This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey there, everyone. What's up, friends, listeners, community. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. For the past 1,314 days, I've been bringing you different stories of people out there and navigating the new economy, finding ways to create substantial side incomes, not just part-time jobs, not just a little extra money, often some really substantial side incomes, while working a day job, while being really busy with all the things in life.
It's such a privilege and honor to be able to produce this show for you every day. So this is our Throwback Thursday segment, Throwback Thursday slash Where Are They Now, where we take an in-depth look at someone whose story has evolved considerably since we first featured them. Today in our latest feature, we'll hear from Karen, who was in episode 457, KiwiCoder makes extra $50,000 a year from digital paint brushes. As I mentioned, we're not talking about small amounts of money. We're talking about something that is potentially life-changing.
Now, I really liked working on this story back when we did it, 457, and then I love this update too. It is a classic example of something that could only exist in this new economy that we're all experiencing. So in case you missed it there, digital paint brushes. These are virtual digital, non-tangible paint brushes. It's like a file, basically, or a Photoshop filter or something like that.
It's for people who are using the iPad to make art, specifically using the iPad with the Apple Pencil and the software called Procreate. Now, a lot has happened since we first featured Karen. She has now moved into a new apartment, thanks in part to that very healthy side income. And she's also thinking ahead because she's noticing how her industry is changing with more competitors. So wisely, she is thinking ahead to what comes next.
So let's hear from her, and then I'll be back at the end to wrap us up. [Music]
I'm Karen Newport, and since I've been featured on episode 457, I've actually moved to Queenstown. When I was featured, I was still living in Auckland, but now in Queenstown, still in New Zealand. But unlike when I first started my side hustle, I've now got a lot more space, and that's actually really amazing. I've always been interested in hand lettering and calligraphy, but I haven't pursued my passion because as we've just talked about, I used to live in this tiny little apartment, and then I didn't have the space for all the required art supplies.
But when I got my first iPad Pro and Apple Pencil at the end of 2015, everything really changed. I was able to practice to my heart's content without requiring all the supplies or worrying about wasting paper. So I found an app called Procreate, then I started making Procreate brushes, and it's kind of like Photoshop brushes. It's a software setting that you can apply to the Procreate app, and then it creates sort of different characteristics for these brushes. And then at the same time, I also started an Instagram account to share my work.
And because iPad lettering was quite new, no one really knew what an Apple Pencil was. I was actually really lucky to get one of the first Apple Pencils that Apple brought out. I managed to get followers quite quickly. They were really curious to see how this all worked. And so they started asking me about the brushes and what I was using.
And so I started sharing those brushes, and I just had a Dropbox link in the profile of my Instagram account. But then I made more brushes, and so I couldn't really have a link there anymore. So I decided to make a website and share the brushes on my website. And then I thought, well, there's a lot of people downloading these brushes. So maybe I should make some more, or maybe I should put a price on those brushes.
And so I did, I made, I think I made three sets. And I was a bit worried about putting a price on it because I was sharing it for free. And then I, you know, all of a sudden it's not free. So what will people say? But I was extremely surprised.
I put them up for sale and I announced it on Instagram. Back in the day, I only had maybe 3,000 followers or something. But within three hours, I got my first sale. And so it was amazing. And that's how it all started.
Yeah, I was jumping up and down. Literally, I was, it was, it was just the most exciting feeling ever. Like I made something and someone bought it on the internet. It was like, oh, this is crazy good. I'm working for a software product studio.
It's my main job. And now I want to build this up to the point where if I don't have a job anymore, instead of working more on my side hustle, I actually get a lot of free time because I would have figured out how to optimize it and how to run it efficiently. So today I just get a lot more spare time without having to sacrifice my income. So that's the current plan, but let's see how it goes. I've actually started making a lot more YouTube videos as well.
So what happened also over the years is that a lot more people have started making Procreate brushes. So it's, you know, it's a bit more of a crowded market. It's not so rare anymore. So the income from that hasn't sort of gone up, you know, as it did at the start. So it's time to think about other things you can do as well and sort of diversify and figure out how to help people in other ways.
And one of the things I've noticed is people really want more help about how to use the brushes. It's good that they are there, but then, you know, there's so many different characteristics and also Procreate has brought out a new version late last year. So really helping people use the brushes and that's where my YouTube channel comes in. So one of the things that's actually made a big difference to what I'm doing is having an accountability group. This is a group of people who, they don't do exactly the same thing, but they have similar aspirations to myself.
And we've come up with a set of goals and we're holding each other accountable. So we've, and we have a call every week and this group, they're all around the world. Well, actually most of them are in the US, but it's an international group of people with similar aspirations to myself and they know my goals and they hold me accountable. And I really find that super helpful. - Yay, thank you so much, Karen.
Really appreciate that detailed update and some of the other notes that we had from her. She also mentioned how COVID-19 was basically not an issue for her, which I just wanted to kind of pull out and highlight because I know we've had a number of stories talking about how different businesses have had to adjust to COVID-19. And of course, I also want to acknowledge that some businesses have been devastated during that whole thing and continue to be 'cause this is not something that's going to end quickly. But I just wanted to highlight the fact that because of how she's built this business and the people that she's serving, they're basically people at home with their iPads and making art, it really didn't affect her all that much. Also on this point of how more competitors are coming into this space now, the thing is she is a leader, like she is a pioneer.
She was one of the first people there. And then also she's starting that YouTube channel, which is key because education will always be important. Even if there are a lot of people selling their products, she's building that subscriber base on YouTube, apart from her 300,000 followers on Instagram. So as I said, it's a wonderful example of this kind of new economy project. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do another book of "Side Hustle School Stories," like I did with "100 Side Hustles," because Karen's story is one I would love to feature more widely.
All right, we'll be doing these new segments throughout the rest of the year. We're gonna keep it going. Several more months to come. Let me know what you think and who you'd like to see featured from our archives of more than 1,000 stories. This is the year of interaction.
If you have a question, if you'd like to update us about your hustle, if you'd like some digital paint brushes, on that last point, you need an Apple Pencil. But also go and check out Karen's YouTube channel, youtube.com/ipadlettering. That is iPad lettering. Just search for it on YouTube. And for the other things, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions.
Our show notes for the day, the last link I'll give you, those are at sidehustleschool.com/1314. One, three, one, four. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back tomorrow. The revolution continues.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
