Seeing the fruits from our labour as artists gives us a sense of satisfaction and encouragement to continue on this often challenging journey.

It’s also helpful to reflect on how far you’ve come already, as we often spend our time looking forward and don’t remember what we’ve already achieved.

I’ve compiled a list of some early stage career milestones to serve as inspiration for you. What have you already achieved? What would you like to achieve next?

Common early career milestones are:

• launching a website
• first art sales
• first art sale to a total stranger
• making more money from your art than you spent on it
• first art sale over $100/$1000/$10,000
• first exhibition/s
• first online press, podcast or interviews
• first print press
• first Patreon subscribers
• positive feedback from a role model we admire
• setting up an account on Instagram and bravely posting the first post
• reaching a certain number of followers or mailing list subscribers
• acceptance to a residency
• acceptance into a group show
• acceptance into a museum or institute show
• gaining gallery representation
• receiving a grant
• being a finalist or winner in an art prize
• feeling confident speaking to someone about your art
• feeling confident telling people you’re an artist
• no longer letting your inner-critic win
• first collaboration
• gaining sponsorship from a company
• finding your first stockist for your art products eg. cards, calendars, books
• creating your studio hours and sticking to them
• doing something you were previously too scared to do
• doing the next scary thing
• following your own path and creating your own original milestone that has meaning for you
• the list goes on…

Three bonus aspirational milestones

• create a movement
• change the world
• do things differently

What are your meaningful milestones?

Comment below with the milestones that have been meaningful to you that you’ve achieved so far and the milestones that you would like to achieve next.