Jake PopistThe term starving artists is still relevant today. However, the internet has made it easier to share your talents as an artist and earn an income. The advantage is that you make money on talent alone without having to invest a lot of capital. Here are a few, effective business ideas for artists to choose from.
Work as a Freelancer
It’s recommended that you start working as a freelancer. There are websites that help freelance writers, photographers, and graphic designers to find work. However, the number of freelancers usually exceed the work assignments, so work is not always available. Furthermore, this competition means it’s in your best interest to invest in top of the line equipment. For example, photographers will need a professional grade digital SLR and the best photo printer available to have a chance at success. The work is also temporary and not suited for long-term employees. However, freelancing is a good start for artists before they go to the next level.
Open a Store
Another tip is to start your own creative business. You don’t need a lot of money to start if you have a small staff. You can do most of the work yourself or hire a few other artists to join. If you’re creating artwork, you’ll mainly need a computer and a few software tools.
You don’t even need your own website either. There are many ecommerce sites that help small business owners set up their own online stores. These sites receive thousands up to millions of visitors every day. Anyone who sells arts and crafts can easily receive customers without having to maintain a website.
With every business, build a solid marketing campaign. Find out how you’ll find new clients, which is the hardest part for many companies. To save money, start with the least expensive marketing methods, such as classified ads and referral marketing.
Patience and loyalty are two important qualities that every business owner should have. A staff of three employees will grow if there is a new flood of customers. You need to leave room for expansion but remain patient because results don’t happen overnight. Deal with the challenges of running a small business and leave room to make changes.
Provide Private Lessons
Hosting private lessons in a field of art, music or writing means that you become your own boss. Start by posting basic advertisements in the classified ads or on a social media website. How well you market your services affects the success of your entire business.
Work on your own schedule and decide how much to charge. Usually, the more skilled and experienced you are, the higher you charge. Too high prices will turn off any customer, though. Also, create lesson plans that are tailored to specific students. An example is to create fun, kid-friendly lessons when working with children or teens. You could end up helping the next Hendrix or McCartney get their start in the music industry.
The new form of teaching is online tutoring. Many young students are now looking for guidance online. If you teach instrumental music, it’s not possible to teach playing an instrument online. You can still teach people the basic terms and concepts of music theory and earn money for a few hours of tutoring.
There are different ways to earn money being creative. You can start small with all of these ideas and not make a huge investment upfront. Remain creative as you think of proven ways to support yourself and move from one step to another.
Jake Popist
