5 Ways I Wouldn’t Scale My Art Business in 2025
5 Ways I Wouldn’t Scale My Art Business in 2025
If your “plan” to grow this year is to go viral on Instagram… then let’s have a little chat, shall we?
Hot Takes:
Doing it all yourself
Slow months
Building a brand
Website updates
Doom scrolling
If your “plan” to grow this year is to go viral on Instagram… then let’s have a little chat, shall we?
Because scaling an art business isn’t about crossing your fingers, chasing trending audio, or posting every day until you’re ready to throw your phone in the bin. It’s the boring but brilliant stuff that actually works. Stuff that’s been working for decades, way before reels were a thing.
I’ve mentored hundreds of artists. I’ve built my own business past seven figures. And the truth is that the biggest growth moments had nothing to do with “cracking the algorithm.”
So, pull up a chair and let me fill you in.. Because if I had to start again tomorrow, here’s exactly what I wouldn’t do.
ONE. I wouldn’t try to do it all myself
I know it looks cool to be a one-person show. Answering emails, packing orders, doing your own bookkeeping, designing your own graphics.
I did that.
For years.
And yes, technically it worked.. until it didn’t. Until I was working weird hours and quietly resenting the thing I’d built.
But the day I started getting help was an absolute game-changer. A VA for admin, someone to handle production, a bookkeeper so I could stop pretending I knew what a BAS statement was.
Scaling is a team sport. You can do it all yourself for a while, but if you want to grow without burning out, you need other brains in the room.
TWO. I wouldn’t panic over one slow month
Back in the day, one quiet month would send me into a spiral.
“Should I lower my prices?”
“Maybe my art is terrible.”
“Should I just… quit?”
No. Stop. One slow month doesn’t mean your business is broken.
Zoom out. Look at your year, not just your last 30 days. Are you growing overall? Did you make more than you did last year? Are you seeing patterns in your busy and quiet seasons?
This shift alone will save you from making panic moves that hurt your business more than the quiet month ever did.
THREE. I wouldn’t skip building the brand first
Everyone wants to skip to the “multiple income streams” part. But here’s the thing: if people don’t actually know you yet, none of that will land.
Your first job is building the brand. Not the logo. Not the colour palette. The brand.
Your message. Your consistency. The way you make people feel when they see your name.
I spent my first few years tweaking and refining until people got it.. who I was, what I did, and why it mattered. Doing the hard yards now means scaling later becomes so much easier.
FOUR. I wouldn’t let my website collect dust
Hands up if you got your website live and then promptly ignored it for six months?
I’m sorry to be the one to tell you but your website is not a “set and forget” thing. It needs regular updates. Weekly, if you can. With blogs, new work, clearer copy + content that is fresh and aligns with who you are and what you do.
Has your style changed? Fix it. Launching something new? Make the page. Getting the same questions over and over? Your website should be answering them for you.
A good website will do the heavy lifting for your business but only if you keep it alive.
FIVE. I wouldn’t spend all my time scrolling
Most creatives would double their income if they spent less time scrolling and more time actually talking to people.
Not in a “cold DM strangers and pitch them” way. Just… check in with your past clients. Follow up with the person who enquired months ago. Have a conversation with the people who already engage with your work.
Social media is great, but the real growth happens when you stop waiting to be discovered and start building real relationships.
So.. say it with me “no scrolling before I’ve spoken to a human today”.. ok?
The real truth about scaling
Scaling isn’t a lottery ticket. It’s not about waiting for a viral post to save the day or running yourself ragged trying to do it all.
It’s about building something steady — a business that feels like it actually belongs to you.
One where:
Your brand feels like a natural extension of you.
Your systems run quietly in the background while you focus on creating.
You’ve got support (even if it’s just a few hours a week) so you’re not doing it solo.
Your relationships with your audience are genuine, and they keep coming back because they trust you.
That’s when growth feels less like chaos and more like… clarity. Predictable, sustainable, and a whole lot less exhausting.
