Is it really possible to earn an income as a creative?

A little snippet into my multiple income streams as an online creative

How many times have you heard ‘and what’s your real job’ or ‘when are you going back to work’ from discerning friends and family? I can absolutely say, from the bottom of my heart, this phrase is still a very annoying occurrence during my weekly phone call with my Nan. Sometimes I make myself feel better by telling myself it’s an age thing, other times it gets my back up and i end up repeating the same frustrating conversation over and over.

(A photo of a walk around Grasmere last week, a moment of gratitude towards the life that my creative business has allowed me to lead)

I can tell you truthfully, it really is possible to earn a sold income as a creative. The word ‘creative’ is so broad it’s quite difficult to hone in on one particular industry. You could be a ceramicist, an artist, a writer, a photographer or even, like me, juggling multiple hats. My hats consist of photography, coaching and writing - it’s a struggle to juggle them all but I can’t bear the thought of giving any of it up and every single hat generates some sort of income for me, albeit in peaks and troughs, it’s income, it helps pay my bills and it allows me to the simple things I enjoy in life.

I’ve always been a huge supporter of having multiple streams of income, nothing is ever certain and having a back up is handy even if it’s just pennies! Ever since I was young I’ve had extra income! I’ve tried it all - nails, wedding stationary, buying things on eBay and reselling, designing kids clothes and my all time favourite was at school when I would save up my pocket money, buy loads of sweets from the tuck shop and resell them all for double the price in class! Obviously, I’ve calmed down since my wild tweens and I do things by the book now, but I still thank my young, possibly stupid, but headstrong and fearless self for getting to where I am today.

So, you’re desperate to know how.

Well, firstly, if you’re a writer or a creator of any sort really, Substack is definitely where you should be. People are on substack to actually read your content, they are here for YOU, they are here because they enjoy reading long form content and I can promise you, whatever it is that makes you shine, whatever topic you love to talk about, whatever is your niche, there is an audience on Substack for it and they are waiting to subscribe to YOU.

Secondly, social media is still the biggest stream of advertising in the world and companies are, more than ever, looking to work with creators and creatives to reach audiences that are similar to theirs. This is not, by any means, me telling you to reach out to brands that don’t align with your values and promote them for a few quid here and there, this is the opposite of what I believe in, but more working in alliance with other small businesses, companies and brands that relate to you, your audience and everything you advocate for on social media. Besides, your audience trust you, they follow you and whether you believe it or not, they are influenced by YOU. You are an influencer, in one colour or another.

Are you a paid subscriber? If not, you can subscribe for the price of a cup of coffee and it really does help me succeed in making my self sufficient writing dreams come true. I will talk more about how to earn money on Substack annd social media over the coming weeks and just how much my multiple streams of income tend to generate on an average month.