How I Make Money as a Cozy Self-Employed Artist ✿ The BIG Q&A: Finance, Taxes, Small Biz, Confidence

How I Make Money as a Self-Employed Artist

The artist is 22 years old and self-employed, making at least $8,000 per month.
She divides her income into three streams: online shop sales, social media revenue, and brand deals.
The artist emphasizes the importance of diversifying revenue streams to mitigate risk.
Running a business comes with expenses such as taxes, subscriptions, and supplies.
She acknowledges that her cost of living may be lower than others her age due to roommates and not owning a car.

"If you are thinking about having a small business or having an art business, you can definitely make a living wage out of it, it just takes a lot of work."

How to Learn About Finance and Running a Business

The artist cautions that she is not a financial expert, but shares her personal learning experience.
She recommends following other small businesses, conducting thorough research, and learning from trusted sources.
Once a business reaches the point where it can be pursued full-time, she advises getting a separate bank account.
While it's important to educate oneself, she suggests that it may be worth hiring a CPA for financial expertise.

"Just for beginners, let's say you've been selling on Etsy for a while and you've been ramping up sales. When you can imagine yourself quitting your day job and pursuing this full-time, that's when you should get a separate bank account."

Setting up a separate checking account for small business expenses

Switched to my own website and got a separate checking account for my small business expenses.
Opened an online checking account through Novo, listed as one of the best checking accounts for small businesses.
Charging all small business purchases to the checking account rather than my personal account.
Makes tax season easier by having all business expenses in one account.
Use the Intuit QuickBooks self-employed app to categorize expenses for tax purposes.

"I charged it to that checking account and not my personal account, this makes things way easier for yourself when it comes to tax season because on tax forms there will be sections where you can put in all the expenses that you had all the things that you spent money for your business and so much easier looking at your business checking account rather than your personal regarding expenses."

Balancing Schedule and Intuition

The speaker relates to feeling anxious and overwhelmed with a high level of schedule and order.
They find it helpful to get all the junk out of their head onto paper or onto their phone.
Prioritizing tasks by setting them down on a planner and creating a detailed list on their phone helps them feel accomplished.

"I get all the junk out of my head onto paper or onto my phone. I set my biggest priorities down on my planner so I know I have to do it that day."

The Freedom of Being Self-Employed

Being self-employed gives the speaker the freedom to rearrange their schedule according to their preferences.
They don't have any annoying Zoom meetings or other obligations that restrict their flexibility.

"That's what I love about being self-employed, I have so much freedom to rearrange my schedule."

Filming Setup

The speaker's vlogging setup includes an Amazon Basics tripod and a Canon EOS 80d camera with adjustable lenses.
They primarily use an 18-35 millimeter lens to capture detailed shots.
For vlogging, they also use their iPhone 13 Pro, which offers excellent picture quality.

"This is my vlogging setup. I use the Amazon Basics tripod. This is the camera that I use, it's the Canon EOS 80d. The main lens that I use to get all the detail shots is this really big lens, it's the 18-35 millimeter lens."

Becoming a Clay Artist

The speaker comes from a family of artisans, including an amazing artist grandfather, a skilled miniature artist uncle, and a talented painter cousin.
Drawing and painting were the speaker's first loves, but they rediscovered their passion for polymer clay at the age of 19.
Polymer clay appeals to them because of its accessibility and the ability to create various objects in a home kitchen oven.

"When it came to medium, I think my first love is actually drawing and painting. But polymer clay was something that I had done since I was nine years old. I still love it. Eventually, I want to make bigger pieces and start throwing on the wheel and making ceramics."

Personal Theory Types

The speaker identifies as an assertive Advocate (INFJ) according to the 16 personalities test.
They find learning about personality types similar to theirs helpful in finding comfort and understanding themselves better.

"Learning about types that are similar to me as a still fully original and unique human has been really helpful for me in finding more comfy and less uncomfy. As of now, I only know my 16 personalities results, and according to that test, I'm an assertive Advocate or INFJ."