Tag: Art

Logistics Broker Earns Extra Income From Graffiti

What It’s About

This truck driver gets paid to tag walls with his art.

Words of Wisdom

For others looking to start a graffiti or art side hustle, Marty suggests widening your portfolio. “Keep thinking outside the box. I started drawing popular cartoon characters – even ones I didn’t know – and posted them online. I usually get inboxes from that. I drew a Frozen character and got a client from there.”

Fun Fact

The first forms of graffiti date back to Roman architecture. Although there was no spray paint at the time, artists would carve messages onto walls. In fact, the word graffiti was created from the Greek word “graphein” which means, “to write.” [Source]

Notes from Chris

Episode 1424
In 2019, Marty Nagel had been working in his career as a third party logistics broker for about a decade. Although he’s now based in Louisville, Kentucky, he was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio—a city known for its rich graffiti culture. Ever since high school, when he went to a few graffiti events in town, he had a fascination with the art.

Around the end of 2019, Marty was chatting with a friend when she began to tell him about a special present she intended to buy for her son. She told him that for his birthday, she was going to pay someone to create a small piece of graffiti art on his wall.

Ever the graffiti lover, Marty inquired further, and found out that she was intending on paying $800 for just a bedroom-sized wall.

Taken aback by the price, Marty offered to do it himself and charge a more palette-able rate, at $350. He also offered to throw in something extra: painting her son’s name in his room in the Wildstyle font. Marty’s friend agreed. Although he wasn’t planning it at the time, she became the first of many future clients.

Besides buying the cans of spray paint for each project, Marty did not have to pay anything else to get his new business up and running. He decided to call it Lowkey Originals.

His first course of action was to build a large portfolio of work to show off his variety of skills and abilities. To market his work, he made an Instagram account and designed a few t-shirts.

He’s been able to keep this steady stream of clients by utilizing social media … and not paying for it. Rather than pay for advertising, all Marty has had to do is run an Instagram and Facebook account. He posts a photo on Facebook every week and asks his friends to share the post.

He currently has enough clients to be booked two months out. Through this experience, Marty has been able to pay his rent, make a career switch in the middle of a pandemic without stressing out, and delve into his long-time passion for art.

As of now, Marty plans to keep Lowkey Originals just that—lowkey and on the side, complimenting his new day job as a driver.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

    • See Marty’s collection of artwork at his Instagram account, @LowkeyOriginals

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

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GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

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I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

Quote of the Day
"Don’t let your creative fire die. This is so important. Always be learning."
—Marty Nagel #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Try ShipStation for 60 Days FREE!

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by ShipStation, the #1 choice of online sellers. 📦

To get a 30-day trial AND an additional month free, click the microphone at the top of their page and enter the word HUSTLE.
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To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

TBT: These iPad Paintbrushes Never Run Dry

What It’s About

An artist in New Zealand uses her iPad to paint a sustainable side income.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1314

Welcome to Throwback Thursday / “Where are they now?” where we take an in-depth look at someone who’s story has evolved considerably since we first featured them.

Today, in our latest feature, we’ll hear from Karin in Ep. 457: Kiwi Coder Makes Extra $50,000/Year from Digital Paintbrushes.

I really liked this story and it’s a classic example of something that could only exist in this New Economy that we’re all experiencing.

A lot has happened since we first featured Karin—she’s moved into a new apartment, thanks in part to that very healthy side income, and she’s also noticing how her industry is changing with more competitors, so she’s thinking ahead about her next steps.

Listen to today’s episode to hear Karin’s updates…

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • iPad Lettering: Up your digital calligraphy game—check out Karin’s brushes on her website!
  • Procreate: The iPad program that Karin used to create her calligraphy creations and brushes
  • Adobe Business Catalyst: The platform that Karin used to create her website for iPad Lettering

 

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Quote of the Day
"One of the things that’s actually made a big difference is having an accountability group. It is a group of people who don’t do exactly the same thing, but they have similar aspirations to myself."
—Karin Newport #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Q&A: Could I start a site for crafters to exchange unfinished projects?

What It’s About

A listener seeks feedback for a new site idea help crafters finish their projects.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1264

Here are a couple of questions you need to ask whenever you have a potential side hustle idea:

  • – Who is this for?
  • – Can I explain it in one sentence?
  • – Is there sufficient demand for this? (Another way of saying it: “do people want this?”)
  • – Do they want it enough to pay for it?

That last question is key, because parting with our money often feels painful. Our default mode is to not buy something, so for a marketer (that would be you!) to overcome that, you need a compelling offer.

In today’s story, a listener is wondering about her crafty side hustle idea: is it worth trying? If so, what’s the next step to making it a reality?

“Hi, this is Naty from Sacramento. I just started listening and I love the show. I’m afraid to start a side hustle, but I know I need to start before I’m ready. So here goes my side hustle idea is a user web site for crafters to exchange craft projects. So crafters can finish their unfinished objects in order to move on to other creative projects. I also want to provide a service where master crafters, myself included, can offer to finish, start or fast forward projects for a fee.

My question for Chris is this a good side hustle? How do I monetize? Could I start something like this on WordPress? How do I get users for this site? Let me know, Chris, if I’m barking up the wrong side hustle tree. Thanks. And onward with the revolution.”

Listen to today’s episode to learn more…

 

 

 

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Freelance Illustrator Helps Other Artists Sell Their Work

What It’s About

A successful artist finds a way to help other artists be successful as well.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

To get artists to sign up for his newsletter, Chris offers a free 10-day email series, with nine free lessons on how to use story to sell art. Then on the tenth day he tells them about his paid workshop. Regardless whether they sign up or not, he makes sure that the weekly article and newsletter he send out contains valuable content.

This free series generates the most sales for him, and it’s a great example of offering a soft sell for additional services.

Fun Fact

One of Chris’s favorite things about his side hustle is getting to interact with people from all over the world. He’s helped artists from over 30 countries—from Zimbabwe to Croatia—sell their art online, all from the comfort of his home in San Diego, or from a hotel balcony when he’s out traveling the world.

Notes from Chris

Episode 81

There are a lot of artists out there, and the majority of them don’t make much money off of their art. Today’s side hustle story features a successful California illustrator named Chris Wilson who makes more than $25,000 a year on the site by helping artists accomplish their business goals.

This is not a unique business model—it’s a textbook example of “Information Marketing.” Chris shares a lot of valuable information and resources with his subscribers, and then offers premium (paid) content for those who are willing to invest more time and effort into mastering the material.

This model has been changing though with the rise of technology. It’s a lot like art itself, or music, or any form of publishing in the fact that it won’t ever go away completely. Instead, it evolves.

If this is something you’re interested in and want to create a hustle in this field, here are few tips:

1. Provide a real unique selling point (USP), and make sure that it appeals to a specific need of your audience. 2. Make sure that your content is results-focused. 3. Be a legit authority in the field. In other words, actually do what you’re claiming to show people how to do. 4. Provide high-quality content and include some kind of wow factor or hook to reel them in.

It definitely is an attractive business model with a lot of benefits—you just need to be able to work hard at it.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SEE ALSO:

  • Art Biz Coach: Alyson Stanfield is an art business consultant and author of I’d Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion
  • The Abundant Artist: Cory Huff offers hundreds of free blog posts, podcast episodes, and instructional videos on selling art online

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

Chris Guillebeau

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

Quote of the Day
"A driving force in my teaching is getting an excited email from a student who made their first sale online. I’m so stoked I can help artists turn their art into a business. It makes everything worth it."
—Chris Wilson #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

Supporting the sponsors keeps the show free. Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Skillshare. 📷

Skillshare is giving Side Hustle School listeners 2 months of unlimited access—for $0.99! Join the 2 million students learning everything from street photography to SEO on Skillshare today!
Get Started Here!

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.


Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau