detectors, and sensors around the artwork to protect your investment. Security should not be made evident in an art gallery to give people the freedom to explore.
There are agencies specialized in interior decorating you can contact for this job. All you have to do is provide the agency with the specification you need, and they will make a spacious environment to suit your art gallery.
- Create your brand presence online
In our present-day world, you have to be online to meet up with other galleries. Customers can make online booking appointments, tickets to shows, watching exhibitions, and placing orders. Missing out on the opportunity online will cost you lots of clients.
At this stage, the next step is to build your online presence. This step involves promoting your business by creating a website, and social media handles on popular platforms. Through these online tools, you can improve your art gallery, sell tickets for exhibitions, promote reception to be held in the gallery, sell artworks, and carry out online shows.
Also, being online will enable you to promote your art gallery to people outside your vicinity. With the internet, people do not have to be in your art gallery to view their collections. The use of social media platforms is also essential in this aspect. With millions of people active on these platforms, it is easy to target interested audiences for your products and services. You can also link up with artists and follow them to get the latest trend in the industry and stay up to date. These channels can also be used to reach out to customers, serving as useful customer service tools. They are the right way of promoting your art business, especially at its infancy stage: Post captivating images, videos, artworks, and upcoming events or exhibitions on these platforms. You can build a relationship with top influencers in the industry through these popular online platforms, which will further grow your business.
Nevertheless, at this stage, you can get a digital marketer or social media manager to handle your online presence. They will provide a professional service that is needed for running an art gallery. You can expect considerable revenue from your online business activities, so building your online presence should not be taken for granted.
Read Also: 8 Reasons Why Small Business Need a Website for Your Business
- Build a professional network for your art gallery
Networking is essential for the growth of your business, and it is necessary to build a good relationship at the start. You can start with galleries around you, invite them to exhibitions, and help promote their products to expect a return in kind. You can direct people to these galleries when they have what the customers desire. Doing all this will help in building networks among art gallery owners who will, in turn, improve business.
You can build good relationships with business owners, government officials, and other influential people by offering your space for events, business hangouts, and much more. You will be promoting your business among top people when you provide such gestures. And this, in turn, this will help in increasing revenues with increased awareness that your gallery can be used for functions. These are what you should plan out as you intend to start your art gallery business. Start creating awareness with these influential people while making arrangements to open the gallery. Create a buzz about the new thing coming to town.
- Plan for elaborate opening night.
The opening night is of such importance to your art gallery business. It is the night that will show the world what you have to offer. You have to take advantage of the opening night to create the most significant buzz about the new art gallery in town. The success of the opening night may set the business up for a grand success.
Before the opening night, you should ensure to get everything ready for that night. The important thing is to get some excellent art collections on display for those art lovers. You will be looking to catch the interest of the art critics around and should not consider only the grandeur of the events. With an excellent art collection on display, you will get great reviews from the art critics who will be present.
Aside from that, you may want to get a familiar face to promote the gallery. The familiar face will be the ambassador of the business, and this will help create a more significant buzz about your gallery and the opening night.
Also, you may add some entertainment to the show. Remember that you will be showcasing some other part of the business. The gallery can be used for events, receptions, hosting, and other social events.
- Create a long term sustainable plan
The art gallery business is a long term business, and it is vital to have a long term plan. You should understand that the art business goes through changes in time, and you should be open to evolving with the time. Always follow the experts in the industry, and monitor what is trending and what the clients seek in art.
You should draw out plans to research and apply new findings in your business. For this, you must employ knowledgeable people in the field in different departments of the art business.
With a long term plan in mind, you should consider partnerships in some areas of operation. You should partner with artists to display their artworks on your platform, with extensive contracts. Place art experts as consultants in your business to advise on the best approach to keep the business running over a long time. A long term plan should also include initiatives to keep the gallery occupied with events around the year.
- Keeping the business running
Supply and demand should be considered before starting a business. And in the case of opening an art gallery, you have to consider the regular supply of artwork to keep the client demanding the art gallery’s products and services. Before starting the business, you should make arrangements through art experts to get artists interested in showcasing their works.
Get a supply of the trendy types of art in your gallery and ensure room for changes and innovations. You should have a keen eye in upcoming artists, getting them to display artworks in your gallery. A long term plan will be to go in contracts with a mix of upcoming and established artists to keep the gallery occupied and busy all year round. It is also essential that you have new artwork around the clock. People will be eager to come to your gallery to see the latest works on display. Don’t leave out old works on your shelves for too long. If they have not been bought, you should put them outside to create space for newer works.
It is vital to get the latest works being shown on your shelves. Get as many artists as you can be interested in using your art galley to keep the business going.
Read Also: 22 Reasons for Small Business failure and How to Avoid Them
Conclusion
The art world is always evolving with new trends, and you should be sure to be abreast of the changes. Art is a complex and comprehensive subject, which involves various forms of display and performance. In understanding the subject’s scope, you should be ready to accommodate these areas or as many of this scope as you can to boost your business. Engaging in several aspects of art in the industry will provide room for more revenue and stay in the market for a long time. Remember that the business is not specifically for those that have an art degree or know how to create artworks or perform. But anyone with the ideal or capital can start-up an art gallery, acquire the necessary knowledge, and follow the principles involved in running an art business.
You should also consider other essential aspects like insurance, security, and employing professionals to help run the business. The art gallery business is capital consuming in starting and running the business. However, it is a multi-billion dollars business with over a billion dollars of art sold worldwide. And in addition to other business opportunities that come with running an art gallery, it has proven to be a lucrative business.