Minisode #2: Diversifying Income Streams and More!

Episode Summary:

In this episode, I answer your calls about why I make the show, what i've learned about myself, and a few tips for diversifying your revenue streams as an artist! If you want to have your questions answered next — call or text (305) 985-3729.

• Question #1: What are you learning during these discussions about yourself as a latinx artist?

• Question #2: And what are you personally seeking out of [Draws in Spanish]?

• Question #3: Do you have any tips for diversifying income streams as an artist?

• Question #4: how does being part of the illustration community change your life for the better?

Episode Links

⚡️ Connect with the Community: Join the FREE Discord or Patreon

🍊 Host Links: Follow Fabiola on Instagram, Youtube, & TikTok

☎️ Caller Links: Danny Brito, Hallye Webb, & Nate G.

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  00:00:10:04 - 00:00:42:07

  Speaker 1

  Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of [Draws in Spanish]. I'm your host, Fabiola Lara. I'm a Chilean American illustrator based in Philadelphia. In case this is your first time tuning in. Usually I have interview episodes where I interview LatinxX visual artists about their identity and their creative career. But on this episode, you guys, I'm going to do a Q&A mini episode answering some of your questions that I got on the draws in Spanish hotline, which actually let me tell you what that hotline is.

  00:00:42:07 - 00:01:07:06

  Speaker 1

  In case you want to kiss, you want to call in yourself. It's 3059853729. So if you have a question for me about, you know, freelance having a creative career being and I guess the mixture of all of those things, call me at 3059853729. You can also text me, but if you call me, I'll play it on the show.

  00:01:07:06 - 00:01:15:09

  Speaker 1

  So that's a little bonus. Okay, let's get into our first call for the day. Let's go. Let me play this here for you.

  00:01:17:00 - 00:01:50:08

  Speaker 2

  Hey, Dad, this is Lauren. I'm a creator based in Brooklyn, and I found this podcast to be absolutely incredible, which I have already expressed via an email to you. But to all who are listening, let's just say it was quite the love letter. Join the Patreon if they deserve that. So my question is, I'd love to know what your experience thus far has been as a host of jobs in Spanish.

  00:01:51:00 - 00:02:27:08

  Speaker 2

  What are you learning during this discussion and about yourself also on that? Have there been any unexpected discoveries? Are there any topics where you're getting a sense there's some real truth been uncovered? You know, on all 28 episodes and how is it going? How have you evolved and what are you personally seeking out of all of that? So that's a very broad trail of questions.

  00:02:27:08 - 00:02:31:04

  Speaker 2

  But the curious like, thank you for all you do.

  00:02:33:19 - 00:02:54:15

  Speaker 1

  All right, you guys, this is an amazing question coming from Lauren around here. She is on Instagram. I'll drop her handle right here, but it's literally Lauren at Lauren, Jonquil and Olivera. And so if you are watching on YouTube, you'll be able to see it. And I'll leave it in the show notes for you because she's an amazing artist herself.

  00:02:55:04 - 00:03:15:07

  Speaker 1

  All right, Lauren, this is a really good question. What have I learned is my experience as a host of yours in Spanish, Honestly, I've learned that, like, I love talking to people. And, you know, in the first season, I was extremely nervous to talk to artists, you know, because I admire all of these artists that I have on the show.

  00:03:15:15 - 00:03:39:15

  Speaker 1

  And so I was like really kind of nervous and a bit jittery and a bit maybe planning some like extremely intellectual questions and stuff. I mean, not that intellectual, let's be honest, but you know what I mean? Like, I was trying to ask like really deep questions and now I kind of just approach it as a actual conversation in or obviously I know a lot about the person, but I'm just really curious to hear what they have to say and how they're thinking.

  00:03:39:15 - 00:03:59:09

  Speaker 1

  And that's what I want to shine a light on, because I think once they get to that, that's like what is kind of like the fun part of the conversation as opposed to having like a really proper Q&A where I'm just hitting them with question after question after question and leaving like no room for like, you know, thinking out loud and ranting and that kind of thing.

  00:03:59:15 - 00:04:28:22

  Speaker 1

  So I kind of just learned that like, I really like talking to people and I'm not that scared of doing it as I kind of thought it was, or I kind of was nervous in the beginning, and I've lost that. So I've just learned to be a more confident, I guess, conversational host, if that's a word. And then what I've learned about myself is this podcast has really given me the confidence to understand that being a Latina is like totally defined by what you want.

  00:04:28:22 - 00:04:56:00

  Speaker 1

  So you can be Latin however you want. So I think that's really endearing. And I think at first I knew that, but like, I maybe didn't like like I knew it verbally, but I didn't like, feel it. And now I really feel that because I feel like every single time I have someone on the show, whether they're like recent immigrants or they like have lived the majority of their life here in the U.S., like I have, like we all share a lot of different experiences.

  00:04:56:20 - 00:05:14:09

  Speaker 1

  And I think those differences are cool. And I think it makes us who we are. And so I just really learned to like I guess I've learned a bit of self-acceptance throughout the show, which is an amazing side effect, honestly, and I hope a lot of you guys are also experiencing that. And when I say you guys, I mean a gender inclusive.

  00:05:14:10 - 00:05:42:10

  Speaker 1

  You guys, by the way, like dudes or something, which to me is gender inclusive. Anyway, a different conversation. But yeah, I kind of just learned just to be just to accept myself more as this. Like a Chilean American person who grew up only in the U.S. and who, like, you know, I grew up here, but I was born in Chile and it's just like, that's totally fine and doesn't mean I'm not Chilean or I'm not American.

  00:05:42:10 - 00:06:11:08

  Speaker 1

  I'm this like little hybrid. And that's just my reality. And that's like, totally fine. I don't need to, like, overcompensate in any way or the other. I can just be me. And that's like, just sweet, you know? I don't have to. I've never felt the need to, like, be overly Latina to, like, make up for, I don't know, lack of Latina because I'm not in Chile, because I just don't feel like that.

  00:06:11:16 - 00:06:29:18

  Speaker 1

  That's natural to me, right? Like, and I'm very confident with where I am with my Latin identity, which is just like, yeah, I grew up there. I mean, yeah, I was born there, I grew up here, I know Spanish. Like I don't fit into a lot of stereotypes and like, that's the way I want it. So I feel like I've really learned a lot of that.

  00:06:29:18 - 00:06:48:18

  Speaker 1

  And I hope if you guys have thoughts on those, please text or voicemail them to the hotline because this is a conversation I feel like I could talk a lot about, but I don't want to bore you guys. And now what am I seeking to do? Withdraws in Spanish. Simple question, simple answer. I really want to build community.

  00:06:48:18 - 00:07:13:05

  Speaker 1

  I want to connect us all so that I can inspire like so that I can help inspire other Latin X artists at any stage of their lives. Because I think like being an artist is already super like a risky and kind of controversial because it's not like being a doctor. What's like a career path and secure and chill and like whatever.

  00:07:13:05 - 00:07:37:04

  Speaker 1

  It's not the most traditional career path to take. So with this show, I just want to a build community by, first off, connecting with other Latinx artists, connecting us all together, and the discord chatting with you guys, supporting one another, and inspiring those who are kind of on the outskirts and maybe they're like teeter tottering or they've always thought about it, but they were unsure.

  00:07:37:04 - 00:08:09:23

  Speaker 1

  I think that's literally the mission of this show. I mean, if I could monetize a show just enough so that it wasn't jaded because I put a ton of time into like sourcing, sourcing interviews, sourcing gas, coordinating the schedules, research, editing, distributing, and then promoting every episode with like content for social media and then and then a post and then a real and then I'd take talk like it's a lot of work and I love it.

  00:08:09:23 - 00:08:35:13

  Speaker 1

  So like, I don't mind doing it. It's really fun for me. But at the same time, like the amount of energy and time I put into it, it would be nice if it was like a little bit financially sustainable or lucrative, just so that I don't get like, resentful and jaded from the whole thing. You know, like putting your heart and soul into something and feeling like it's taking away from like what you could be doing for your art, or you could be doing like a million other things.

  00:08:35:13 - 00:09:02:09

  Speaker 1

  You could be doing that maybe are a little more lucrative. And I only say that because as an artist, you have to be mindful of these things like we live in reality and time, you know, time is precious. So that would be a cool. But my biggest my biggest mission is to have the show just feel like a little community for us because I would do that and I am doing that for for no financial incentive, you know what I mean?

  00:09:03:07 - 00:09:19:14

  Speaker 1

  I just really think it's necessary and I want it to exist like really badly. And so every time I put out an episode, it's like in the name of God, in the name of community, in the name of like showing up for you guys. So hopefully you guys can show up for me and for each other. And yeah, it's like the whole point.

  00:09:20:03 - 00:09:29:18

  Speaker 1

  So I hope that answers your question. Lauren, thank you for calling in. Everyone go follow her. I'll leave the link in the show notes. All right. On to our next question.

  00:09:30:10 - 00:09:56:18

  Speaker 2

  I have Natalia and I have two questions for you. The first one is what are you besties about? Monetizing our illustration skills and expanding our revenue streams? And the second question is how does being part of our illustration community change your life for the better? Or how do you feel that you have impacted the illustration community in a positive way so far?

  00:09:57:12 - 00:10:03:00

  Speaker 2

  Thank you. I love your podcast. I mean, love everything you do, specifically buying.

  00:10:04:14 - 00:10:31:15

  Speaker 1

  Natalia, thank you so much for your call. This was a call from a previous guest of the show. Natalia got an update there. You can find her at now. Send me on Instagram. This is such a good question. Okay. So the first question you had was like tips for revenue for revenue streams. And just like monetizing your illustration skills, this could rightfully be an entire podcast episode all on its own.

  00:10:31:22 - 00:11:00:12

  Speaker 1

  But briefly, because this is a mini episode, so I don't want it to be an hour long. Yes, yes. You should be monetizing your illustration skills and expanding your revenue streams. Now, my tips for this is that it's kind of a long game overall. Like you don't have to start with every stream all at once. A Because that's impossible and B, because it's not like sustainable to do either.

  00:11:00:20 - 00:11:19:23

  Speaker 1

  So what I would say is that I kind of break down the revenue streams into three categories. So I would say your first category is like the short game. So like what you can do kind of quickly independently and kind of maybe make some quick, quick money, quick money in return. And that would be having an online shop.

  00:11:20:09 - 00:11:39:03

  Speaker 1

  Obviously, this is still a ton of work. It's not like instant money, but you can make products by yourself. You can think of them on your own, produce them with a you can either send like if you have stickers, you can send them off to people to get printed or if you want to make prints, you can make prints at home.

  00:11:39:03 - 00:12:01:12

  Speaker 1

  You can even make stickers at home. If you have like a cutting machine. So that's why I mean, it's like a short game. It's like kind of very a lot more quick and in your control so you can make products and then sell them, right? So that having an online shop is one kind of revenue stream. And if you even want to make it even simpler, you can make digital products and then sell digital products.

  00:12:01:18 - 00:12:32:05

  Speaker 1

  And that's like another way to make money that maybe is a little bit less hands on. I'm not saying it's passive money. Nothing is passive money, guys. Okay, like debunk that from your brain. If you're getting passive money, tips on tech talk like you're getting lied to. You're you're being scammed in one way or another because everything requires time and effort, especially when it comes to your illustration work like you don't want to make it super cheap and then like devalue the worth of your illustration work, right?

  00:12:32:05 - 00:12:57:20

  Speaker 1

  So don't fall into those traps. Okay? I'm just saying that because I've seen a lot of that on Tik Tok. But what I'm saying is short game is having an online shop with either physical or digital products that you can basically sell continuously and get some money in. The downside to this is it does require an investment like you need to produce the products and again, it digital products and it doesn't take much money to create them.

  00:12:58:15 - 00:13:14:19

  Speaker 1

  But you're going to have an online shop at least and that takes a little bit of money to open an online shop, whether it's on Etsy or whether it's on your own platform or whatever. And which one I recommend really depends on your situation. So if you want that to be an episode, text the hotline and let me know and I'll make it.

  00:13:14:19 - 00:13:41:06

  Speaker 1

  But okay. So short game, having an online shop does require an investment. You can either do digital products, physical products, and you could even do Dropshipping. Is it my number one recommendation? No, because you don't get a lot of money from Dropshipping. But like if you're limited, if you're traveling, if you don't have a lot of space for holding inventory, if you don't have a lot of money to invest in inventory, you know, Dropshipping Dropshipping is an option out there.

  00:13:41:06 - 00:14:05:00

  Speaker 1

  So that would be like the short game in my mind, right? Then the other option you have is to take on commissions and I mean more like client commissions, not so much personal commissions. I would call this like the medium game because it does take time to put together a portfolio that's like strong enough to gain interest from clients and for them to hire you.

  00:14:05:00 - 00:14:33:15

  Speaker 1

  So this is kind of like it's not going to be instant. Like you you publish your portfolio, you're not going to start getting like a million inquiries right from the start, right? You publish your portfolio, the outreach to people where it makes sense and eventually you'll get something right. That's the goal. And the reason I call this like the medium game is because it can take a while for you to not only get the inquiry, but then book the job, do the work, and then wait 30 or 60 days to get paid.

  00:14:33:22 - 00:15:09:03

  Speaker 1

  So this is medium, medium game. Then you have the long game for revenue and for diversifying your income, which is the content game. This is YouTube podcasts, Patriots affiliate links, all of this stuff that revolves around content that you can make money from your content. This is the long game because it's true in this day and age in in modern day internet, you can make money from having a following that's dedicated and loyal, just having followers as a number that's not going to make you money, but having a following.

  00:15:09:03 - 00:15:26:01

  Speaker 1

  That's a community that they're listening to you, you're listening to them, you really understand them. They really understand you. They they trust you. They like you. That there's that like no, like trust principle of marketing. That really applies here, too. If you don't if you don't know about it, you can Google it. And I'm going to rant about no, I trust.

  00:15:26:18 - 00:15:50:20

  Speaker 1

  But if you have that set up, then yeah, eventually, right? Like a year, maybe two years after you start building your online presence, you might be able to start monetize it by creating reels for other brands, by creating tech talks for brands, by by having sponsors on your YouTube channel, by having a patron that's really sustainable and that gives you like a solid amount of money every month.

  00:15:50:20 - 00:16:10:17

  Speaker 1

  There are some amazing creators doing that. So I feel like that's kind of the long game because you have to really build that up from the ground. And so that's the long game and those are three different ways that you can expand your revenue streams. Obviously, they all take different amounts of commitment. My biggest tip is start small.

  00:16:10:17 - 00:16:28:23

  Speaker 1

  Start with what you can manage now and then slowly build it up. You don't have to have everything launching all at once, you know. And if you have a shop you don't need to update every single month. You might be able to just have an ongoing collection and add products in and take products out. A lot of different guests on the show have talked about this.

  00:16:28:23 - 00:16:48:23

  Speaker 1

  I know, you know, Natalia talked about her online shop on the show. I think Danny Brito also talked about his online shop on the show. I have I think each sale talked about their online shop on the show. So like, go check out those episodes and hear what they have to say about running an online shop. It it all comes with its ups and downs.

  00:16:49:17 - 00:17:09:19

  Speaker 1

  So Mauricio Mauro also talked about running an online shop. And so, yeah, there's a lot of different things that you can do. And sometimes by making products, maybe a client will eventually reach out to you, right? Like if you make a ton of amazing prints, maybe there is a company who wants to commission your prints for a larger run for their stores or whatever.

  00:17:09:19 - 00:17:28:14

  Speaker 1

  So, you know, they all kind of feed into each other. And I think it's just about starting small and just like kind of testing things out. You can really play with it. It's your business and a lot of business is trial and error. Obviously you don't want to do like a major mess up or like you lose a ton of money or something.

  00:17:28:22 - 00:17:49:04

  Speaker 1

  So start small. That's like the biggest thing I've heard on the show is like everyone starts off making like a small run of stickers and it goes well. So they make more and they make a lot tape. Eventually, you know, they mean like to start with with what's what you can and don't kind of stop yourself now just because you like can't make washes stickers while she tape today.

  00:17:49:11 - 00:18:06:15

  Speaker 1

  You know like you don't have to start with your biggest idea You can start with like a totally okay idea and not like your greatest idea ever. That's maybe be a step because I think a lot of people get stuck like being like, I need a great, amazing idea for either this product or for this commission or for content.

  00:18:06:15 - 00:18:29:19

  Speaker 1

  And it's like, no, you can just start with kind of like any idea and you'll eventually build that muscle up so that you get better and better at either running a shop or doing your commissions or having amazing content. So just start now, experiment, stay consistent and just like slowly build on it over time. That's like my biggest tip and it's something that I am trying to practice myself.

  00:18:30:04 - 00:19:01:14

  Speaker 1

  For your second question, which is how has being a part of the illustration community changed my life? All my life, it's changed my life entirely. I mean, making art friends on the Internet, starting on Tumblr, then on Instagram, like they have always encouraged me and helped me out and been like, Yeah, that's a good idea. And sometimes like you have a just okay idea like I was talking about before and you just need someone to be like, Yeah, it's a good idea for you to go and put it out there into the world for a comic, for a sticker, for whatever.

  00:19:01:14 - 00:19:17:21

  Speaker 1

  And I think like, I vividly remember, like I made one sticker in college and then my friend was like, Those are funny. I like, Can I sell those on my online shop? Because she had a online shop where she sold stickers for other people. And so I sent her a bunch of stickers and she sold them for me.

  00:19:18:05 - 00:19:38:08

  Speaker 1

  And that was like all the encouragement I needed. Izzy, if you're hearing this, I'm going to send you this episode so you can make sure you hear it, but just having art friends that like, encourage your ideas no matter how little they are, no matter where you are, a lot where you are along your creative journey or it makes me like so happy and warm and fuzzy.

  00:19:38:16 - 00:20:00:23

  Speaker 1

  And even now to this day, like if I have a cool campaign with people, with someone, I have my friends that like comment on it and help me out. And I just think like having people that just reassure you, validate you, help you up along your creative journey is like so key. And that's also one of the reason I made the show was so I can bring people on, type them up.

  00:20:00:23 - 00:20:19:16

  Speaker 1

  You like your career is amazing. Like look at everything you've done. Learn from them. Hopefully you guys learn from them too, and just have like just more context for everyone than what than what you just see on Instagram. Because sometimes what you see on Instagram, it just feels like someone is so far ahead of you or whatever in their creative career.

  00:20:19:16 - 00:20:44:18

  Speaker 1

  And then by having them on the show, I'm able to break everything down a little bit, kind of demystify it and just show hopefully, I hope, show people that it's like not so out of reach as they thought. And that's kind of what the community does for me is just being like encouraging me. I have so many different friends, Grace Candle, I'd sell so many friends that just encourage me and give me like a pat on the back when I'm freaking out.

  00:20:45:04 - 00:21:02:22

  Speaker 1

  And yeah, everyone Uncle Lube, I'm just like, I need that. And you kind of need that as an artist because it's such a vulnerable career, like making work from your heart. And then like, if no one likes it, it hurts. You know? You need good friends to surround you. And I hope that I'm doing that for the community.

  00:21:02:22 - 00:21:23:00

  Speaker 1

  And the community is definitely doing that for me. So if, you know, if you feel discouraged in your art, go make some art friends and help each other out and boost each other up because it is a long game like I said earlier about the revenue streams, all of it is a long, long, long game. And then you also said like, how do I feel that it impacted the illustration community?

  00:21:23:21 - 00:21:40:09

  Speaker 1

  I think I have in a small sense, like hopefully just by the people who listen to the show and maybe just didn't think that there was a lot of Latina artists out there or just followed like a small amount of them or did it, you know, I hope that I'm showing them like, look at all the different possibilities that you can take.

  00:21:40:16 - 00:21:57:18

  Speaker 1

  Look at all the different routes you could take. You be a designer, you can be an illustrator, you can be a commercial illustrator, editorial illustrator. That's kind of what I'm focusing on right now with the show. But like just showing people the different routes that you can take to become a creative person as a Latin artist, that's kind of my contribution to the community.

  00:21:57:18 - 00:22:15:14

  Speaker 1

  And I think, you know, based on the response I'm getting from you guys, you like it and you craved it. And I'm happy that I can do this for you. But yeah, that's basically it. Natalia, thank you so much for your questions. You guys go follow her at Nats and me on Tik Tok on Instagram. Go for her.

  00:22:15:14 - 00:22:48:15

  Speaker 1

  Her work is super cute and like very in tune with nature and stuff. All right, everyone. That's all I have for you today. Thank you once again to Lauren and Natalia for calling in and asking some amazing questions. I hope that everyone benefited from hearing the answers. And if you listening, you have a question about being an illustrator, about having a creative career, about the podcast, about the show, about a guest, whatever it is, please call in to 3059853729.

  00:22:49:01 - 00:23:10:17

  Speaker 1

  That's 3059853729. To record your question, you can leave a voicemail and I'll play it on the show and be sure to leave your name and your handle if you want me to include that as a part of the mini episode or if you're feeling a little shy, which I would say like, Come on, don't be so shy. Like, I'm making the space for us.

  00:23:10:17 - 00:23:34:13

  Speaker 1

  Okay, But if you're shy, you can also text and then I'll read it out loud for you. So if you have a question, you can also text. I've been thinking about making an episode about overthinking and just like talking about maybe some tips that you can take to stop overthinking what it feels like, what other people like, what I've heard from other people about overthinking and putting that together into a little mini episode for you guys.

  00:23:34:13 - 00:23:54:21

  Speaker 1

  So if you want to drop your questions about overthinking anything that you have, please go ahead and text or call about that subject at 3059853729. All right. Thanks for listening. I'll see you next Tuesday for another episode by everyone. Have an amazing rest of your week bye!