AUBURN - It takes more than talent and a paint brush to be a successful artist in today's workplace. It also takes the types of business plans and marketing techniques that were presented at a seminar on Sunday at the Cayuga Community College for local artists looking to create their own business.

While many artists have the skills to be successful from a talent standpoint, many lack the business finesse to get a company off the ground.

“Starving artists often have wonderful ideas and concepts but they lack the business background to bring their talent and dream to fruition,” said Dia Carabajal, president of the board of directors for the Cayuga County Arts Council, which hosted the event.

Instead of returning to college for a business degree to compliment their art education, Carabajal said the seminar would give the artists a chance to gain a basic understanding of the skills that are required to be an entrepreneur.

The seminar featured a lecture on how to develop a business plan by Ellie Beck, founder of Management Solutions, a discussion by Theresa Cool, a local artist, about how to build a creative portfolio when applying to college for jobs and a segment about getting free publicity by marketing a product or event to the public by Jane Stebbins, a former journalist.

“We need to every now and then be reminded there are professional elements in our creative lives,” said Bourke Kennedy, an aspiring writer. “It's nice to get people from the professional side of the arts that we can tap into for resources.”

Kennedy said the seminar also helped to identify her weaknesses and gave her the courage to seek out technical and networking help as she pursued her writing career.

Marty Petrosino, a CCAC member, said she believed the most educational part of the event was learning how to market a product or event for free through the media.

While some companies could place an ad in newspapers or buy commercial spots on TV, Stebbins said artists needed to learn how to identify any newsworthy stories in their events that could be covered for the media to garner free public exposure.

“The session was very informative and it will be very helpful for artists to know how to market themselves,” Petrosino said. “People are not just going to show up to the events.”

While the artists and the lecturers discussed how to adapt different techniques for their specific business plans, Beck said people should be realistic about their results.

During her lecture, Beck, a business professor at CCC who made her own business plan when she created Management Solutions, stressed the importance of being honest about expectations for success within the first year of starting a business.

“They have to realistically think about what they can accomplish in the first few months and years,” Beck said. “It's unrealistic to expect to be completely successful within the first year alone. This is just to get people thinking about how to accomplish and pursue those goals.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net