NAEA convention LLL presentation 2010---- Barbara Reser, presenter
TEACHING ART AS A HOME BASED BUSINESS
by
Barb Reser
ART EDUCATION STUDIO (www.arteducationstudio.com)
I am from Topeka, Kansas and have a home based business teaching art.
I taught visual art in elementary and secondary public schools, then
decided instead of hauling art supplies all over my county in my van, taking
my sons to sports practice, guitar lessons, etc. I had all the materials at
home to do the same thing.
I go to a group home (mostly Veterans) once a week, and teach 4 classes
of homeschoolers one day a week. The rest of the time I provide art
instruction, flexibly scheduling students in my home based studio. My
youngest student is 5 years old, my oldest is 82 years old.
FIRST A DISCLAIMER---- I am not a lawyer, accountant, or web designer. These are my
observations, research and personal experiences.
STARTING THE BUSINESS
As I researched starting a home-based business, I found the Small
Business Administration website very helpful. I used the self-assessment
tool (http://www.sba.gov/assessmenttool/index.html ).
I also researched Art education franchises (Abrakadoodle, Kidzart, Monart , etc)
I decided that Art Education Studio would be a sole proprietorship. The
advantages of a sole proprietorship are: -the individual represents the business,
ease of tax preparation, and low start-up costs
There is no ONE way to search for conflicting business names. I
“Googled” the name, and checked the “fictitious name registry “ (Doing
Business As) with my county clerk’s office. I also checked
http://www.business.gov/register/business-name/dba.html, on the SBA website.
I arrived at my business logo by doing about 30 thumbnail sketches,
showing them to my son, who has good design sense, then whittled the
sketches down to a few, at which point I made my choice.
Zoning approval could be as simple as filling out an application for a homebased business permit, or as complicated as a public hearing. If I sold
supplies, I would have needed a vendor’s license. I don’t sell supplies, so I
just had to pay $50 for my initial permit, and a $10 per year renewal.
Market research was my next step in forming the business. Market
research involved finding direct and indirect competition.
Although a business plan is necessary if borrowing startup money from a
bank, I didn’t borrow from a lending institution (I borrowed around $2000 from our
personal account). I prepared a business plan anyway. There are numerous
websites that give information about creating a business plan. Here are a
few:
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (SBA)
http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/writeabusinessplan/index.html
MY OWN BUSINESS http://www.myownbusiness.org/s2/
ENTREPRENEUR http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessplan/
I found these books helpful in forming Art Education Studio:
ART TEACHING BUSINESS by Tanya Freedman
HOME-BASED BUSINESS FOR DUMMIES
by Paul and Sarah Edwards
I found these websites helpful in forming Art Education Studio:
http://www.business.gov/start/home-based/
http://video.about.com/webdesign/Choose-and-Register-a-Domain.htm#t
http://www.homebiztools.com/guides.htm
http://smallbusiness.dnb.com/specialty-businesses/home-based-business/3347-1.html
RUNNING THE BUSINESS
Art Education Studio has about 600 sq.ft. , approx.. 350 sq.ft. in the work
room with a large table and stools , some shelving, and my desk. The
“back” room is for storage and clean up.
When I started the business, my inventory consisted of materials and
supplies I already had, and purchased others from Dick Blick. Since Dick
Blick ships free on orders over $200, I keep a running list of needed items
on my desk, and when it looks like $200 worth, I place an order. I also use
coupons for discounts at Michaels and Hobby Lobby.
Art Education Studio has debit card and checkbook though my local bank,
and a credit card . (I got a low interest rate from researching Consumer Reports.)
Scheduling is flexible. Some students come once a week, some every
other week, and some just give me a call when they have a school project
or gift to work on. Some students pay each time they come, some pay
monthly, and others I send a statement every couple months (I keep a file
for each student on my computer.)
When a person calls , I ask them if they have access to the internet, then
give them the website URL (www.arteducationstudio.com). I explain that my
instruction is basic drawing and design tips and tricks. I set up what I call a
“tour” (no charge) to meet me and look around the studio, then set up
some kind of schedule. I have a scheduling book by the phone.
Here are some financial considerations:
Art Education Studio is cash based. I keep a ledger on my desk to
record income, and keep receipts in a box to record expenses. At tax time
I fill out these forms:
Schedule 1040- (on family 1040)
Schedule SE--Self Employment Tax
Schedule C--Profit or Loss from Business
My tax guy doesn’t even take “part of home for business--square footage, utilities, etc. for his homebased accounting business.
As far as printing goes, I have a business card, but haven’t found the
need for much else.
Insurance for the home-based business is a “rider” to our homeowners
insurance, and costs around $500 for the year.
After starting the business with some marketing mistakes, I now advertise
through the phone book-- (AT&T yellow pages (@$300/yr) and an ad in
our church bulletin (@$250/yr) . I also have a small sign on my mailbox,
and word-of-mouth advertising.
There are numerous ways to build a website. My son, Evan learned web
design in high school, and helped me. At one time I updated the website
with student artwork photos, but now keep them as an album on the Art
Education Studio page on Facebook.
Overall, I am very happy to have a home-based business teaching visual
art. Art Education Studio is not a huge money-maker, but doing art and
teaching art is my passion, and I enjoy it very much.
Contact information:
BARB RESER
breser1@cox.net
785-478-9458