Recently (or so it seems), there’s be a massive change in how creative people think about their work, and that means it’s not about finding one big job anymore, and instead, rather than hoping you can get that and fingers crossed it’ll give you everything you need, more and more designers, artists, writers, photographers (you get the idea) have decided to run small side businesses alongside their main careers.
It’s not (always) because they’re desperate for more money, but it’s mainly because they get a lot more freedom, control, and a way to grow a business sensibly and slowly. With that in mind, here are some more reasons why creatives are starting side businesses (and loving it).
A Space To Explore Ideas Without Pressure
One thing about creatives – as you’ll probably know yourself – is that they usually have more ideas than they know what to do with, and some of those ideas aren’t going to fit in their day job or match a client’s brief. That’s why a side business can be good because it basically gives those ideas somewhere to go. It might be a small online shop, or perhaps you’ll run workshops, or maybe you’ll take commissions, but whatever it is, you can be as creative as you like.
The fact is, when you’re not relying on every project to pay a bill, you’re really free to experiment, and you can test things out, change the way you do things, or just make or create something because it seems interesting more than anything else.
Building Your Own Opportunities
A lot of creative careers really depend on being chosen by someone else – you need to be hired or commissioned, for example. When you run a small business, you can turn that around because you’re the one who gets to create your own opportunities instead of waiting for them.
On top of that, it also teaches skills you don’t always learn in the creative world. Take things like organising projects, setting prices, writing product descriptions, talking to customers, managing admin, or perhaps even making sure you open a ltd business account – that’s all going to be worth learning in the end for all kinds of jobs.
Turning Passion Into Something Steady
Most creatives already spend a lot of time learning, practicing, making, etc, so turning some of that effort into a small income stream often feels like the right thing to do. But of course, it doesn’t have to be full-time, or even half-time – it could just be when you want to, if that’s how you set things up. As long as it fits around the rest of your life, you can do whatever you want, and that’s the point in the end.
The best part is you can grow it as slowly as you need to and you definitely don’t have to rush. There’ll be a few sales here and there, a couple of clients a month, or maybe you’ll start a little subscription service, but whatever it is, you can grow it bit by bit, so there’s no pressure, and mistakes (which everyone makes) won’t be so disastrous.
