General Forums >> Career Advice >> Mom Quits Corporate job for art making
Mom Quits Corporate job for art making
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Posted 4 months ago I am at a crossroads again where it is time for me to choose, art or a cubicle repetitive hell job that is a totally wrong fit. Easy answer. Make art, be happy. How do i make enough money to keep my kids in daycare/preschool to have the uniterrupted time to make the art? Most our money is tied up in car payments, basic living expenses. Has anyone else risen above this particular challenge with a working a good solution? |
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| Posted 4 months ago I'm not a parent so I can't offer advice from your position, but I can understand what you're going through. I'm still young but in my break from school I've realized how important it is to be happy with what I'm doing. I'm completely sick of "day jobs" at this point, despite the fact that I've actually found some decent ones. I'd suggest starting by transitioning. Instead of jumping in make sure you have, say, a steady part time job where you can keep benefits of sorts so you won't have to worry as much about having at least the most basic of basics covered for yourself and your children. What I'm doing right now is working part time: one job at bare minimum hours to keep benefits of sorts (about 25 at this point), one more per diem so I can get extra income when I need it. In my free time from those obligations I dedicate energy to reasonable amounts of freelance work. Because I have a safety cushion I can take my time networking and building up a small but decent reputation and a better creative resume so that, when I do take the leap, I can be sure things will be at least somewhat stable. Of course, when I go back to school in the fall that'll throw off my routine (I dropped out of art school a couple years ago and am finally going back), but I'll adapt as things go along. I'm sure you'd be able to adapt, as well, once you test the waters and figure out just how much income you can make from art, how much time that needs, how much of a safety cushion is necessary, etc.
Good luck!
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| Posted 4 months ago Hard to say since I don't know where you are in your art career. Swinsea made a lot of good points. Most artists don't make that leap until they're already making enough to cover their cost of living. Eventually you get to the point where the only thing keeping you from making more money with your artwork is the lack of time due to your "dayjob". In otherwords, you're turning away a lot of work because you don't have the time to do it. And this is happening continuously...so much so that you say to yourself "Its just not worth going in to my dayjob anymore, I'm losing too much business" Then of course there are issues like health-insurance costs, retirement plans/pensions, etc. that you need to take into account when making the decision. If everything adds up -- GO FOR IT!! =) I wish you the best! Keep us updated!! |
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| Posted 4 months ago I'm not in your situation or never have been, but this is what I would probably do. 1.Get a part-time job to help with the car payments & basic living needs and still do your art at the same time. or 2. Get a temporary full time job until you get back on your feet then return to art. |
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| Posted 3 months ago Hi...you do not mention if you are in a relationship that assists with payment of the bills. You should sit down and make a list of what it costs you to actually go to work, i.e., travel, parking, gas, clothing, fancy coffee drinks, lunch; along with expenses for daycare/preschool, and compare that with your take home pay. I did this back in the early '90s when I was literally working to send my kids to daycare. I sat down with my husband and we went over the finances and we gave it a shot. I became a licensed daycare provider, watching a few kids in the neighborhood and ended up feeling like a prisoner in my own home. I gave that up, went back to work for a few years, switched jobs and then when my husband started moving up the payscale at his job, he started making my salary alone in overtime, so it didn't make sense for me to work too. I never got my college degree and that has held me back in so many diferent jobs, limiting the type of work I can do. So, I am finally going back to school to get my degree in art and plan on getting that ideal creative job before I turn 50. |
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| Posted 2 months ago Hi. I am so in tune with what you want to do, but unlike you, I really have no real choice. Until July 4, 2008, I was working at a health club, selling memberships and doing the regular stuff you do when you do that; re-racking weights, demonstrating equipment, setting up on-site promotions, etc. Then, I went to the hospital with high blood pressure and an extremely low heart rate, got an angiogram, and couldn't go back to work there. I also had no insurance or medical leave, so I am on a non-paid medical leave until I decide to actually quit, or until they fire me. In the meantime, I have had to figure out what to do, since I am a single mom whose ex is a deadbeat dad, so I'm IT. One of my considerations is that, with the health club job, they gave me time off to go pick my daughter up after school each day and drop her at my mother's (who doesn't drive), and the health club was within about a mile and a half of my home. So, now I have the added pressure of doing something that gives me income, and flexible time. I joined Mary Kay, because that's big here in Texas (I haven't actually SEEN it, but I suspect some of these women EAT it!), and I started making small affordable objets d'art -- polymer clay pendants and earrings, which the health club has let me display on their member appreciation days twice a month. I have also started talking to area coffeehouses and offices about bringing in art for them to sell for a consignment cost, and also talking to friends, letting them know I do custom artwork. I have asked at the local Joann Fabrics and Hobby Lobby about teaching classes a few days a week, as well as a local art gallery where I was teaching last spring. I will also be making religious pieces for sale to Catholic and Christian bookstores in the area. Is it enough? No (which is why I am still working on that child support thing. . . 9 years later. . . ), but it's something, and it will help. Why not try doing some of those things yourself? Maybe teach art to homeschooled kids, or through the local Community College's "Kids Kollege" program, or whatever they call it where you live. Offer a piece of artwork to the local Chamber of Commerce to raise money, so you can get exposure to the local businesses, then use the directory they publish to follow up with an e-mail with your art displayed, and see if they would like to display your artwork (and sell it for you on consignment). There are so many ways to go with this. Just get yourself out there and get seen. Remember, when people who aren't artists look at you, they are probably impressed, so use that to your advantage to ask for work, assignments, sales, joint ventures, etc. The worst anyone can say is no. And that won't kill you, I assure you. (I have 3 teenagers, I should know!!) Good luck and God bless your endeavors! Theresa |