Nicole Crist is a dancer, performer, teacher, choreographer, trainer, director. She has a company called Altitude Aerials, where she is the self-dubbed head aerialista.
As a self-employed creative I’ve been pondering for years how much I charge for my art. I continuously go over past proposals and invoices; work and re-work the numbers to figure out just how much I make from each creative gig. I sit and think, how come X & Y gigs were twice as profitable as gig Z? What can I do to get bigger pay-outs like those X & Yers?
Now recently my husband has started asking me “But how much does it cost for you to maintain? Like in between the gigs?”
As with anyone who uses their creative skill to make a living, you’ve simply got to maintain your skill set. I often look at my whole financial picture and when it shows up lacking I tend to cut out my own necessary physical and artistic maintenance needs first.
It starts off innocently enough.
“Oh, we really don’t have $25 to spare for me to take that hot yoga class. No worries, I’ll just put on the shower and stand in the steamy bathroom for an hour doing it by myself.”
Yes you have permission to laugh. Here’s another one:
“That kink in my wonky shoulder is really bothering me, but there is no extra cash for a chiropractor appointment. I’m not sure how to treat it, so I’ll just use ice AND a heating pad. It’ll be fine in a week.”
Ahem, no, it was not actually.
Just to be clear, I take full responsibility for these dreadful decisions. If I had consulted with my better half he would have hit me over the head and sent me packing to the yoga studio and doctor’s office. He understands my livelihood absolutely depends on the maintenance of my creative thing.
Here is My Creative Thing Monthly Maintenance Budget. By doing this I am psychologically giving it as much importance as all the obviously required stuff like eating/sheltering/clothing/transporting, etc. It’s a mind trick I’m using, and it works.
My Creative Thing Monthly Maintenance Budget
Routine BodyWork $160.00
Emergency BodyCare* $100.00
Aerial Training $120.00
Studio Play Time $60.00
Special Coaching $200.00
Artistic Entertainment $60.00
Yoga Classes $25.00
Equipment Purchases $50.00
Monthly Total – $750.00
Yearly Total – $9,000.00
So I spend a total of $750 per month on average simply maintaining my creative thing. When I go below my budget, it’s NOT a good thing. It means I’m cutting corners somewhere. I end up suffering, and so does my creative thing. Since my creative thing of aerial dance happens about 20ft up in air, it is potentially dangerous when I underspend.
Three things about this budget to note.
First, I’ve included the major unplanned expense I historically have. Look at the *Emergency BodyCare. In 2010 I got sick about 7 or 8 times (in fact I’ve nicknamed it the year of the sinus infection). Budgeting that $100 per month to deal with the otherwise not routinely scheduled doctor appointments is a trick I play on myself. This way when I do inevitably wind up at the Ear, Nose & Throat guy, I have that money already set aside to pay for him. I’m the type of person that if I don’t do this beforehand when the expense comes around I just won’t have it available. I use Ramit’s strategy of having an auto withdrawal into a sub-savings account in ING to accomplish this.
Secondly, as I’ve alluded to above, not all my expenses are on a monthly basis. I do take one hot yoga class per month but my aerial training happens weekly. Other expenses are quarterly and some are more haphazard, like once per year or whenever the opportunity arises. I just did the math. Breaking down the cost into a monthly figure gives you the freedom to spend that budget money right away or let it accumulate for a while and do something bigger and spectacular later on.
Lastly, I’ve included Equipment Purchases in this budget because I constantly have carabiners, straps and rosin to buy and/or replace. This is stuff that I need to train. What I do NOT include in this budget is how much is costs for me to actually do a gig. I’ve plenty of expenses come performance time, like costumes, custom color silks, etc. Whether I’m charging that directly to the client or working out another arrangement, my business operating expenses are completely separate from my Monthly Maintenance Budget. This budget is about what do I personally need to spend to be able to continue to do my creative thing. It’s got nothing to do with my clients.
So there you have it, friends. I hope sharing my personal budget for my art will help other creative types realize that there is a price you pay being self-employed in a creative field. If you’re reading this blog, then you’re already trying to bust out of the grossly misconstrued and untrue starving-artist mindset. Awesome! Correct budgeting can help. So what’s your Monthly Maintenance Budget?
If you have a friend who’s creatively employed and this post has made you think, consider sharing it!
So loved this post. I’m a visual artist but because I have a chronic illness, I’ve learnt that I absolutely MUST budget for a massage every month. It’s non-negotiable. I know some people will read that and think, ‘ooh, a massage, lucky for some’. No, if I don’t have a massage every month, my body stops functioning at even its limited capacity. It’s not a luxury, it’s simple maintenance of what is, in my case, a rather broken piece of equipment.
I’ve just started a daily, year-long art project – http://365jars.com/ – so it’s completely vital that I don’t wind up in a relapse and in bed for weeks on end. If I don’t maintain my body, I won’t be able to do this project. End of story.
Ohhh gorgeous art Kirsty! I’m glad to hear that you’ve figured out what it takes for you to maintain your creativity. Maybe you can start calling the massages “treatments” so no one rolls their eyes secretly on you. ;-P
HELL yes. Your creative growth *needs* investment. Out of all the things I focus on for business: marketing, networking, etc., the most important part that I need to make sure stays adequately nourished is my creativity and capabilities. What the hell am I marketing if I don’t sharpen that core? My clients hire me bc they like my work so it is my responsibility to uphold that value.
I made the mistake of not nurturing my creativity by not reading design magazines anymore, dropping off design blogs, not following tutorials, and not prioritizing time to work on art for art’s sake and my energy was SO drained all the time and I couldn’t give each and every client my 120%. 🙁
Sure, I became a superstar networker and got lots of leads …
… but because my creative energy was dying, I wound up disappointing a lot of folks. 😐
It was a hard lesson to learn but now I prioritize my personal creative development. Thanks for posting this!
Thanks for commenting Havana! I loved this guest post when it was proposed, so I knew it would speak directly to many artists.
Thanks Havana! Sounds like you’ve got a great idea for a follow-up post! How to balance growing our creativity while taking care of business for clients… it does pose a conumdrim, huh?
This is such a great post, Nicole, and good food for thought for every creative, whatever the medium.
It is perhaps a little easier to see cause and effect when you’re an aerialista (inadequate self-care = bad fall from great height!) But even for us less physical creatives, it’s critical that we budget resources (time, money, energy) for the things that keep us working at our creative peak,
Interesting insight into your line of work Nicole, and impressive photo!
This is a good thing to keep in mind for anyone giving up a job to concentrate on their creative work full-time – would be easy to forget these extra costs.
It’s also amazing how looking after ourselves can so often drop to the bottom of our list of priorities!
“looking after ourselves can so often drop to the bottom of our list”
well said Milo!
What a great post! And having just finished up my 2011 budget a couple weeks ago, feels very pertinent to what I’ve been thinking about lately.
While I do factor in monthly acupuncture visits and my gym membership, I think of these less as professional maintenance costs, and more like just regular monthly expenses, the same way I budget in service for my car or bike.
However, the way I think about my Mondays & Tuesdays off does sound more like what you’re talking about. I made the decision to have my shop closed Mondays/Tuesdays a couple years ago, and while I’ve often pondered how much more business it would bring in to be open 7 days a week, I realize that having those two days to not come in to work, and recharge by doing totally non-Yarnia related things, is crucial. And usually by the time I start my workweek on Wednesdays, I miss it and am ready to tackle all my big to-do lists! However, I do have an idea of how much extra money being open might bring in, so I do think of my days off as “spending” that money in the form of time off for me, to not get burnt out and stay sane!
Oh wow! Thank you for this perspective.
I’m just getting started up, so I’m spending most of my time creating product and developing product lines. Then there is the work to support the product: the photos, descriptions, and online listings (I’m using Etsy).
I’m a costume and lingerie designer, and am mostly relying on the materials that I already have on hand, so I’m not spending much money now. I’m giving my models samples of my work in trade for their modeling. So I’m ignoring those costs (plus my labor) and only thinking about the cost of listing, occasional supplies, and advertising. Right now I feel that advertising is really important to me.
I guess I feel that personal fulfillment is one of our greatest priorities in life. It’s one of those things that makes us human. Because of this I’m willing to spend the money, take the risks, and buy the best carabiners, straps and rosin available!
Exactly Jennifer! Even though my cost is high – $750/mo EHGADS! – I willing shell it out b/c it is one of my top priorities and does fulfill me. I imagine that once your product line & biz gets really going you’ll soon start to add up all your hours and soft costs and it might surprise you too! Suddenly our prices become just not high enough when you add up everything involved… =P
Absolutely fantastic post. Thank you for reminding me that taking care of my creativity is important — no, vital!
Wow! excellent!! Its not only strength to do that pose……..its also about letting the energy move you. If you think of the Nicole as ‘exercise’ then that is what you will get. If you think of the Nicole as ‘Yoga’, that is what you will get. Thanks! @LINDSEY:)