3 Things to Consider When Thinking About a Career in Art

So, you’re considering a career in art, by yourself and for yourself. Congratulations! Even if you’ve only thought of it in passing, you probably realized how big of a leap that is. The thought of leaving the reliability of a steady paycheck and relying only on yourself for income is HUGE! It’s understandably nerve wracking.

Thinking about a self-employed career in art isn’t to be taken lightly. There’s a lot to take into consideration besides just artwork. (Photo Credit: 123RF.com Image ID: 52080556 Copyright: sifotography)

Assuming you’re not a trust fund kid or have a significant other who can support you and your creative endeavors, this is something that will require you to hit the ground running. Perhaps you’ve even begun saving for basic costs of living to see yourself through the first few months of getting your business off the ground. Maybe you’ve even been creating artwork for the launch of your business. Without a doubt, those things are important.

While there are probably dozens of things to consider, here are three big ones…

1. It’s going to be HARD WORK.

   You’ll not only be consistently creating works of art, but you’ll also be in charge of marketing (this is primary after creating and seemingly nonstop if you want to make any money), shipping (this better be timely if you want to keep your customers happy), and for some video(recording/editing/live).

   Unless you have responsible people you trust to delegate tasks to, it’s all up to you, my friend. Of course there are hacks to make your life easier, but those are often discovered through time and experience.

2. Should you niche yourself?
   

   This is an ongoing debate. Some say being a jack-of-all-trades allows you to make your services available to everyone. But from an SEO standpoint, if someone Googles artist for hire, your website would be one in 268,000,000 search results (yes, I just tried it). Whereas if you niche yourself, preferably whatever specialty you’re passionate about, you narrow your competition down considerably.

   In addition, you guarantee taking on jobs you actually like. For example, as an animal portrait artist, I would dread having to create images of cars or even people portraits. After all, the point of having a career in art is to create a living doing something we’re passionate about.

3. Make sure you maintain a balanced lifestyle.
   

   This is one thing most neglect when thinking about working for themselves. For many entrepreneurs, including artists, you’re talking about a life of hustling. Big time. All of the things mentioned in #1 take up enormous amounts of time and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. It’s prudent to have a well-defined plan or schedule with set days and times to carry out each task.

   Equally important in your schedule should be down time. This can include plain old rest and relaxation, Netflix binge time, nature walks, meditation, reading, or even time for your own work on personal projects or experimenting with new techniques. The latter will keep your work for clients fresh and ever-growing. All of them will keep your mind and soul fresh and prevent burnout. If you do burnout and can’t work, you don’t get paid. And that would be bad.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there are dozens of things to consider when considering a career in art. Granted, a career in art working for big name companies like Disney or Pixar doesn’t come with the above mentioned considerations. But working for yourself is a whole other ball of wax. It can be chaotic and overwhelming, but equally rewarding. Consider and plan carefully to minimize the chaos and avoid the crash and burn.

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