Me too. I'm Gabe from TattooNOW, pleased to meet you.
Helping tattooers leave the longest lasting positive impact possible keeps me up late. SInce the 90's I've done this by helping artists, studio owners, managers, and other professionals to visualize, maximize, and fufill their potential. This means helping with tech, business, and professional development.
Learn about business marketing and management
This also means connecting collectors with world-class tattooers.
Looking to get tattooed
[08:44] “You have to ‘abandon’ yourself. At some point you have to jump off the cliff, and just either live or die.”
— Jeff Gogue
It‘s never a bad thing to try and to have failed. A quote that I enjoy a lot that’s really helped me over the years is:
-Samuel Beckett
Though this isn’t the entire quote, it is a point that I think most people struggle with. The thought of “what if I can’t do it” or “what if it doesn’t work out”. You have to make an attempt first before you ever have the opportunity to fail.
Even your heroes have insecurities like this. It seems most of the time like they have it all figured out but really they’re just as neurotic or stumbling as any other person. But the key difference that they share is the fact that they are willing to put themselves out there and be vulnerable. Those people you look up to were willing to fight the urge to give up and press forwards even at the risk of serious failure or embarrassment.
I think Jeff makes that point clearly because he hated all of these things about his own character, but from dissatisfaction and frustration decided to make a serious change. Can you think of time like that? What struggles have you had that’ve made you more resilient? Maybe you should think back on those moments to help you realize that you can push through.
Setting audacious goals, even ones that may seem impossible, is crucial for personal growth. It's essential to think big initially and then scale down to achieve those goals effectively. But by envisioning big goals, you can instill the necessary motivation and determination to progress.
So let’s talk about one tactic you can use to “scale down” and make attainable steps to reach those big, seemingly crazy goals, DEADLINES! Deadlines are crucial for completing tasks and achieving set goals. Having specific timeframes helps by providing structure and motivation. Oftentimes failing to adhere to deadlines often leads to delayed or unfinished work or progress, hindering progress and possibly disappointing other people that are working around you.
As an example, turning in work on time during a paid class. I like to use this because it uses two frames of accountability, time and money. If you’re held tight to a deadline and your projects are submitted within that time frame, it allows for receiving valuable feedback from instructors. If you do the work but miss the submission time then you lose out on any serious insight that could have been gained, and the class moves on without you. Now what? You’ve lost an opportunity for serious growth and then that feels like a waste of time and resources.
Designing a compelling future involves setting ambitious goals that drive one's actions. Many tattoo artists miss out on intentionally creating a vision for their future career growth. By focusing on innovative ideas within the artistic realm, one can feed creativity, passion, and values.
Further Into the discussion it revolves around long-term goals in tattooing, focusing on achieving a balance between projects and individual pieces. The aim is to secure a consistent flow of larger projects, like sleeves and leg pieces, to stabilize booking schedules and finances. An adaptation of the 80/20 principle, termed "Top 20 & Farm club," emphasizes identifying ideal clients and tailoring services to attract similar ones, reducing the need for numerous smaller projects.
This involves pinpointing characteristics of ideal clients and replicating them to attract similar individuals. By serving a select group of top clients well and targeting a broader audience with similar traits, artists can streamline their workload and focus on fewer, more substantial projects. This strategy aligns with the concept of pursuing "moonshot" goals, aiming for significant leaps in revenue by optimizing core strengths rather than incremental improvements.
Transitioning from a high volume of smaller tattoos to fewer, higher-paying projects requires strategic adjustments and a shift in mindset. Instead of discounting services or pursuing numerous clients, the focus shifts to providing exceptional service to a select clientele and leveraging similarities to attract similar patrons. This shift not only streamlines the workload but also fosters a more sustainable and financially rewarding tattooing career in the long run.