It’s been 2 years since I left my litigation job to fully dive into creating an art business, and a year of me toying with the idea of getting back into the job market.
While not having a job gave me a focused year of building the infrastructure for my business- my website, this blog, my email list, a social presence, which I am super grateful for. But I was missing the discipline of having a routine and a structure to my day. I wanted to work a job again, but I was looking for something that didn’t take away from my creative practice.
Fast forward to now, your girl got a job working for another artist!
What it looks like working for another Artist
I was actively looking for a job in the creative field which would not only allow me to have a creative practice but provide an opportunity to learn more about running a creative business.
And this job hit the sweet spot!
My job involves creating marketing graphics, designing digital resources, managing the online courses’ student community, organizing the internal systems of the business using project management systems, and anything else that makes this artist’s job easier.
It is an opportunity for me to learn from another artist who has already built a successful creative business and simultaneously have a predictable inflow of income every month.
Working a job in addition to being a full-time artist
In the world of online business, leaving your job to become an entrepreneur is romanticized. And when you’re constantly bombarded with this messaging of all or nothing, it is easy to loose sight of what works for you in your unique situation and with your personal goals.
How getting a job helped me focus on my business
I realized that I need external structures to have discipline in my life. I don’t know about you, but I am not a self-motivated individual. And working from home really tests your self-discipline.
This job added structure to my day. Because I have a fixed number of hours I have to give to my job, I am extremely mindful of investing the rest of the time developing my art practice.
And because I am working for an artist, it motivates me to show up to my art practice with the same energy that I see this artist show up to their art business!
All that to say that, there is no one way of being an artist. Being an artist can look different for different people depending on where they are at, where they want to be and how they want to get there.