"Do good work, and people will respond." Meet Artist and Designer Jeff Langevin

Jeff Langevin has a modest outlook on his art and design business. But with a steady stream of sales coming into his Etsy shop every day, he's on the brink of building a long-term business that will help him bring in passive income for years to come.

We chatted with Jeff to learn more about the stunning prints he's selling online, the formula he uses to price his pieces and what he's hoping to learn next from all of *you.*

Name: Jeff Langevin

Business: Jeff Langevin Art & Design

Started: September 2012

How did you create your awesome job?

I have always been into visual art, but I didn’t start making items I felt could be worth selling until 2012. When my wife and I moved across the country so she could pursue her PhD, I left my graphic design job behind. I decided to make a go at selling my artwork, both at in-person fairs and online through Etsy.

Who was your very first customer?

Despite being horribly unprepared my first time at an art show, I made some sales! I was very encouraged by the reactions people had to my work. That kind of face-to-face response is very validating and gratifying — especially when you're just starting out.

When did you know your business was going to work?

I knew that my side business selling geek prints and artwork was working when I started making more on Etsy in one year than my wife was making as a doctoral student — which is perhaps more a poor reflection on the state of higher education in the US than it is a positive indicator of my success! 

I always had this idea that I'd be happy if I could make one sale per day. After all, my Etsy shop was a secondary source of income for me, so I was mostly looking for some kind of consistency. I think 2015 might have been the first year I achieved that goal, and in 2016 I averaged about two orders a day.

What is your most effective means of getting new customers?

This might sound like a cop out, but it's true. Since I almost never seek out new customers, I rely on a simple formula: do good work, and people will respond. 

I am terribly non-business minded and I'm really not into marketing myself. Again, since my Etsy shop is a side project for me, I don't really want to invest the time and effort into PR. So, I just produce stuff I’m inspired by and hope that the quality of the work does most of the heavy lifting.

What have been the biggest surprises so far?

I've been very "fly by the seat of my pants" in my approach, so there wasn't much to be surprised about when I didn't have any real expectations! 

One thing that is surprising is seeing which of my pieces sell very well and which bomb. I've come to learn that it doesn't matter what I think of them, as people always respond differently. The takeaway is to remember that some customers are encountering this stuff for the first time and I can't expect everyone to have the perspective I do after working on my art for many years.

How do you price your prints online?

I started out by getting advice from others who were doing the same thing and just trying to find comparable examples to use as a gauge. 

I gradually increased my pricing over the years, as the quality of my work has improved. I probably started too low to begin with, so I feel better about where I'm at now. I'm definitely not looking to sell large volumes at low prices and would much rather have fewer sales with bigger margins.

I like to build all my material costs into my shipping prices. So, for instance, if a tube is $1, a sheet of paper is $0.50, the ink used to print is $0.50 and the delivery rate is $3, I'll charge $5 to cover what I’ve spent. It's probably not a very refined or sophisticated system, but somehow it makes me feel better.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I do graphic design work during the day, then work on some personal stuff in the evening or just relax to get away from the computer screen. Every few days I’ll process, print and package the orders that have come in. There are times when I'll spend a whole day working on a new piece if I'm inspired, or I'll spend time revamping my store listings. 

I've also got to stay on top of supply inventory for shipping materials, paper, ink and so on. It's a lot of little odd jobs that add up, but I haven't hit a consistent daily routine yet in terms of running or growing the business.

If you could go back in time, is there anything you would do differently when you were just starting out?

I would buy my own printer immediately. I started out using a third-party printing service, since I didn't know how things would go and I wasn’t sure about investing in an expensive piece of equipment only to have things fizzle out. 

But, given that I've been able to make this work, it would have been nice to have the benefits of doing my own printing from the start!

What would you like to learn today from a community of other small business owners and self-employed professionals?

I want to learn how I can be more proactive about building a successful business, especially in areas where I'm weak — such as tax issues, efficiency, organization and other more management-type things. I want to learn more about the nitty gritty of running a business, not the actual part about what and how I sell my art.

Now, it's your turn:

Do *you* have tips to share with Jeff that will help him better tackle the business side of running his shop? How did you learn to manage organizing your back office tasks?

Share your own ideas with all of us here in the comments below!