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Before deciding whether on-boarding with The Spectrum is right for your child (or yourself as a neurodivergent), it is important to determine and be as clear as possible on the intent and expections involved.
As a collective, the community pays it forward ...
As a collective, the community pays it forward ...
At The Spectrum, we operate on the basis of "paying it forward". On our part, we invest in the artist and their artwork - from the various materials involved in creating merchandise, to the efforts and associated costs in bringing these items to market at retail either directly, or through partners, and other entities that are interested in helping our cause. At The Spectrum itself, we will focus on "the making" together with other communities within our group (such as the "makers community"), but for all of us collectively, including parents - would be charged with "the selling" to maximize our collective efforts. Tell your family, tell your friends. Promote to your work colleagues. The further we reach out, the more the collective can gain together.
Do note that based on trends over the years, parents would normally notice a good and sizeable royalty quantum within the first few months of coming on board. This is largely attributed to their own direct involvement in promoting their child's own artwork to their circle of contacts. Once that has exhausted, royalty amounts would normally reduce and stabilize at a significantly lower level.
Something to consider ...
Something to consider ...
Mainly applicable to the dedicated parents and family members who have taken the entrepreneurship route for their neurodiverse child (we salute you!), why not "extend the offering"?
When I sell merchandise featuring artwork by my son Amirul, he will earn royalties as well as sales commissions. He only has 2 paintings and doesn't really "draw-on-demand", so this is as far as we can go for now.
BUT ... When we sell items featuring artwork from other children, they earn their share of royalties, while Amirul earns sales commissions!
Everybody earns!
We don't only sell items featuring Amirul's artwork, but also those with artwork from other participants from our growing community, known as The Spectrum! Everyone gains!
As more and more individuals (and families) participate with The Spectrum, our collective offerings, reach, voice, and ability to earn - grows stronger. Each has their own set of skills, knowledge, and contact circles that the community can leverage from.
They say it takes a village to raise a child.. so together, let's build that village for our kids!
Whatever the intent ...
Whatever the intent ...
We understand that different individuals and families have different objectives and intentions when considering onboarding with The Spectrum. Presented below are "4 different intents" for engaging The Spectrum that we have come across throughout the years of our existence. Each has their own target market demography, respective reach and growth potential, and possible longevity. Families and individuals that have approached us also come from different economic segments of society. We aim to cater to all, however please kindly note that our commitments and focus will be concentrated more towards those who intend to grow the collective together, and towards those who simply do not have the means to do so on their own, or have only considered such but have not been able to start - due to whatever reasons.
The Prolific Artist
The Prolific Artist
My child is already pursuing income generation through the creation and sale of her own art pieces. She is doing well and only needs some assistance in transposing her art onto some merchandise, which is not her primary focus or offering with significant income, as opposed to selling original art. Anything that The Spectrum can sell as a community, is a bonus to her.
The Focused Creator
The Focused Creator
As a family, we have been selling our child's art pieces and also merchandise on our own, and have been doing well so far. We only intend to extend our product offerings by increasing our merchandise range. If The Spectrum can also benefit from selling merchandise featuring her art, that would be great.
The Spectrum Entrepreneur
The Spectrum Entrepreneur
We are open to all possibilities that will allow our child to earn an income through entrepreneurship, even if it involves selling merchandise that features artwork by other children. We appreciate any assistance provided, and in return will be more than happy to help others in a similar way to the best of our abilities.
The Quiet Ones
The Quiet Ones
Our son is primarily "in his own world" right now, and he doesn't interact much with others. He does however like to draw and doodle, and we just thought that would be a waste of talent if this isn't capitalized on. We however do not foresee him earning a living from doing "serious art" though, well at least not now as he is still developing. We also feel that his drawings are "very ordinary" and wouldn't fall into the category of "art" per se. We're not even sure about what to do, and just want to explore what's possible for him.
The above examples are by no means "absolutes", and are merely presented for illustrative purposes only. We are cognizant of the fact that a new onboarding engagement can be an amalgamation of elements from two or more of the stated examples. Or possibly even from none of the above. In any instance, our efforts and focus will be primarily placed upon those that will benefit the community as a whole.
We thank you for considering The Spectrum as an avenue to explore. If you're ready to jump on, please proceed to the Preparing & Submitting Artwork page.
As The Spectrum is part of the larger ESA Communities, our ESA Subject Matter Experts Group currently provides the relevant advisory services as linked below.
A One-Day, 3-part reflective self-discovery thought process workshop involving identifying, unlocking, and aligning needs and objectives. For individuals, microbusinesses, and even NGOs.
Our Advisory Services Workshop Sessions are conducted in small groups of usually not more than 6, to allow for better focus and a more personalized experience. No banquet halls with hundres of attendees singing motivational songs while patting each other on the back and chanting "you can do it!" nonsense. Straight to the point, sometimes a bit blunt, but we keep everything real and raw.
*None of the persons featured in the set of images used on this page are real, and were all created with AI.
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