Artrepreneur Success Rule #1/10

A big thanks to those of you who filled out my survey that I shared on the GPS homepage. My biggest takeaways from the survey were that you would like me to talk more about running a successful creative business. In response, I’m going to be sharing my 10 rules for finding success as an “artrepreneur.”

In the coming weeks, I’m going to break down each rule and talk about the impact it’s had on my life.


Rule #1: Live Beneath Your Means

Imagine two scenarios.

In scenario one, we have a successful corporate lawyer working long hours in the big city. Think a character from “Suits” if you’ve seen that show. They live in a fancy penthouse and enjoy the finer things in life because they can. However, they don’t have much time for a personal life, because work is their life.

In scenario two, we have an artist living in a small town. They live in a cute cottage with an attached studio space. They make their own schedule, which affords them a rich personal life. They don’t care much for the finer things, but intentionally invest in what matters to them.

Now imagine these two people are equally financially comfortable, because they probably are. Person one makes more and spends more. Person two makes less and spends less. Which would you rather be? I would rather be person two because it sounds like they’re living a richer life. I’m guessing if you’re part of the GPS, person two appeals to you more as well.

There is a lot of talk online about how to make more money as an artist. I’ve seen countless articles on growing a creative business and diversifying income streams. However, what’s rarely discussed is how to save more money as an artist. And that’s by living beneath your means and running a lean business. To state the obvious - A person who’s making $50,000 per year and spending $20,000 makes the same as someone who’s making $200,000 per year and spends $170,000. We all know this to be true, but it’s hard to remember sometimes. We tend to be impressed by income, not accounting for debt.

This is not to say you can’t make a lot of money as an artist. You most certainly can. However, creativity doesn’t flourish under pressure. The quickest way to make sure we don’t succeed as artists is to acquire lots of debt. I’ve found I make better work (and more money) when I’m not desperately trying to meet an income goal every month. I’ve always lived with the mentality that “if it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no (unless you need the money).” Living beneath my means affords me the luxury to do only work that excites me. When we live beneath our means, we don’t panic when business slows down, because sometimes it will when you’re working for yourself. And when things are good and we’re cashing huge checks, they’re really good. It’s the best feeling ever.

So what does it mean to live beneath your means?

The biggest advantage artists have in this day and age is that they can live and work anywhere. Thanks internet! Long gone are the days where artists have to live in New York, near galleries and ad agencies. You can live in New York if that’s your dream, but you don’t have to. Because we have this option, we don’t have the financial pressures we used to. Because of this, the starving artist mentality should be extinct at this point. Today, we can live anywhere, buying more affordable homes and paying off our mortgages sooner.

Living beneath your means doesn’t mean you won’t get to do and buy all the things you want. It’s considering what actually makes you feel wealthy and not trying to keep up with the Joneses in areas that don’t matter to you. Sometimes, I catch myself wanting things other people say I should want. I constantly have to remind myself to snap out of it. With the pressures the world puts on us, especially with social media, it’s hard to stay true to who we are.

For me, I really love to travel. I won’t not go somewhere because it’s expensive. And I love my clothes and vintage jewelry. However, I take a minimalist capsule approach to my wardrobe and try to invest in timeless pieces. And I splurge on self-care from time to time - like massages and getting my hair done. Splurging on those three buckets makes me feel like I’m living the good life.

Things I don’t care about - living in a big city, big houses, attending expensive events, fancy cars, and eating at Michelin star restaurants. I like the suburbs. I like smaller, cozier homes. Big houses stress me out. And I could care less about cars. I don’t like crowded events. And restaurants that are too fancy make me uncomfortable. I prefer takeout at home.

Your idea of living the good life will be different than mine. However, we often forget to pause and think about what actually matters to us. It can be helpful to make a list of life’s luxuries and star the ones you actually care about. Can you choose just a few? You probably care about less than you thought. You may even find you’re spending money on things you don’t even want because the world pressures us to do so.

Another aspect of living beneath your means is running a lean business. I’ve shared this story before, but I’ll share it again. At one point in my freelance journey (about 5 years ago), I was doing a lot of graphic design work for big companies. I couldn’t keep up with the demand. Everyone kept telling me to hire people to maximize profits. So I did. While it sounded impressive to say I had employees, suddenly I didn’t enjoy what I was doing anymore. I was spending all my time managing people, and zero time being creative. I had more overhead from paying my employees and buying them on computers and software. I wasn’t sleeping as well. I realized life was a lot better when it was just me in my business. I learned then that my freedom was the most important asset in my creative business. So, I went back to just me and it’s been that way ever since. I love what I do now and wouldn’t change it for the world.

People still urge me to rent a studio space, or hire a team of people to help me ship art prints. Even though that sounds impressive and glamorous, I know it’s not for me. I like working from home and not having to manage people. Instead, I charge more money for my art prints to keep order quantities down. I’ve had to find that sweet spot in my pricing where I can make the most for my time. People often comment that my prints are overpriced. This is why. Why wouldn’t I want to work less and make more? This is what running a lean business is all about - spending as little time and money as possible to make as much money as you can, all the while protecting your freedom.

Every year, I take a good hard look at my business and think of ways to save myself time and money. What are my monthly expenses? Am I investing in the wrong things? Just practicing this awareness makes all the difference.

I thought it was important to talk about this rule first because it establishes the perfect foundation for starting and growing a creative business. We can’t grow a plentiful crop in bad soil. Putting less financial pressure on yourself is the quickest way to find success as an artist. A lot of people say they can’t afford to quit a job they hate. The question is - would you move to a new city to comfortably make art full time? Or would you drive a less fancy car? Or wear more basic clothes? When it comes down to it, I think most people would be willing to make these sacrifices. They just don’t see that they have a choice.

Applying this rule to your life could mean making small changes. Or maybe you need to make big changes in order to do what you love. As long as you practice awareness and realize you have more choices than you think, you’re on the right path. Just remember, at our core, we just all want to be happy. I think by now we know that money alone isn’t the way. We just need enough money to afford everything we want and enough freedom to enjoy it.

Stay tuned for rule #2!

Nicole Cicak