Paying Artists (and Yourself) on Time

I’m not an accountant or a bookkeeper, at least not beyond what was necessary to run my gallery. I used free or low-cost tools to manage finances and tracked every dollar closely. With small profit margins, I had to stay on top of income and expenses at all times.

I earned an excellent reputation as a gallery owner who paid artists promptly. My artists trusted me with their work, and it was important to me to keep that trust. That trust bred mutual respect. In 12 years, the only time I was late paying artists was in April 2020. We went into Covid lockdown just as the gallery would have opened full-time for the season. And right when winter savings had run out. I had annual expenses coming due that I normally covered with early-season sales. By the end of March, I had to make a difficult choice: pay the utilities and insurance or pay my artists.

Fortunately, I qualified for relief funding and was only a couple of weeks late sending those artist payout checks out. Still, that experience stayed with me. I felt deeply that I had let my artists down. It forced me to take a closer look at cash flow - how money moved in and out of the business - and to build a better plan for the future. That realization didn’t just change how I managed the gallery; it changed how I valued my own role in it.

In the early years, I only paid myself when I paid my artists, and only for my own work that had sold. Every other dollar stayed in the gallery account to keep the business running. That’s how many small businesses operate and how many small business owners survive on stress.

After a few years, it was suggested to me that I should pay myself a modest salary just so that I would be contributing to Social Security. So, I did. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Over time, I took a long hard look at why I was in business and what I was worth. I encouraged my artists to treat themselves as professionals, yet I wasn’t truly doing the same for myself.

If I wasn’t paying myself a fair wage, I was essentially a volunteer.

I had to make adjustments, such as shuffling expenses and delaying purchases, but eventually, I landed on a salary that reflected my value and my hard work.

Paying artists on time and paying yourself isn’t just about money. It reinforces professionalism and ensures long-term stability. When you treat your creative business seriously, you create a stronger foundation not just for yourself, but for the entire art community you’re part of.