Ragon

Arty Business Ep.13: Good Deals & Investments

Added 2021-11-20 02:08:14 +0000 UTC

Howdy friends and Patrons, and welcome to another episode of the Arty Business series, where I share some of the helpful things I've learned in the process of building my own Arty Business. For this 13th article I'll be sharing with you my thoughts on some Good Deals & Investments you make encounter or look into as you grow your Arty Business.

This comes after our last two part article on Scams & Bad Deals! If you haven't read that yet you should read PART ONE, and PART TWO!

I'll be breaking this article down into three sections:

ANTIDOTES: Mantras of Arty Biz Truth you can use to fight the Lies about being an artist that might be sticking around in your head.
GOOD DEALS: Green flags that may signal a good deal, client, or opportunity!
INVESTMENTS: Products, services, and other career boosters that cost a little (or lot) more upfront, but can save you time, money, and your mental health!

And as usual, a section on resources for you to look deeper into these topics.

Alrighty my Arty Biz Buddies, let's get into the Good Deals & Investments!

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There are so many straight up LIES about working as an artist that aim to keep their labor as cheap and competitive as possible. (Check out the first part of this article to see what I'm talking about.)

I KNOW all of them are untrue, but so many of them still come sneaking into my mind from time to time. They sneak in and whisper: "yeah, sure, but what if you're the exception and don't actually deserve for it to be true." or "okay whatever but what if your art does suck and you shouldn't be paid enough to pay for your bills?"

There are some poisonous lies about being an artist, and I hope this list can be an antidote to help you heal from them, now and whenever you need it.

1. A̶r̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶a̶s̶s̶i̶o̶n̶,̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶l̶a̶b̶o̶r̶.̶ ̶ Art is labor!

You can be passionate about what you do, but it's still work.

2. A̶r̶t̶i̶s̶t̶s̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ t̶o̶ s̶u̶f̶f̶e̶r̶ t̶o̶ m̶a̶k̶e̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶ a̶r̶t̶. Artists create from all aspects of the human experience!

Pain and strife can create great art, but so can joy and love. Don't impose suffering on yourself for art's sake.

3. A̶r̶t̶i̶s̶t̶s̶ a̶r̶e̶ a̶l̶l̶ i̶n̶ c̶o̶m̶p̶e̶t̶i̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶ e̶a̶c̶h̶ o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶. Artists work better together!

Lift up other artists, hire them, work with them, be inspired by them, advocate for them, support them.

4. A̶n̶y̶o̶n̶e̶ c̶a̶n̶ m̶a̶k̶e̶ a̶r̶t̶, i̶t̶'s̶ n̶o̶t̶ a̶ s̶k̶i̶l̶l̶e̶d̶ t̶r̶a̶d̶e̶. Art can be both a hobby and a skilled trade!

The difference between the two is time, effort, and intent.

5. A̶r̶t̶ i̶s̶n̶'t̶ a̶ n̶e̶c̶e̶s̶s̶i̶t̶y̶ o̶r̶ a̶d̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ v̶a̶l̶u̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ t̶o̶ t̶h̶e̶ w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶. Art is a valuable service and resource.

Art is used for entertainment, connection, advertising, comfort, celebration, decoration, and so much more. Art makes visible emotions, concepts, memories, and attitudes. Art is powerful. Art is a necessity.

6. P̶u̶r̶e̶ a̶n̶d̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶ a̶r̶t̶ i̶s̶ s̶u̶l̶l̶i̶e̶d̶ b̶y̶ a̶s̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ f̶o̶r̶ m̶o̶n̶e̶y̶. Artists need money to live, so they need money to make art.

Also direct your attention back to Art is Labor! Not charity!

7. A̶r̶t̶i̶s̶t̶s̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ t̶o̶ o̶v̶e̶r̶w̶o̶r̶k̶ t̶h̶e̶m̶s̶e̶l̶v̶e̶s̶ t̶o̶ m̶a̶k̶e̶ a̶ l̶i̶v̶i̶n̶g̶. If you're overworking, it's time to start charging more.

Burning yourself out will make you hate creating. Do fewer jobs, charge more, make art for longer.

8. A̶r̶t̶i̶s̶t̶s̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ t̶o̶ t̶a̶k̶e̶ a̶n̶y̶ j̶o̶b̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ c̶o̶m̶e̶s̶ t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ w̶a̶y̶ a̶t̶ a̶n̶y̶ p̶r̶i̶c̶e̶. Saying no to underpaid work creates space for work that pays fairly.

If the well paid jobs aren't coming, hone your skills with personal work until they do.

9. O̶n̶l̶y̶ s̶u̶c̶c̶e̶s̶s̶f̶u̶l̶ o̶r̶ w̶e̶l̶l̶ k̶n̶o̶w̶n̶ a̶r̶t̶i̶s̶t̶s̶ d̶e̶s̶e̶r̶v̶e̶ t̶o̶ b̶e̶ p̶a̶i̶d̶ w̶e̶l̶l̶. If there's a demand for your art, you should be paid for it.

Demand and audience size are absolutely not 1:1. Audience size can be a factor in how much you're paid, but it's only one indicator of demand.

10. A̶r̶t̶i̶s̶t̶s̶ c̶h̶o̶o̶s̶e̶ a̶ l̶i̶f̶e̶ o̶f̶ s̶u̶b̶s̶i̶s̶t̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ l̶i̶v̶i̶n̶g̶. It's absolutely possible to make a stable living as an artist.

Artists can (and do) have kids, buy a home, pay for health insurance, take trips, and eat good food. The path to get there is perhaps less straightforward than with other careers, but there's an enormous, sprawling art industry out there, with an endless number of types of jobs and products and clients, and with people making their whole-ass livings. You just have to (and can) find your place in it.

Next up is a couple examples of elements I've noticed in potential client inquiry's that let me know a GOOD DEAL is (probably) incoming!!

+ Budget! When a client emails me and very quickly shares their budget... *Chef's kiss*

That generally means they're willing to share exactly how much they can pay for the project, and aren't looking for you to undercut yourself so they can keep the rest.

+ Scope of Use! They tell you exactly how long they're going to use your work, for what use. That should impact what you charge, so if they're intentionally vague it's a little tricky.

+25-50% Upfront! I've never had a client unwilling to pay me at least 25-50% upfront. For commissions and portraits, I always charge 100% upfront. Your client probably won't offer it, so just tell them you charge a percentage upfront. It means your client is reliable and serious about your services.

And often it takes 30 days or so after finishing the project to get paid the rest, so you'll need something to work off of until then.

+ Short and sweet! Often a future good client will be very quick at first, just gauging availability and interest. That way they don't waste both of your time. Then they'll increase the information with each step, making sure your fee works with their budget and such.

+ Know what they want! A good client will usually know exactly what they want when they come to you: how many pieces, what deadline, how many revisions/sketch rounds, etc. Usually they've decided exactly what they want before they approach you, because they know you need that information before you set your price and start!

+ Your art! They reference specific elements of your existing portfolio that they'd like to see for their project! Almost all of my clients put together a little folder or list of pieces of my existing art.

They're hiring you for your specific skills, why would they ask you to imitate a totally different artist?

+ Intermediary Companies! Not necessarily a good thing but... I just wanted to share that it's extremely common for large companies to contact design firms, social media managers, or other contractors to then hire you to do art for their project. Just remember, that means that big company is paying enough to hire someone to hire someone, so if they don't provide a budget, make sure you're quoting in the $1000s, not the $100s. I mean, usually, depends on the project, use your discretion.

Hey hey, recovering way-overly-frugal person here.

I hate unnecessary things, I hate wasted money, and I hate paying for things that I could make myself just fine. And I hate the way the term "investments" can be used to make yourself feel better about anything you can buy. Sometimes this frugality is good or harmless, but sometimes it genuinely hinders me and my career.

These are some options that I feel have been truly, deeply, good uses of my money that have saved me time, money, energy, and increased my ability to create art.

That said, I don't recommend jumping into all of these at once with a brand new art business. As always, I suggest you open a separate bank account to manage any money going in and out from art, and only invest in these when you have the need and funds. Start simply, and add as you grow.

+ A Day Job

I worked as a barista my whole first year of Ragonia. I would do it again, or work somewhere else if I had to. An art career can take a long time to build, and life takes a lot of money to live. Invest your time in a job that pays you now while you build for later.

+ The Tools You Need

I'm all for using what you have, but there comes a certain point where you can do more by buying the tools that you need. I made my first custom portrait with Crayola colored pencils and markers from my childhood. I used my iPad as my only computer for two years (and wrote all my Patreon articles with the on-screen keyboard- there were a LOT of mistakes and times I accidentally deleted whole articles.) But once I got my footing with the tools that I had, upgrading to tools that worked better for me made a huge difference.

I try to only do this when there's a genuine need for my business. I still take all my product photos with my iPad camera, and it takes a TON of time to edit the low quality pictures. At this point I would save a lot of time and energy if I just bought a slightly better quality camera and used that.

Some artists who work with risograph prints have such high demand for their riso prints that they end up buying their own. Some jewelry who work with laser cutters have such high demand for their laser cutters that it makes more financial and time sense to buy their own cutter. You'll know what you need, upgrade as you grow to help you grow even more.

+ Outsourcing (Some Things)

Along the same lines, at a certain point it becomes a good investment to hire help for your business.

My silly experience with this was making my first business cards in 2018. Thinking I was smart, I walked to my local Fed-Ex and bought my cards printed on their thickest cardstock and use their guillotine to cut them myself. One by one. And they looked awful. The first time I ordered (still very affordable) business cards from Vistaprint, I realized how silly I'd been. They looked SO much better and saved me hours of time.

Making prints was another thing I'm so happy I started outsourcing. I bought a printer early on in my business, but the effort it took to keep ink stocked, make the printer work, and cut them all by hand was so frustrating and time consuming to me. Now I buy my prints from a local print shop, and I'm so much happier. They know what they're doing, and I can focus on making art.

Of course as artists we don't want to outsource everything, making things ourselves is kind of the point. But if you can afford it and absolutely hate doing a certain part of your business- taxes, making handmade backing cards, decorating packaging, packing orders- hire someone or order them. Just make sure you pay fairly!

+ College

I wrote in the last article that I didn't think Art School was a good deal, especially if you're paying for it yourself. But just in case I have any high school or younger Patrons here, I do want to say that I still think getting a degree is pretty necessary for most people in the U.S.

Art careers can be fickle, and having a bachelor's degree in your pocket can open doors that you might need. I don't think a bachelor's degree is necessary in the slightest for being an artist, but it is for tons of other jobs. I would just encourage doing it as affordably as you can - like at community college or somewhere that offers you a lot of scholarships.

+ Extended Education

There's workshops from a local print studio, lectures at conventions, Skillshare classes, personal finance classes, Youtube videos for a new skill in the program you use... Investing your time and/or money into continuing your education is essential to your life and Arty Career. And it doesn't have to cost a lot of money, online workshops especially can be incredibly affordable or FREE!

I've currently been enjoying Patreon's own free Power Up Your Patreon weekly workshop, and I've got some ideas for the Ragonia Patreon that I'm really excited about!

Learning a new skill within your field can also be a great way to shake up stagnation and art block. You're never done learning, and that's the joy of life.

+ Tax Help

Speaking of extended education, in 2018 I invested (what at the time was) a LOT of money (~$100) to get a crash course in freelance tax and bookkeeping from a local educator. Meeting with her made me so much more confident in what I needed to know to do my own taxes for Ragonia. As things start to get more complicated with my taxes, I'm always ready to seek out more professional help, and I'd highly suggest that to anyone who's concerned about their freelance taxes.

+ Healthcare

Hey illustrators and artists! Don't skip out on healthcare! If for no other reason you gotta invest in your health so you can keep making art for a long time.

For my first two years I didn't make very much money, so I qualified for Medicare (and I loved it.) Now I make outside of the Medicare income limits, but through the Health Insurance Marketplace I get really helpful self-employment discounts and my healthcare is surprisingly affordable. I've been lucky to not have any serious health issues so far, but no matter what your health should not suffer for your art.

On that note, I want to remind you to invest in seeing a doctor, including for workplace injuries. That includes eye strain, headaches, and especially for pain in your wrist/arm/hand/shoulder/neck. I know, easier said than done, but so many artists keep drawing through their pain and hurt themselves even worse. Repetitive Strain Injuries are NO JOKE buddies. Take it seriously, you shouldn't be in pain.

+ Retirement & Emergency Savings

And finally, since all my advice is to generally treat your self-employment Arty Business like the real business that it is, as soon as you can you should at a minimum be investing in both an Emergency Savings fund and a Retirement fund. It's not cool new art supplies, or super exciting or aesthetic, but it's absolutely one of the most important investments you can make.

An Emergency Savings fund is at least 3-6 months expenses/income saved, for use in an emergency or if you can't work for a few months. (Like if you have to take off to heal a RSI!) I put mine in a High-Yield Savings Account so that it's not losing value quite as fast with inflation.

I used to think that Retirement Accounts were "for later" or only for finance bros or something. But last year I started learning more about personal finance from a very accessible YouTube channel called The Financial Diet (I'll link more in the resources!) and learned that the most! important! thing! with Retirement accounts is that you start as early as you can with whatever you can. I started out $100 in a Roth IRA with a robo-advisor called Betterment, and just added $100 more here or there when I could. Now I'm saving much more regularly, and it gives me so much peace of mind that I have something growing for my future.

If you're already saving for retirement and have an emergency fund, hell yeah high five!

If you haven't started yet or can't yet, absolutely no shame. It's just something to work toward in the future, and in my opinion, an extremely worthwhile investment for all artists.

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Graphic Artists' Guild Handbook - Again! So helpful in letting me know what a good deal & investment is. Get this or one of the older editions.
Health coverage if you're self-employed - Could be better ofc but thnk u healthcare.gov :)
Skillshare - Subscription platform for online courses. A lot of meh classes, and some amazing classes! Poke around the internet for free or discounted subscription, you can probably get a few months free. Subscribe when you see a class you love, unsubscribe when you're not using it.
Learn to Use Procreate - I LOVED this Skillshare class on Procreate by Jarom Vogel, I learned so much about illustration just from this.
Riso Basics Online Workshop - Outlet PDX, a studio that hosts a bunch of different affordable and awesome online and in-person workshops! I took this Riso class and learned a lot!

THE FINANCIAL DIET

This YouTube Channel makes a LOT of content, so some of it can get a little repetitive, listicle-y, or infotainment-y. So here's a few specifics I recommend!

VENDORS

(Where I outsource some of my production from)

Vistaprint - business cards and recycled thank you cards
Seattle Print Works - Art prints
StickerApp - Special material stickers (holo, clear, mirror, etc.)
DieCutStickers.com - Super sturdy vinyl stickers
Alchemy Merch - Enamel pins and washi tape

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I hope you found this article helpful (and more uplifting than the last!)

There's a lot of people looking to take advantage of freelancers and artists, but there's also SO MANY resources and people who want to pay fairly and offer help wherever they can.

Now I want to hear your thoughts! Let me know in the comments:

Is there a particularly sticky lie about art careers that you're have a hard time getting out of your mind?
Is there something you need to work on advocating for yourself in your career?
Is there an investment you'd like to recommend to other freelance creators?
Do you have a favorite Skillshare class, Youtube tutorial, vendor, or tool that has been an excellent investment for your Arty Biz?

Looking forward to hearing from you!

As always thank you SO MUCH for reading this, for being here, and for your support here on the Ragonia Patreon! I'll write (or talk?) to you soon with the happenings of November in Ragonia.

Until then, have a great American Thanksgiving if you celebrate, and remember to get paid fairly for your labor!