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This month’s MKE Creatives featured a presenter we haven’t had in awhile – everyone who was there! Yep, this month instead of a presenter, we had a group discussion on the trials and tribulations of self-employment in the creative professions. What makes this meetup so valuable each month is not only the variety of creatives that attend and the swell coffee from Anodyne, but also the years of accumulated experience that get brought to the Anodyne Coffee table.
The discussion sparked with a question that occupies a LOT of creatives’ thoughts: “How do you do it? How do you survive (health insurance, finding work, following a budget)?”
“I’ve seen it a lot…relationships can be…very difficult if both people want to be independents – it can add a >lot< of stress to a relationship (not impossible, but HARD).”
“You have to communicate and find common ground to make it work for both of you…you have to strategize…I found that if I put more time into finding work and sales, and less into the actual creative of it, I found a LOT more success.”
“I’ve weathered a divorce and big changes, while being the only bread-winner, as an independent…it IS hard. I’ve actually started doing some work for one of my competitors – I don’t mean to do it for long – but it’s work – I mean, I have it booked in my calendar as “Working For The Man…”
“The life we’ve chosen…it doesn’t get easy, but it gets easier – because you get used to it – it is a constant hustle, a constant chase.”
“You have to be proactive – the world is not gonna beat a path to your door. You gotta go out and get the work.”
“Don’t be afraid to talk to your peers and get insights on how to accomplish things.”
“Try to get your clients on either EFT (electronic funds transfer) or retainer work…and get someone else to chase the work. Don’t be afraid to “fire” clients – every quarter I prune my client list.”
“Everybody has to develop a system (of running their business), so they know what to do, and then follow it religiously – at 30 days, at 60 days…”
“I always demand either full-payment up front, or payment in installments before any work begins.”
“You gotta remember, the longer an invoice is out there, the less likely it is to get paid.”
“In the travel-writing realm, there’s no such thing as a “retainer” – usually a per assignment fee. I’ve learned though, that you can “train” your clients by setting up certain expectations when you work together.”
“I’ve learned that there’s a value in living UNDER your means.”
“A lot of creatives don’t like to pay attention to the money-aspect of things, but I’ve come to understand that if I pay more attention to the money aspect, I can keep working with the clients I want to, and I won’t need to work in a “cube-farm.”
“Some of my friends who write on the side, they’ve remarked on how busy I always am. They don’t always get it – I’m busy because This Is My JOB – I have to keep busy.”
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Businesses represented at this meetup: graphic design, stock photos/video, actor/toy-maker/story-teller, editorial-music-commercial photography, writer-editor-photographer, web/app development and tech consulting, business development/digital marketing, certified account/investment advisor, writer-brand strategist-graphic novelist, and food/wine/travel-writer.
