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| Where I make (made) money |
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| Where I am happy |
At the end of this month, my day job will come to an end. After over 30 years in the newspaper business, surviving wave after wave of layoffs, I've finally ended up in the crosshairs and my job will be outsourced in February, to "ad centers" in the U.S. and India.
So, no more day job! I can spend all my time in the studio!
**SNAP OUT OF IT!!** Turns out I'm not close enough to retirement to not make money anymore, and not far enough away (age discrimination being alive and well) to find a job easily in my field, which is all things web.
And then there's healthcare. Thank goodness my state (yea RI!) has set up a health exchange with many options (yea Obamacare!) so I should be able to get coverage, but no health care program is cheap these days.
So, I must make more money than painting sales can provide.
And...
I'm too old to stand for a job that bores me to death.
So here's my plan.
1. Treat my painting more like a business.
The trade off to having no time was the luxury of not worrying too much about selling. Sure, selling was great, but if it didn't pay the rent, that was what the day job was for. Now I will have to make more of an effort to market my work.
2. Become an expert in Social Media Marketing and Analytics.
Businesses are constantly being told they have to get "out there" but do not have the knowledge or desire to Tweet, Facebook, Link In, Instagram, etc, etc, etc. So I will offer to do it for them, beginning with myself. This will have the dual purpose of helping me promote my work, and giving me a marketable skill to offer small businesses. So if you see me suddenly getting extremely social, it's all in a day's work.
So....
Follow me on Twitter! @KathyHodgeArt
Friend me on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/KathyHodgeStudio
Pin me on https://www.pinterest.com/hodgepainting/
3. Design web site for artists
Because they have so much money to spend on web design!
4. Teach small classes.
5. Apply for grants.
6. Last but not least —Collect unemployment!
Well, according to the social media tips I've been reading, this is longer than the optimal blog length for reader engagement, so I'll en—
Hello? Anyone there?
Looks like an excellent plan! So glad you are escaping that grind, and will have more time for the studio!
ReplyDeleteStill here to the very last word. Oh those so-called experts. What do they know? ;-) Seriously, good luck. I know how scary it is to be in your position, that awkward age when you're old enough to really need to be financially secure so you can do what you want but young enough that financial security will only happen with a day job...or winning the lottery. Or perhaps a wealthy relative could leave you a fortune??? That's always been my hope - lol!
ReplyDeleteGreat plan. Unemployment and Obama care will help you focus on growing your art career. You should also connect with fellow Projo emp Lisa Sicard (was Buben). She is quite an expert in social media, too.
ReplyDelete