Ann Rea: (00:02)
Are we live? We’re live. My name is Anne Rea. I am an artist and the founder of Making Art Making Money program. And this is one of my students artists, Matt Harline, who is coming to you from Sacramento. And I decided to create a new series that I’m calling “Artists Inspiring Artists,” but it’s not just inspiring artists, it’s also inspiring your customers to buy from you, Matt, right? Yup. Yeah. So what Matt’s going to do is he’s going to share his mission, and then I’m going to explain why knowing your mission as an artist is so critically important. And, before we dive into that, I guess I’d like to know Matt, how much, you know, if you could just, I know you’re an engineer, so you don’t have to be really precise. By training, he’s an engineer. But, like if you measured how much art you were selling before you knew your mission versus how much you’re selling now, what do you think the percentage increases approximately? We’re not doing math.

Matt Harline: (01:14)
So rather than percentages, it’s been about three times so far, this one year. In one year.

Ann Rea: (01:22)
So within one year of knowing your mission, you sold three times more art. Yes. Okay, cool. So what I’d love to do is just first of all, what’s your mission?

Matt Harline: (01:35)
My mission. So every once in a while, life turns you upside down. It’s unavoidable and some people get mad or angry about the fact that yes, things changed. I didn’t want that change. Other people take that, that change they’re getting turned upside down and look at it as an opportunity. Right. I want to inspire people, to embrace the things that they can do instead of getting mad about the things that they’ve lost or can’t do to, to stretch the limits but to be positive about life.

Ann Rea: (02:11)
You have quite a backstory on why this is your mission. So, um, would you mind sharing like the most painful moment, how you felt and what you learned and the most joyful moment, how you felt and what you learned?

Matt Harline: (02:28)
So there’s, there’s several that I’ve used in, in talking to people, but today I’d like to use one. Um, I mean, there’s a lot of, a lot, everyone goes through things that turn them upside down. Yeah, absolutely. In, in what was it, 2000? Was it 2007? I was in my living room with my son, one evening. And, he was asking me, “What didn’t we learn the first time?” And I need to tell you the backstory for that three years before that, um, halfway through their first child’s pregnancy, the pregnancy of their first child, um, they learned that she was, had had encephalocele, which means that the back of her skull didn’t close and half of her brain was forming outside of her skull. And, uh, they prayed and hoped for miracles. And, the day for the birth came and she actually was born alive and lived for two months, which was much more than what they expected, but, but she did pass away. Three years later for their third child at the same point in the pregnancy, they had the ultrasound and they were told we need to see you again.

Matt Harline: (04:03)
And this is the morning of that evening that I just told you about. And, and my, it was a different thing, not quite a serious, but to stand there with my son asking me, “What didn’t we learn the first time?” It was heartbreaking. It was, what can you say? I, I just wanted to reach out and, and say, “It’ll be all okay.” And you know, the only thing I could think of was we’ll figure out what it was we were supposed to learn together.

Ann Rea: (04:50)
Hmm. Was that the lesson that you learned from that moment?

Matt Harline: (04:55)
That’s part of, that’s part of the lesson. The real lesson is 13 years later, that little girl is doing great. And, and she, she’s got challenges. I mean, she’s, she doesn’t have half of her cerebellum and, and that’s, that’s not good, but, and they didn’t think she would be able to walk. And she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to talk or do much of anything. She’s in middle school, doesn’t do well in math, but she likes art. I can relate to that.

Ann Rea: (05:31)
But and also, if you don’t mind me sharing, you also, um, were hit by a car.

Matt Harline: (05:41)
That’s that’s another experience. Right?

Ann Rea: (05:44)
So, but you know, one thing I will say about Matt, I know because he’s a student of mine, is not only was he, I call him Superman because he not only was run over, his home and studio burnt to the ground. Like you can’t run over at him or burn him. He will still, you keep going. I mean, that’s, that may not be how you would articulate your mission, but a lot of people would just like you kind of, like you said, at the beginning, kind of throw their hands up and say, why me and give up and get mad and feel like a victim. But you found a way to, I don’t know what it is. You found a way to just say, well, this is what it is and keep going. And it’s inspiring.

Matt Harline: (06:39)
Yeah. And, and that’s really independent. It doesn’t matter about my art. I really do want to help people to get through those things. Not because I can do it because it’s, I want to help people tell their story of what it is they’ve been through in their fantastic moments and their sad moments. What is it that they want to remember?

Ann Rea: (07:06)
But that said, you are using your art now and your excellent listening skills. Cause I think that you have those two. So what Matt just shared with all of you is I teach what in the program, something called “The 4-part code”, which starts with your Why, your purpose, and Matt, I think you know your purpose and you know the purpose of getting run over and having this situation, this heartbreak with your son, you also know from joyful moments in your life, what your purpose is. So once you know your purpose, then you know your mission, which is the problem that’s worth solving, which you have articulated really well. Both of those things like your Why’s got everything to do with you. It’s got nothing to do with your art. Your What has got nothing to do with your art, has everything to do with how you can be of service to others.

Ann Rea: (08:00)
And then we go to your How. So right now you are actually dialing in your niche. Your niche, by the way, are people who want to buy your art. It’s knowing who wants to buy your art, knowing why they want to buy it, and where to go find more people just like them, which you are doing, sounds like, by way of referrals mostly. And you’re getting press and interviews so you can share your inspiring story. So tell us a little bit about, I know you’re dialing in your How right now. So what, how would you explain your How? How you create clear value above and beyond your art?

Matt Harline: (08:36)
So I’ve, I’ve found that I’m able, like you said, I listen to people. Yes, you do. I understand what their challenges are and I like to ask them, you know, think about a moment in your life you’d like to be reminded of every day. And then I propose, “Okay, I’d like to paint a picture for you that you can hang in your house someplace that you’ll walk by every day and you’ll be reminded of that moment.”

Ann Rea: (09:11)
Okay. So what I want to point out is the skill above and beyond the art that Matt creates. And that’s the, that’s the part that’s game-changing because otherwise you’re just going to be competing with other artists, mostly based on talent, mostly based on price. And that’s not a game you’re going to win.

Matt Harline: (09:30)
You can’t, you can’t go into a gallery and find a painting that will remind you of that moment in your life.

Ann Rea: (09:36)
But also Matt, when we talk about the other skill or value above and beyond the art. You can’t get someone to listen to you with deep empathy like you do for your collectors. And what you know, you mentioned the other day in class was that you’re starting to notice a pattern around your niche. Again, your niche is number four, your Who, who wants to buy your art, why they want to buy it and where to go find more people just like them. And I found it really fascinating. So who is buying your art right now, Matt? Who is your niche? How would you describe them? So

Matt Harline: (10:15)
I think this, this can change.

Ann Rea: (10:17)
Of course, it can. So by the way, your How and your Who can change. Yes. Right.

Matt Harline: (10:21)
But my, right now, I am — have been meeting with parents of children that have rare diseases or disorders, things that, that they really have no control over. And I’m, I’m painting a picture of the child. I’m creating not really a portrait, but just a representation of the child and what they can do instead of focusing on their disability.

Ann Rea: (10:51)
That’s the main — now just hold on a second. Is that of tremendous value or what? Is that how tremendous value for, for those people where artists make a huge mistake is trying to make art for everyone and trying to please everyone. And they wind up pleasing no one, least of all themselves. So you are describing a very specific niche and that’s the keys to the kingdom. If you want to learn a little bit more about what a niche is and what the 4-part code is, which we’ve been discussing, you can, I invite you to apply to a Private Master Class where you’re going to learn about how to sell more of your art without feeling like a sellout, even during the pandemic. Matt is selling during the pandemic. And you’ll also learn about the Making Art Making Money program and it is free and there’s no obligation. So there’s a link in the chat if you’re interested in that. But I just, I wanted, I wanted Matt to share how, I mean, I’ve watched you transform over because you’ve enrolled and you’ve been in the program now, this is your second year, and this is not where you started. No, not at all.

Ann Rea: (12:10)
So would you, like if you look back and you think, what were your top two challenges before you ever enrolled in the program? What were the things that were in your head?

Matt Harline: (12:22)
I had no idea how to get started. I was like you said, I mean, I’ve always been an artist, but I took a 41 year detour in life as an engineer.

Ann Rea: (12:33)
Yes.

Matt Harline: (12:35)
And, and after my accident and not being able to continue as an engineer, I, I, I said, “Well, I can be an artist,” but I didn’t know how to get started. And fortunately, there’s, there’s an advantage to that. I didn’t have to unlearn things about working with galleries and working –.

Ann Rea: (12:57)
We didn’t have to, we didn’t have to beat that out of you, that it was going to be, you know, that you, you know, because that’s, that’s true. A lot of artists have been like hypnotized in art school that some that, you know, they can’t dirty their hands with money and they’re not capable and someone else is going to take care of it. And you never had any of that head tract. So that helped a lot. Yes, that helps a lot because I mean, really, I think what art schools do is they set up an entitled attitude, which never serves us because in the entitlement is that they tell artists, and it’s a big lie, that you are going to somehow one day somehow find representation that will take care of all that business mumbo-jumbo and then it never happens. And so it’s so sad because they waste decades and a lot of money and a lot of time, and they lose out on a ton of art sales that they could have been generating if they weren’t under this spell, thinking that there is someone going to come along and save them and take care of it all.

Ann Rea: (14:12)
So you didn’t, you didn’t have that. Um, I guess the other question I have for you is like, what I know you’ve got a lot of study partners in the program and you’ve been doing well, but what’s been maybe the most meaningful thing for you so far when it comes to the program, or most valuable thing. What is it?

Matt Harline: (14:37)
So honestly, understanding, going through the process and understanding what my purpose was or is. Is, yes, very much is. And what my purpose is and how to approach people and create that connection with people. So not necessarily. Every time I share my mission with people, I don’t get a commission or I don’t sell anything, but, but I’m learning about people and I’m learning, I’m making connections. And eventually, you know, the right time, the right people come in and I have a chance to serve my mission and to sell some art. But

Ann Rea: (15:28)
what are you doing Matt is, yes. It’s true. Not everyone is going to buy art from you, but what you are doing is you are inspiring people. So anyone listening to this is probably going to be inspired by what you shared, whether or not they’re going to buy from you. Then what that does is it generates something in luxury marketing called “conversational currency.” It’s worth talking about, right? Not for everybody for, but for a lot of people. And then that conversational currency generates referral sales. So someone may not buy from Matt, but if they know anybody, and by the way, if you know anybody who describes Matt’s niche, you should hit up Matt because he is of tremendous service to these parents. So that’s conversational currency. Referrals are so critical because number one, the affluent rely more on referrals to make a buying decisions than mainstream customers.

Ann Rea: (16:32)
And number two, referrals can generate 80% more business on average, just on average, where you keep a hundred percent of the money. So you’re not paying commissions to an art gallery representative. So all of this is very deliberate and links together. And I think that’s been happening because you’ve been interviewed on podcasts. Your story has allowed you to get, you know, having a meaningful interview where you’re not selling yourself. I mean, that’s one thing. Take note, everybody, a lot of artists think they have to sell themselves. There’s nothing you’ve done to sell yourself in this conversation. It’s just to serve.

Matt Harline: (17:13)
Uh, yeah. I mean, that’s, that is what my parents, especially my father taught me all along was service is the important thing. And you know, I’m just following in those footsteps. Yeah. Well,

Ann Rea: (17:31)
I really, really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to share your mission and just give the example of what a mission sounds like to other artists and how it links to actually your purpose and how it links to finding your niche and using your other skills and your other resources. And you notice it’s really super simple. There’s nothing super complicated about this. This isn’t something that you have to have a masters of fine art to figure out. It’s not something you have to have a masters of an MBA to figure out. It’s something

Matt Harline: (18:09)
Or a masters in Electrical Engineering.

Ann Rea: (18:12)
Or a masters in Electrical Engineering, which did not help Matt sell his art. So, uh, I guess my last question for you is if someone was like sitting on the fence and they were thinking about joining, what would you honestly say to them?

Matt Harline: (18:30)
You know, it’s an adventure, but it also really helps to center yourself and understand yourself to the point where, where you can understand, you’ll understand how to connect with your customers or potential customers. Right. And something I really didn’t understand how to do. Now I do. And if you want to have a simple formula for how to start those conversations, this will really help.

Ann Rea: (19:05)
That’s great. I know a lot of artists really struggle having conversations with a fluent collectors and what they wind up doing, because they’ve been told to do this. This is not a good idea, everyone, are to write these artists statements, which are really cringe-worthy and they’re just as difficult to read as they are to write. And they do nothing to connect. But if you look at what just — and Matt didn’t even share his full mission, but we felt a heart opening. We felt a connection, and I’m sure people who are going to be listening to this, their wheels are going to turn and they’re going to think, “Oh my gosh, I know someone who Matt could help.” Right? Because of the specific, because the niche is so very specific. And he didn’t talk about his creative process, and he didn’t talk about his medium.

Matt Harline: (20:03)
Didn’t have my resume. Didn’t have a resume. Or what school I went to.

Ann Rea: (20:08)
Didn’t have a list of exhibitions or juried shows. He didn’t talk about any of that. He talks about creating value and being of service. And that’s the keys to the kingdom. If you want to get paid, you have to create value for a very specific group of people, your niche, and that’s it. So this is a beautiful example. I’m going to do another one of these “Artists Inspiring Artists,” but you’re the first Matt. So thank you for being the Guinea pig.

Matt Harline: (20:40)
It’s been good. It’s always good to talk with people and to, to share. And I’ve, I’ve told that story and I’m not, I don’t like to call it a story. I’ve, I’ve shared about my story.

Ann Rea: (20:57)
You’re sharing your experience.

Matt Harline: (20:59)
I’ve shared my experience. And every time I do, I get choked up. I, and I’ve shared it a bunch of times and it, I keep thinking one of these times I’m going to share it. I’m not going to cry, but I haven’t hit that yet.

Ann Rea: (21:15)
It’s you know, cause it’s real. And it’s from, it’s your soul’s truth speaking, Matt. And that’s what connects you with other people. And that’s, what’s going to allow you to serve. And what I tell artists all the time, the reason why your conventional business plans and marketing plans are not working for you. And the reason why we’ve had so many MBAs come through the program is because artists are not in the business of selling goods or services. Our product is emotion. And you felt that when you started to share your experiences. It was your emotion. And we all, here’s your, I’ll just leave everybody with this. An artist’s job is really simple. Our job is to connect people with their humanity. That’s it. Our job is to connect people with their humanity. And right now, during a global pandemic, there’s a lot of humanity going around and here’s a lot of inspiration that’s going around.

Ann Rea: (22:14)

And the good news is that the affluent are actually buying more art since the pandemic, because they are not lavishing on travel. They’re staying at home and they’re either remodeling or they’re buying additional residences. So they actually are looking for more art and they’re not buying from closed art galleries. So now’s your chance everybody. I’d say it. You might, it might feel scary, but it’s actually a window of opportunity to get a foothold and really determine your niche. And there’s plenty to go around for everyone. When you really understand that you don’t have to compete with other artists. It’s really about serving your specific niche. You can see that you just don’t have to compete. You just have to create value. On that note, thank you very much, Matt. And we’ll, we’ll do this again. This was fun. I like this. All right. Ciao. Bye-bye.