I met a young man many years ago who was a former art student turned professional. He was a man with an unquenchable entrepreneurial spirit and made himself indelible in my mind. I do not remember his name but I have used his story for years.
Let me start with the idea that this was a long time ago, the late 60’s or early 70’s and the money will sound like very little, but if you multiply the numbers by 10 you will have a better picture by today’s standards.
He was a painter, and I can’t remember the work but I do remember it was skillfully done and probably somewhat realistic in nature. He had developed a following which is the basis of our story.
His work was selling for about $200-$300 for a small painting and he was doing well. He decided, as an artistic dream, that he would love to live in Italy for a year or two. This, of course, required funds. This was at a time when the US dollar was high and Europe was still a pretty cheap place to live.
Here is what he dreamed up, and I loved it. He went to see all his patrons, people who had purchased art work from him over the past few years and made a pitch.
If they would give him $15 a month for at least a year, he would guarantee a small painting to them every year they participated. The cosst to them was a mere $180.
This was a win/win situation for everyone, as the supporters each year had a new painting shipped to them from Italy, and the artist received enough income deposited in his US account to keep him living in Italy with a mandate to paint enough to fulfill his obligation.
My guess, based on the money of the time, was that he would need at least 10 people to support him and he would have $150 a month in order to live. So, multiply by 10 and it would work today, at a ten person minimum. My assumption was that he had more than that and it was a great idea!
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