We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Gormley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.
Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Happy is a loaded word – being an entrepreneur and business owner is a huge change for me. While it is not happiness and joy all the time, opening and managing my own business is by far the most fulfilling and rewarding work I’ve ever done. Hands down. I worked in corporate marketing and had a “regular job” for 25 years, with some incredible brands, and I made the shift to running the gallery full time at age 46. I questioned at the time whether 46 was too old to, effectively, “start over” by opening my own business. But, now in my fourth year of business, I know that I would not have been able to take that leap and truly believe in myself until that point in my life.
There are definitely times when I still feel nervous or scared about sales and meeting revenue goals for the month. A regular paycheck is a very good thing! I also miss having a team. I was fortunate to work with some of the most kick-ass people and being an entrepreneur can be lonely. The way I’ve solved for that is: 1) hire an amazing gallery director, Becca Goodman, and 2) create an informal board of people I go to when I’m stuck or need to brainstorm – which is all of the time!
Sarah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Sarah Gormley Gallery was created from the idea that art can be a source of joy for everyone. My Grandma Cameron bought me my first piece of original art when I graduated from DePauw University many years ago, and the dream of opening a gallery one day started to form at that moment. After a long marketing career, I found myself in Columbus, Ohio and the universe aligned just so that I opened the gallery in 2019.
The thing that is most important to me is that I treat a first time buyer exactly how I treat a seasoned collector. If you walk through my beautiful front doors, you are welcomed with kindness no matter what. While living in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, I had mixed experiences with galleries, remembering the ones that treated me like a person but also those that were run by a haughty gallerist who caters only to very affluent clients and dismissive of anyone else. I also hate the idea that some people think art “isn’t for them” – because owning original art is one of life’s great pleasures. To that end, I maintain a roster of artists with a range of mediums and price points, and I’m quite proud of the gallery I’ve built and the attitude we convey. Columbus Monthly readers just voted SGG the best gallery in Columbus, so I hope I’m doing something right!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I’ve always thought of my resilience as a healthy mix of ignorance and perseverance which was definitely true when COVID hit. SGG had been open only about a year when everything shut down, so I truly didn’t have a real grasp on how my business would flow or be affected. In other words, I didn’t really have a benchmark so I didn’t know how my business would suffer. I simply thought about how few people would be coming into the physical gallery. But I decided to keep the cadence of the show calendar anyway. I spent far more energy on social media – crafting narratives about my artists and their work, and engaged more directly with clients via DMs and texting. I saw an uptick in sales from year one to year two, with nearly fifty percent of sales out of state from April – August 2020 which I think resulted from my ability to find a way to keep hustling even when the doors were closed.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Columbus has a fantastic arts community, and I’m so lucky to be here! While I spent nearly half of my life in marketing, my appreciation for word of mouth vs paid marketing has skyrocketed. When people have a great experience, they tell their family and friends, and that has been the single most important driver of SGG’s reputation. I strive to be straightforward and sell art the same way I’ve collected art – I have to believe in the work and become so passionate about the art that I want to share it with everyone I know. I avoid pretense of any kind and think authenticity goes a long way, in any profession, but especially the gallery business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sarahgormleygallery.com
- Instagram: @sarahgormleygallery
- Facebook: @sarahgormleygallery
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gormleysarah/