Making Money From Your Art

Many of us have a skill, art, talent or dream we know is lying dormant, ready to let rip if the opportunity arises. Perhaps you are a keen musician, have a novel rattling around in your head (or at least the love of coffee and the sense that you could have been a French bohemian in another life).

Perhaps you are a good, but not professional, sportsperson, artist, or have a great craft bent waiting to erupt. Whatever it is - - there is a way to make a living from your art - - and it might be less impossible than it may seem.

Legendary wealth author Robert Kiyosaki says that - - for all the get rich quickly (or get rich slowly) methods out there - - nothing beats capitalizing on a talent you may already have. For instance, Michael Jordan was much better off capitalizing on his childhood skills on the basketball court than being yet another wannabe on the real estate market. It’s better that Bob Dylan indulged his love of playing music, rather than merely starting a music magazine (although he does have his own radio show these days).

Capitalizing on a skill or interest is such a great wealth strategy because it fulfills some of the key requirements of effective entrepreneurial activity:

• Identifying an untapped niche is one of the key acts in starting a successful venture. Your creativity is necessarily your own. Using it is a great way to find something that no-one else can offer.

• Most businesses take years to turn a profit - - sometimes as many as 7 years, in the most competitive industries. Utilizing an existing talent or skill, you can draw upon years development you might have taken place  - - perhaps going back to childhood. Instead of learning a new skill, such as web design or share trading, adding implementation skills to the one you already have gives you an instant advantage.

• Using an existing talent gives you one key asset - - authenticity. The used car salesman who would rather be a ballet star isn’t going to sell many cars. Conversely, Donald Trump is Donald Trump - he doesn’t have to pretend to be any differently in the boardroom. Go with your god-given talents and abilities to really do your best.

• Successful entrepreneurs combine talent and skill with that most elusive commodity - passion. They live and breathe their industry, 24 hours a day. If your business is your talent or dream, getting the ‘passion’ part should be easy. And it will be difficult to find someone who knows about your particular area of interest as yourself - suddenly you are an instant expert.

So, if you have a skill that has never really flown as a full time career move, consider these tips to making money from your art or talents:

• Often we think too small. For instance, we might try to make enough money from our hobby to get by. But self employment is a tough business, and there are rich and lean periods you will need to cater for. Instead of calculating the amount of money you need to cover an average week or year - double it. That way, you will factor in the considerable time you won’t be working - a real possibility in the early years.

• If you have lost passion for your talent lately, think of the fundamentals required to keep it strong. Are you surrounded by like minded people? Do you dream, and have a clear idea of where you’d like to be? Do you have a routine, so that your interest isn’t pushed into “free time” that never comes? Also consider you might need to move out of your comfort zone. Scare or frighten yourself by moving city, or taking more risks than you otherwise would - so that you feel your heart pumping again when you act.

• Think of your talent as a business - - or if you really want to give it a boost - - as a get-rich-quick scheme. We all know the talent industries take a lot of time, but apply the same money-orientated thinking as you would with any other scheme will shake your dream into reality. For instance, how good is your online presence? Is it easy for people to turn an interest into a following, and eventually, a purchase?

• Other get-rich-quick thinking that might be useful is networking - - do enough people - - and the right people - - know what you do? Consider outsourcing - - if selling isn’t your strong point, find someone whose it is. Perhaps selling your products online will be less threatening than dealing with people face to face. Or if you have no connections besides your peers - consider ‘brokering’ or representing each other. Sometimes it is easier to wax lyrical about someone else’s work and they for you.

• And if you merely gave your talent as much time as your ordinary day job, imagine how far progressed your dream will be. Many writers swear by clocking on at 9am and clocking off only once they have filled a full day’s work. You might also need to be as disciplined with other ‘days’ in your self employment schedule - - marketing yourself, finishing up half completed projects, and dealing with your finances.

Think of your passion as not a “one day, maybe after the money is sorted” activity - - but potentially the greatest advantage you have in your quest for wealth.

Read more about Op Art on OpArt.net.

How To Earn $20,000

There’s an interesting thread over at Namepros, which is the leading forum for investing in internet domain names, but also talks about other aspects of making money on the internet. The question was what was the easiest way to make a nominal $20,000 a year online, and some of the most experienced contributors chimed in with their thoughts.

A few of the top tips that were mentioned:

• Don’t try to sell domain names in tough economic times, and certainly don’t try to sell low value names to other domain name investors. The hourly rate won’t be worth your effort. Your best bet will be contacting business owners directly who might be interested in your names. For most names a $499 - $399 price range will work well.

• If you want to buy and sell domain names, stick to the top end of the market, or finding the names of expired websites (that still have existing people traffic passing through them). The latter has inherent value as it can be converted into customers, if directed to a monetized website. Trading such names can be profitable during any economic cycle.

• Consider developing websites to make money, but do it wisely. Get the best possible name that you can afford for your site. Save money by finding a reliable, inexpensive web host. Pay for good design - services like Pagetopia offer $199 websites, so it needn’t be expensive. Write about what you know and are passionate about, and offer real value every day.

• Paid subscription sites can work well if you offer a good service. Consider a monthly subscription fee of around $4.95 to $15.95.

• Find out what is working in any online investments. Remember the 80:20 Rule (link it!). Developing one website well is better than a larger number done badly. Everything has its critical mass level.

I’m sure a few of them won’t like me letting out their trade secrets, but you can read the thread and more about the various strategies here.