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Neon Art Gets a Boost from Mailchimp and QuickBooks

See how design studio Neon Workshops markets and manages finances so they can educate and inspire students, artists, and more to create one‑of‑a‑kind pieces.

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Published: September 22, 2023

**Subject was compensated for their participation in this article.

When people think of neon, it’s easy to conjure images advertising stores, diners, and Broadway shows. But when Richard Wheater traveled from the UK to New York on a student exchange program to study glass blowing, he developed an appreciation for neon as a medium for artistic expression. When he returned to the UK, he took a job in a commercial neon shop, and began teaching the creative side of the craft as well.

He combined his interests in creative design and teaching in 2009, and founded Neon Workshops in Wakefield, UK. He feels the most rewarding things about Neon Workshops are that he gets to introduce people to neon for the first time, and to use neon in ways that haven’t been done before. “Neon Workshops is a product of something that just didn't exist,” Richard says.

In addition to producing and installing large exhibitions and commissions for galleries, artists, TV, film, and theater, Neon Workshops instructs a diverse student base. “We've taught everyone from priests, to long-distance lorry drivers, to people in the medical industry, and of course students and creatives as well.” 

Teaching, fabrication, and installation services make up their main income streams. They also have an e-commerce store where people can buy products like limited-edition neons, books, or posters. And soon, they hope to diversify that even more. They’re expanding into building and selling an electron bombarder, a machine that creates light, so people can continue working with neon after a workshop if they choose. These machines aren’t just for workshop students, though—they'll also be aimed at colleges and universities to teach students the art of creating neon.

“Being able to select who we send out the newsletters to by departmentalizing them into different groups allows us to target people with that relevant information, and it just helps us have a better relationship with our customers.”

- Richard Wheater, Founder, Neon Workshops

Bringing neon art to the masses with Mailchimp segmentation

“Most people don't actually know what neon is, or where it came from, or what it can actually do,” Richard says. And for such a niche business with varying customer segments, spreading their passion for neon and educating the public on its relevance is vital to their success.

Neon Workshops uses Mailchimp’s segmentation tools as a way to connect with their customers based on interests or behaviors. “Mailchimp allows Neon Workshops to target our varied audiences with specific information, whether we're putting out a workshop, or running an exhibition, or more recently whether we're about to start offering machines to help people create their own neon.” He goes on, “Sometimes those newsletters will have more than one group that's relevant to receive those newsletters. And for us, that just helps reduce the amount of unsubscribes, and it encourages more clicks.”

As they begin to sell the machines, they’ll set up a separate segment to keep customers informed and engaged—they don’t want to send the information to someone whose only interest was an e-commerce purchase. “Being able to select who we send out the newsletters to by departmentalizing them into different groups allows us to target people with that relevant information, and it just helps us have a better relationship with our customers.”

Making managing finances easier with QuickBooks

“We use QuickBooks on a near daily basis,” Richard says. “I can, at a glance, log in within seconds and see what's happening financially with my business. And that is priceless, to be honest.”

Neon Workshops uses QuickBooks Online Plus in a few ways to help make their financial tracking more convenient. First, they link it to their e-commerce store and workshop registration, so those transactions are synced into QuickBooks*. They also sync it with their bank activity, allowing them to create invoices, make delivery notes, and check payments. “We also more recently have used it to make it easier for clients to pay their invoices by emailing through QuickBooks with payment buttons.” Quickbooks also shows which invoices haven’t been paid, so they can continue to reach out to those customers for payment.

QuickBooks helps them grow their business, Richard says. They allocate codes to each income stream and can see over a period of time how much money they made in each product or service. “QuickBooks is a useful resource for us being able to see that, and then knowing what effort to put where.”

“We use QuickBooks on a near daily basis. I can, at a glance, log in within seconds and see what's happening financially with my business. And that is priceless, to be honest.”

- Richard Wheater, Founder, Neon Workshops

Mailchimp and QuickBooks together*

Neon Workshops currently uses a spreadsheet with information on customers who attended workshops, as well as people who have purchased from their e-commerce store—along with the amount they’ve spent. After learning about the integration available for Mailchimp and Quickbooks, Neon Workshops saw a potential benefit to using it to compartmentalize their customers’ contact information based on previous purchases.

Advice for business owners

Starting a small business poses challenges for many founders, but for artists who are also founders, it can be especially hard. “Remain determined and don't give up, because there will be times when you feel like everything is going against you and it's incredibly overwhelming,” Richard says. He goes on, “Don't be afraid to go and just ask for people's advice, and don't expect to have all the answers yourself.”

With Mailchimp and QuickBooks Online, send e-mails fast using synced purchase history and Mailchimp’s drag-and-drop templates.

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*Disclaimers

*QuickBooks Online and Mailchimp sold separately. Integration available. Availability of features and functionality varies by plan type.

*App integration available with QuickBooks: Some apps require third-party integration to connect to QuickBooks Commerce. In those instances, subscription, acceptance of the company’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and an integration setup may be required. Additional fees, terms, and conditions apply.

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