3 Steps to Create Income That Allows You to Be a Full-Time Artist

Being a full-time artist has nothing to do with how much money you are making from your art.

Being a full-time artist means that you are able to dedicate all of the time and resources that you desire to your art, so you can fully devote yourself to your creativity, invest in your career and say yes to any opportunity that comes your way.

If you find sources that give you flexibility and freedom, making income through other sources does not have to impact your ability to be a full-time artist. We know income is fickle in the creative industries, so it’s important for the longevity of your artistic career that you also have other things that are bringing in income so you can continue to be a full-time artist.

To preserve the magic that is your creativity, you have to take the pressure of making money off of your art, which usually results in making more money from your art.

Here are three steps to start creating income sources that allows you to be a full-time artist:

1. Write Out Two Dream Job Descriptions

Write out two different versions of your dream job—one of a position that you would be hired for, and one for a business or passion project that you would completely own.

For example:

Virtual Assistant

Woman-owned company

25 hours a week / $35 an hour

< 2 recurring meetings a week

Dungeons & Dragons RPG podcast

Weekly episodes with sponsors

Paid to go to gaming conventions

Generates $2,000/month

Make sure to keep in mind what your full-time artistic career requires from you, and account for that in your job description. Some questions to consider include: How many hours a day can you devote to it? Does it need to be remote? What does it cost you to live your current lifestyle?

2. Create a 5-Item Action List

For each of these two job descriptions, write a list of five action items for each of them that you could complete this week.

For example:

Virtual Assistant

Join three virtual assistant Facebook pages

Reach out to my friend Toni who just started an online business to see if they need support

Create a resume tailored to VA job

Search VA jobs on LinkedIn and apply to the first one I see

Post on Facebook that I’m looking for remote work and ask for recs

Dungeons & Dragons RPG Podcast

Reach out to my friend who expressed interest in a project like this a few months ago

Outline the first two episodes

Research what software is needed to publish a podcast

Listen to three episodes of similar podcasts (note who their sponsors are)

Record the first episode

3. Take Action

Move like mad. Complete your list of five things for each dream job description, then create a new list for the next week. Rinse and repeat the process.

If your brain is telling you there’s nothing more you can do, make another list. There are always more things you can do, and the further along this process you get, the more creative the ideas become.

How Other Sources of Income Benefit Your Art (Outside of Your Bank Account)

At the end of the day, even if you do make all your income from your art, you’re still not going to spend 40 hours a week working on your art. Why not use those other hours to bring in different sources of income to take financial pressure off of your art?

To be a great artist, you have to fill your life with life experiences, not just more art (if you’re only creating art all the time, you’re going to be a really boring artist).

Let’s take celebrities, for example. Think of an accomplished artist you admire—they own businesses, they’re producing, they have product lines, they’ve written a book and they’re influencers.

They are doing so many other things in addition to their art, sometimes for the money, but also for the full life that it creates around them.

I’m a full-time actor living in New York City and I also have a full-blown career as a money coach and owner of Not Starving Artists. That parallel career takes me 25 hours a week, and I spend 10 hours a week going to auditions (working on my actual art), leaving me plenty of time to still have a full life outside of work as well.

To reiterate, being a full-time artist does not mean you are only doing your art and all of your income is coming from your art. Go create your dream job descriptions and start taking action to create that extra money, you full-time artist!

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