We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shelli Beermann a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shelli, 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?

Corporate jobs have pros and cons. One nice thing is that there is always someone to look up to and bounce ideas off of. It’s ultimately someone else’s responsibility to make the final call. It was hard for me to grasp that all business decisions fell to me. I had to unlearn the “having it all together” part. It was hard learning how lonely it can be running your own business.

I have a friend who also owns her own small business, though in a completely different industry. Whenever one of us has something big to prepare for, we get dinner together and brainstorm ideas and talking points. I was preparing for a panel discussion recently and the sheer act of talking (out loud!) through the discussion topics helped me feel ready. Since she’s not in the same industry, she also helped me bring things down to earth and provided a completely different perspective. The point is that it can be lonely and isolating being a business owner but surrounding yourself with people you trust and respect can make all the difference. I have a small group of people who I consider my business advisors. Some are in the industry, some are not, and they all help shape my business while I ultimately make the final call.

Shelli, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up in south Florida where my mom was a small business owner and my dad stayed home with us. My high school had an internship class where you work at a local business in exchange for class credits. One of my mom’s clients was an art gallery and she suggested I reach out and ask if they’d like any free labor for a few months. That was my first ever experience in the art world and I found it glamorous and fascinating.

I went off to college at the University of Miami and knew I’d do something in business, though at the time I didn’t know exactly what so I majored in Finance and picked up a second major in Marketing. As I went through college I continued to work at the gallery on school breaks. I still maintained a love of art and took a number of art history courses which led to an art history minor. Most of my business classmates were planning to go into banking but that didn’t feel like the right fit for me. The gallery owner suggested I look into the program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art for a master’s in art business. The program is held in New York City and studying the art market in the big city seemed like the most exciting thing I’d ever heard. Thankfully I got into the program because I had no plan B.

The thing about the art world is that you typically need money or connections to break in. I had neither. The Sotheby’s graduate program gave me the leg up I needed to get a start.

All of the jobs I’ve held before now have greatly impacted how I manage my clients. My first job out of graduate school was at a global insurance broker where I managed risk and secured insurance for high net worth collectors. Securing insurance coverage and handling claims are things I handle as a manager and I have first hand knowledge of how those things work.
I am also a certified fine art appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers. I maintain my appraisal business in addition to my work as a manager and that knowledge of market trends, comparables and valuation helps tremendously when I’m putting together my clients’ pricing structures and considering strategic price increases year over year.

Between my work with artists and my work at galleries, I’ve seen scores of artist/gallery agreements so that’s another area where I can use my years of experience to negotiate the best possible terms for my clients.

I believe strongly in my process and I want my clients to buy in too. I think the results speak for themselves and eventually many of my clients fully defer their business operations to me and empower me to make decisions on their behalf. That said, all big decisions are collaborative and we’ll have many conversations about pros, cons, and plans on how to strategically move forward on opportunities (or not depending on the situation). I’ll lean on my market knowledge and industry contacts to make the most well-researched and appropriate decision.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m a mom to two young girls. A week after I found out I was pregnant with my second daughter, I was laid off. I was devastated, and lost, all the while dealing with a difficult pregnancy. I never intended to be a stay at home mom, but at that point it was the only choice that made financial sense for our family.

Working for myself had never been a dream of mine. I always liked the comfort of working for someone else. I wasn’t in a position at this time to work a corporate job with a toddler to care for, another baby on the way, as well as persistent nausea and fatigue. As my daughter napped and I found very small bits of time where I had the energy, I slowly and methodically put together a website and social media. I hadn’t developed a business plan or done much marketing when an artist I knew from a previous job reached out and said all she wants to do is paint but all she’s really doing is running a business. She needed help and knew I was the one for the job. Gaining new clients from there was (and still is) a slow and steady process. I only take on maybe one or two new artists a year to manage. I am selective with my clients and want to make sure it’s a good fit. Learning how to recalibrate my thinking from being an employee to being a business owner took some time and trial and error but it now allows me the flexibility I need to be the best possible advocate for my clients as well as a present and devoted mom and partner.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I talk with most of my clients nearly every day. That can be text, phone, email, DM, carrier pigeon, literally all of the above. There is no shortage of ways to get a hold of me and I put a huge emphasis on communication. That said, an unintended but special part of my business is that most of the artists I work with are moms. Because of that, we all have a very deep respect for each other’s time, priorities, and boundaries which simultaneously builds loyalty and trust in our relationship. Working with other moms is so freeing because they all understand the daily juggle of being a professional while also being present for our children.

Because of this deep loyalty and respect between me and my clients, I’ve developed a sort of intuition for when they need space and they need me to back off for a bit. When I’m trying to get a project done or move on an opportunity, I hate to say I can be a bit of a pest. There are times, however, that I can tell when an artist needs time and space to handle things either personally or creatively without me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beermannartadvisory.com/
• Instagram: @beermannartadvisory
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelli-beermann-3542a18