Should Artists Turn Their Creative Skills into Side Hustles?

If you've spent any time online, you've probably seen a video or two about side hustles. Creative interests are usually included as ways to monetize skills you don't use at work, or a fun way to turn your craft into cash.

For many, making money from your creativity is the ultimate dream! But here's the thing: as artists, does monetizing our creative skills kill the joy of creating?

At what point do the lines get blurred when low stakes turn into paying the bills? And once you turn on the money machine, you become a small business, which comes with its own unique challenges. (Spoiler: spreadsheets are involved. Sorry.)

We'll explore why and how you should start a creative side hustle without losing the joy of creating in the process.

Is a side hustle right for you?

What is a side hustle? Basically, anything you're doing that generates money outside of your main career. One of my favorite lettering artists and designers, Jessica Hische, once said, “The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.”

That quote perfectly conveys how I felt when I was still working as a receptionist, longing for creativity in my day-to-day. Lettering was my side hustle, my daydream, and one of the only things I'd do after work hours. Even before it made me money, it took up a lot of time.

Once I turned the money machine on a few years later, my ability to sustain what I was doing was based on my ability to manage the systems I put in place. And while the money is nice, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Like anything, business comes with trade-offs.

Here are some of the pros and cons of side hustles:

As fun as it can be to get paid for your creativity, there are less fun realities behind making it happen. Some of which, if you’re not careful, can lead to burnout. If you're not able to carve out hours on top of whatever your current priorities are, side hustling might not be for you.

But there's always a way to set yourself up for success so that you're not miserable while building your small business. Next, we'll look at different types of side hustles.

Types of side hustles

Don’t let the name “side hustle” fool you. They can be just as much work as your career, if not more.

They’re not all structured the same, though. For simplicity, let’s put them into two main categories: passive and active.

Passive side hustles

Passive side hustles are typically designed to run off of whatever automations or systems you've put in place.

Passive side hustles include, but aren't limited to: digital downloads, design or note templates, e-books, and print-on-demand. These are popular because they don't require keeping any physical inventory, and are relatively inexpensive to start. They’re great if you like digital goods and resources and are willing to invest the time into setting up automations.

These can also range in complexity depending on how many different tools and systems you end up using. For example, you could offer a free lead-generation tool, like a PDF download, and add people to a sales funnel controlled by emails you send over time. Links in those emails can direct them to your paid offering, and you earn money.

Active side hustles

Active side hustles include (but aren't limited to): freelancing, consulting, crafts, tabling at art markets, and managing an online print shop. More of these overlap with creating physical goods, which means more demanding time spent on production.

If you're a part-time freelancer or consultant, you’ll most likely be interfacing with clients. You can control the number of clients and the hours you give each to maintain a level of consistency and flexibility. If you still need to build your client roster, promoting your services and engaging leads on LinkedIn and at networking events will take up your time in the beginning. But once you’ve got the hang of things, you can set off on a very rewarding venture.

Before you jump into either one, think critically about what you enjoy, why you want to monetize, and whether you see this as a temporary endeavor. What inspires you? Or maybe it’s who. A great motivator for getting into a side hustle in the first place (besides the money) is seeing others succeed with one. It's easy to get swept up in inspiration when you’re not thinking about execution. So let's cover how to plan for your side hustle.

Managing your side hustle

If you're not careful about managing your time and resources, your train can run off the tracks. Like anything, it’s a delicate balance between what you want and what you’re willing to give to get there.

When done well, you’ll stay on course and reach your business goals. Here are ways you can manage your time, tools, and resources.

Time management

Side hustles can quickly start to feel like your main hustle if you're not balancing your time well. Getting good at time management will help you in all areas of your life. You can start by auditing your time with all the hours in your schedule and tracking how you spend them.

Tools like Toggl can help you track your time and how long it takes to complete tasks. If you ever start to feel overwhelmed, scale back your side hustle hours based on your time audit.

As a freelancer, I like to use time blocking to help me manage my time and focus on tasks in my day. Before that, I was losing track of how I was spending my day. Using it was a key shift for me in managing my time and figuring out how best to spend my energy each day. One of the best ways to manage your time effectively is to put systems in place.

Setting up systems

While you can’t plan for everything, you can build strong processes to smooth out the speed bumps. When I was first starting out as a freelancer, I had to make sure I knew how to take on a client, invoice, and handle email communication. Once I knew what processes to follow, it became easier to manage.

Now that I'm further along in my journey, I’ve also integrated automation for certain repetitive tasks to save myself time. Some of my favorite tools I’ve used are email automations for my newsletter, Text Blaze for templates, and Adobe Express for animating social media posts.

These can work for both passive and active side hustles, and what you end up using will come down to what works best for your goals. Automation tools like Zapier or IFTTT can link parts of your workflow together when specific actions are triggered. You can set them up once, test them out, and then let them run in the background. But what good is a system if you don’t know what you need to manage?

Resource management

Don't let the idea of being a small business trick you into thinking small. Your venture could be very successful, but without an overall strategy, you’re like a ship without a rudder. You’d be surprised how quickly you can end up directionless and feeling out of control. With a plan for how to manage the resources you’ll need, you’ll be setting yourself up for success.

Ask these questions when considering your side hustle resources:

• How will I collect money from customers?
• Do I need space to keep inventory?
• What tools or hardware do I need?
• Will I create social media accounts for promotion?

You’ll discover more along the way. And there’s a reason some of these sound similar to having good systems in place. Ask yourself what your side hustle will need to run and help you be successful.

The good thing is that you don’t have to be good at everything from the start. You can roll things out slowly over time. Don’t pressure yourself to have it all figured out. You’ll make mistakes, and that’s part of it too. And while being less than perfect is part of the journey, burnout doesn’t have to be.

Now that you know how to manage a side hustle, you’ll see how to make it sustainable.

Building a sustainable side hustle

Being burned out can make you feel detached, overwhelmed, and unable to take the next step. And while it can happen to anyone, it doesn't have to be an inevitability. Choosing to monetize your creativity doesn't have to destroy your relationship with it, but if you start to see the luster fade, maybe it's time to take a step back and reevaluate.

One thing that helps: page 10 of the free 15-Day Mindfulness Method Journal gives you a way to prioritize balance and overall well-being in your life. It’s a Daily Mindfulness Log by YouTuber Breanna Quan to help you build an intentional self-care habit. In just a few questions and less than 20 minutes, you can slow down and reflect.

Define what success in this journey would look like. A certain number of sales? Customers? Remember your why and the joy of creating. We don’t have to commodify everything, but choosing to do so doesn’t make you any less of an artist.

I’m grateful to earn part of my living from lettering, and I see it as a huge personal triumph whenever I think about sitting behind that reception desk. And with that, I know everyone's life and goals will be different. I reserve the right to change my mind and choose which direction I want my creativity to go, and you should, too.

FAQ

Should I turn my creative skills into a side hustle?

This is entirely up to you. There are a lot of ways to go about it, and you might already have a lot of the tools you need to get started. The important thing is that you ask yourself why you want to in the first place. Are you doing it because you need money? Go for it. But if you're not prepared to maintain it, it can become overwhelming and lead to burnout.

What are the different types of side hustles?

I like to think of them as passive and active side hustles. You can create digital assets or direct people to an online shop, or work 1-on-1 with clients, for example. Which is best for you will be determined by the time you can commit and your skill set. If you're looking to use digital art as part of your side hustle, learn about the best apps for the iPad to get started.

Do side hustles have to be digital?

Nope! You can create physical goods or crafts and sell them online. You can also sell at local craft fairs or table at conventions. This will likely take more time and require additional monetary investment on your end to get things started. Do you have a sense of the art style that you want to use in your future products? It can be helpful to find your own art style before you start monetizing.

Should I quit my side hustle?

You can change your mind at any point in the journey. If you feel like it isn't working out, that's okay. If you're quitting because you're overwhelmed, download the free 15-Day Mindfulness Method Journal to start reconnecting with yourself. The Daily Mindfulness Log by Breanna Quan on Page 10 is a good place to start.

How can I make my side hustle more sustainable?

I recommend not getting into a side hustle that's more of an energy or time commitment than you can handle. Creating for fun is still great, and once you have key systems in place, you can shift your focus to making money. If you feel like shifting platforms is making it hard to maintain your side hustle on social media, explore other ways of finding community and success with your artwork on and offline.

Final thoughts

In my opinion, your side hustle is up to you. I turned to my love of lettering to escape my otherwise dull professional life. Your motivations may be different. I still love lettering to this day, and I feel really lucky to be able to do what I do.

There are, however, parts of my creativity that I like to keep just for myself and separate from my livelihood. If you feel like you’re ready to side hustle your creative skills, go for it. Just know that everyone needs a break eventually, even from the things they love. Take your time, and bounce back stronger to keep your joy for creating alive.