Budgeting Time and Money as a Creator

Explicit content warning

06/29/22 • 44 min

3 Listeners

For many people, budgeting is simple. You take your income, subtract your expenses, and figure out what to do with the rest. Do you save? Invest? Splurge?

As a creator, your life is your business. And that makes budgeting, investing, and managing your money more complicated. The questions you ask yourself aren’t simply, “can I pay my bills and save for retirement this month?” But also, “how much will I owe in taxes?”, “how do I scale my operation?” and “is this a smart business investment?”

While everyone’s business, financial situation, and money mindset are different, there are guiding principles to help answer the tough money questions as a creator, and even help determine if you should be putting a penny down in the first place.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss how to get comfortable investing as an entrepreneur, which side hustles to consider if you’re worried about an upfront cost, and the three important questions every creator should ask themselves before spending a dollar.

Key Takeaways

[00:42] - Have you heard?
- [01:56] - Instagram will be prioritizing NFTs as an additional place for creators to share their work.
- [04:13] - In the U.K., it is now illegal for clients to have payment terms longer than 30 days.
- [07:50] - Meta will continue not to take a financial cut from creators.
[09:10] - Today’s main topic: Budgeting your time and money as a creator.
- [10:53] - As a creator, you have to determine what will happen if you don’t see a return on your investment.
- [12:54] - It can take time to get comfortable spending money on your business. Some wait to invest in their business until they know they’ll see a return or until they’re financially stable.
- [15:44] - Losing money is a part of entrepreneurship. You have to be comfortable with a little risk or your business will never grow.
- [18:56] - Just like your retirement investments, you’re in entrepreneurship for the long game. Don’t stop just because you had a down month.
- [20:03] - On the flip side, you shouldn’t invest in your business irresponsibly. There has to be a business justification behind every investment decision.
- [24:56] - A business that relies on physical products is financially riskier.
- [28:24] - Psychologically, people tend to justify escalating their commitment to something based on how much they’ve already invested. To avoid that trap, don’t spend money on your business that you’re not willing to lose.
- [31:12] - Remind yourself of milestones that your investments have helped you reach. Those milestones help you rationalize future investments.
- [33:20] - Don’t let perfectionism stop you from launching a business or side hustle. Your business is something you can grow into.
- [36:02] - Ask yourself what type of business model works for you financially and emotionally. Not all businesses require massive upfront investments.
- [40:18] - A creator’s money strategy depends on the creator.
[41:29] - Today’s listener shoutout: ConvertKit writer Isa Adney recently published a wonderful story.
[42:49] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[19:28] - “That’s something that entrepreneurs have to get comfortable with, they just have to get comfortable with being able to zoom out and say, ‘ok I might have a down month this month but it doesn’t mean I should panic and throw in the towel.’ If you can’t do that, then you should not be an entrepreneur.” ~ @haleyjani

[32:58] - “That’s exactly what a psychologist would tell you to do is say, ok, you’re going to spend this amount of money and you’re going to try at it for a year. And if in a year you haven’t passed this threshold, then you need to reassess and not keep escalating your commitment to it. Because at some point it’s just a money pit.” ~ @miguelp.img

[36:37] - “That’s the beauty of being a digital content creator or doing any sort of thing digital online is you really can do it all yourself to get started with. There’s not anything that you have to spend money on in order to get started.” ~ @charliprangley

[40:18] - “Don’t let anyone tell you there’s one right way to budget or one right amount you should be spending on your business as a creator.” ~ @charliprangley

Links

For many people, budgeting is simple. You take your income, subtract your expenses, and figure out what to do with the rest. Do you save? Invest? Splurge?

Key Takeaways

[00:42] - Have you heard?
- [01:56] - Instagram will be prioritizing NFTs as an additional place for creators to share their work.
- [04:13] - In the U.K., it is now illegal for clients to have payment terms longer than 30 days.
- [07:50] - Meta will continue not to take a financial cut from creators.
[09:10] - Today’s main topic: Budgeting your time and money as a creator.
- [10:53] - As a creator, you have to determine what will happen if you don’t see a return on your investment.
- [12:54] - It can take time to get comfortable spending money on your business. Some wait to invest in their business until they know they’ll see a return or until they’re financially stable.
- [15:44] - Losing money is a part of entrepreneurship. You have to be comfortable with a little risk or your business will never grow.
- [18:56] - Just like your retirement investments, you’re in entrepreneurship for the long game. Don’t stop just because you had a down month.
- [20:03] - On the flip side, you shouldn’t invest in your business irresponsibly. There has to be a business justification behind every investment decision.
- [24:56] - A business that relies on physical products is financially riskier.
- [28:24] - Psychologically, people tend to justify escalating their commitment to something based on how much they’ve already invested. To avoid that trap, don’t spend money on your business that you’re not willing to lose.
- [31:12] - Remind yourself of milestones that your investments have helped you reach. Those milestones help you rationalize future investments.
- [33:20] - Don’t let perfectionism stop you from launching a business or side hustle. Your business is something you can grow into.
- [36:02] - Ask yourself what type of business model works for you financially and emotionally. Not all businesses require massive upfront investments.
- [40:18] - A creator’s money strategy depends on the creator.
[41:29] - Today’s listener shoutout: ConvertKit writer Isa Adney recently published a wonderful story.
[42:49] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[40:18] - “Don’t let anyone tell you there’s one right way to budget or one right amount you should be spending on your business as a creator.” ~ @charliprangley

Links

Previous Episode

Succeeding as a Creator Outside of a Creative Hub with Whitney Manney

It’s not where you are or who you’re with, but what you create. If you’ve ever felt like success as a creator is limited to the humdrum town you’re in, miles from a traditionally “creative” city, meet Fashion Designer Whitney Manney.

Kansas City, Missouri may not be the fashion capital of the world, but it’s a place where Whitney has taken root. And if you ask Whitney, the humble surroundings of her hometown have led to more opportunities than obstacles.

She’s built a community in Kansas City, has grown her business alongside lifelong peers, and affords a space that’s unattainable in cities like New York or Los Angeles. Finding creative communities may be harder, but it’s far from impossible. And the pressures of surviving in a cut-throat creative hub disappear.

However, while creating without pressure is helpful for some, for others, distance from a dream takes a toll.

In this episode, Charli, Miguel, and Whitney discuss how to thrive creatively regardless of where you create, how Whitney learned to embrace her hometown, how she lands incredible design gigs despite the distance, and how Whitney stays true to a style much different than the aesthetic around her.

Key Takeaways

[01:14] - Have you heard?
- [01:22] - Due to a recent court ruling in the U.K, Meta’s acquisition of Giphy is now in limbo.
- [03:59] - Japan expects PewDiePie’s move to increase tourism.
[06:25] - Today’s main topic: Succeeding as a creator when you don’t live in a main creative hub.
- [06:44] - Before the internet, living in a place like Missouri was significantly harder and Whitney’s instinct was to get out, especially with fashion aspirations. Now, that desire to leave has decreased dramatically.
- [08:28] - Whitney has embraced creativity in Kansas City rather than tolerated it. Because she’s always lived there, she has a built-in community and has grown professionally alongside peers.
- [11:54] - Whitney was able to develop and sustain her own unique style without feeling limited by her city’s aesthetic.
- [14:55] - Part of embracing where you live is embracing what makes you different from that place.
- [17:27] - The beauty of staying in one place is the ability to build your business from the ground up and watch it flourish locally.
- [18:05] - Especially in your early career, there are advantages to being uniquely creative in a small city. You can experiment with your work and content without the daily stress of survival.
- [19:54] - Living outside of a “creative” city also takes the pressure off having to constantly create and keep up with those around you. You have the freedom to move at a pace that’s sustainable for you.
- [21:01] - Whitney landed a major fashion gig despite living outside of a typical fashion city.
- [27:24] - When you have the opportunity to, it’s important to pull in other creators from the “non-creative” city you’re from.
- [29:21] - You can find a creative community anywhere, it just takes a little extra digging in some places. Don’t discount local creatives near you.
[32:48] - Today’s listener shoutout: Whitney herself recently started a partnership with Velcro brand, has hired staff, and relaunched her website.
[35:07] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[08:02] - “I really feel like I’m supposed to be here. And what I’m doing here is important and hopefully, the people after me that decide to be creatives here, hopefully I have helped make it a little easier.” ~ @whitneymanney

[17:26] - “The thing that I love about being based in KC is that I have genuinely built this thing from the ground up. I can have complete ownership of what this business, what my studio practice, has looked like.” ~ @whitneymanney

[19:14] - “If I move to LA or New York, I’m going to be so worried about just surviving, that I feel like I wouldn’t be able to dedicate the time and brain power that I need to be a creative.” ~ @whitneymanney

[32:16] - “You really do have to think about, what opportunities exist in my community that I can take advantage of, but [also] what is that one opportunity that I can create for myself this year? And I can do it so well that people are like, ‘ok, we’re paying attention to this person.’” ~ @whitneymanney

Links

Next Episode

Balancing Mental Health and Goal Achievement with Ben Schoeffler and Caitlin Zarrella

Every action changes the biochemistry of your brain. Not many of us think about that when running errands, slogging through a 9-5, or scrolling mindlessly on social media. But as creators, the way we work and manage our mental health can mean the difference between a thriving side hustle and another creative project left by the wayside.

ConvertKit team members Ben Schoeffler and Caitlin Zarrella are both passionate about mental health and pursuing creative endeavors. As they can attest, without a boss to hold you accountable, give you praise, or help out when your workload gets tough, finding ways to stay motivated, passionate, and happy about your creative pursuits is tough.

In this episode, Miguel, Ben, and Caitlin discuss the ways in which creators can pursue goals without succumbing to burnout and discouragement, the simple art of successful goal-setting, and how creators can transform stress into fuel and dread into dopamine.

Key Takeaways

[00:52] - Have you heard?
- [01:00] - Creators can now buy insurance for their Instagram accounts.
- [02:45] - Creators.Google is a community blog with advice for creators.
[04:14] - Balancing mental health and goal achievement.
- [04:47] - Learn to manage stress before your side hustle becomes a full-time gig that’s twice as stressful.
- [10:28] - The pressure to always be creating or iterating on your craft can cause resistance to the hobby you originally loved.
- [11:28] - When it comes to battling depression, continuing to move and stay active with hobbies can improve your mental health significantly.
- [15:47] - The pandemic led many creators to burn out because the endless time had no structure and therefore no boundaries.
- [18:01] - Struggling to push through a learning curve prevents many of us from acquiring new skills.
- [20:03] - Reframe the learning curve as teaching yourself how not to do something versus telling yourself you’re unskilled.
- [21:01] - To prevent immediate discouragement, pick a date or milestone and don’t evaluate your progress until you’ve hit that milestone.
- [22:18] - Train yourself to fall in love with practicing because that’s how most of your time will be spent until you’re an absolute expert.
- [26:03] - Your perspective on the activity that’s difficult impacts the amount of dopamine your body releases while striving to accomplish it.
- [30:00] - Spiking your dopamine to the max will ultimately leave you feeling depleted. Focus on activities that push your dopamine without raising it through the roof.
- [31:08] - What you consume online impacts your brain chemistry just like the food you consume impacts your mood and biochemistry.
- [36:43] - Break big goals into smaller pieces so you can celebrate small wins and keep moving forward without frequent discouragement.
[38:37] - Angel at ConvertKit does great live workshops. The next workshop is Thursday, July 14th.

Quotes

[05:27] - “Not everyone has a side hustle, maybe they're just in the incubation phase. Being able to manage your mental health with your hobby right now is kind of like the training grounds, so that when you do make that leap, if you decide to, and start maybe charging for services or products, that steps things up a little bit and makes it so you’ve got more skin in the game so there’s more stress involved. If you can really manage that stress in the beginning, it makes things a lot easier.” ~ @BenSchoeffler

[34:33] - “I still have my Instagram account, it’s active, but I don’t have it on my phone because it consumes too much all the time. And if I do want to pursue these goals of learning the piano or lifting or whatever, there’s just not a lot of room for social media in my mental space.” ~ Caitlin Zarrella

[38:21] - “We think there’s always an end goal like, ‘we have achieved happiness now we can just remain here for 30 years.’ Happiness is not a destination, it's just a process that we can find ways to fall in love with.” ~ @miguelp.img

Links