5 Ways You Can Generate $5,000 Quickly as an Artist or Musician

I am very excited to share that registration is open for my annual online season kick-off party that is “Thrive-Fest”.  This is a free 4-day fall goal-setting and planning challenge where we will take a look at the puzzle that is your life and figure out the most important goals to focus on this year. When you register, you’ll get an email prompt from me each morning starting TOMORROW! September 17-20 with that day’s exercise and prompts, and then I will be doing a short, 30-45 minute live session each day as well to take a slightly deeper dive and answer any questions you may have. If you can’t be there for the live sessions, don’t worry–you know we’ll make those recordings available to you. 

Anyway, I hope you’ll join us–this is for anyone interested in making some changes to their lives, and careers, setting and crushing some big goals, or just wanting to do a little reset at the start of this new academic year. You can register right HERE–it takes 2 seconds to register. Two seconds that will lead to you having a mind-blowingly successful year. 

Today’s episode is from a blog post I wrote 2 years ago that gets, to this day, a ton of traffic. It’s something that, I think ALL of us have encountered at some point in our lives: Wanting (or needing) to do something important but feeling like we can’t afford it. I offer some really practical and tactical suggestions on how to overcome it, which many Tales from The Lane blog readers have told me have “actually worked!” Yeah–no kidding! I am offering them to you because they worked for me, too! 

But more than that, I think people have found that the article helped them with an important mind-shift from “I’m not wealthy–I’m not the kind of person who can afford things like this.” to a more simplified and objective: This thing costs X amount of money, so I need to go find X amount of money to pay for that thing. Done. It’s less about your identity as  “not a wealthy corporate exec who can afford luxury or bespoke experiences” or as” I’m a poor artist working 7 days a week to make ends meet. I can’t afford anything” 

All this to say, I hope this episode is helpful to you–whether you are in need of some quick cash, or you just need a little identity/mindset shift around finances. 

Scene: A 14-year-old, promising young cellist named Kate is told by her teacher that she really needs to attend her first big summer festival that year. The festival in question was 6 weeks long, and cost a lot of money. Money that we simply didn’t have, according to my mom. Her answer was quick and clear: 

 

“No. We don’t have that kind of money.”

 

My dad, however, had a different take. I mean, we still didn’t have that money just lying around, but his attitude was: 

 

“It’s only money. You can always make more.” 

 

And he looked in the paper for a part-time job. He found one driving a newspaper delivery truck and did that for a few months until he had made enough to cover the fees. (thanks, dad!)

 

 

That festival changed everything for me–the teachers I got to work with, the friends I made, and having that “brand name” on my resume work their magic to this day, and I will always be grateful that he made the sacrifice of his time and energy. Mostly, I’m grateful that he taught me that there is always a solution to be found when it matters. 

And now that I’m on the OTHER side of it. The side that my teacher was on when she knew that going to a big summer festival would be the catalyst I needed to reach conservatory-level playing, I know the heartbreak she must have felt for me when at first, we said “No. We can’t afford it.” 

The heartbreak for me comes when I meet someone in a discovery call, and they’re desperate to do a program of mine like Creatives Leadership Academy or 1:1 work because they know it’s the exact thing they need to move the needle forward, but they can’t afford the fee. 

 

“I want to do this so badly, but I just don’t have the money.” Is something I hear a lot. 

 

 

Sometimes the money truly isn’t there. Sometimes the person just feels guilty spending it “on themselves” (forgetting that eventually, they’ll be bringing in MORE money for the whole family.) 

And I get it! The price tag on live coaching programs can be steep. I was recently asked to join one that costs $75,000 for a year! Yes–you read that correctly. 

I said no, but not because of the money. I said no because the coach’s area of expertise, though AMAZING, is not where I need or want to focus my growth this year. If they HAD been exactly what I needed right now? I would have found a way. I would have found a solution. Hell, I would have driven a delivery truck for a few months. 

 

“It’s only money. You can always make more.”

 

But I’d love to take a moment to show you how you can create a fairly significant sum of cash in a relatively short period of time, without having to resort to such extreme measures as my dad. 

You see, artists and creatives are actually at an advantage. For us, more money doesn’t always have to come from more time. People are willing to pay for our expertise; for the value we can bring to them–not the hours we spend giving it to them. Think about it– If you pay top dollar for the best hair stylist in town, do you really care if it takes them 2 hours or 20 minutes? As long as your hair looks great, right?

 

 

Here are 5 Methods I have used, and have seen others use successfully to bring in a quick influx of cash:

 

1. The Rinse and Repeat method: 

In the Rinse and Repeat method, you draw on what you naturally do well. The thing that comes easy to you. That could be a show that you put together–a solo recital if you’re a musician, an art workshop, a Salsa dance workshop, or a theater production that is highly mobile. and shop it around.

Churches, community centers, schools, house shows, anything within driving distance. You’ll need to sell 250 $20 tickets to make $5000. If you can do 8 shows, and get around 30 people to come to each one. You’ve got it. Raise the ticket price to $25, and you only need to sell 200. The show is the same each time, so you only need to create one thing. The work comes from the emails, phone calls, and promotion of the event, but the enormous bonus of all that work is that at the end of the day, not only do you have that $5000 you needed, but you have just grown your audience, created and strengthened important connections and relationships. Bonus: chances are, those places will be thrilled to have you come back again with your next creation. 

 

2. The Catch a Wave Method: 

This one is all about catching an incoming wave and adding your own knowledge and skills to that pre-existing event. Find out what events are happening in your industry soon, and then put together a workshop geared toward the people who would be participating in that event. Examples:  All-state ensemble auditions on the horizon? Teach a workshop for your instrument that goes over the piece, scales, and sight-reading, with mock auditions at the end. $150 per person for a half-day workshop? You’ll need 34 people to sign up. Or is there an upcoming open-call art show? Teach a framing workshop or an open studio day where you help people finish their pieces. Nutcracker auditions for the kiddos? You get the idea. Put yourself in the participants’ shoes. What are they nervous about? What is the missing piece of the puzzle for them? How can you help them get prepared?

 

3. The Slow Burn Method: 

The simplest method, but perhaps slightly less ground-breaking, is to take on another student or two. No matter what you teach–it can be a private piano student, or someone you tutor after school. Where you live, and who you teach goes into what you can charge for each lesson, but for many of my clients, taking on an additional 90 minutes of teaching per week brings in around $5000 over the 10-month school year.

 

4. The Elimination Method: 

I’m not going to take away your avocado toast or your coffee. (Believe me, I would NEVER take away someone’s coffee!) But most of us can “find” an extra $5000 by NOT spending it on certain things. When my husband and I cut out drinking for a month–which we do a couple of times a year, we end up saving about $1000 each time. That’s just one thing. I remember when I was early in my freelance life, a group of us always went out for dinner between the dress rehearsal and the concert. One time, though, a couple in that group whipped out a couple of sandwiches and some carrots and celery sticks. And said they’d meet up with us for a coffee later. They were saving up for a down payment on their first home and decided they would cut out eating out for a few months. It worked like a dream–they were able to add an extra $5000 to their down payment when they found their dream house.

Get creative with solutions, because little things really do add up. Can you use up all of those travel-sized hotel toiletries instead of buying new bottles of shampoo and conditioner? Can you go three months without buying any new clothes? See it as a fun challenge rather than a burden, and when you compare this month’s spending compared to last month’s, count the difference towards your $5000.

I’ll add a couple of other “found money” ideas here as well: Do you have things around the house that you could sell? Putting clothes and accessories that you no longer use (but are in good condition) up on Poshmark, or Selling that furniture that has been taking up space in your basement on Facebook marketplace–hell, have a yard sale! Especially if you live near a college town, people are often looking for inexpensive ways to furnish their new apartment, and it can add a few hundred dollars or more towards that $5000 goal. 

And, of course, looking through your monthly subscriptions. There was one period of time when I was freelancing that I was going to be traveling for most of two months. I put my gym membership on hold (I didn’t want to lose my amazing rate altogether, and by pausing it, I only had to pay a portion of my monthly fee) and I canceled other things that I knew I wasn’t going to be using over those two months. Every month, when I’m doing my personal and business finances, I look through all of those little payments to apple, google, and random apps and software that I needed for a season, and cancel them if I’m no longer using them.

 

5. Ask-and-You-Shall-Receive Method. 

Look into grants and professional development funds. The school where I taught in Boston helped pay the expenses of my CD recording project. Several clients have had PD funds awarded for their coaching work with me, and there are grants available for all sorts of projects. A quick google search will get you started and take you in the right direction of where to look, and of course, if you do work for an organization, ask about those PD funds!

 

 

Like I said before, I have used all of these methods myself with great success, and I have seen numerous clients use them with great success. If there is something out there that you would love to do “if only you had the cash”, I want to encourage you to get creative and have fun with this. 

How many money-making activities can you think of? What happens if you do some weekend car-washes with your kids, tutor some kids after school, take on 1 adult student who fits easily into your schedule, cut down on the grocery bill, put on a show or concert in a couple of different places? Take some never-wear-anymore favorites from your closet over to a consignment shop. Sell a few of the beautiful scarves you knit for fun in your free time. Have a houseplant sale with baby plants you propagated from your own. It all adds up. 

What happens if you:

• Do some weekend car-washes with your kids?
• Tutor some kids after school
• Take on 1 adult student who fits easily into your schedule
• Cut down on the grocery bill
• Take some never-wear-anymore favorites from your closet over to a consignment shop.
• Sell a few of the beautiful scarves you knit for fun in your free time.
• Have a houseplant sale with baby plants you propagated from your own.

Which one of these would work best for you? Have you tried any of them? Leave a comment and let me know. 

Because if there is something you want or need– if it’s calling to you and your gut is telling you that this is something that can really turn everything around for you. Then I’m here to say there are ways to come up with the money you need. There’s always a solution. 

“It’s only money. You can always make more.”

So whatever it is that is sitting there in front of you–waiting to change your life for the better, don’t let it pass you by! 

And don’t forget that my free annual online community challenge, Thrive Fest, starts up tomorrow, September 17th, and runs until Friday, September 20th. Over those 4 days, we’re going to set some big goals, and we’re going to plan your fall (or your year!) in a way that guarantees you will reach those big goals. And if any of those big goals and dreams that are rattling around in your head require a chunk of change that you don’t see in your bank account, well, now you have no excuses. Let’s go! Let’s make those dreams your new reality this year. 

All it takes to join us is a quick sign-up. You’ll get an email each morning from me with that day’s prompts and action steps, and then, if you’re free, you can join me for a quick Live session at 12 pm ET where I’ll do a deeper dive into the topic of the day and share my own process of goal setting and yearly planning. On Friday, we’ll do more of a Masterclass type setup where you can get in-the-moment coaching from me on your ideas, goals, and the obstacles that might be standing in your way. 

Thrive Fest is one of my favorite times of the year, not only do we have fun, but people come away with deeper clarity about how they want this year to go, and what they need to do to make that happen. So sign up today so that you don’t miss any of it. And if this week is just jam-packed for you? Sign up anyway and save the emails and video recordings for when the time is right. 

I’ll see you soon, my friend! Have a great one. 

Cheers!

Kate

P.S. Interested in working together this year?  Creatives Leadership Academy is open for enrollment! If you’re wondering if this is the right program for you, book a call SOON so we can chat about it! I’d love to help you reach those goals this year, and CLA or 1:1 coaching might just be the thing for you.