30: Stand in Your Power: I Am an Artist.

I know that it can be a little bit tricky or difficult to make your friends and family take you seriously, convincing them that you are serious about pursuing a career in something that's creative. But I want to help you stand in your power and stand in your confidence of being whatever it is that you want to be, even when people don't think it's a real job. I'm Bonnie Christine and this is where all things creativity, design, business and marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing the most creative and impactful work of my life. But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur, I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest, biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today. I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and experience the same success. I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable. Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast. I recently ran across this letter that my mom wrote me in 2012 and it simply says, bonnie, when your dreams come true, mine will too. All my love, mama. And I had to go back and look at the dates because this time period in my life was full of so much hope and, and anticipation for what might come. But none of us really knew where I was going. And it was just a few months after this letter that she sent to me in the mail that I signed my very first contract as a fabric designer. This. The reason that I want to talk about it today is that when I came across these words again, it just brought back so many memories because I remember so vividly how scared I was and uncertain I was about pursuing my own dreams and really wondering if I had what it took to, you know, make it a reality. And I remember feeling so embarrassed to tell other people what I was working on and I just felt like it was silly and so I was really careful with who I decided to share it with at first. So at first it was only my mom and my husband, David, because I knew that they would get it and they would be able to support me. And so if you're working towards a really big dream or goal, I know so many of us always are, I would say just choose the very first handful of people that you share this news with. And make sure that they're going to receive it with support and encouragement for you. Because it's all so fragile in these very early stages. And so many people want to diminish the courage that it takes in order to do that. But it takes zero courage to be a naysayer. And I fully believe that it is the dreamers and the doers who have the courage to make a difference in this world. And they are so very impactful and important. It takes courage to step out and do something differently. And so I want to talk a little bit about what it takes to stay, stand up and confidently get to a place where you can say, I am an artist, or maybe you are a ceramicist or a painter or whatever it is, but when you can confidently say that you are that thing. I'll never forget the time when I was filling out paperwork at the doctor's office and it always asks you what your occupation is. I'll always remember the day that I said, I am an artist on my paperwork. Like, I'm sure they didn't care who cares what you put in that slot? But I said it with confidence for the first time, and that was different for me. I know that it can be a little bit tricky or difficult to make your friends and family take you seriously, convincing them that you are serious about pursuing a career in something that's creative. But I want to help you stand in your power and stand in your confidence of being whatever it is that you want to be, even when people don't think it's a real job. So we're going to talk about five different reasons why a career in the arts or in creativity is a real job and it should be taken seriously. And you can confidently proclaim that. The very first one is that, to be honest, the definition of a real job is very much changing meaning. In the past, a real job may have been defined as something steady or traditional with benefits and stability. But today, doing something on your own and being an entrepreneur are more and more common and more and more accepted as legitimate ways of making a living. You know, I think it just takes time for people to see what you're able to do. But especially with the. The online marketplace now and so many different avenues that artists can take to create income, then they are slowly but surely becoming viewed as very legitimate lines of work. So if you're having a difficult conversation with someone, perhaps you could have some examples of successful artists or creatives in your industry that are doing what you want to do and show them the second one. Is that art and all of the creative aspects of what we do is absolutely essential. And I think that oftentimes people like to forget this, meaning that they think art is maybe just a hobby or a luxury, but it's so much more than that. It's a fundamental part of our human experience, and it always has been and it always will be. Actually talked about this in our very last episode with Sarah Watts. It's called what Problem do We Solve? And so if this is interesting to you, go back and listen to that one. It's number 29. But art in general, it brings beauty, it brings meaning, it brings joy to people's lives, and it helps us process and make sense of our emotions and experiences. In other words, living in a world without art and creative pursuits is not a world that. That we want to live in. Artists make a valuable contribution to society, but furthermore, they create legacy work, meaning everything that falls into the arts category. Whether you're a musician or a designer or an artist or a writer, you're creating work that is going to live on many, many years past your own. And that is incredible. Number three is that being an artist or a creative entrepreneur is hard work. I think that maybe artists get lumped in with, like, pastors sometimes, meaning sometimes pastors are viewed as only working on Sunday. Right? And so artists are just sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike. Right. But we know that neither of those things are true. But perhaps reminding people who you're talking to that may not be taking you seriously about all of the different things that go into creating a business out of your art. It requires discipline and dedication and lots of practice. But in order to become successful, it's so much more than just creating the finished piece. Right? It's about setting up your business and marketing it and building an audience and. And shipping out orders and so many different aspects to going into creating the actual business. And so sometimes all of these things can be really helpful to lay out for someone. Number four, and possibly the most important is that art can be incredibly profitable. Artists today are crafting beautiful careers with so many different moving parts. And there are so many of us that have multiple passions, and they can lead to running highly multifaceted businesses. Many of us work to create diversified income. And so what I mean by this is that you have multiple streams of revenue so that if one ebbs, the other one can flow, or you can ramp up one part of your business to cover for another one that's going slowly. There are so many different ways to create income as an artist. And I often look at these ways in two different categories, so traditional and non traditional. So a few of the traditional ways that I've seen artists create income from their work is through selling original art and selling art prints, taking commissions for artwork and illustrating for clients, doing commissioned illustrations, working as an in house designer for a company who needs work done, or designing for books and other types of editorial illustration, designing for products and packaging, and selling physical products that you've designed as well. But then there's this entirely new category of some non traditional ways that I love to use in my business, like selling digital goods like ebooks or printables or downloadables, selling products designed for pod or print on demand sites like Spoonflower Society 6 and Creative Market, and creating information based products like guides, classes and courses, or building a community around your creativity. And many of us work as an ambassador or a partner for the products that we love. Sometimes this is called affiliating and it's for things that we're recommending already. It can actually be an incredible revenue stream to add to your business. And of course my personal favorite is licensing your work as an artist because all of these types are under a category considered either residual or recurring revenue. And so there's so many different ways now artists and creatives can create income from their work that it is absolutely legitimate and, and you should feel confident in saying so now. The last one, number five, is just that pursuing your passion is really important. You know, at the end of the day, life is short and it's important to do work that you enjoy and that brings you fulfillment. If you are passionate about art and you have the talent and drive to make it your career, then you need to pursue it. I fully believe that when we do something that brings us joy, that joy overflows, flows from us into the lives of those around us, and it can oftentimes inspire other people to pursue what makes them happy as well. For these reasons, I want you to feel confident in your pursuit. I want you to confidently say that I am an artist. And I want you to be able to talk to the people in your lives about taking it seriously and understanding how to support you and encourage you. Even if they don't think it's a real job just yet, you'll prove them wrong. In fact, probably the very thing that really helped my friends and peers and family members understand what I was doing was when I stopped trying to convince them and I just showed them instead. Meaning seeing how hard I worked towards this goal is what made them a believer and it's what gave me something to show for it as well. And so sometimes it's time to just stop talking about it and start doing it. And the proof is in the pudding, right? So I hope this episode has just helped you stand up a little straighter and be a little bit more confident, knowing that even if you don't feel quite confident yet, you will get there. The best way to grow your self confidence is to tell yourself that you're going to do something and then go do it. Not only will your confidence rise for yourself, but everyone around you as well. Dear friends, thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Professional Creative. You can find show notes for this episode and all other episodes over at professionalcreative.com always work to create the beauty you want to see come alive in the world. And remember, there's room for you.