[BLOG] 5 WAYS TO SURVIVE BEING A BROKE ARTIST
For the majority of us who weren’t born with a silver spoon, we hit a moment when you haven’t yet found a way to turn your artistry into a profitable business and you find yourself, well, broke. The bill pile doesn’t match the income (if there’s any at all) and the pressure from your family to do something else with your life surmounts. Know right now that this is your rise of the Phoenix moment. This moment right now determines whether you have it in you to push through the struggle or if you decide to give up and live a life of regret.
We want you to push through and we’ve created a list (based on personal experiences) of how to do so.
1. PERSONALITY.
At the top of the list is personality because believe it or not it will get you much further than a link on Youtube. Being gracious and an all around nice person will potentially get you discounts on items that may be out of your budget or a crew who will pull for you even though they aren’t getting paid. Sending out thank you emails and postcards leaves a lasting mark. Small things like that will give you an edge over people who have the money to do what you’re trying to do. It also makes people want to go above and beyond for you. No one is going to help someone who’s broke and a bitch.
2. FRIENDS.
Friends are essential when you’ve hit this spot in your life because they are your foundation when everything around you is falling apart. They become almost like an extra brain and pair of legs. If you’re hungry, they make sure you eat. If you need an extra something to get some equipment they will help you get it. If you don’t have people like this in your life you may need to revisit #1 on this list or eliminate the shitty friends you have now. Your friends should want you to succeed and help you, if need be, to get there. You’re doing yourself a huge disservice if you are keeping people in your life who do not want good things for you. At times like this it becomes very easy to point these people out. Rid yourself of them. Now.
3. DISCOUNTS & 99cent PIZZA.
When I quit my job, I had spaghetti and dollar pizzas for an entire month. On a good day, I’ll move up to McD’s fries or a snack wrap (that 9c extra is a killer). But you need to prepare yourself to actually starve. If you know that you are planning a shoot or if you need that extra 2 dollars to get to the studio and back, eliminate the Chipotle visits. It’s going to be hard, I know, believe me I know, but that little bit you save will mean even that much more when you have a completed project. Little Caesars tastes like cardboard hell, but if it gets you fed it’ll begin to taste straight out of Italy. Groupon, Living Social, the list goes on, but these discount sites will become the things that will keep you living – literally. There’s no shame to your survival you just have to be smart about it.
4. ASKING FOR HELP.
You should not be afraid to ask for help. How else are you going to grow as an artist? Link up with someone who has already made their artistry profitable and learn from them. This is the time when you really pull from people to make your own content strong. You don’t want to do what they did, but you do want to see how it can be done. Do not let that fear of asking for help hinder you from making your content strong. Reaching out to past professors or industry contacts for advice on your work can really be the thing that pushes you from being good to great. There’s nothing wrong with just asking for help sometimes.
5. FOCUS.
If your focus is elsewhere you will fail. Now repeat that twenty times until you believe it. If you actually went through the process of quitting your job and have committed yourself to building your skills then do that. There’s no excuse not to. You’ve already committed to being broke. Your social life is out the window. Your love life is soon to follow. Make this stretch of your life be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. Work harder than you ever have. Make the content you want to make until people are paying you for it. You should eat, breath, sleep this shit. It should be almost like you are running a treadmill with an unlimited timer. Keep the focus on your work.
6. (BONUS) FUCK YOUR NO.
When starting out you will get more no’s than yes’s, do not let that discourage you. It’s all a process. The no’s will feel bad until you get that first yes, but never let any of that deter you from getting your work heard or seen. Every “no” just gets you to a “yes.” Get to it.