Sustainable business growth strategies for creative professionals

Artist Ramesh Nithiyendran explains how he built a sustainable creative business, using startup strategies to balance artistic vision with financial growth

Contemporary artist Ramesh Nithiyendran transformed his art practice into a sustainable business by applying entrepreneurial principles. While the connection between art and capital makes many creative professionals uncomfortable, Mr Nithiyendran embraced this reality. “Any artist who has some sense of being in the public eye who is having exhibitions, there is always an element of branding. A lot of artists shy away from that and speaking about that in very transparent terms, because the kind of connection between art and capital is something that makes people really uncomfortable,” he observed.

This candid approach to business development, combined with his commitment to artistic innovation, provided a framework for sustainable growth, according to Mr Nithiyendran, who was recently interviewed by Dr Juliet Bourke, Professor of Practice in the School of Management and Governance at UNSW Business School for The Business Of, a podcast from UNSW Business School.

The business foundations for creative professionals

The Sri Lankan-born, Sydney-based artist explained that the financial reality for artists in Australia presents significant challenges. “The last time I checked the most recent report was about $25,000 but it always is a number that essentially places an artist below the poverty line,” said Mr Nithiyendran. This economic context forced him to think strategically about business development from the outset.

Most artists generate income through multiple streams rather than solely through their creative work. “When we’re thinking about the way in which artists generate income, a lot of them aren’t necessarily generating income through the selling of their artworks. It’s usually a combination of... it might be consultancy, it might be education at museums, it might be teaching,” noted Mr Nithiyendran, who completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts at UNSW Sydney and now serves as a lecturer in the School of Art & Design.

His approach focused on reinvestment and infrastructure building. “When I was like 23 I always thought, I’m just going to spend all the money that I’m getting in from my artwork, which is not much, back into the business, or just of the making of the artwork,” Mr Nithiyendran said. “If I’d sold $3000 worth of work I would put that same money back into fabrication and back into work.” This strategic reinvestment created a foundation for future growth and artistic development, rather than immediate financial returns.

Creating space for innovation

A critical insight for business leaders emerged from Mr Nithiyendran’s focus on creating mental space for innovation. “Dreaming is such an important thing for an artist and I think anybody who’s creating something, because you have to have space to imagine what something could be,” he noted. “For me, I think the main challenge is really, as my practice becomes bigger, is really carving out that space to dream and to speculate and to imagine. That’s the hardest part.”

Read more: Inside the resilient world of the business of art

The pressures of expanding operations threatened to consume the creative thinking time essential for growth. “At this stage of my career there’s so much pressure to not just present amazing physical things, but amazing ideas. And that’s how the physical things manifest,” Mr Nithiyendran explained. This recognition of the relationship between mental space and innovation drove his approach to business structure.

This challenge led him to develop robust support systems. He employed a studio manager three days per week to handle administration, diary management, fabrication, materials sourcing and relationship management. He also established partnerships with commercial galleries that managed distribution, marketing, public programs and industry connections. “The other thing about the commercial gallery is their representation. The kind of distribution is only one stream of their practice with an artist. So they also look after their marketing, the assistance of public programs, connecting with the industry, connecting with the media,” he said.

Strategic infrastructure development

The importance of reverse mentoring emerged as a key learning point in the podcast discussion. Professor Claire Annesley, Dean of UNSW Arts, Design and Architecture, highlighted its value. “When I first became Dean at UNSW, one of the first things that I did was set up what’s called a ‘shadow board’,” she said. “This was a group of students who were from across my whole faculty and their job was to advise me on what it was like to be a student in the faculty.”

The benefits extended beyond gathering feedback. “When there were big strategic changes that we had to bring out, we could lean on them for advice, for feedback, for guidance, and it just made our decision-making so much more effective,” Prof. Annesley noted. Regular meetings every two weeks provided insights into challenges, preferences and opportunities for improvement.

This approach proved transformative, according to Prof. Annesley, who said organisations can take a similar approach. “There are companies whose businesses were really struggling, and they used a mechanism of a shadow board or kind of reverse mentoring of the leadership team to really understand, to get a different perspective on how the company was performing what customers want,” she explained.

Financial management for creative growth

Mr Nithiyendran’s approach to financial management balanced creative risk-taking with practical considerations. “A lot of how I work with what’s coming in and then what’s coming out is also intuitive,” he said. “I always try and tell myself, ‘Okay, if I have this much in my savings account, will I be able to feel creative given the overhead expenses that are with my studio?’”

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His focus remained on maintaining creative freedom within practical constraints. “I think money as an artist does allow you to explore creative possibilities, but sometimes I think to myself, if I had all the money in the world, what would I be making?” he reflected. This perspective kept him focused on core creative activities while managing financial resources effectively.

Key business insights

A number of practical lessons for creative entrepreneurs can be learned from Mr Nithiyendran’s experience. First, infrastructure development must prioritise the creation of mental space for strategic thinking and innovation. This involves identifying core activities that drive business growth and systematically delegating operational tasks that consume cognitive bandwidth.

Second, financial reinvestment in the early stages builds capabilities for future growth. The focus should remain on developing technical capabilities, expanding operational capacity and strengthening core competencies rather than pursuing immediate returns. This long-term view of reinvestment creates a foundation for more ambitious future projects and sustainable growth.

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Third, reverse mentoring and diverse perspectives provide essential insights for business innovation. Formal structures for gathering stakeholder input, such as shadow boards, can transform decision-making processes and revitalise business performance. These mechanisms help leaders understand their markets, identify emerging opportunities and respond effectively to changing conditions.

Fourth, maintaining strategic reserves enables calculated risk-taking while ensuring business sustainability. These reserves may take various forms – from financial buffers to inventory and time availability. This approach creates the stability needed to pursue innovative projects while maintaining operational continuity.

Fifth, the relationship between infrastructure and innovation requires constant recalibration as organisations grow. Leaders must regularly assess whether their support systems continue to serve their strategic objectives, making adjustments to maintain space for creative thinking and development.