by Abby Glassenberg
Secret Society Shawl in Bare Naked Wools Mrs Lincoln’s Lace by Janelle Martin.
Photo courtesy of Janelle Martin
Yet choosing self-employment also means taking on risk. Many small business owners borrow money in order to launch and grow a venture, debt that they have to pay back over many years. Few new businesses are profitable right away, which will likely mean waiting a long time for a significant paycheck, with no guarantee that regular checks will follow. Small business owners have to figure out how to pay for their own health insurance and save for retirement without the help of an outside employer. And the hours can be long. You may end up working evenings and weekends and feel like you can’t go on vacation without falling desperately behind.
In the world of craft businesses, many of us start out on Etsy, where we’re likely to encounter the message that quitting your day job to pursue your craft business full time is the ideal end goal. Etsy runs a monthly series on their blog called “Quit Your Day Job,” which highlights craft business owners who have done just that, asking them to explain how they got there so that others might emulate their journey.
The most recent “Quit Your Day Job” post featured Satsuma Street, a cross-stich pattern company run by Jody Rice, who left her job as a Hollywood special effects artist “to create fun, modern cross-stitch patterns to appeal to a new generation of stitchers.” With just a $100 upfront investment, Rice now works in her creative business full-time and has sold more than 22,000 patterns. Stories like Rice’s send the message that we should focus on branding, photography and harnessing social media to grow our Etsy businesses until they’re making enough money to support us fully. Then we’ll be living the dream.
For many creative people this dream is both financially unrealistic and not actually something they strive for at all.
Janelle Martin is a knitwear designer who sells her patterns on Ravelry. She’s had success, including having patterns published in Knitty, but her day job gives her the financial security and sense of purpose that designing knitting patterns doesn’t.
“In my day job, I’ve worked for not-for-profit organizations for the past 20 years. My day job pays the bills and fulfills that need to have an impact, and my knitwear designing provides the creative outlet,” says Martin, who has been designing knitwear since 2009. “I’ve been lucky enough to work with non-profits that are able to provide a lot of flexibility to my schedule. That flexibility enables me to attend events like Rhinebeck or take time when necessary to meet design deadlines or teach a weekday class.”
Lindsie Bergevin works 30 hours a week as the senior graphic designer at The Idaho Statesman (a daily newspaper and multi-media publishing company) and also works with a portfolio of freelance clients from the craft and sewing industries on the side. Keeping her day job has been an important part of her family’s well-being. Bergevin and her husband also co-own and run an auto repair shop, a venture that doesn’t provide healthcare coverage. Bergevin’s day job provides health benefits for the whole family, and covered her hospital stay when she gave birth to her son. In addition, Bergevin gets short-term disability insurance, which was vital last month when she had surgery and missed work for seven days. Other benefits include dental and vision insurance and four weeks of paid time off.
“That’s the only reason I can go on vacation,” Bergevin says.
Working a day job also has helped Bergevin sharpen her design skills, stay current on issues in the publishing world, and learn to manage time efficiently as a freelancer.
“At work, I’m able to keep up with my illustration skills. I make graphics, maps and charts for the daily paper and that compliments the design work I do for clients,” Bergevin explains. “Working at a media company has taught me so much about SEO and staying relevant. That stuff is totally applicable to the clients I work with and I share those tips with them.”
“I also know that if I’m going to make any progress on my freelance work I have to decide how I’m going to spend my day. I say to myself, ‘OK, I have four hours and I have to get my work done. I can’t watch TV,” Bergevin says, adding that she also enjoys the social aspect of work. “It’s kind of like a reprieve. I have fun with my friends at work and my to-do list there is totally doable.”
Blennerville Stole in Sweet Paprika Designs Adagio by Janelle Martin.
Photo courtesy of Janelle Martin
Kleon adds that, once you make doing what you love into your full-time occupation, it becomes your job.
“In other words: you always have a day job,” he says.
If that’s the case, it very well may be that the day job you have now is worth keeping. There’s a lot of value in financial security, benefits, a steady paycheck, on-the-job training and the social environment of a workplace. With those things in place, you just might be able to enjoy your creative time and either grow your business until it sustains you, or keep it as smaller venture that supplements your income.
“I honestly don’t expect ever to make enough through my knitwear design business to have it be my sole income,” knitwear designer Martin says. “For now, my goals are much simpler: release at least 12 designs a year and double my knitwear related income yearly. I’m eager to see where that will take me.”
Oh, this touches on something I had to deal with in the last year. Trying not to get into too many details- I started my craft based biz as a SAHM. But before this I worked as a health care provider. I let one of my licenses and certification expire, but just last year had a bit of a freak out moment that my nursing licensure was going to expire this current summer if I didn’t get a minimum of 400 hours.
My business does not make enough to support my daughter and I should something happen to my husband. His income and benefits has been enough to float us through while I my business provided some extras like paying for preschool and christmas presents. But I had to face the fact that I could not let my nursing license expire. If something were to happen, I would need to work full time as a nurse to provide an income for us beyond what my business provides. So I have been working part time as an RN.
I am one of these craft based business people that does want to “quit the day job”- or for me- never have to work in health care ever again. But I live in reality. So far there isn’t enough hours in the day for me to grow my business to an income required to let go of nursing, take care of my daughter, work my nursing job, and do the day to day of family life.
And as an aside, when I started my business I got a lot of “Oh that’s a nice hobby to keep you busy til you go back to work”. Then when I started my nursing job last fall I got “I see you got back to real a real job”. .
These are such great insight, Jamie, and I know you’re not alone in your situation. In fact I think you’re in the majority! When I was the speaker at Midwest CraftCon in February I asked the audience to raise their hand if they had a day job in addition to their craft business. From the stage it looked like very single hand was raised!
Abby, that’s great feedback to hear!
I do consider myself lucky to be able to have the business I have. It’s grown more than I thought in some ways and not enough in others. Part of my internal mission is to make craft/handcraft/domestic manufacturing something that is seen with great value again outside of the crafter community. I am sure I am not alone in this.
This is a fantastic POV article, Abby. It’s true, all I ever seem to hear about is making a living with craft, but maybe I want to do more than that! The extra money doesn’t hurt, either. With time management and hard work, I’m able to work two part time jobs and succeed as an artist/quilt instructor.
Great article. It really hits all the points of a difficult balancing act.
I work a full time job as a learning experience designer and also have my creative business as my side hustle. For awhile, my dream was to always quit my day job – that was when I was working in a non-creative field (finance!). But over the years, I’ve transformed my career and found something that is in more of a creative space which gels with who I am. My creative business has also grown In different directions. I now offer craft kits and online video instructions. My experience as a learning designer also helps me write great instructions for my DIY kits. My dream now is to continue to grow my creative business along side my job and have multiple sources of income.
I’ve played with this for years. I started ny business whenI was at home with my children, which was my plan, but as the family got larger, so did the need for more income, so I took a teaching job, never intending to stay in very long, as I am not an outgoing person. It was a very hard change for me because I had never intended to work outside the home while I had kids at home. 22 years later, I’m so wanting to retire and only do my sewing business, but I have three years still to go for health care, and I have not been able to depend on the business income. 3 years to go…