CREATIVE BUSINESS: HOW MUCH MONEY DO I MAKE AS A CALLIGRAPHER?

If someone told you they were quitting their high-paying corporate law job to become a calligrapher… what would you think?

“Well, they won’t make nearly as much money, but at least they’ll be happier…”

Yeah… that’s what I thought as well.

UNTIL THE NUMBERS PROVED ME WRONG!

2019 was my 4th year as a full-time calligrapher. I’m going to compare my earnings to what I made in my 4th year as a lawyer.

Ready for some real numbers?

Now, let’s break it down…

1. PRE-TAX WAGES V. TOTAL REVENUE

When a lawyer tells you they have a $200K base salary…. that sounds pretty damn amazing.

But remember, that’s PRE-TAX. And at that level, you pay a lot of taxes (depends on your individual situation and location, but 30% is a conservative estimate).

Likewise, TOTAL REVENUE is just the total amount of money a business brings in. Then you have to subtract expenses, taxes, and all that jazz.

Still… I made more money with my calligraphy business in 2019 than I ever thought possible. Because I didn’t know anyone making a great living running a creative business.

But now YOU do ;)

 

2. POST-TAX WAGES

This is where we get real. This is what I actually put in my pocket at the end of the year.

Now, you might be looking at $140K vs. $80K and saying… “CLEARLY you made more money as a lawyer, Shinah.”

But, let’s look at the number of hours I worked.

 

3. HOURS WORKED

In my 4th year of law, I “billed” 2400 hours. That’s fancy lawyer talk for the hours of legal work that I could actually charge clients for.

That doesn’t include the hours I spent commuting, the hours I spent on work I couldn’t bill clients for - like admin, organizing, waiting around for a 10pm meeting with my boss, doing pro-bono work, recruiting new attorneys to my law firm, and so on and so on…

So I estimate that I actually put in 3200 hours at work. WHICH IS FUCKIN’ INSANE!

That’s the equivalent of working 9 hours a day, 365 days a year. No weekends. No vacations.

Now, in my 4th year of my calligraphy business?

I worked about 6 hours a day, took every weekend off, and spent 4 solid weeks on vacation.

Which one sounds better to you?

 

4. WAGES PER HOUR

So here’s the number that actually shocked me. I made more PER HOUR running a calligraphy business than I did as an attorney in a top international corporate law firm.

PLUS, I spent 3 years in law school before starting work as an attorney. AND came out of law school with almost $200K in DEBT. Which means I was paying $500/month just for my loans.

You know what else is crazy? I now charge anywhere from $150-200 per hour for calligraphy work.

You known what contract attorneys typically get paid? About $150 per hour.

 

Why am I telling you all of this?

To call BULLSHIT on the “starving artist” story that we’ve all heard.

To let you know that it’s POSSIBLE to follow your creative dreams and still make MONEY. While working fewer, way more enjoyable hours.

I’m not saying that ALL calligraphers make more than lawyers. Some calligraphers make way less. Some lawyers don’t make very much money at all.

But I want you to have a concrete example of a CREATIVE who is NOT STARVING.

I want you to start to believe that this could be a viable path for you. So that you actually follow that creative tug on your heartstrings. Instead of pushing it down because “there’s no way to make money with calligraphy.”

I’m proof that there is.

So what are you waiting for? Follow your creativity. Get started. See what happens.

You might be absolutely shocked in four years =)

 

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