Life as a Sports Painter:
Business – Principles & Truths

by AO – March 2026

So, I gave my freelance sports painting business one more and last chance in 2013. Since then, working evenings and weekends on my sports painting craft and working under a LLC – AOART5 is a business, and I am a business owner and I meet people, work with clients, negotiate projects and deal with many different important people – therefore, I have to conduct myself as a professional.

As a business owner and with this business, small as it is, I believe, the business has to have policies and rules (written and unwritten) to help guide and keep me in line with my goals and objectives. So for the past 12-13 years, I have achieved and failed. Both successes and failures have taught me in their own way.

Here are a few principles and truths I have learned along the way.

5 of My General Business Principles (There are more but here are 5)

1) Understand almost everything you do is related to your business

2) Be professional. Be kind. Help others (without expecting anything in return).

3) Make social only about your art & your business

4) Consistently paint. Consistently post. Consistently learn.

5) Family first.

 

5 Basic Business Truths – (There are more but here are 5).

1) If you don’t take your work serious – no one else will

2) Less talent and no quit can beat a high level of talent

3) We are nothing without – our work, our clients and our loved ones (not necessarily in that order)

4) The harder I work – the luckier I get

5) You can’t make everyone happy (The true ones understand)

There they are.  There are more I plan to share later.  For now, I hope this gives a bit of insight on this sports painters/business owners work.

Thank you for reading,
ao

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