Are you an artist with something to sell, and tired of figuring this out on your own?
INTRODUCING SOPHIE MAHIR'S
Art Business Academy Membership
A Monthly Membership For Artists With Artwork or Art Services To Sell.
A Quick Summary Of What's On Offer:
- The Art Biz Success Path: Your step by step plan to building an art business.
- Weekly Action + Accountability Calls and Monthly Focus Meetings with Sophie.
- Community Group Chat with Sophie between calls.
- Monthly Group Coaching with Sarah.
- Bi-Monthly New Trainings on a variety of topics.
- The Art Biz Training Vault, All Call Replays; plus planners, cheat sheets and more.
Personal note from Sophie:
"I built the ABA for the artist I used to be: talented, hard-working, with real work in my hands, and no clear idea how to turn it into a business.
I'm a qualified business and life coach, a trained teacher, and a working artist myself.
Everything inside this membership is what I wish I'd had back then: a clear plan, regular accountability, and a real coach you can actually talk to when you need help".
Sophie xx
Yes, I'm Interested...Tell Me More.
Does this sound familiar?
You're not starting from complete scratch. You've got the work, the talent, and some time. What's missing is the focus, the structure, and someone to help and support you every step of the way.
Here's how it shows up...
- You've got paintings, products, or service ideas ready to go, but you're not selling much (or anything).
- You've been posting on Instagram, you might even have a website, but it feels like you're shouting into the void.
- Your pricing is a guess. Some days it feels too low, other days you wonder if anyone will pay it.
- You're not sure who your real buyer is, so your marketing keeps missing.
- You're always busy but you can't point to what's actually moving the needle.
- Every guru online says something different. You've stopped knowing what to listen to.
- You're working hard, you're putting in the time, and the money still isn't showing up.
If you're nodding your head, saying "that's me!" and you're ready to take ACTION, with a real focussed plan, weekly & monthly accountability, and a coach who gets it...
Then you're in exactly the right place!
Join a vibrant community of artists and creatives who are turning their passion into thriving businesses - just like you.
It’s a space for learning, action, and support where every question is welcome
- because there’s no such thing as a silly one!
When you join, you'll finally…
- Have a clear plan for the week and month ahead, instead of guessing what to do next.
- Get paid for the work you're already creating, instead of watching it sit there.
- Know exactly who your real buyer is, so your marketing actually lands.
- Price your work with confidence, not anxiety.
- Stop trying to figure this out alone, with a coach and a community of artists in your corner.
- Build the kind of steady momentum that turns a side passion into a real, growing income.
Say no more, I am in!
What you'll find inside the
Art Biz Training Vault.
Dip in and out of all of the specific ‘how to’ training tutorials from previous months whenever you like! Perfect to supplement your learning along the Art Biz Success Path.
The main topics we cover are:
- Business - Time Management, Planning, Finance, Pricing, Business Models etc.
- Events - Exhibitions, Open Studios, Workshops, Market Stall, Art Fairs etc.
- Marketing - Audience, Niche, Mailing Lists, SEO, YouTube, Blogging, Networking etc.
- Mindset - Manifesting, Visualisation, Money Mindset, Sales Confidence etc.
- Products - Collections, Listings, Art Prints, POD, Art Style etc.
- Platforms - Websites, Etsy, Galleries, POD platforms, Listings, etc.
- Services - Online Courses, Patreon, 1-2-1 Offerings, Classes, Memberships, Retreats, etc.
- Social Media - Instagram, Facebook, Live Video, Pinterest, Content Creation etc.
All available 24/7, plus a new in-depth training every other month.
**Membership is currently $37 USD per month. Lock in this rate before the price rises to $47 USD on 1 July.
Join the Art Business Academy today.
The best part: The first (or next) sale of your artwork or art services more than pays for your monthly fee to be a part of the Art Business Academy.
24/7 access to the community.
NO CONTRACTS. CANCEL ANYTIME.
See what our members are saying…
“ABA feels to me like an Art family where the phrase:
"Giving you the wings to fly" fits perfectly.”
JANE TREVAN
“I think there were lots of things that I needed help with. Some I didn't even know about or even had thought about until I joined the membership. I think mindset was a big hurdle too.
I have more confidence, my website looks more professional, I now have an art store on the website, I have a niche statement, I’m selling prints on the website, I’ve had 3 more solo exhibitions, my prices are higher, and I have an email list!
Yes I would recommend joining the ABA, I have learned so much and still use the membership to find the answers to my questions about running an art business.”
CORRINE RAPLEY
“Being an active member of the ABA has been both grounding and expansive. Sophie is a multi-talented leader who really gets what it's like to align art and business to create success. I love her no-nonsense approach and commitment to seeing us all succeed.”
SARAH BELLORINI
Visionary Leadership Coach, Author & Artist
“I have an art therapy and life-purpose coaching business, and had trouble finding a fit for it in other business courses. Also, most courses are run according to US times, and I was so grateful to find a local person, with whom I could actually meet in person and during a sensible time of day!
Yes I really recommend joining the ABA, as it's a really great group, Sophie is so responsive and knows so much. If she doesn't know something, she finds it out and lets you (and the group know). She's real, very easy to contact, and the live calls are a treat because you get to meet other local artists in all sorts of areas, who want to make a viable business with their art. Sophie walks the talk with this stuff".
IRIS WHITELOCK
The Art Of Life Coaching
“The ABA gives me the structure and confidence to build my art business into the form I want it to be. Sophie Mahir has the rare skill set of marketing from the perspective of a practising artist and I feel blessed she has the generosity to pass it on."
SUSAN SHEPPARD
Realist Large Scale Landscape Painter
“Sophie Mahir’s Art Business Academy, the ABA, is the most inspiring and energetic gift to our artist’s world in modern times. Sophie knows and can deliver a multitude of artistic business information in a concise and accessible manner. Her courses and business content simply breed success for her artist students.”
GAIL WHITNEY
Experiential Abstract Multimedia Artist
“I never used to have a business and marketing strategy. Having joined the Art Business Academy membership, I now have a working marketing funnel.
Yes, without a doubt I’d recommend the ABA. So much content and support is offered at an affordable price and you can start wherever you are and work through at your own pace”.
JO BARNARD
EMDR Therapist, Anxiety & Trauma & Abstract Artist
"BUT... " I hear you saying...
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$37/month is real money. What if I don't see it pay back?
Fair question. $37/month is $444/year. That's real money. But here's the maths: if one single sale of your art (or one booking of your services) pays for an entire year of ABA, then it's not a cost. It's a fee for getting that first sale faster. It's not unusual for members to earn it back within the first few months. And if it doesn't work for you, you cancel anytime. There's no annual contract holding you in. The risk isn't $37. The risk is another year of figuring this out alone and still not selling.
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How do I know this will actually work?
Here's the honest answer: ABA works for people who use it. The structure, the Path, the calls, the chat, the vault, all of it works. But not on autopilot. The members getting real results (booked exhibitions, consistent sales, growing audiences, launched courses) are the ones who show up, ask questions, and do the work between calls. What ABA gives you is the structure, the support, and the accountability to actually move. If you'll show up, this works. If you're looking for a magic bullet, this isn't that, and no membership ever will be.
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How much time and work am I actually going to have to put in?
Honest answer: you get out what you put in, and ABA is built to ask the minimum you need to actually get results. The realistic floor: one hour every fortnight for the live action call, plus 1-2 focused hours a week on the actions you set in that call. That's the basics. Everything else (the Path lessons, the vault, monthly mindset call, Telegram chat) is yours to dip into when you need it, at your own pace. You can engage more when you've got the time and energy. You can engage less when life gets in the way. Nothing inside ABA punishes you for a quiet week, and the structure picks you back up when you come back.
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Will this actually work for MY type of art and MY situation?
Honestly? This is the doubt every artist has, and it's almost always wrong. ABA isn't medium-specific. The current membership includes watercolour painters, abstract artists, printmakers, mixed-media makers, art teachers, even art therapists. What matters isn't WHAT you make. It's whether you've got something you want to sell, and whether you're willing to do the work to build a business around it. If the answer is yes to both, this works for you.
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I'm an artist, not a business person. Can I even do this?
Most artists I coach feel exactly this way (myself included when I first started out). Here's what I learned: you don't have to become a 'business person.' You just have to learn enough of the business side to actually sell your work, without losing your soul to it. I'm a working artist. So is Sarah. Everything inside ABA is built around protecting your time at the easel, not pulling you away from it. The point of business skills isn't to replace your art with marketing. It's to build a structure that funds your art so you can do more of it.
Three things that make the ABA different.
Especially For Artists
Every training, every template, every tool inside the ABA has been built specifically for artists and creatives. No more sitting through generic business advice and trying to translate it to your work. From the business plan template to the pricing worksheets to the social media trainings, the ABA actually speaks your language.
Coach. Teacher. Artist.
Many art business mentors are artists who figured it out for themselves and started teaching what worked for them. Sophie is different. She's a fully qualified, experienced business coach, a trained teacher, AND a working fine artist herself. Mid-month, she is joined by Sarah Jane Brown, a full-time professional artist working in the area of self-coaching and mindset.
You Engage Your Way
Some members come for the calls and barely touch the trainings. Others quietly work through the vault at their own pace and only show up live occasionally. Both are fine. The ABA is built to fit around your life, your energy, and how you actually learn, not punish you for a quiet week. You set the pace.
Want to know who’s behind the coaching and support? Meet the people helping you succeed…
Sophie Mahir - Founder of the ABA.
Hi, I'm Sophie. I'm a fully qualified award-winning business coach (winner of the Expert Success Annual Business Growth Award), a trained teacher, and a working fine artist. I help artists turn their creative practice into a real, profitable business.
I've spent over 15 years working with hundreds of business start-ups and artists, helping them build the clarity, confidence, and practical business skills to grow the art career and life-style they actually want.
Along the way I've been an Ambassador for Women's Enterprise in the UK, set up and run Newhaven Arts and the Newhaven Artists Trail, and founded Perth Arts, a thriving offline networking group in my current home of Western Australia.
I offer free resources via my website and YouTube channel, online courses, limited 1-2-1 art business coaching, and this monthly membership: The Art Business Academy. All of it alongside my own painting practice.
Sarah Jane Brown GSA - Joined the ABA in 2025.
Sarah has a blend of both art and business expertise, coupled with an empathetic, insightful and solution focused coaching style. She has a knack of seeing the ‘bigger picture’. She’ll help you to gently shine a light on mindset blindspots and overcome emotional roadblocks on your creative journey.
Based on the Welsh coast in the UK, Sarah has been a full-time professional artist for over 15 years. She has a large studio where she makes and sells her paintings and runs painting workshops. She also offers online tuition and mentorship.
She is a qualified member of the Guild Society of Artists, holds a first class honours degree in fine art, a BTEC diploma in business and is a certified Insight Coaching Practitioner.
Liking the sound of our creative community?
**Membership is currently $37 USD per month. Lock in this rate before the price rises to $47 USD on 1 July.
Join the Art Business Academy today.
The best part: The first (or next) sale of your artwork or art services more than pays for your monthly fee to be a part of the Art Business Academy.
24/7 access to the community.
NO CONTRACTS. CANCEL ANYTIME.
Still not quite sure if this is for you?
The ABA is perfect for you if...
- You've got something to sell (artwork, prints, products, courses, workshops, services), and you're ready to actually build a business around it.
- You need direction and accountability, not more generic business advice from someone who's never sold a painting.
- You're already making some sales (or close to it) and you want to grow it into something real and sustainable.
- You're willing to take action between calls. Each one will send you off motivated, inspired, and clear on the next move, even if you're not sure of the how when you first start out.
- You actually want to build a real, grounded business from your creativity. Not just dabble. Not just hope. Actually build it.
The ABA is not for you if...
- You're looking for a magic bullet or a quick fix.
- You're not open to feedback or coaching.
- You'd rather hire someone to build the business for you.
- You'd rather work privately with someone like myself, an art business coach, working 1:2:1. (Shoot me an email).
- You're a course collector. You sign up to lots of things and rarely take action on what you've paid for.
- You're happy keeping your art as a hobby. (Totally fine. But you don't need the ABA for that.)
Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers
I'm not a painter. Is this still for me?
I'm still figuring out what to sell. Is this the right fit?
I'm already making sales. Is there enough in the ABA for me?
How much time do I need each week?
Should I buy one of your courses or join the ABA membership?
Where does the community happen?
What if it doesn't work out for me?
I'm not in the US. How does the USD pricing work for me?
Is the price going up?
Did You Know We Offer A 7-Day Money Back Guarantee?
If for whatever reason you don't like or find value in the Art Business Academy Membership (it's not happened yet...but who knows), then we'll happily refund your investment, so long as that's within 7 days of purchase. After which time, this no longer applies. Please refer to our Terms of use with regards to details on cancellation and refunds.
"I have gone from selling a couple of paintings a quarter to selling weekly, nationally and internationally.
I have a presence in reputable galleries, am sought after for exhibitions ( solo and collaborative) and workshops, run classes, have an on line presence, website, mailing list and more. And it is still growing, as is my art.
I can highly recommend The Art Business Academy run by Sophie Mahir. It was the turning point of my career, turning from hobby artist to a professional, full time artist. ”
JANETTE HUMBLE
South Australian Artist With A passion For Colour
Ready to actually build this?
The best part: The first (or next) sale of your artwork or art services more than pays for your monthly fee to be a part of the Art Business Academy.
24/7 access to the community.
NO CONTRACTS. CANCEL ANYTIME.
