Don't Open an Online Art Shop before Watching This | Artists Advice

[@SB-oe7lu]

Thanks Asia! I am one of the lucky owners of a couple of your prints, which I love as they are so beautiful. In terms of your shop experience, I agree. I closed my shop last year too as it was getting to much for me. I also have so much stuff still stacked throughout my townhouse/duplex from then. This stuff includes items such as product packaging, postage packaging, prints, stickers, cards, etc. This now equates to so much of a waste of money, just to save a bit of money in the first place. My advice to anyone now would be to NOT fall into the trap of trying to save a few dollars/pounds, etc. as one never knows what the future holds and it, like it did with me, may turn into a HUGE waste of money. I learned some BIG LESSONS from this experience though. 😊

[@AsiaOrlando]

So nice to hear about the prints, thank you!:)💙💙💙 and so right about the shop products, they tend to linger afterwards, unless you have a great product strategy, that normally takes a lot of time and dedication to develop and upkeep. At the beginning, opening a shop is an investment so I’m not surprised we both decided to opt for a more economical options:) But at the same time, after having the full experience, I totally second your recommendation to be sensible with the purchasing decisions and test the waters slowly, there’s always time to go big:)

[@Kdmud]

Asia, thank you, this video was perfect for me, because I am on the fence about opening a shop. Your point about how a shop can become a burden is what I am trying to explore in my dream of my shop, I wonder if I really like the shop “process” or, am I just in love with the idea? Sharing your experiences in your videos has been so helpful for me to question myself on a deeper level. Of course I realize that I will never truly know until I get out there, but opened eyes before the leap seems a better approach to me! Love your videos, always inspiring and interesting!!💫🤩💛

[@AsiaOrlando]

Thank you so much for such a thoughtful comment! I really appreciate your words and am so happy my videos are helpful 😊 I totally get it, there’s a lot of things to consider and for many of them, it’s true that only your own experience will allow you to reach certain conclusions. Running a shop is great, but it’s crucial to have enough time organized for every aspect of it, like marketing, designing new products, their production and distribution, all of that with costs in mind:)

[@Kdmud]

Agreed!!👍🏽👏🏽

[@mari43862]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Asia! ❤ I'm just starting my career as an illustrator and I'm thinking about an online store. I've done some research and maybe I'll try a few print on Demant options. But, yes! it is a lot to think about before even start, especially where you want to spend your time and energy as an artist. ❤

[@AsiaOrlando]

Definitely, there are so many decisions to make, especially at the beginning! A shop can be such a great addition to your business or in some cases be its core, but depending on what each one of us is looking for, it’s definitely not a must:) All the good energy to you & your first steps in the illustration world💙

[@mari43862]

@@AsiaOrlando Absolutely agree with you, Asia! And thank you ☺️🧡