Getting Started with Side Hustle Money & Your Path To Becoming A Professional Creative: The Good, The Bad and The Smuggle’y
A Fledgling Guide To Making Your First Independent Money and Sustainably Stoking Your Creative Projects
What is up my fine fellows?
The fact of the matter is all side hustles are not created equal, there are different breeds for different needs, and different strokes for different folks.
So if you are just getting into the game then here are a few things to think about.
Monetize Something Quickley
1. Consider monetizing something that will not catabolize your artistic interest or creative curiosity. What I mean by this is don’t try to force monetization. Just get into the flow of things by taking your first sale with as least resistance as possible. I recommend just listing things on the Facebook marketplace or eBay and just making your first buck, this gets some points on the board and just gets you in the game (More on this later). Alternatively, you may want to offer a simple service such as car detailing or content writing. The main goal here is just to get in business for yourself no matter how small the deal, this creates a huge shift in mindset and will bolster your confidence.
Protect And Nurture “Your Inner Creative”
2. Protect your “inner creative” and authenticity by thinking long-term. You might ask the questions; how would I build this if I did not have to rush? What would I do if I did not have to worry about money? What do I work on when I lose track of time?
These can be tough questions when we are impatient to make things happen, but the answers will act as a compass for making plans and will keep you in line with your integrity and values.
Ultimately building an audience around what you value and are curious about is the best and healthiest way to be a professional creator, aka making things (products, content, art) and getting paid well for it. But this takes time and that’s ok. The number one thing you can do is start creating and sharing consistently, no matter how small!
What we want to is get some cash flow and small business experience in the short term while we are steadily building our “brand” in the long term. These things will often be quite separate and might even seem totally unrelated at first but as you progress (a few months/years) they will draw closer together until you can hustle, play and create all on the same plane of interest.
This two-pronged approach will serve you well and allow you to sustainably move towards your goals.
The good news is this really works (from what I have seen and also experienced on some level) the bad news is it takes time and it is not a straight line which brings us to what I call the “smuggle’y”
In my years of side hustling, it has not always been pretty. There are times when you may feel like an oddball as you flip random things for cash or start making that origami and posting it on YouTube like you always wanted to. Just remember, the alternative is to continue hiding from your ideas, your autonomy, and identity own personal identity and that comes at a much worse cost than we can really conceptualize in the present moment.
I will back with more practical and tactical stuff for getting started with these things and even recommending some great mini-courses that walk you through this stuff step by step, but until then don’t be afraid to take a risk and get started on your own!
Cheerio,
Ben