By: Grand Bruit
Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2025
This is an art blog, but in this article, let’s talk business. So, art is a wonderful form of expression. Art can invigorate, it can cause all sorts of emotions. That’s why we love it so much. Art can also be cold, grey, transactional. That’s what happens when someone wants to make their passion for art a side hustle. But done right, going from amateur to entrepreneur can be pleasurable. Let’s develop a list of 6 ways to turn a passion for art into a side hustle.
Adopt A Follow-Through Mindset
When you’re half-way through a watercolor, you might look at it and see all the mistakes you’ve made. You might wonder, is this going to come out nice? Or is this watercolor going to be below average? Well, remember, you’re only halfway through. So that is equal to 50% complete. Try not to give up. Try to make it to 100% completion.
Think of it this way. 50% in high school is a D grade. That means you’ve failed. So with that in mind, if you’re 50% complete your watercolor, you can’t really judge at that point how it will turn out in the end. Why not try to complete it, and then you can decide if it’s worth displaying.
A good artist won’t rush his work. He may finish a piece after four hours straight of work. This might not sound like much, but it requires careful planning and structuring to work a piece for four hours. Sometimes a beginner will rush through, and much of the nuance of the piece is lost.
Be Disciplined
Keep in mind that being an artist is work. The artist will have to set aside time to set up the workspace at the start of the day and break down the workspace at the end of the day.
Also, art is delicate, watercolor paper is delicate. Artists need to care for and maintain their equipment, tools, and materials, because these are delicate.
And there will be good days and bad days. On the bad days, it will be important not to give up. A successful side hustle won’t be handed to us on a platter. There will be hurdles to overcome regularly. It will take weeks, even months, even years, to develop a successful side hustle. Accepting this is the first step.
Another reason why discipline will be critical is because there will be people who will tell us we’re making a mistake and wasting our time. It is quite a contradiction, how everyone loves art, yet at the same time dismiss anyone who wants to pursue art as wasting time that could be better used working a salaried job.
To be a disciplined artist also involves accepting that sacrifices will need to be made. There is the financial aspect that can be a true stress test. Let’s face it, there are businesses that make money without even trying. Art isn’t one of them. As mentioned, it could take years of intensive work for someone’s craft to be perfected. And there are so many things that need to get done when running a side hustle. Admin work, paper work, sales, marketing, book-keeping, etc. You will have to juggle all these processes while actually producing art and trying to keep a work-life-balance. Let’s be honest, you might have to sacrifice sleeping in late in the morning in order to get the job done. But it is well worth it.
Being organized can definitely help with being disciplined. So try to keep an up-to-date calendar to plan your work days. Try to keep your workspace orderly so as to reduce stress and increase well-being at work.
Another idea is to put your thoughts on paper throughout the day. Don’t keep it all in your mind. Because we tend to forget. And always forgetting and needing to try to remember can create unnecessary mental friction, and anxiety. So always try to keep on top of to do lists and purchasing lists, etc.
Another way to stay disciplined is to take a break every once in a while. This might sound counter intuitive but taking a short break to stand up and go get a drink of water or make a coffee can be strangely invigorating. It has for effect of making the work process more enjoyable, which will in turn cause the artist to return the following day to work. If it isn’t pleasant, motivating oneself to show up at the studio every day will be extremely difficult. So, while being disciplined, cut yourself some slack. We become artists to have freedom, so don’t beat yourself up like a rented mule.
Set Limits
The best way to make sure that a side-hustle doesn’t collapse in the first six months or first year, is to set limits mentally, socially, and physically.
Let’s start with the “physical limits” so to speak. This involves your physical wellness. For instance, sometimes we try to ignore the fact we haven’t had breakfast and we’re wondering if we should skip lunch too. Just ignore the hunger maybe. Well, the problem with that is we are misjudging our priorities. Work is definitely important, but you have the right to your 30 minutes for lunch, or one hour for lunch.
It’s true, work is a gift, it is so enjoyable to have a flow on the go and be in the zone, work-wise. But the truth is, the fires that need to be put out can wait till after lunch. You have the right to a 30 minute lunch. Remember that. Be kind to yourself.
From an artist’s perspective, this is so important. As artists, we typically don’t have a huge staff to work with. We have to wear all the hats. And that can be overwhelming when planning the day. There are only so many hours in a work day.
The truth is, there will always be work, work can wait till we’re finished lunch. This can be extremely stressful if a person puts way too much pressure on themselves. This is where it’s so important to remain calm cool and collected. Because if the work becomes too much to handle and we put too much pressure on ourselves, we will be crushed under the weight.
So to bring it full circle, try to set limits on how much pressure you put on yourself. Try and relieve pressure each day. Whether that’s taking a walk. Whether that’s meditation. Whether that’s listening to your favorite Apple Music playlist. Sometimes it’s eating a good meal. Talking to a trusted friend. Stepping away from the easel and doing something else for a moment. It’s all valid. This leads well into our following tip: Be a sober-minded entrepreneur.
Be A Sober-Minded Entrepreneur
This involves separating emotional reality from fact-based reality. This is much easier said than done and we constantly see companies fail because of this. But I have a special tip that can enhance entrepreneurial sober-mindedness.
The tip is as follows: When we get news, whether good or bad, it has for effect of getting us all excited and we get a rush of emotion. In the heat of the moment, we are unable to adequately solve this math problem and give an accurate answer. So the solution is to wait, either 20 minutes, or maybe a few hours, or even a few days. Take the needed time, until the dust has settled so to speak, and look at the situation with a sober mind.
The problem is, many a-mistake has been made in the heat of the moment. Most of mankind’s mistakes have been made in the heat of the moment. If only we would wait until either the intense pleasure and excitement of the moment, or anger and rage, would diminish, the world wouldn’t have so many problems.
It is from sober-mindedness that good qualities like generosity and forgiveness are born.
To bring this full circle to our subject on being an artist-entrepreneur: artists are such passionate, driven individuals. This is a beautiful thing but this passion must be tempered with self-control in order to win at business.
It is like when walking our big pet dog in an urban area. Our passionate spirit is the dog, and the leash around its neck is the self-control. Dogs are, truly, man’s best friend. Don’t get me wrong. But there must be protocols because taking things to the edge and pushing the enveloppe can cause problems where everyone gets hurt. Let loose, the dog would be out of control and there is a risk of harm. As much as we all love freedom, there has to be a level of control of self and environment.
Evaluate Risk
It makes sense to understand what someone is getting himself into when making the choice to become an artist-entrepreneur. No doubt it can be totally fulfilling to be one’s own boss. It allows for more freedom and creative liberty. Less stress as well, because of no longer having the pressure of a supervisor dictating to us our deadlines and targets. As an artist we set our own deadlines and select our own daily priorities.
That’s all well and good, but there is more to it than that. There is a flip-side. The fact is, freedom is great, but on the other hand, a salaried job brings with it stability and security. So an adult needs to evaluate all the angles before making the leap.
It is good to get all the facts because it is all too easy to give priority to our impulse to break free from the heavy yoke of our salaried job. But if we don’t understand the risks, we might end up with even greater problems if we hit setbacks or disappointments on our artistic journey.
Some of these setbacks could be our own doubts about our decision, or could be doubts about our talents as an artist, which could make us regret making such a hasty decision if things don’t go exactly according to plan.
Being a business owner isn’t for the faint of heart by any means. Sometimes it’s going to take long hours and self-discipline. Sometimes we will need to sacrifice leisure time to complete a project by a set deadline. We might even have to evaluate trade-offs regarding questions of whether we have time to go to the gym everyday, or on the other hand increasing productivity in our business.
Many people absolutely love going to the gym, it makes them feel alive, opens up the appetite, gives extra energy, allows a person to have a great night’s sleep. All these things are reasons why people absolutely love exercise, and we know we need it. But do we have the time to go to the gym every day? It would be ideal if we could do it. But sometimes there are trade-offs to be made that require us to decide to put the business first. It’s unfortunate really, but it’s reality.
Earn Trust And Don’t Break It
Many people don’t trust the business community nowadays because of certain business owners who employ dishonest practices and tend to be deceptive. It’s unfortunate because it often leads to these same entrepreneurs shooting themselves in the foot by trying to get ahead through lies and dishonesty.
A problem with this is, what could appear to be a “Get-Rich-Quick”-type of scenario could lead to years of legal issues, penalties, and a ruined reputation in the community. What first looked like a “Get-Rich-Quick” scenario has become a “Get-Wrecked-Quick” reality.
We see it in the news all the time, people who were once CEOs of large firms, but now are struggling to make ends meet, working in a grocery store deli because they have been shunned from the business community. It’s sad but we see it all the time. How much better to be mediocre yet still be an active business-owner and have a measure of respect from our peers.
Cheers
Grand Bruit
Grand Bruit 