I am in the boat of those who have lost my job due to redundancies and have started to look at my future in freelance/self employment. I NEED this video! I have some govenment help, but am building up from nothing, no following, no commision, no feedback. Who do I go to for advise? Do I book in with a accountant? Do I book some one on one business/brand/financual coaching? (I have already taken some of these actions on myself.) Basically, what would you tell your younger self, had of your start to self employment looked like this?
5 years ago | 87
yes!! is so important to talk about money being an artist, i know so many people who under charge and dont get paid enough because they dont know how to price their time!
5 years ago | 16
I would love to hear about it. My question would be as someone who is working full time in my day job, how do you slowly build your income to be able to go full time as an illustrator without burning yourself out? when your day job exhausts you and you are worried of stretching yourself to thin? Were there particular income avenues like YouTube for example that you focused on more to build before moving onto opening a Patreon for example? Really looking forward to this video! Thanks so much Fran!
5 years ago | 24
Its a good idea Fran👍👍👍 it would be very helpful for those beginners who want to learn about the pricing/costing. Im a freelancer too, i do wedding gowns , and its important to know this kind of top
5 years ago (edited) | 3
I think it's empowering for everyone when we get to know about salaries and money in general. I think a good way to give the whole picture might be talking about the difference in the way you got paid for your work at different point of your career. Anyway I look forward to your video!!
5 years ago | 41
I think it’s always helpful to talk about money issues, despite the unfortunate economic climate going on right now. One thing that I wonder is how do freelance artists manage taxes? Do you file taxes yourself or do you have someone help you?
5 years ago | 13
I always love to know how other freelancers manage budgets and plan for lower seasons with less work.
5 years ago | 31
Hi Fran! This is such a difficult topic, but also very important and insightful for starting artists. I was wondering what your experience is with starting to ask for money as a beginning artist, and if you had the tendency to charge less than necessary. Thanks!
5 years ago | 84
I hate that most artist and illustrators never talk about money like if it was something bad idk, I would love to know about how to deal with the money stuff bc no one never teach you about that and less with being freelancer. I know it’s hard times but I think it would be helpful to start with illustration as a job :3 I would love to see that video, Fran.
5 years ago | 4
Yes!! One thing I noticed that many freelancers don't really talk about is how they organize their business financially, behind the scenes. Like, how do you structure your business financially ? Do you do your own bookkeeping or do you hire someone? Do you keep reserves and if so how much should one save? How do you budget for your business? How much home pay do you give yourself? How do you budget for equipment, materials, tools for your business? Health insurance, business insurance? Where do you go for financial advice for artists and freelancers (lawyers, CPAs that understand the art/freelance business)? How do you handle your business debt (if any)? How do you decide when is a good time to hire an assistant/employee? And as others have mentioned, how do you decide what to charge for your work? At least in general terms, these are things I wish would be talked about more by artists who are actually living the life lol. I made the mistake of majoring in Business because I thought "if I can understand how business and money works, I'll have a better chance of success in my art career. Well, I ended up working (in insurance) while going to school and didn't make time or had the energy for art at all. Now I feel stuck because any job I'm "qualified for" is in the same field I hate, business, banking, insurance (and at a call center no less!) Anyway, now I'm really going to go hard and build up a creative career on the side (thanks to you and Andy J. "PIIZZZZAAAA" for being my main sources of inspiration! )... But yeah these are a few of the things I'm curious about and would help an aspiring artist like me! You've been so helpful so far, I'm grateful for any advice you give! ❤️
5 years ago (edited) | 1
Self employment without a audience? How does one start? Or How to get seen?
5 years ago | 141
A mí me interesaría ver cuánto ganabas o el sueldo promedio de un artista cuando empieza en su trabajo. Sería interesante ver y comparar con lo que ganas ahora. O también las actividades en donde se gana más como ilustrador (?
5 years ago (edited) | 19
Personalmente, tus vlogs limpiando la mesa me causan satisfacción, como que sé que en algún momento la limpiarás, y cuando ocurre libero endorfina 🤣 y si, seria bacan que nos compartieras esos tips de ilustradora, como cuando compartiste lo importante que era hacer un doc de condiciones y plazos. Me sirvió mucho!!!! Un abrazo Fran ♥️♥️♥️♥
5 years ago | 0
Yes yes yes to this topic! I think being open about how much money you charge is sooo helpful for other artists. The more we share, the better we are together!
5 years ago | 1
Sí, por favor Fran, hacen falta más ejemplos de gente como tú con visión empresarial, estrategia y tesón que enseñe cómo sí es posible vivir bien de la ilustración. Creo que todos estamos felices de que prosperes y tengas una buena realidad económica, te lo mereces y no te debería dar vergüenza compartirlo, al contrario. Eso es abundancia 😊
5 years ago | 0
Dear Fran, I’m so glad if you bring up this topic! Please discuss about pricing when you just start as a new illustrator. How to get the clients? How to be confident to put a certain price for a particular project? Thank you and stay safe! xx
5 years ago | 0
I think it sounds super-interesting. Especially b/c of the pandamic. You might help illustrators out there without even noticing ;) I also have a few questions: How long did it take to become self-sufficient and have freelance jobs pay the bills? Was there a turning point? Or was more a gradual and steady increase?
5 years ago | 5
Hi Fran!! Thank you for wanting to be open about this stuff, I would really appreciate hearing about this topic!! I have a few questions, hope that’s ok! 1. How do you decide how much to charge — do you do it by project or do you have some sort of hourly rate that you use to estimate a price? (how has your pricing changed from when you were just starting out as a freelance illustrator?) 2. How do you decide how much to charge for your shop products? 3. Do you have any budgeting tips? Thanks Fran! Love you so much, hope you’re doing well! 💛
5 years ago | 0
Hiiii Fraaaan! (Kristi from Hawaii from your Patreon Fam here!♥️) The fact that you have so much experience and are willing to share is why I love you. I’ve already asked my personal questions to you on Patreon regarding finances and other business related topics. But I definitely think talking about the struggle of how to survive with the inconsistent income is really important. How to plan for dry months, how you’ve taken on the role of bread winner or not, how you price things so you know your value as well as how to survive. ANYTHING WOULD BE HELPFUL AND SUPER APPRECIATED!
5 years ago | 1
Can you explain the do's and dont's of small sponsorship/brand deals for twitter and instagram artists? As in what to look for in the proposal to make sure it's legit and also how much to charge? I guess it's pretty vague of a question sorry but I just want to have a general idea. And please don't worry about coming off as insensitive or offensive because of the current world situation. You won't be bragging, you'll just be educating us like the big sister of this collective community you are hehe. :)
5 years ago | 69
Fran Meneses
Hi guuuuys, I have a fun vlog ready for you tomorrow : ) but I'm already planning next week's video and I need your feedback! I've seen so many illustrators talk about MONEY on Twitter (being open about pricing, salaries, etc) and I got mega inspired to talk about it too. BUT I don't wanna be insensitive or disrespectful; I know the pandemic has hit so many people losing their jobs and not having a steady income anymore. Do you want me to talk about this? If you do: do you have any questions about money while being a freelance illustrator? I wanna help as much as I can!
5 years ago | [YT] | 2,519