Episode 117: Performing Full Time

I've been putting this episode off for a while because it's DENSE.  It's a bit of a bite-sized master class in this subject, according to me.  All my gratitude to the 100+ artists who have talked with me about this in my career, and especially to TaiTai for asking the question:  "How to leave my fucking morning job without having plan B and I still have bills to pay."

What you'll hear:

• A question for you:  "Why did you get into this/what do you want to get out of it?" 2:00
• It's not WORSE.  It's just DIFFERENT. 8:50
• When you workin, you ain't trainin.  Why it's difficult to upskill at the same time you are working 10:23
• I highly recommend you buy this book (available on a sliding scale, including for free!) by Andrew Simonet:  Making Your Life as an Artist.  Scroll down on this page to see the sliding scale options!! 11:00
• Ok, after all that and you still want to perform full time, here is some actionable advice 15:00
  • #1:  Have 6-12 months of your living expenses saved (I recommend all humans have 3 months at all times)
  • #2:  All savings accounts should be high yield savings accounts with 3.5% interest or more
  • #3:  Get rid of your credit card debt, it's too expensive 17:50
    • Get Ramit's book I Will Teach You to be Rich to learn how to do this, and much more cool shit that will help you.
  • #4:  Know your non-negotiables and make good note of them.  They will dictate the parameters in which you can explore opportunities.
  • #5:  Find out how much your life cost per month 20:00
  • #6:  Familiarize yourself with the Profit First System.  Here is a spreadsheet you can make a copy of and use!  23:00
    • Here are some suggested percentages to get you started (they are on the spreadsheet, and you can change them according to your needs):
      • 50% profit/owner's pay goes to you, to pay for groceries, clothing, Netflix, etc.
      • 30% goes to business expenses like training, costumes, travel to gigs, scheduling software, etc.  (I just leave this 30% in my business checking account)
      • 5% to all purpose savings (in a high yield savings account of course)
      • 15% to another high yield savings account with which to pay your taxes.
      • If you need pro help, Sandi York is THE BEST and very familiar with creative businesses.  She was the source for the profit first spreadsheet I shared above.  24:44
  • #7:  TALK TO PEOPLE.  Use your mentors.  Get a mentor.  Please do not skip this step.  There is no reason whatsoever that you should suffer unnecessarily when we could save you some grief.
  • #8:  Have your shit together (website, bio, demo, headshots, etc)
• Speaking of making a website, that's exactly what The Audacity Project is for!  I'm enrolling cycle 28 in February.  The best place to know about it is the waitlist, which you can find here!  28:00
• A review of all the actionable advice 29:00
• Creatrix is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!  come play in the warmth with me!

Don't go back to sleep.

xoRachel
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