The Business

Darlene Hartung is an award-winning artist specializing in hyperrealism. She uses pencils to create highly-detailed and lifelike drawings that are so intricate they almost resemble photographs. Her work is on permanent display at the Grand River Hospital in Kitchener, the Homewood Hospital in Guelph, the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, and the Sun Life head office in Waterloo. Through her business, An Artist For Hire, Hartung offers custom portrait commissions of children, pets, and homes. She is also passionate about sharing her knowledge and love of drawing with other artists and teaches one-on-one lessons, as well as group drawing classes, at schools and retirement communities.

The Challenge

In 2020, the pandemic hit Hartung’s business hard. While she had a number of commissions lined up, her in-person art classes had to be canceled. One of her key teaching clients was a retirement community which quickly went into a complete lockdown. “They couldn’t have any entertainers; they couldn’t have any visitors; and the lady who is in charge of keeping them active and stimulated was just at her wit’s end. So she asked if there’s any way that I thought I could do a class online,” stated Hartung.

As an artist, Hartung never needed to leverage technology in her business, but recognized that in order to keep An Artist for Hire afloat, finding a way to continue to offer classes throughout a lockdown was a priority. Her first attempts at teaching online were challenging and confesses, “I would take the drawing and I would point my computer at it and then I would draw upside down. It was pretty tricky.” So, Hartung set out to find a better way to set up her online classes.

The Solution

Luckily, the answer to Hartung’s tech woes was just around the corner. “I was taking a marketing course with Halton Region and one of the modules was on grants,” she says. That’s where Hartung was introduced to Digital Main Street’s Digital Transformation Grant (DTG) Program. The DTG initiative provides brick-and-mortar small businesses with a digital assessment, online training, and a $2,500 grant to implement their Digital Transformation Plan.

“Thanks to the grant, I’ve become a techno whiz” says Hartung laughing. With the grant funds received from the DTG, she purchased new cameras and a number of tripods that allow her to stream three different videos to her students. One camera is pointed at the reference piece they are drawing, another camera points at what Hartung is drawing and the third camera points at her face so she can speak with her students and share feedback on their work. Hartung says this equipment has significantly elevated the virtual learning experience for her students.

Key Deliverables

  • Applied for and received a Digital Main Street DTG grant in [August 2022]
  • Selected, purchased, and set-up additional cameras & tripods
  • Researched, selected and set-up video software (VDO Ninja) to allow streaming of three different video views to students concurrently
  • Website designer was retained and briefed on new online course offerings
  • Website copy written and a new landing page designed to promote online courses

The Impact

Hartung says her new virtual education offerings have transformed her business in incredible ways.

  • Larger market size. With online courses, Hartung’s target market is no longer limited by geography. She now has students in Connecticut, Australia, and New Zealand.
  • Greater flexibility. Hartung enjoys being able to work from wherever she is. “Everything I purchased with the grant is portable. Sometimes I teach from the studio and other times I teach from home,” she says.
  • Increased revenue. Prior to launching her online courses, An Artist For Hire’s business was about 90% commission based. Today, teaching makes up around 75% of the business revenue and Hartung says this shift has resulted in a “significant income increase.”

Next Steps

Hartung is now focused on continuing to grow the virtual learning arm of her business and shares that she’s incredibly grateful for the DTG program. “I would never have been able to afford the cameras and all the stuff required to make it work without [the grant],” she says. “I am actually making a really good wage with teaching. There’s no question that it is a seriously positive change.”

French version – https://obiaa.com/digital-main-street-phase-4-french/la-maitrise-de-lart-dans-la-sphere-numerique-transformation-de-lentreprise-an-artist-for-hire-grace-a-des-formations-virtuelles/

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