Column: How Do You Make it Work Financially?

Installment #2 of the Wondering (and Wandering Column). Read more here about my intentions behind this column. This one used to be for paid subscribers but I’ve opened it up to be for everyone now. It’s interesting to be exploring money at year’s end: in some ways appropriate, in other ways sort of like an odd duck. It’s a very human and valid question so I’m rolling with it.

QUESTION: I really aspire to be an artist entrepreneur; reading your writing on structuring your weeks and time to work for you made me feel this way even more so. The snag that I hit is how to make it work financially, especially with rising costs of living. You’ve mentioned that both you and your husband are self-employed artists, and clearly you’ve made it work! I’m wondering if you could share how you’ve gotten to this point. I know that finances are such a touchy topic! Yet I see people, such as you, who have gotten there and know that it must not be impossible.

Dear Reader Aspiring To Be,

Thank you for this vulnerable question. I am constantly in flux with this entrepreneur lifestyle. I have been working at it for 13+ years now (plus bringing two kids into the world during that time) and in some ways, only now do I have a semi-reliable financial rhythm. For groundwork and transparency, though my husband and I were two self-employed artists for many years, we aren’t anymore. He started a landscaping company a few years. Now we are both self-employed business owners. That job description comes with a lot of freedom and a lot of constant pressure. I am never not mentally working, even when I’m playing or mothering: a new idea takes hold, or I have a revelation about a new way to structure an offering or I’m in the messy middle of a project. Part of it is that I truly love my work because it is my vocation. To some extent, I like having work and life integrated; it feels authentic to my flow as a human. But, now that I’m far more attuned to my own nervous system, I see the toll it can take. I want to name that piece up front. Entrepreneurship can create a shiny film of hustle over every part of your life because nothing is guaranteed. Being agile on your feet is necessary. You don’t clock in and clock out and wait for your paycheck. I don’t want to make that kind of work sound easy, but it is different. I have done both.

Before I dive into practicalities, it’s important to ask the question: How do you define wealth? Americans talk so little about that, or we are anemic when it comes to how we might imagine it. We are conditioned to see only dollar signs. I’m not minimizing money. It’s critical. It’s needed. It affords goods and services and resources that are essential for wellbeing. And, I want to be broad in my own definition of wealth, to count elements like community, health, access, warm & safe home, animals, plants, partnership, friendship, and more. When I include those, I feel profoundly wealthy, so full in the most nourished soup kind of way. That’s my starting point.

Now, let’s get back to money.

If I were to look at percentages, I would say that about 70% of my work is creating environments (pitches, curriculum frameworks, building email lists, free offerings to spread the word, researching, admin on logistics, setting up structures and membership organization), so that I can do my actual work (teaching and writing). Of course, I could hire someone to do all of the former, but that’s a jump I’m not willing to take yet. Sometimes I dream of working for an institution, even part-time, where I only have to show up and teach. No procuring students. No marketing. No tide of unsubscribes and subscribers. I know that’s a glorifying, grass-is-greener take, but it still gets me. Ultimately, I crave the life of a free bird and I love to make my own rules, so here I am.

I want to lay that all out to be clear.

I have made this work but we are not out of the woods and chilling. At this point, our family of four relies on both of our incomes. If something were to happen to either of us, the other one would have to step it into higher gear to make it on our own.

It helps to ask yourself whether artist entrepreneur would be your sole income, or could you do a hybrid thing? My husband and I are always trying to suss out joint passive income projects.

Here are some thoughts on what has made it work so far. Some of these may be obvious:

• Diversify your income streams. Don’t rely on one project or space. Make sure you have different levels of output on your part that lead to a variety of inputs.

• Identify your bread & butter. You need one. This could be a 1:1 client base or a membership or a contract or a robust online store. Make sure that one is solid and reliable enough.

• Have fun dreaming on the more risky additions. For me, these are collaborations and other creative projects that tug on my heart but might not be fully formed or solid financially yet.

• Create offerings at different price points for people. That creates access and gives you a better chance of reaching a broader audience. It also helps if your offerings build on each other or lead to each other. For example, my Story Mammal 6-week course often leads to my membership The Loam and vise versa. I also have low-hanging fruit offerings (like being subscriber for $5/month here) or free gatherings and classes.

• Get very clear about how you tend to your money, even if it’s a small amount. I love Amber Dugger’s work on Profit For Keeps. I’m not completely transferred over (it’s a time investment) but I’ve learned a ton and have streamlined my general flow. This process also involves facing your money blocks and fears and activation. I block off a morning each week to review and take care of money. It’s always a little anxiety-producing at first, but I make sure to do it in a clean environment and often while cooking. Having a tactile task associated with a heady potentially triggering one helps me. What does this look like? I spend 1.5 hours with a spreadsheet or paying bills or taking a state of the union, then I get up and chop onions and carrots and make a soup. Then, back to the money. Back and forth. No joke. I have realized that avoidance creates a systemic subterranean anxiety that, in the long term, is worse than looking straight at it all. When I fall off my rhythm, I can feel the difference.

• To be an entrepreneur, you need to be a self-starter who can focus. I work with blocks of time and ultradian rhythms to accomplish tasks. I have a 6-hour work day (my kids get out of school at 3pm) and I break that down into mini chunks of time. When my kids were younger, I worked a lot at night (they weren’t in daycare), often until midnight or 1am on a computer, and that rhythm tanked my hormones and created a very unhealthy situation for me. I wouldn’t recommend it! In the end, I’m intending for sustainability.

• You have to be okay with nothing ever feeling done or complete or secure. I know life isn’t secure for anyone, but people who have expected paychecks and a 401K through their employer and a boss who is ultimately in charge might at least have the illusion of security. There are NO illusions as an entrepreneur.

• Social media helps many people spread the word and build beautiful businesses that do help the world. I decided years ago that I didn’t want to spend my life on my phone and so I have opted out of that model. It isn’t for me; but that doesn’t mean it can’t be for you. In full disclosure, I know that my business takes a big hit by not being on social media. I would rather suffer that consequence than the consequences of being on social media… which brings me to my last point. You will have to choose what consequences you are okay with. Every choice has a consequence or a pain point or part that you can be willing to bear. Identify yours.

• Are you okay with your artistic passion being your work? For some, it deadens and creates stress around the art. For others, it enlivens the art. That’s very personal and very important to understand about yourself.

• Find other entrepreneurs and support each other. I have a small group (3 of us) who meet once a month and share and problem-solve. It’s super helpful. We aren’t in the same industry but we know the general pulse of working for ourselves in this way.

• Make friends with your business self. We’ve been fed a narrative that art and business can’t mix, don’t mix, shouldn’t mix—that’s fair, they are different. But if you are going to be an artistic entrepreneur, you have to be able to wear both hats. I do like to keep them separate. I have dedicate times for business and dedicated times for art-making. I step into different parts of myself and actually it’s fun to have those to go between. Some days, I love a spreadsheet. It grounds me. It feels simple and organizing to work with numbers. Other days, I need the full mess and animating force of creativity!

I do believe the world needs TONS of entrepreneurs right now.

Innovation. Connection. Collaboration.

Outside of the box thinking and feeling.

The time is now.

I hope this helps. Socialize your ideas with your friends. Make a plan. Crunch some numbers. Keep a side job if you need to. Stabilize yourself with something reliable. See what’s possible. Then with that foundation, take the leap!

Love,

Molly