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I've been putting this episode off for a while because it's DENSE. It's a bit of a bite-sized master class in this subject, according to me. All my gratitude to the 100+ artists who have talked with me about this in my career, and especially to TaiTai for asking the question: "How to leave my fucking morning job without having plan B and I still have bills to pay."
What you'll hear:
- A question for you: "Why did you get into this/what do you want to get out of it?" 2:00
- It's not WORSE. It's just DIFFERENT. 8:50
- When you workin, you ain't trainin. Why it's difficult to upskill at the same time you are working 10:23
- I highly recommend you buy this book (available on a sliding scale, including for free!) by Andrew Simonet: Making Your Life as an Artist. Scroll down on this page to see the sliding scale options!! 11:00
- Ok, after all that and you still want to perform full time, here is some actionable advice 15:00
- #1: Have 6-12 months of your living expenses saved (I recommend all humans have 3 months at all times)
- #2: All savings accounts should be high yield savings accounts with 3.5% interest or more
- #3: Get rid of your credit card debt, it's too expensive 17:50
- #4: Know your non-negotiables and make good note of them. They will dictate the parameters in which you can explore opportunities.
- #5: Find out how much your life cost per month 20:00
- #6: Familiarize yourself with the Profit First System. Here is a spreadsheet you can make a copy of and use! 23:00
- Here are some suggested percentages to get you started (they are on the spreadsheet, and you can change them according to your needs):
- 50% profit/owner's pay goes to you, to pay for groceries, clothing, Netflix, etc.
- 30% goes to business expenses like training, costumes, travel to gigs, scheduling software, etc. (I just leave this 30% in my business checking account)
- 5% to all purpose savings (in a high yield savings account of course)
- 15% to another high yield savings account with which to pay your taxes.
- If you need pro help, Sandi York is THE BEST and very familiar with creative businesses. She was the source for the profit first spreadsheet I shared above. 24:44
- #7: TALK TO PEOPLE. Use your mentors. Get a mentor. Please do not skip this step. There is no reason whatsoever that you should suffer unnecessarily when we could save you some grief.
- #8: Have your shit together (website, bio, demo, headshots, etc)
- Speaking of making a website, that's exactly what The Audacity Project is for! I'm enrolling cycle 28 in February. The best place to know about it is the waitlist, which you can find here! 28:00
- A review of all the actionable advice 29:00
- Creatrix is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! come play in the warmth with me!
Don't go back to sleep.
xoRachel
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