We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful AL Huggins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with AL below.

AL, appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

I was sitting in a community meeting, was sitting next to a gentleman who work for the CRA within the city where the meeting was being held. We started chatting about various things, he said I think we could use your services, and 10 years later here I am the Art Counslant for events and festivals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started out working in corporate America struggling with chasing a dream to open the Uptown Artist Lounge and Gallery, that was my goal at that time in my life. However, due to financial restrictions, I ended up going a different route in the meantime to help artists focus on their craft and open an independent management firm called Art n Soul, representing up-and-coming artists. Allow artists to focus on being artists while we handle all the business dealings, helping them reach their dreams and goals, as they discover their true passion for art. With my clients seeking the talent of artists I was able to position myself in roles with various large interests that were seeking artists for festivals and events. This can be dual roles and placing the artist in positions that would allow them to showcase their talents while being compensated. Art n Soul grew its brands from a management firm for artists into an event consulting firm for large festivals, with great notoriety within various marketplaces.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had to “pivot” in the arts once online media became a strong marketing tool for artists. The art n Soul platform was built around providing gallery shows for artists at one point. When the social media platform opened up a pathway for artist to showcase their talents online we took a strong blow to how we did business in the past. So we had to quickly change how things were done and understand how we could still provide a service to the artist.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the main lessons learned in business was to always be prepared for change. I got complacent with the business model that was built, thinking that I would focus on one lane of business for the company. Working with the arts field you have also to be ready to readjust to trends and concepts. I learned that very quickly as clients and artists requested various services than what we set out to offer in the being. It was all a great learning lesson and helped model me as a person and take the business to new levels..

Had to readjust to the adjustment already made!!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.myartnsoul.com
• Instagram: ArtLyfe productions
• Facebook: Art n Soul
• Linkedin: Art n Soul
• Twitter: My Art n Soul
• Youtube: @artlyfe8101

Image Credits
Art n Soul Marcos Conde innovative arts