Art, Profit, and Joy - How to Make Money as a Full-Time Artist with a Healthy Money Mindset (Required to Thrive)
Episode 12 Show Transcript - Empowered Artist Podcast
Change your thoughts about money so you can make a full time living with your art.
When you view money as an exchange of energy, you open yourself up to abundant living, and more earning potential as an artist. Yet, artists have a particularly difficult time with money-mindset. We’ve been taught some nasty, FALSE things about money and art by older generations that did not have access to the resources we have today - hello internet! Many artists I talk to feel guilty making money from their passion. And I hate this.
Imagine when you:
Sell your art without giving a discount.
Buy art materials that inspire you without looking at the price.
Stop worrying when your next piece will sell.
Invest in yourself.
Build a future you love.
Leave behind a past where you felt stuck, unworthy, or lived by someone else's rules.
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A healthy money mindset is essential to becoming a full-time, thriving artist.
This is how change your thoughts about money so you can make a full time living with your art.
How we feel about money is a choice. I know it’s easier said than done. Let’s talk about how to be better at actively choosing our thoughts.
Viewing money as a tool will give you the ability to earn more money.
Profit and joy can go hand and hand.
I don't think Michael Jordan loved the game of basketball any less when his contract when up each year.
Oprah didn't ask for less money the more soulful conversations she had.
Profiting from our art does not take an OUNCE of joy out of the creative process.
Sharing your work with many collectors amplifies the joy you feel when you create.
"Making money is art, and working is art, and good business is the best art." - Andy Warhol
Money mindset is so important to me.
Artist money mindset is something we embed into the Artpreneur Academy program. I want you to believe in your worth and make a profit you deserve.
But that can't happen until you reprogram your thoughts around money. If you don't believe you deserve money, you wont take action to get it. You won’t set high goals for yourself. You won’t get unstuck from a reality you hate.
This work is difficult, but the rewards are so beautiful. Because when you change your thoughts about money, you can make a full time living with your art.
You can change your life.
My Story
There was a time when my art business was struggling and I couldn't pay the bills. I remember this visceral moment sitting on my kitchen floor with a coffee and petting my dogs. Usually this is a moment of peace for me to pet Gus and Lola and sip warm coffee. But on the inside my mind and my heart were in total disarray . I was looking around me at this beautiful home I'd purchased. I was wondering how I was going to pay for it, and keep the lights on.
I hadn't taken a toe dip into the art business, I had taken the full plunge! My art business was my entire income. Not to mention I have daily chronic migraines. Everything in this moment just felt impossible. Talk about overwhelm. That felt really shitty. So when I tell you I get it – I really do.
Money is one of the most emotionally triggering things for people. It's our security. But staying stuck is a choice. I believe money can always be made. Challenges can always be figured out. I invested in doing just that. And now I run a 6-figure art business and teach other artists how to do exactly the same. You can change how you think and feel about money. I promise it's true for you too.
I asked about money in our free Empowered Artists FB Group. You all said things like:
“I enjoy art so I feel guilty being paid for it. I basically give it away.”
“I create art for the enjoyment but I price it to move.”
“But it takes money to make the art—and I want to sell the art in order to make money to make more art…”
“I price way low in order to sell. For the few pieces I’ve sold, I’ve been told I’m basically giving it away.”
We all have money scripts playing in our heads.
Money scripts are the mental tape we have shaping our beliefs about money.
These scripts are either positive or negative.
They align with abundance or scarcity and have a huge impact on our financial decisions.
Wealth consciousness is the idea of getting rid of all limiting beliefs about money and replacing them with healthy money scripts in order to take powerful action to achieve abundance.
Our beliefs about money are deeply rooted by our upbringing and environment.
What beliefs about money did you grow up with? What did your parents teach you? What money scripts have you heard over and over in society?
Here are a lot of common Artists’ Negative Money Scripts:
“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
“I have to be lucky to make money.”
“It is wrong to talk about money.”
“All artists starve.”
“You have to work really hard to make money.”
“Rich people are greedy/selfish/shallow.”
These beliefs shape our views of money today, actively and subconsciously.
We choose our thoughts. How we feel about money is a choice. I know its easier said than done - and below I’ll explain how to be better at actively choosing our thoughts.
Here are some examples of Positive Money Affirmations for Artists:
“Money can always be made.”
“There is unlimited money in the world, and unlimited money is coming to me right now. I am deserving of it.”
“Money affords me the lifestyle and freedoms I value most in life.”
“I deserve to earn a profit from my artwork.”
We may hold many beliefs, thoughts, and fears around money that we may not even be aware that we have. Negative money scripts are fears or feelings of scarcity. They serve as money blocks. These beliefs hold us back from our earning potential.
We have to reprogram our brains to earn more money.
I'm not kidding. We have to do the work. Because what you tell yourself on repeat, consciously or subconsciously is puppeteering your decisions and your entire life.
Don't you want to be the one in control? If you do, you have to choose your thoughts every single day. If you believe you deserve money, you believe in bigger possibilities for yourself. Then you are more likely to set higher financial goals and you are more likely to achieve them.
Money is just a tool. It’s not a dirty word. We are simply trading one asset for an equally valuable asset. Just like cavemen did! It’s all about the mindset around money. Because in reality, money is just a measure of how we value our time, talents, and skills by assigning a dollar amount.
Money is an exchange of energy.
With a healthy money mindset, you can view money as simply that: an exchange of energy, rather than surrounding it with a lot of negativity, emotion, or anxiety.
Pre-programing your mindset will allow you to:
Move away from the scarcity mindset and toward abundance.
Appreciate money.
Take action to get money.
Make good investments.
How to pre-program your money mindset for abundance:
We are going to rewrite one negative money script together now.
My parents, especially my dad, have very traditional views of money, how to make it, and how you spend it. He used to sing “when you kiss a dollar bill it does not kiss you back.” So one of the money scripts around my household was
“You have to do something practical to make a living.”
Today, I rewrite that into a positive money affirmation: “you can be rich by following your passion.”
Exercise:
First, write down all of your thoughts and beliefs about money.
Then, rewrite each script into a positive money affirmation.
Then you have to practice it to believe it.
If you believe you deserve money:
You are more likely to achieve your financial goals.
You can happily accept payment for the beautiful artwork you create.
Raise your prices.
Earn more money.
Take action to get money.
Value your time.
Be productive.
Make good investments like high quality art supplies, education, training, coaching, and advertising.
3 Tips for Artists to Feel Confident Making Money from their Art
Don’t feel guilty about making money. You care deeply about the work you are doing. Your art serves a purpose and without it there is a giant hole in the universe.
Good people do good things. And the more money you make, the more you can give.
Go deeper into your why. If your why is powerful, and you really hone in on it and practice it, you’ll joyfully accept money for your art.
After you do your money script homework today, action is the key to success.
Your next step is to invest in the next thing to take you to the next level.
“The best thing you can ever invest in is yourself” - Jenna
Is it a laptop, is it a course, is it a mentor?
Take the next step!
Learn more about working with me to get the support you need in your art business:
If you would like to work with me personally, we can do that together inside my signature program Artpreneur Academy.
The Academy is a fully comprehensive, customizable blueprint to becoming a self-reliant, empowered, art business owner.
It’s worked for over 750+ artists!
And it can work for you too.
You can visit this page: Artpreneur Academy more or click the button below to learn all about it.
I hope you loved today’s episode and feel more empowered.
Now go make some money, honey! I believe in you!
Love and Positive Vibes,
Jenna
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