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Axolotl
A Painting Workshop
Recently, I was interviewed on the BiggerPockets Money podcast with Mindy Jensen and Scott Trench (check out episode 190).
I had heard they were looking to interview more women for their podcast to review their finances. I figured, sure…I could use some help.
I’ve been trying to get my financial house in order for quite sometime. As an early middle-aged single mother of two sons (ages preteen and teen), I realize I have a long way to go.
But, there’s hope.
Mindy and Scott gave me a lot of great advice. Regarding my multiple side hustle ideas, Scott in particular suggested that I focus on one at a time for 90 days at a time to really give one a chance to grow. Mindy suggested that I continue to submit my artwork to Redbubble on the side because it’s so automated after that I don’t need to really do anything except wait for the money to come in.
You see…side hustles have always been my “thing”.
I started making handmade greeting cards and papercrafts to sell at local craft and vendor shows. Then, I branched out to selling wedding invitations as a dealer for the Birchcraft brand. During those times, I attended a wedding vendor show in the Pittsburgh area as a wedding invitations vendor. And, I even attended the National Stationery Show at the Javits Center in New York City. I have friends who live in Brooklyn who allowed me to stay with them while attended the show.
So, what have I done so far since the interview?
I’ve painted two new paintings and posted both designs onto products in my Redbubble shop. You can check it out here:
As for my “main” side hustle, I’m focusing on teaching step-by-step painting workshops. My first step was researching how to market. I went to YouTube to see how other people are doing it. Now, I’m ready to move onto the next step, which is outreach to local organizations. I’m keeping my outreach short and sweet. Telling them what I do, giving an example of one I’ve done before and seeing how I can help them. Below are some photos from my last painting party. It was for a college friend’s daughter’s 11th birthday. I taught the daughter and her friend how to paint the axolotl, the daughter’s favorite amphibian.
The birthday girl painting her favorite amphibian, the axolotl
For New Parents, Starting Their Own Business Can Be a Wise Choice
What better way to begin life with a newborn than to be able to stay home with them and still earn an income? Many new parents are finding that working from home means not only more time home with their children but more quality time as well. They’re not rushing home after a long commute, ending their day on their company’s time schedule trying to prepare a meal, take care of household chores and spend those important moments with their child that they both want and need.
This can mean that this is the perfect time to start your own business from home. Being a new parent and an entrepreneur can be challenging for sure, but the rewards for all of you can make it well worth the effort.
Here are some tips that will hopefully guide you into making your dream of entrepreneurship while being home with your newborn a reality.
Start With a Plan
Rather than try to jump into the deep end of the business pool right away, use the first few weeks at home with your newborn and go slowly. You probably don’t have a lot of energy anyway, so this can be the perfect time for you to plan your business ideas.
Keep a notebook and use some quiet time to brainstorm ideas for your at-home business. You can sell products you hand make at home, begin a catering or meal prep business, photograph weddings on the weekends, or whatever works for your skills, talents, and desires.
Once you’ve decided on what you want to do and a name for your business, it’s time to write your business plan. This is something that will take you weeks to write since there will be research involved. This can mean how you will pay for your start-up costs, who will be your backup on the days you can’t work, who your competition is, how you’ll market your business, and if your services are needed in your area. You can find a lot of online resources that will guide you through writing your business plan, including templates you can use, most of which are free.
Choose a Business Structure
Decide how you will structure your business early on. Most at-home entrepreneurs choose to structure their business as an LLC since it’s something you can do yourself and does not require a lawyer’s assistance. An LLC protects your personal assets, has a lower tax burden, and requires less paperwork than other business structures. A formation service can handle the registration process—search for the best LLC services online.
Start Marketing
As a small business owner, it’s important to get the word out about your products or services. But with so many marketing options available, it can be tough to know where to start. Content marketing is a great way to reach new customers and build brand awareness. By creating and sharing informative blog posts, infographics, and other types of content, you can attract attention from your target audience and establish yourself as an expert in your field. In addition, content marketing is relatively inexpensive, making it a great option for businesses on a tight budget. Visit Cornerstone Content to learn more about how to effectively market your business.
Use Available Technology
Keeping track of everything that needs to get done in the life of a new parent as well as a new business owner isn’t anything you can leave on sticky notes or in your memory. Instead, choose an online calendar app or software that can keep you organized and on track. Calendar is one app that eliminates the need for sending email reminders since you can share your calendar with multiple people.
The Blueberry Pediatrics app offers live, 24/7 virtual access to doctors They can make diagnoses, send in prescriptions, or tell you what your next steps should be, all while you and your baby are still at home. They even send you a medical kit to use at home. The app is free, but it costs between $12 and $18 per month for a membership.
When you need a sitter, you can browse profiles of babysitters or nannies for hire with Sittercity. Or you can post a job, and one of their members can respond to it. The service does background checks, and you can read reviews from other parents before you book.
With so many things to consider, like how to balance childcare and work life, you’ll definitely need a support system. Make that the number one step before you do anything else. Then by following smart guidelines like choosing the best business structure, office tools, and apps, you could well be on your way to having it all: entrepreneurship and parenting.
Visit Rachael Caskey for unique abstract and mixed media art paintings.
Back in my college days, I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to edit videos for my Communication major television course and co-curricular.
Those same feelings of accomplishment have returned 20 years later (no joke!) since I’ve been working on recording my art processes to share on my YouTube channel.
You can see it here:
Mixed Media Series on Paper Youtube art timelapse video
There were a lot of moving parts to creating this simple, yet professional-looking video. Part of this video process included the following steps:
Setting up my video camera to record from overhead as I painted
Taking relevant photos of my tools used for the paintings
Using Canva templates
Learning video editing in Adobe Premier Pro via the software tutorials as well as searching up Youtube tutorials
Creating and adding a voiceover
Searching for a music audio service (Epidemic Sound in this case), subscribing and adding the music
For me, learning new skills such as video editing is just as exciting as working on my art. I love learning a new skill and applying it. While it took me literally hours to learn some of the ins and outs of video editing, I feel confident enough now that my next video will take much less time to create and post.
And, on top of that, I can add these new skills to my expanding repertoire of freelance skillsets.
If you are looking for someone to help edit your videos, please feel free to contact me! We can discuss your project and rates.
As an emerging mixed media artist and surface designer who grew up in the Rust Belt of Pittsburgh as a Xennial, I find the hardest part in following my art entrepreneurial journey as my full-time career is the internal negative dialogue brought on by the “starving artist” syndrome. The starving artist myth has been perpetuated in so many circles for so long because the Boomer generation didn’t have the same tools we do now.
Without the internet, I could only imagine how hard it would have been for me as a single mother of teens to succeed as an artist. But, today, everything is at my fingertips.
Here are just a sampling of the income-generating activities artists today have as options:
ad revenue via content creation on Youtube, blogging
TikTok creator – the Creator Fund
in-person art workshops and retreats (see ===>> travel opportunities!)
online art workshops via Skillshare, Udemy and Teachable
Patreon donations
affiliate programs
sponsorships and collaborations
wholesale relationships with retailers and boutiques
galleries
individual art collectors
art fairs & festivals
print-on-demand products such as Redbubble, Zazzle, Spreadshirt, Teespring and Society6
The cute tote above is one of my abstract digital designs created in Procreate and uploaded to products on Redbubble for sale. Check out my Redbubble shop!
publishing how-to eBooks
self-publishing actual books
There are plenty of “working” artists out there that aren’t looking to necessarily be the next Van Gogh, Georgia O’Keefe or Frida Kahlo. But, they are thriving in what success looks like for them. A simple YouTube search will show you all of these successful-to-them artists. Following these artists and their journeys via social media gives me the inspiration to keep moving forward with my journey.
Exercise: Define what success in your art business looks like to you. Create a vision board of what your ideal lifestyle looks like.
If you need help figuring out the logistics of building your art business, check out some of these books from my book shelf:
Art, Money, Success: Finally Making A Living Doing What You Love by Maria Brophy
I’d Rather Be In The Studio: The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion by Alyson B. Stanfield
Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days by Chris Guillebeau
Traffic Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Filling Your Websites and Funnels with Your Dream Customers by Russell Brunson
The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts locally, globally, and online by Kari Chapin
How to Sell Your Art Online by Cory Huff
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
Also, some of the lessons I’ve learned in the corporate world carry over into my entrepreneurial journey. For example, the corporate world focuses on SMART goals. One way you can use these SMART goals is by entering them into your calendar and check them off as you complete them. Doing this gives me a sense of accomplishment and realization that I am moving forward as an artist.
Another way that artists can overcome this “starving artist” syndrome is by networking. Once you get out and socialize whether in person or online with other artists, you are no longer isolating yourself in that negative mindset. You can collaborate with other artists or venues out there. Make lists of the art clubs and galleries in your area and introduce yourself. One way in which I’m doing that is through volunteering. I’m helping PGHMuseums.org update their website, specifically their gallery section. This not only gives me the opportunity to give back, but also build upon those gallery outreach efforts in my own art practice. It’s a win-win!
Look for those types of win-win situations with your art business and you’ll see your business thrive and grow. Then, you can kick that “starving artist” mindset to the curb for good!
After quite a bit of self-introspection, I am back in the entrepreneurial mindset for my art business. Currently, I’m focusing my efforts on preparing for my next art exhibit. Since I’ve started making connections in the art industry, I’m slowly making headway on the direction of my work.
Some of the ways that help me get back to focus on my work include journaling and sketching. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous this springtime. So, I’ve been taking advantage of sitting on my front porch while drawing in my gratitude journal with pen only. I’ve noticed that the bumblebees have returned. I’m somehow no longer afraid of bees and insects like I used to be. It’s as if I’m coming to peace with nature around me. There’s a kind of calmness about enjoying nature.
A lot of my work is inspired by nature and the supernatural or spiritual, including but not limited to biblical prophecy and scripture. Now, before I get ahead of myself, I want to explain that I am not into date-setting or proclaiming I am the know all and be all. That kind of black and white thinking can lead to disastrous outcomes as I’ve noticed in my own spiritual journey. However, this focus on the spiritual has been an epiphany of sorts that has led to a revived sense of purpose and renewal of my spirit. I find myself relating more and more to other people, children and animals than before. It’s a very freeing way to be.
Since I’m now pursuing my art business full-time, I want to start a Patreon to provide value to my patrons as well as begin a steady stream of membership income.
For those of you who like and follow my art journey, what type of content would you like to see on my Patreon (specific techniques? art income stream and/or business topics? etc.)?
How much would you recommend to charge for such a membership? A lot of the artists I see on there have a tier-based system with $5 per month as the lowest, $20/mo as the middle and $49/mo as the highest. What are your thoughts?
I appreciate any and all feedback! Thank you for your support!!! Hugs & Love!
Growing up in the Genx/Xennial age, I was a naïve, yet fiery little idealistic girl with a compassionate streak for the lost, lonely and mistreated. Perhaps my compassion stemmed from feeling alone myself.
I was called a tomboy, or even a bitch, because I was quite opinionated and stubborn. Some may say I still am; it depends on who you talk to and when you catch me on a good or bad day. 😉
However, I was also the girl who regularly visited the old lady with multiple sclerosis in the run down trailer up the street. Our friendship blossomed in a strange way. I had been climbing the pine tree near her trailer and she asked me what I was doing. (I can’t imagine doing that now due to my fear of heights.) We struck up a conversation and that was that…a new friendship. It was an odd friendship to say the least. She was easily upwards of 65+ or older while I was around 10 or 11-years-old. (My family moved from the trailer park to the rival school district nearby after they bought their own property where they built a ranch home.)
As second oldest of a blended family of five children, I had to grow up fairly quickly. When I wasn’t babysitting my younger siblings, I was outside playing War with the local trailer park boys, fighting over sandstone rocks (they took mine, naturally), playing baseball and scraping my knees on the gravel during many, many bicycle rides.
I grew up in a firmly working class family with both parents working. I was a latchkey kid, but without the key. My older sister and I had to regularly climb into an open window to get in the trailer because for some strange reason my parents thought it was a bad idea to give their children a key. Times were different back then. As long as you came back home before the lights came on outside, you were free to roam. And roam we did. I used to ride bikes with my older sister and even my younger brother for MILES to see friends.
Reflections on “Winning” and Perfectionism
I was a strange mixture of intellect, creativity and feistiness. While winning arm-wrestling competitions in the third grade against the boys in the grade-school cafeteria, I also took time to write compelling short stories about a world in which rats were the protagonists and cats were the antagonists. (Oh…and moon over various crushes on the boys…the arm wrestling was a great way to get close to them on their level, of course.)
In art class, my classmates and I had an assignment to create our own comic strip. Mine was about an adorable family of corn kernels with tickets to a sporting event at the local stadium. The sporting event was a ruse to heat up the kernels into popcorn. I’m not sure if they went or even survived. I would like to think so, though (again…that youthful optimism).
I also was featured on the local television news station in fifth grade for a story I wrote about personified leaves excited for the fall and the fall colors. The creativity came into play with not only writing but also drawing. One of my babysitters taught me the blocking method of drawing Disney characters. I easily tired of that method and came up with my own illustrations and stories. In high school, I flourished in advanced art classes. It was where my mind could wander free without the pressures of high school conformity. My last art project, a post-impressionist painting a la Van Gogh of a Victorian lady looking off into the distance for her car ride (Uber/Lyft before it was cool…hahaha) was finished on the very last day of school.
I was the girl who would take charge on the school bus and yell at the top of my lungs at the boys for insulting my older sister or acting up. But, I was somehow still very sensitive and would go home crying to my Dad about the boys calling me fat. I was far from it, but those early insults stuck with me over the years. While my Dad would comfort me, he also used to say, “You need to get a thicker skin.” It was ironic considering I did in some aspects but didn’t in others much like today. I held onto a lot of those emotional scars almost like a girl scout badge of honor. Looking back, I realized it was their way of getting my attention no matter how negative. Somehow I lost some of that fire over the years.
Lack of Consistency: Falling Short
As I got older, I struggled with consistency in all areas of my life. I’m not sure if it’s because of my astrological sign (Libra ⚖️ – if you know, you know… 😉 ) or being a second born, middle child? With four siblings in a blended family, I felt out of place, like I had lost my identity at some point.
I love the challenge of trying something new or starting a new project, however after that challenge wears off, I move onto the next project. I would jump from one subject to another without sticking to one particular subject or focus. (These days I may be labelled as ADHD however I do not have an official diagnosis). So, it comes as no surprise that my spiritual life was no different in that aspect.
Spirituality: A Brief Background
My Christian upbringing was as varied as my siblings personalities – each of us are very different yet somehow we get along in our own ways. My Dad’s side of the family was Presbyterian, while my step-Mom’s was/is Catholic. I got used to bouncing back and forth between these two denominations. I attended Sunday school as a child. During my college years at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, I tried out nearly all of the local churches and on-campus Christian groups with my friends. I was even baptized in the Clarion River by the local Baptist pastor at that time. This is not to say I lived a pious and sinless life. I felt the conviction even back then of the dual life I had been leading between my college ways and everything with which college students typically experiment. But after I settled down and have a family of my own, I taught Sunday school at the church where I had married (the day after the flood of 2004).
The Tipping Point
It’s been easy for me act like I have it all together with this thing called adulting. Until I couldn’t anymore. That façade came crashing down during the separation from my marriage of nearly 12 years at the time and subsequent divorce. All of the stress I was holding onto throughout these years and trying to keep it together took a toll on my mental health in my late thirties. I’ve tried to make myself look like I had this adulting thing down pat. Meanwhile my soul and authenticity was dying a slow, consistent death inside. Apparently and ironically, it was the only consistency in my life at the time.
A New Focus
So, lately, I’ve been very focused on my spiritual life. It hit me out of nowhere to be honest. I was going along making my own career plans and goals (again…as if I was the ultimate problem solver) when it occurred to me that I should make a personal goal for Lent…easy enough…right? I love goals and lists. So, this would be no different…right? Right?!
Lenten Season: The Fire Inside
During Lenten season a lot of Christians make a goal of abstinence or personal improvement from one vice or another whether it’s a type of food (chocolate, donuts, fast food, etc.) or certain behaviors (overeating, smoking, self loathing…). Like New Year’s resolutions, a lot of these goals fall by the wayside after a few days.
What was my goal, you may ask (or not, whatever…I’ll tell you anyway because I love to overshare on social media)? I made it a Lenten goal to consistently read an entire book of the Bible at a time.
I did this in France during my study abroad in Amiens my last semester of college. I still have that same study Bible showing all of the checkmarks going through each book.
Sometimes I have the tendency to become legalistic in my views of approaching my Christian life (do this because that’s what “good” Christians do type of thinking). However, my spiritual life was becoming bankrupt in the process. And, this time, God took notice. Or, more like it, he said, “I’ve been here all along…you’ve been too distracted by the worldly things to notice.” (Again, paraphrasing.)
Well, instead of making it an arbitrary, scripture-reading goal, the Holy Spirit was like: no, no honey…this isn’t going to work. You’ve got to dive DEEP into spiritual waters this time. (Obviously, I paraphrase…but you get the idea).
While I haven’t stuck to the consistency I thought was necessary to this Lenten goal, I have been able to jump around to different scriptures that spoke to me for that day. I feel like the Holy Spirit has been guiding me in this journey. And, God has laid it on my heart that loves me unconditionally, while still firmly in my sinful nature. I can start from where I am to read the Word without the pressure of putting external goals of consistency on such an internal and personal spiritual goal all the while letting go (VERY stubbornly) of my need for validation and perfectionism.
My mental state during this spiritual cleansing and burning process has been nothing short of an emotional wreck. Unfortunately, friends, family and coworkers have witnessed this firsthand. I’m sure they were concerned for my well-being without fully understanding what I was going through.
How could I explain this spiritual fire burning up what was left of my personal perfectionistic charade to completely rely on Him? It’s a very difficult task to make sense of the spiritual in a world based on the seen and scientific to explain faith in the unseen and invisible. It’s the equivalent in the secular world as saying you still believe in the Easter bunny or Santa Claus (you didn’t hear that from me!). Or worse yet…blaming this spiritual rebirth on my mental illness alone. I believe that the two are not mutually exclusive. You can have mental health issues, but ALSO have a spiritual awakening. Many native cultures believe that Western culture is too fast to diagnose mental issues that very well could be spiritual in nature. Some of those that may be labelled as mentally ill here would be considered “healers” there. I’m not saying that is necessarily my case. But, I do find it a compelling argument. Also, I’m not saying that all mentally ill people should not have therapy or medications. No matter our differences, all are created equal according to Jesus and worthy of love (even if we don’t believe it ourselves).
Some have to learn this the hard way. (And by some…I mean me.)
I have a renewed sense of purpose and the feeling of a huge burden or boulder more like it lifted off of my shoulders. I can feel the stress and strain lifting. And, I can see daily that the Lord is my shepherd. Sheep is used in a negative way these days. But, we all sheep in one way or another…We all follow a path of our own choosing whether consciously or unconsciously. Whether it’s religion, politics or otherwise. I am choosing to follow my authentic path with my eyes wide open and my heart wide open with a compassionate ear to hear those different perspectives. Will I be perfect? As a Christian, we are called to strive for perfection by walking in His way. Are we perfect? No, but that’s why we have His grace. Amen for that!
P.S. I do hope you have a very Happy Easter. And, may the Lord open your eyes to how he has worked and continue to work in your life daily. May we continue to show compassion for others as he has for us.
rachaelcaskey.com 