Fashion Nova sells $1b yearly on Shopify
Shopify is a no code ecomerce and website building platform that is used by millions of small businesses, artists and organizations that need to build a website with commerce functionality, fast. Shopify Plus is also a platform that is used as the infrastructure for some of the biggest names in retail, connecting real time in-store inventory with online availability. Something that is maybe less known, are the success stories that built from Shopify basic, into billion dollar brands. One of the most notable successes is Fashion Nova.
Fashion Nova is a fast fashion brand founded in 2006, in Los Angeles. Fashion Nova is perhaps best known for, and really hit its stride, when it began reaching out on Instagram to create in-house fashion lines in collaboration with popular and upcoming entertainers and influencers.
These collaborations were a win win for the new Fashion Nova company and those that they created lines with. By collaborating with up-and-coming influencers, Fashion Nova was able to tap into new audiences easily and organically. These up-and-coming influencers likewise gained credibility with their following by dropping a clothing line with a third party company.
Possibly the best example of this is when Cardi B dropped an exclusive line with the fashion retailer. “Cardi teamed up with the viral brand Fashion Nova to launch her first clothing collection. Featuring pleather, crushed velvet, and plaid suits inspired by Clueless, a film that everyone seems to be copying lately, the line didn’t go on sale until midnight Pacific time. Yet all 82 pieces sold out in minutes,” outlines Vox.
This symbiotic approach has rewarded the company’s collaborators as well as the founder of the company. As reported by Forbes, “the fast fashion mogul is worth an estimated $1.4 billion. His fortune stems from his 100% ownership of the company, which does over $1 billion in annual sales, according to a person familiar with the matter. He also has a growing real estate collection, including several mansions in Los Angeles.
Saghian, 40, made his fortune by selling fast fashion to the Instagram set, tapping celebrities like Cardi B, Kylie Jenner and Nicki Minaj to showcase the hundreds of new styles that hit the site every week.”
When people think of companies that sell billions of dollars in product online, they may assume that those well capitalized companies have a completely custom built website hosted on its own platform. It may be less obvious that a company that clears a billion in sales every year is using the same technology that the independent book store around the corner is using. What is even more interesting that Fashion Nova started on Shopify, and continues to use Shopify well into its success.
As a takeaway, this shows that with modern technology and online tools, really anything is possible. While not everyone can collaborate with the Cardi B’s of the world, this example shows that with creative thinking, new markets can be created. Fashion Nova spearheaded its strategy of collaborating with up-and-coming influencers, which can be seen now with many traditional retailers. Again, you may not have access to a celebrity or notable influencer, but what you can do is think of an idea, then think of a novel way to help that idea grow. Luckily, today, the tools are available to make these ambitions a reality.
Learn to listen to yourself
With as much good information as there is out there, with the advent of the internet, there is just as much bad advice available. You can easily find recommendations to overwork yourself, to never stop for a break, to not listen to feedback, or calls to dive into another person’s business idea or trend to follow. This is ever present in the “hustle culture” corners of the internet, on crypto Twitter, and all over entrepreneurship YouTube. While it is a good thing to get advice from others, or to learn from another point of view, this can turn into a problem when someone is telling you exactly what to do (without even having met you or knowing your situation), or demanding that you spend money on something that seems too good to be true.
In actuality, when it comes to business or passion projects, you know best what to do for yourself. All you have to do is listen to yourself. If you don’t yet know how to listen to yourself, that’s completely fine, as it is a skill that takes fine tuning.
For every hustling entrepreneur online who is telling you the exact strategy of ‘how to make it,’ or demanding you pay up at the end of a video for special information that will bring you to the next level, there’s generally reason to be wary. Usually these are people that have never met the people they are giving advice to, and are generally giving trend-based advice that is absolutely not one-size-fits-all.
For every crypto enthusiast who is telling you that you need to go all in on bitcoin, or else you’ll end up broke, please do me a favor and run. While of course, taking the advice with a grain of salt is perfectly fine (go ahead and buy bitcoin if you can afford to lose whatever money you purchase the cryptocurrency with), what is generally not fine is one-size-fits-all advice. This is especially the case when it comes to trends, as they tend to be cyclical.
For every seemingly successful business coach on YouTube that is telling you to start a startup, so that you too can become otherworldly wealthy and have forever success, first ask yourself if the Lamborghini behind them is leased (or worse, rented).
Learn to listen to yourself. Take advice, learn from others, observe trends as they come and go, but ultimately, learn to listen to yourself. Listening to yourself is that moment when the voice in your head says, “is this a good idea?,” or “Is this for me?.” If you’re having that moment, that is a moment to pause and really consider what you’re doing and what you want in life. Do you have the stamina to build a startup on your own? If you do, congratulations. If not, that’s perfectly fine too. No matter how much someone says that you’re lazy or a failure will absolutely not change your inherent ability.
Listening to yourself is what will bring you to where you want to go. If you sense that you need to take a break, you likely need to take a break. If you’re feeling that what you’re working on isn’t what you truly want to do, then you may need to look within to figure out what your passions are. Ask yourself where you want to be in 5 years, 10 years, or however you see yourself when you’ll consider yourself to have “made it.” Once you have that answer for yourself, and not told to you by someone who is ultimately trying to sell you something, you will be able to make better decisions about your own future.
Repurpose old content as YouTube Shorts or Reels
The era of short-form video content is well already here and likely here to stay. Whether your favorite way to view short clips of video media is via the TikTok app, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, or somewhere else online or on your phone, short-form video content is having a moment. Moving images have been with us for a while. Gifs used to be the primary way to see a clip of something online, then videos limited to 6-15 seconds with Vine and Instagram, and now Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts are the name of the short-form game. If you aren’t already making this kind of content to market yourself or your business, you should be. That doesn’t mean you have to go all in and partake in trends, or begin dancing for strangers on TikTok. A simple way to start could simply to repurpose old video content that you already have, cutting it down to a bite-sized form.
If you already have video content that is relevant to yourself or your business, that you’ve already published, you can cut those pieces of video down to short-form bites of content that can be published as Reels, Shorts, or TikToks. This means that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, and you can get a head start on posting what is currently the most algorithmically favorable media to post.
Getting too in your head about “what is a TikTok?,” or “ how can I make a Reel?,” can be limiting. Instead, by figuring out the mechanics of these tools by using the video you already have will give you a leg up on what you should already be doing to promote yourself or your business.
Simply do this by taking a piece of video content that you already have, watch it in its entirety, then figure out the most meaningful or impactful 10-20 seconds. Use video editing software, or just your phone’s camera roll editor, and clip out the best parts. Once you have your clips, all you have to do is upload those clips as Reels, Shorts or TikToks.
After posting a few of these repurposed videos, watch your engagement metrics to see what your audience (or new audience) responds to the most. In a new format, you may find that your audience reacts differently to different things, especially in a “best of” or summary format.
As reported by Deadline, “a little more than 15% of a typical Instagram user’s feed is recommended by artificial intelligence from people, groups or accounts than the user does not follow, Zuckerberg estimates, much of it video. The company expects that number to ‘more than double’ by the end of 2023. ‘As our AI finds content that people will find interesting,’ the exec said, ‘that increases engagement and the quality of our feeds.’
Engagement with Reels, a short-form video outlet added to both Facebook and Instagram in response to the rise of TikTok, is has risen more than 30% across both platforms in the past quarter. CFO David David Wehner conceded that some of that increased engagement is ‘cannibalistic’ from other parts of the platform like Feed and Stories due to the strategy to promote Reels broadly to all users, though he maintained that viewing of Reels videos is ‘incremental and beneficial to time spent.’”
Posting video will ensure that your accounts keep up with the times on social media, meaning that your content won’t get left behind as these platforms evolve. While it is true that not everyone is a videographer or a video editor by trade, it is true that it’s becoming simpler and simpler to make short-form video almost by the day. Start out by repurposing old video content, posting, and see how your audience reacts. Once you figure out what your audience wants to see more of, then make a few new video posts on those topics here and there. As you get more comfortable with the tools, increase your frequency of posts. Again, none of this is new. Humanity has had moving images since 1878, when a photographer combined several images of a horse galloping to show the illusion of motion. TikTok, Reels and Shorts are no different. Start with what you have, then build from there.
What is no code?
If you’re reading this and can’t think of what the term “no code” means, you likely actually already know. No code is when you utilize technology that would have previously needed computer programming knowledge, except without needing to know how to code. The easiest way to communicate this phenomenon, and where it is most obvious, is when building a website on a platform like Squarespace, Shopify, Square, Wix, or otherwise another website builder that does a lot of the work for you. When building with these no code website builders, also known as “drag and drop,” most of the programming is done for you by the platform you’re using. This allows almost anyone to be able to build a website, ultimately expanding the amount of people who can build websites.
Before drag and drop no code platforms existed, it actually took a bit of technical knowledge to get a website up, running, and maintained. At the advent of the internet, this was especially the case. You would have to hand code every element of the website that you wanted to build, then figure out how to host that website’s code so that it could be accessible 24/7 on the public internet. For something that is so simple to complete now (today, you can feasibly get a simple website online within 10 minutes), it is almost alien to think of how specialized that knowledge used to be.
Nowadays you can even build entire apps with no code. With the service Bubble, you can even create an app almost indistinguishable from Uber and Airbnb, all without needing to know a single programming language. These Bubble apps are currently limited to web-only (meaning they won’t make it to the App Store just yet). Bubble uses the same drag and drop technology that something like Squarespace uses, just more in-depth, as there is more functionality to consider beyond a simple webpage.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t get an app on the app store with a no code solution. There are plenty of businesses that will build you a functional mobile app that can be placed on the App Store (you just have to communicate your designs and ambitions to those companies).
No code is a beautiful thing. It increases online accessibility to almost literally anyone. If you’re an artist that needs an online portfolio, you can create your own in a weekend. No longer do you have to hire someone to do that for you, saving money, and opening the opportunity to anyone with an internet connection and a credit or debit card. If you’re a small or new business, you likely don’t have a lot of spare time or money. Building your own website cuts down on expenses, while also giving you more control over how your business appears online to potential customers. No code is a great thing, and funnily enough, it’s likely something you’re already utilizing.
What is an Instagram Story?
An Instagram Story is a post that is only visible for 24 hours, accessible to your followers at the top of their Instagram Feed. Instagram Stories can either be a photo, created graphic, or 1-60 second long video. To create an Instagram Story:
1) Open the app.
2) Tap the Home button at the bottom of the screen if you are not already at your Instagram Feed.
3) Swipe right.
4) Either take a picture or video with the white button at the bottom center of your phone, upload an image or video from the button at the far bottom left of your phone.
You can also enter Create Mode by tapping the “Aa” button at the center left of your phone screen
You can make a Boomerang by tapping the infinity symbol at the center left of your phone screen
To create a photo grid, tap the grid button at the center left of your phone screen
Enter Hands-free mode by tapping the down arrow under the grid button and tap the “Hands-free” button
To take a photo with both your front and back facing cameras, tap the “Dual” button
When making a Story, you can turn your camera’s flash on or off, adjust settings and exit at the top of your phone screen. To try different filters, slide the circle buttons at the bottom (next to the white center button) to left and stop at whichever filter you want to use
5) Once you take your photo or create a graphic, you can edit it more, or post it by tapping the white circle button with a right facing arrow. After tapping the arrow button, share the Story by tapping the blue “Share” button when there is a blue circle to the right of your profile photo and “Your Story.”
Once posted, your Instagram Story will be visible to your followers and the rest of Instagram for 24 hours. People can see your Story by tapping your profile photo on your Instagram profile, or at the top of their Instagram Feed. Stories can be shared by other Instagram users as messages or re-shared as Stories. Stories can also be displayed on your profile as “Highlights” on your profile page.
Stories are a great way to communicate with your audience easily and in a low stakes way. Your Story post isn’t meant to stick around forever, as most expire after 24 hours, unless kept as a Highlight. You can announce limited time only sales with an Instagram Story, or give your followers a behind the scenes look at your business. Post as many Stories as you want, and they will be displayed in sequential order from oldest to most recent. Posting regularly is a simple way to stay engaged with your followers or customer base. By posting Instagram Stories you may even find new audience.
Square launches local delivery with Uber and DoorDash
Square is a company possibly best known for its credit card reader that attaches to smartphones, enabling small businesses, artisans and artists to transact in ways that had been only reserved for established business in the past. This product helped create a vibrant ecosystem of small businesses that would have never existed without the ability to tap into the modern payment system in an accessible way. Square has since launched a suite of business tools that create the scaffolding for any modern small business to succeed, like a website builder, estimates, invoicing, and banking. Recently, Square has launched the ability for its merchants to tap into Uber and DoorDash’s delivery network.
As explained on Square’s company blog, “Square has made delivering orders locally simple and easy for your business. With Square Online and On-Demand Delivery, a courier from a reliable local delivery service provider (e.g. Uber/Postmates, DoorDash) will be dispatched automatically to your business location to fulfill the local delivery. Customers can sign up for text alerts, which link to a live map for real-time order tracking.
With On-Demand Delivery, you won't have to pay commissions; just a flat fee of $1.50 per order. You can choose to cover the fee, pass the local delivery costs on to your customers, or cover local delivery for orders over a certain amount (e.g. free delivery for orders over $50).”
If you’re a small food business, you can use this new functionality to deliver meals right from your home kitchen. Effectively this means that your home cooking business can operate much in the way as someone ordering delivery from their favorite national franchise restaurant. If you’re a local retail boutique, you can now offer same day delivery to your customers at the tap of a button.
This means that as a small business, you can utilize the delivery networks that big box stores use, yourself. Square makes it simple to add this functionality to your online store, and even easier for your customers to get your goods delivered in a matter of minutes. In the era of Amazon one hour delivery, curbside pickup, or being able to order retail goods from delivery apps, Square has evened the playing ground a bit. Given your delivery radius, you can potentially even deliver goods faster than even the fastest Amazon delivery, and much faster than you would have been able to via traditional shipping methods. The great thing about all of this is that all you have to do is turn the feature on from your Square dashboard, and you’re in business.
Fall bulbs to plant for spring flowers in zone 5b
Springtime flowers are a beautiful way to be reminded of the upcoming warm seasons. Depending on the kinds of flowers planted, you can see blooms begin to form just as snow begins to melt, and with planning, you can stagger bloom times throughout the spring and early summer. Daffodils and tulips are easily thought of as bulbs that break through the soil in spring, but looking a little bit more in depth, there are many kinds of flowers that can be planted in autumn for a springtime show. For a technicolor display throughout the beginning of next year, try planting some of the bulbs listed below, as recommended by the University of Illinois Extension:
1) Giant Flowering Onion - Allium giganteum
Giant Flowering Onion - Allium giganteum
How to Plant: bulb; plant 6 to 8 inches deep and one foot apart in the fall
Habit: upright in foliage and flower
Foliage: bluish gray; strap-shaped; 18 inches long; 2 to 4 inches wide
Flower: pinkish purple; borne in dense globe-shaped cluster 4 to 6 inches across; flower stalk 3 to 4 feet tall; late spring to early summer
Culture: ordinary soil; full sun or partial shade; dramatic in flower - plant in clusters of 5 to 7 bulbs; usually planted in back of the perennial border; long-lasting as cut flower
2) Grecian Windflower, Green Anemone - Anemone blanda
Family: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup) Zone 6
How to Plant: tuberous root; plant 2 to 3 inches deep and 3 to 4 inches apart
Habit: mounded; less than 6 inches
Foliage: 1 or 2 dark green basal leaves; divided; dies down by midsummer
Flower: no true petals - has petal-like sepals; daisy-like flowers 1-1/2 to 2 inches wide; white, pinkish, blue and white; early spring
Culture: humus-rich, loamy soil; tolerated high pH; partial shade and protection from wind prolongs flowering
3) Glory-of-the-Snow - Chionodoxa luciliae
Glory-of-the-Snow - Chionodoxa luciliae
Family: Liliaceae (Lily) Zone 4
How to Plant: bulb; plant 3 inches deep and 3 inches apart in fall
Habit: upright; 3 to 6 inches
Foliage: grasslike; dark green; 2 leaves per stem
Flower: blue with white center; about 5 in a cluster; each flower 1 inch across; star-like flowers borne on a reddish stalk that extends above foliage; early spring
Culture: ordinary, well-drained soil; suitable for under-planting deciduous shrubs; plant in masses for immediate effect; will multiply slowly by self seeding
4) Crocus - Crocus species
Family: Iridaceae (Iris) Zone 4
How to Plant: corm; plant 3 inches deep and 4 inches apart in fall
Habit: upright; 6 inches
Foliage: grasslike; dark green; curved; silver striped down center of leaf; leaves shorter than flowers, then expand to 8 to 12 inches after flowering
Flower: 1 1 /2 to 8 inches long; white, yellow, purple or striped; usually borne singly; close at night or on cloudy days; spring
Culture: plant in well-drained soil; full sun or partial shade; may be naturalized in lawns if foliage is allowed to ripen properly
Note: There are 3 main groups of crocus: C. chrysanthus (Golden Crocus) flowers very early and has small flowers; C. vernus (Dutch Crocus) is most popular and has larger flowers (many named cultivars of crocus are in this group); the third group is comprised of botanic species, that tend to have small, brightly colored flowers. There are Crocus species that flower in autumn.
5) Winter Aconite - Eranthis hyemalis
Family: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup) Zone 4
How to Plant: tuber; plant 3 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart in early fall; soak tubers overnight before planting
Habit: upright; 3 to 8 inches
Foliage: basal; long petioles; deeply divided; leafy bract situated immediately under flower; actual foliage develops as flowering ends; dies down in summer
Flower: solitary; one inch across; yellow petallike sepals; very early spring
Culture: partial shade to full sun; well-drained, moist soil; plant in masses; good for naturalizing; will self-sow
6) Checkered Lily, Guinea-Hen Flower - Fritillaria meleagris
Checkered Lily, Guinea-Hen Flower - Fritillaria meleagris
Family: Liliaceae (Lily) Zone 4
How to Plant: bulb; plant 4 to 6 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart in early fall
Habit: erect; 9 to 15 inches
Foliage: few, alternate leaves; linear; 3 to 6 inches long
Flower: drooping; usually solitary; white or mottled and veined with bronze, gray, purple and white; 1-1/2 inches long; spring
Culture: full sun or light shade; moist, well-drained soil; propagate by dividing after foliage ripens
Note: Arelated species, F. imperialis (Crown Imperial), bears several pendant flowers atop a 2 to 4 foot stalk with a tuft of leaves at the top of the stalk; flowers are bright yellow or orange.
7) Common Snowdrop - Galanthus nivalis
Family: Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis) Zone 4
How to Plant: bulb; plant 3 inches deep and 3 inches apart in fall
Habit: upright; 6 to 8 inches
Foliage: 2 to 3 leaves; 1/4 inch wide; 6 inches long
Flower: white except for green crescent around the notch of inner floral segments; external floral segments longer than inner ones; flower drooping; 1/2 inch across; borne on slender stalk; very early spring; cultivars may have more green in flowers or be doubled
Culture: partial to full shade; moist, well-drained soil with high organic matter; naturalize in large drifts; propagate by dividing clumps immediately after flowering
8) Common Hyacinth - Hyacinthus orientalis
Family: Liliaceae (Lily) Zone 5
How to Plant: bulb; plant 7 inches deep and 6 to 9 inches apart in fall
Habit: upright; 12 inches
Foliage: 4 to 6 basal leaves; strap-shaped; margins upturned; 1 inch wide and up to 12 inches long
Flower: many flowers in showy, crowded, terminal raceme; individual flowers about 1 inch across; very fragrant; yellow, rose, pink, blue, salmon and white; mid-spring
Culture: full sun; good drainage; fertile soil amended with organic matter and sand; remove spent flower stalks; floral display gradually decreases each year - dig and discard bulbs as necessary; flowers too rigid for naturalizing; many named cultivars available
9) Dutch Hybrid Iris - Iris hybrids
Dutch Hybrid Iris - Iris hybrids
Family: Iridaceae (Iris) Zone 6
How to Plant: bulb; plant 5 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart in the fall
Habit: upright; 1-1/2 to 2 feet
Foliage: leaves almost cylindrical; up to 2 feet long; tips of leaves may tend to die back
Flower: 1 or 2 flowers; 3 to 4 inches across; white, yellow, orange, bronze, blue, purple or bicolor; late spring
Culture: full sun; well-drained soil; dry, warm soil in summer is ideal; good for forcing indoors
Note: Dutch Hybrid Iris originated by crossing Spanish Iris (Iris xiphium) with several other Iris species; Dutch Iris is a common cut flower used by florists
10) Common Grape Hyacinth - Muscari botryoides
Family: Liliaceae (Lily) Zone 4
How to Plant: bulb; plant 3 inches deep and 4 inches apart in early fall
Habit: upright; 6 to 12 inches
Foliage: 6 to 8 basal leaves; up to 12 inches long and 1/3 inch wide; dark green on lower surface; appear in autumn and remain green through winter; dormant in summer
Flower: 12 to 20 flowers in terminal cluster on leafless flower stem; each flower urn shaped and drooping; blue or white; 1/8 inch long; early spring
Culture: fertile, sandy soil in full sun or partial shade; plant in masses for best effect
Note: Arelated species, M. armeniacum, self seeds more aggressively and is more invasive.
11) Daffodil, Narcissus, Jonquil - Narcissus species
Family: Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis) Zone varies
How to Plant: bulb; plant 6 inches deep and 6 to 12 inches apart (smaller species bulbs require more shallow placement)
Habit: upright; 6 to 24 inches
Foliage: about 3/4 inch wide; up to 15 inches long; shiny green
Flower: one or several flowers to a stalk; 6 lower segments white or yellow; trumpet long and tubular or short and cuplike, white, pink, yellow, orange and orange-red; flowers single or double; extremely variable - Narcissus are grouped into 12 named divisions; early spring to spring
Culture: well-drained soil enriched with organic matter; divide every fourth year after leaves have died; easy to grow; remove faded flowers so they don’t set seeds
Note: The name daffodil applies primarily to flowers with large trumpets and can be used for all members of the genus; the name jonquil originally applied only to N. jonquilla, but now is usually applied to all jonquilla daffodils of garden origin (Division 7); the name narcissus is derived from the genus name Narcissus.
12) Siberian Squill - Scilla siberica
Siberian Squill - Scilla siberica
Family: Liliaceae (Lily) Zone 4
How to Plant: bulb; plant 3 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart in early fall
Habit: upright; 6 inches
Foliage: 2 to 5 grasslike, basal leaves; 6 inches long and 1/2 inch wide; blunt tipped and bright green
Flower: deep blue; bell shaped; 1/2 inch wide; in loose cluster of 3 to 5; 1 to 6 flower stems per plant; early spring
Culture: fertile, sandy soil in sun or partial shade; useful under deciduous shrubs and trees; plant in large masses for best effect; tend to colonize over time; suitable for naturalizing in the lawn (foliage matures quickly before turfgrass needs cutting)
13) Tulip - Tulipa species
Family: Liliaceae (Lily) Zone varies
How to Plant: bulb; plant 4 to 8 inches deep and 4 to 8 inches apart in fall; deep planting (within reason) discourages bulbs multiplication and encourages good-sized flowers for several years; species tulips usually require shallower planting
Habit: upright or clumped; 6 to 30 inches
Foliage: usually basal; thick bluish green; untoothed; 6 to 10 inches long; Kaufmanniana and Greigii hybrids often have burgundy-or purple-mottled leaves
Flower: usually solitary; erect; saucer-shaped; total of 6 petals and sepals (except doubles); multitude of colors and flower forms (there are over 400 named cultivars: common classes are Mendel, Fosteriana hybrids, Kaufmanniana hybrids, Greigii hybrids, Triumph, Darwin hybrid, Lily-flowered, Cottage, Rembrandt, Parrot, Double-flowered and Species tulips); early spring to spring
Culture: well-drained, sandy, humus-rich soil in full sun or partial shade; plant in masses; bulbs may be moved or discarded in midsummer after foliage has withered; some gardeners plant new bulbs each year; remove faded flowers to avoid seed set
What are microgreens?
Simply put, microgreens are the sprouts of plants, harvested before reaching full maturity. Microgreens are usually harvested within a matter of days after being planted. Instead of being planted out in a garden or within a container, with room to grow, microgreens are usually grown indoors on trays, under grow lights. These trays are overseeded, as the sprouts don’t need room to mature into fully grown plants.
As reported by Nutrition Facts, “USDA researchers recently published a study assessing the nutrition content of 25 commercially available microgreens, seedlings of vegetables and herbs that have gained popularity in upscale markets and restaurants. Just a few inches tall, they boast intense flavors and vivid colors, but what about their nutritional content? No one knew until this new study came out.
We’ve known that baby spinach, for example, have higher levels of phytonutrients than mature spinach leaves, but what about really baby spinach, just a week or two old?
Microgreens won hands down (leaves down?), possessing significantly higher nutrient densities than mature leaves. For example, red cabbage microgreens have a 6-fold higher vitamin C concentration than mature red cabbage, and 69 times the vitamin K.”
Microgreens can be used in almost anything. As a topping, as a garnish, or blended into meals and drinks. However microgreens are used, since they are filled with nutrients, they can elevate whatever meal they are used in. If lettuce microgreens are used in a sandwich instead of lettuce, you’ll be getting more nutrients from your food than you would have if you used leaves of mature lettuce.
Another great thing about microgreens is that they can be grown at a small scale. You can put a small tray of soil on your windowsill, sprinkle a healthy portion of seeds over the flattened growing medium, and within two weeks you’ll have microgreen sprouts ready to add to any meal.
Figure out what kind of microgreens you like the taste of the most, or if you’re interested in the micros just for their nutrients, figure out which of those will grow in your indoor conditions the best. As microgreens only take a matter of days to grow, experimenting with the food is simple to do and easily repeatable.
Selling media on Shutterstock for extra cash
Shutterstock is a well known place to find stock photos or video, but what may not be as well known is where all of that media comes from. Shutterstock’s library of stock content is comprised of work uploaded by over a million individual contributors, freely accessible by anyone who needs to download visuals for creative or business projects. Becoming a Shutterstock Contributor is simple to do, and by even just uploading a handful of works, you can net yourself a good amount of extra cash, or even build an income stream that can support you for years to come.
To apply, you just have to submit a small sample of your work (around 10 images) and if enough of your images are deemed quality enough for the platform (around 7 images, or 70%), then you’re accepted as a Shutterstock Contributor. After being accepted, you’re free to upload as many images, videos, illustrations, and vectors as you’d like. These assets need to be approved after submission, but you’d be surprised at the amount that get accepted, as there are almost unlimited use cases for stock media.
The amount of money paid out whenever someone downloads your work varies, “you earn between 15% and 40% commission when one of your images or videos is downloaded at Shutterstock. This means you get paid $0.10 to $5.80 for images, $10.20 to $39.80 for extended licenses, and $1.25 to $47.92 for each video. In other words, Shutterstock pays you based on your current image and video levels,” according to Photutorial.
Being a Shutterstock Contributor, the name of the game is quantity (as well as, of course, quality). The more you upload, the more potential your work has to get downloaded. The more your work is downloaded, the more money you can make. Once you have a well populated portfolio, filled with a wide array of media and subjects, you can begin to see a snowball effect. This effect happens when years old media is still earning money, while your current uploads begin to earn.
Once your media starts to get downloaded, you’ll begin to see your contributor dashboard start to get populated with data about your work. You’ll get to see what keywords people are searching for, where your content appears. You’ll get to see where people are located when they download your work. You’ll also get to see which of your media assets are the best performing. This is all great information to help you decide what to photograph, film, draw, or create as a vector file.
I began uploading to Shutterstock in 2015, and I haven’t uploaded since. I have uploaded 43 images and 51 videos. In the seven years since uploading these initial 94 media assets, I have accumulated $396.41, over 28 downloads. These images and videos were media that I had spare, and only uploaded as a test of the platform. I didn’t go out of my way to film or take new pictures, I simply uploaded media that I already had ready to go. This is completely passive income.
The demand for these works is increasing. “According to the latest research report by Arizton, the global stock images and videos market will grow at a CAGR of 6.9% during 2022-2027. Increasing adoption of the e-Learning industry, reinvention of storytelling, growth of digital communities in the hyper-connected ecosystem, content automation & personalization are the major drivers in the stock images and videos market.”
It is entirely possible to make a living selling stock media. It is even more possible to create a passive revenue stream that may help you out with the bills here and there. These are both great opportunities for working artists and content creators. To get started, you just have to get started. Look through what media you may already have, and upload them to apply. Once you’re accepted, upload as you find time, and after long enough, you’ll start to see the rewards from your efforts. Upload more, and you’ll see a greater return. Upload occasionally, and you should still see those downloads accumulate.
6 companies own 90% of American media
Only 6 companies own 90% of all of the media produced in the United States. That means that only six companies own nine out of ten newspapers, magazines, television, radio, movies, or any other form of media that Americans consume. Nine out of ten opinions that are published in the United States are published by only 6 companies. Only six companies control the vast majority of news media that is consumed in America. The political zeitgeist in the United States is set by six companies.
“There’s been a lot of consolidation in the media industry in recent years, leaving just six big media companies in charge of most of mass media consumption and distribution. Some estimates claim as much as 90% of U.S. media is controlled by just six companies. The big six media companies right now are Comcast, Walt Disney, AT&T, Paramount Global, Sony, and Fox,” as reported by The Motley Fool.
This is a bit of a problem when the United States is as vast and diverse as it is. There are 331.1 million people in America, 50 states and countless more counties. There are potentially 331.1 million different opinions and viewpoints within the United States, and somehow the media that is meant to represent the American public is controlled by six companies, six CEOs.
This is is also a relatively new problem within the United States’ media industry. Before the age of the internet, there was a plethora of local news outlets. Most cities not only had one independently owned newspaper, but a few different papers that reflected the different viewpoints and lived realities of a city’s population. Similarly, there used to be independent television and radio stations that would report based on their own viewpoint.
Explained in a report by Middle Tennessee State University, “after World War II and particularly through the 1960s and 1970s, local newspapers began to close or merge as readership declined and audiences gravitated to television news; as a result, ownership of newspapers consolidated.
A study by media analyst Ben Bagdikian has charted this consolidation over a 30-year period. Bagdikian’s 2004 analysis indicates that Americans are served by 1,468 daily newspapers, 6,000 assorted magazines, 10,000 radio stations, 2,700 television and cable stations, and 2,600 book publishers that are under the aegis of five major multinational corporations.”
These companies effectively control what is published in the United States, and beyond, while also stamping out smaller media outlets that can’t compete with the reach of a multinational corporation. These media companies set the tone for political discourse, decide what entertainment gets created, or effectively set what information defines reality.
More viewpoints are generally a good thing, and media consolidation is the antithesis of this. The more viewpoints there are, the more information there is to generate an opinion from.
There are absolutely benefits to large media companies, like more resources for fact checking or the ability to invest into long-term investigative reporting. On the other hand, consolidated power within the information industry can sterilize and limit discourse to only what those in power would like to be discussed.
However the math ends up, more media companies should own a larger percentage of the total media being produced in the United States. Instead of a few large and consolidated voices at the top, ideally there would be a wide variety of local, regional and national media outlets.
Only six companies control ninety percent of what is read, seen, and heard in America. As a country that began with countless viewpoints and opinions, published as leaflets or small newspapers, this consolidation would be unrecognizable to those who founded the country. The concentration of voices in media doesn’t represent the United States of today. Not everyone needs to start their own newspaper or media company, but with the knowledge of media consolidation, it may be worth looking into what independent, reputable sources of media that are available to support.
What is dropshipping?
There’s a good chance that something you’ve purchased was dropshipped to you. But what is dropshipping? Dropshipping is when a third party ships a product for an online retailer. These dropshipping companies can either be manufacturers, wholesalers, warehousers, or facilitators of arbitrage. If you’ve purchased a shirt that was printed and shipped by a company that a designer works with, that’s dropshipping. If you’ve purchased something from an Instagram ad from a brand, and the product showed up in Amazon packaging, or imported from China after the transaction, that’s dropshipping. Many brands both large and small operate on this business model as it allows for businesses to sell without holding any inventory at all.
Again, the biggest benefit to businesses that dropship is that they don’t have to hold any inventory for the dropshipped items that are listed on their online store. With dropshipping, a business can list a product on their website, to be fulfilled by another company, usually without the end customer ever knowing the difference. This means you can get up and running with a dropshipping business in very little time, and begin making sales, all without ever even creating a product yourself.
Dropshipping is a great opportunity for influencers or artists to monetize their audience, or for traditional retailers and small businesses to expand their offering. If you’re an influencer and want to generate revenue from your online presence, dropshipping products can give you revenue without the hassle of R&D or needing specialized knowledge. If you’re an in-store retailer with an online store, you can add dropshipped products to your online offering, giving your customer base a deeper offering online.
To dropship, all you need to do is install a dropshipping app to your online website. The Shopify App Store has many dropshipping apps to choose from, whether it be apps that allow you to ship products from Amazon or Alibaba, to apps that connect you with a coffee roaster that will dropship ready-made coffee after a purchase clears on your website. Squarespace offers the same functionality, by letting you connect to apps that will print and dropship apparel and home goods that you design.
Again, you don’t need to know how to screenprint to get started selling t-shirts. You don’t need to know how to print your designs to a rug or a canvas to begin creating a collection of home goods for your brand. You no longer need to take a trip to China, find a manufacturer, and set up the logistics of importing if you want to sell a line of products that can be found on Alibaba. Dropshipping is the quickest way to get started selling online. All you need is an idea to follow, and the effort needed to set up your new online store. Now that you can sell almost anything at the click of a button, what do you want to sell?
Try Canva to design simple graphics and videos
Learning Photoshop, Illustrator or any other Adobe creative software program can be a daunting task when all you want to do is create simple graphics for your small business or nonprofit’s social media page. To make a basic announcement post or to populate your Instagram grid with graphics that represent your brand, you may just want to spend the minimum amount of time and effort possible, so that you can get back to what you do otherwise. Thankfully, Canva exists just for this. While you certainly can create professional grade visuals with Canva and Canva Pro, it is also more than possible to get what you need done in less than 10 minutes.
From Canva’s about page, “launched in 2013, Canva is an online design and publishing tool with a mission to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere.”
Accessible from a web browser or smartphone app, Canva is maybe the simplest way to get something designed, saved, and ready to publish. With post templates, you can create an Instagram square post that announces a new product with just a few clicks. All you need is a free account and an internet connection, and you can get started creating right away.
Canva’s product team keeps their customers’ use cases in mind, so if you want to create a Reel, there’s already a ready-made format for that piece of content. If you want to create a t-shirt design, Canva already has a starting point for you. Are you making a flyer or trifold leaflet? Canva can get you from concept to print in very little time. If you want to add clip art, Canva has a bank of free to use graphics elements (in addition to an expanded offering for Pro members).
Canva is also great for teams that work together on projects. With Canva’s collaboration tools, you can send a design to a team member for review, with that team member being able to make edits right from the Canva platform.
If you’re a small business owner that doesn’t have the budget to pay for a graphic designer or marketer, Canva is exactly what you need. You don’t need any downtime to learn how to use the platform, as usability is one of the core tenants of what makes Canva itself. Canva democratizes creativity as it is free to use, and simple to understand. With Canva, you can create professional looking graphics and videos almost in your sleep.
What is the Shopify App Store?
Launched in 2006, Shopify is an online platform that helps businesses build online stores, sell on social media channels, and sync real time store inventory to online sales. Shopify is used by millions of companies from individual artists, to small businesses, to some of the largest companies in both e-commerce and traditional retail. Shopify can be used as an inventory management system that syncs products across many sales channels, or just as a simple webstore builder for a handful of products. However you use Shopify, something worth looking into is the Shopify App Store.
From Shopify’s own blog, “launched in 2009, the first iteration of the Shopify App Store had less than a dozen apps, many of which ended in ‘-ify’ to match Shopify’s name.” Continuing, “from 100 apps in 2013 to over 2,000 apps today [2018], the Shopify App Store and its corresponding ecosystem of developers has become critical to solving the increasingly complex problems of Shopify merchants. The marketplace has become so popular over the years, that in 2017 it was one of the top five most frequently-viewed pages in all of Shopify, including the merchant admin.”
But what exactly is the Shopify App Store? Exactly that. It is an app store that Shopify merchants can use to find features to add to their websites or commerce offerings. Just as you can download apps to your iPhone, if you are a merchant on Shopify’s platform, you can download apps to your website. Just as iPhone apps increase the functionality of your smartphone, Shopify apps add functionality to your store.
Shopify apps can be for any number of categories. You can download apps for website design, marketing, customer support, new sales channels, logistics solutions, or even dropshipping automations. Now that the app store is well into its development, there is an app for just about anything you may need for your business.
If you’re a brand that sells products into a large number of stores, while also selling exclusive products on your website, you can download a store locator app to guide customers to where they can find your products in person. If you have your own delivery fleet, there are route planning apps to help you seamlessly connect your drivers to an app that will automatically route the most efficient delivery route for them to deliver. Need an app to help customers rent time at your yoga studio? Shopify can help. If you want to have your designs automatically print to a t-shirt and ship to a customer after a transaction, there is an app for that.
While there are plenty of free apps, some apps do require a subscription. This charge is automatically bundled into your monthly payment to Shopify, so there is no need to worry about keeping track of different times to pay different developers. Shopify also offers a “Built by Shopify” category for apps that have been built by the company itself.
New apps are onboarded often, and there are a lot already to search through. Even if you don’t have a Shopify account, you can still browse through the Shopify App Store to get inspiration before you launch an online store. Shopify apps help your online store reach new levels of functionality, allowing you to expand your businesses’ offering to customers. By searching the store, you can even get new ideas for where you want to take your business, by seeing what is already possible.
5 employee-made inventions that created new product categories
From Flaming Hot Cheetos to air conditioners that distill drinkable water, when empowered to think outside of the box, a company’s employees are sometimes the best source of new ideas. Giving employees the freedom to think about the companies they work for critically and creatively not only helps them feel more engaged, but also creates a company culture where they feel heard, appreciated and able to develop within their careers. Here’s a list of some well known innovations that brought in new revenue:
1) Flaming Hot Cheetos
During a period of low sales in the 1980’s the CEO of Frito-Lay asked employees to begin to think like they were owners of the company. This request inspired Richard Montañez to create a snack product that would appeal to a market underserved by his employer. Working as a janitor, he combined the product familiarity gained by working where Frito-Lay makes their snacks with the Mexican corn snack, elotes, and ended up creating the still popular Flaming Hot Cheetos.
“Over a 35-year career, the former janitor rose through the corporate ranks and is now the vice president of multicultural sales for PepsiCo America (the holding company of Frito-Lay). Before Montañez joined the executive team, Frito-Lay had only 3 Cheeto products; since then, the company has launched more than 20, each worth $300m+.”
2) Post-It Notes
Funnily enough, Michele from Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion didn’t actually invent Post It Notes. The adhesive notes were in fact invented by someone who was working at 3M, though they had trouble gaining traction. “Spencer F. Silver was working for 3M in the late 60s when he developed a resilient adhesive that would make a piece of paper stick to a surface, but was still weak enough to let the papers be torn apart again. Silver pitched the product over and over again to people around the company for the next few years, but he never caught any traction. Until, that is, another colleague came along, took Silver’s adhesive, attached it to a bookmark prototype he was working on, and the Post-It was born.”
3) Ford Motors
Legacy companies from the industrial revolution are even starting to tap their internal potential by creating new initiatives to support employee ideas. “The efforts appear to be paying off. As of Tuesday, Ford is poised to have more U.S. utility patents granted this year than any other automaker, according to agency data. These patents include a flying drone that acts as a lookout for your self-driving car. A filter that purifies air conditioner condensation into drinkable water. And, more recently, an electric wheelchair that loads itself into the car.”
4) Adobe Systems
Known for their creative products that are used to create basic graphic design to professional music videos for Lady Gaga’s recent album release, Adobe has programs in place to support employee ideas. In an effort to encourage out of the box thinking from employees, Adobe created “the Adobe Kickstart initiative where any employee within the company can sign up for a two-day innovation workshop during which they are given a pre-paid $1,000 credit card to test out an idea and build a prototype.” Employees are then get the opportunity to pitch Adobe executives on their product or innovation, where if even just one exec gives the idea a ‘yes,’ the employees then get to take the next steps to actualize it.
5) Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods has set up an internal platform called FOODii that helps them garner feedback from employees on new product launches. This enables Kraft to create new products and iterate much faster than hiring external consultants and outsourcing market research. With FOODii, the people who know Kraft Foods the best, their own employees, can offer feedback on the products that they themselves will end up working on in the future.
“For example, our Jell-O marketing team turned to FOODii to help find a name for a new flavor of Jell-O Mousse Temptations. Less than 24 hours after the request, the Jell-O Team had 110 naming options to consider. They selected the 10 best names and sent them on to consumers for further evaluation. The final name, Chocolate Mint Sensation, comes from one of the suggestions provided through FOODii. Our employees have a vested interest in our success — they want to be sure we succeed, so their feedback is particularly valuable.”
You can make anything into a brand
You can kind of make anything into a brand. Really, almost any idea that you have can be made into a brand. Your new brand may not be successful in sales, legible in brand identity, or ever even exist in the world, but anything can be made into a brand. A brand is a concept, an idea, something you want to communicate. Brands can be a product, a company, works of art, or a way of being. Successful brands operate in a way that is authentic to a core idea or values. To start a brand, think about what you care about or want to say, and think of ways to build in the real world with those new ideas.
Take Supreme for an example. Supreme is a brand that sells a lot of random products that may not seem too related at first glance, from a single brick stamped with its logo to expired Oreos, and also clothing. Supreme is a brand that generates hype for itself, then drops collections of clothing along with the novelty items. They manufacture quality products and only sell in limited quantities. The combination of the hype, the novelty and the scarcity generates demand for their goods, so much so that customers camp out before drops and resell prices are reliably high for past products.
While the company wasn’t founded solely to raise funds for environmental causes and to fight climate change, Patagonia has essentially become a company whose brand is environmentalism. “Rather than selling the company or taking it public, Mr. Chouinard, his wife and two adult children have transferred their ownership of Patagonia, valued at about $3 billion, to a specially designed trust and a nonprofit organization. They were created to preserve the company’s independence and ensure that all of its profits — some $100 million a year — are used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the globe,” reports the New York Times.
A doesn’t have to be for a cause, although it can be. A brand can just be a collection of related products. Whatever makes that line of products similar to each other and unique from others is the brand’s essence. This can be a way to describe luxury brands. Brands like Gucci, Restoration Hardware, Bentley and Rolex are all brands that are known for their craft, design and lifestyle. The high quality manufacturing process for these brands’ products are what make them unique and desirable their customers.
Anything can be a brand. If you want to make a brand for yourself, all you have to do is think about what you want to do as a brand, or what you want to say. Make a first product that communicates your goal, then make a collection. Your brand can sell goods, services, events, entertainment, information, or even nothing at all. Think of what you want to do, and then figure how to get there. Why not start today?
Growing food staples indoors during winter months
There is absolutely nothing like eating a fresh vegetable or using fresh herbs in a recipe. Unless you are consistently purchasing your produce from a CSA, farmers market, or otherwise from a fresh food source, you are likely eating produce that is potentially weeks old, and chemically ripened. Even if you make an effort to purchase produce that is listed as from the United States, there are still workarounds where food imported from thousands of miles away can be marketed as local, just by proxy of being imported and distributed by a “local” distributor. It is actually very hard to eat fresh produce routinely.
Pictured: Yukon Gold potatoes, Grey Oyster mushrooms
In the summer months it is possible to grow a wide variety of food outdoors, more than is possible in a small indoor space. Outdoors, with a garden plot or an otherwise spacious place to create a garden, you can grow enough food to last yourself through those warm months. If you have the space, you can grow squash, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, herbs, leafy greens, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, fresh fruits, really anything that can be grown within the limits of your growing zone.
Unfortunately as the days get colder and light becomes more scarce, growing ample food outdoors becomes more of a challenge. During the dead of winter, this task can be impossible. All is not lost though, as it is still possible to grow many different kinds of foods indoors, and with a little bit of planning, you can grow enough staples to incorporate fresh vegetables into your daily diet all winter long.
An obvious start to an indoor garden can simply be an indoor herb garden. Indoor herb gardens can occupy a windowsill, or take up a whole room. You can even think of potted herbs growing indoors as houseplants. You can grow fresh mushrooms indoors, and with some fast-growing species of mushroom, like the oyster mushroom, mushroom crops can grow frequently enough to eaten throughout the winter. Compact pepper plants, like jalapeño and chili peppers grow well indoors because they don’t take up much space. You can grow leafy greens like spinach and lettuce indoors, no problem. Determinate, compact tomato plants, like a Patio tomato grow fine in a small indoor space. Potatoes can even be grown indoors, although they take up a little more space and need some extra care to ensure they are adapting to an indoor environment.
Growing indoors is pretty similar to growing outdoors. You’ll still need the same lighting conditions and temperature regulation. Luckily you already probably keep where you live at an acceptable temperature, but these are all factors to consider. As your living space likely does not have wind blowing through it regularly, you may need to get a fan for your tomatoes, potatoes, or otherwise larger growing plants. You may need to water more or less than outside depending on the humidity levels of your space. Take what you know from growing outside, and apply that knowledge indoors. Do you notice wilt? That can be a need for more water, or maybe some air movement from a mechanical fan. Do you notice yellowing on your plant’s leaves? You may need to water less. Are your plants stunted in growth? You may need a grow light to ensure ample growing conditions.
Growing food indoors is fun, a good way to experiment with your gardening knowledge, and a fantastic way to incorporate actually fresh produce into your diet throughout the winter months. Start out with a basil plant, or some chives. These are simple to grow almost anywhere. Figure out where in your living space plants may grow best, and observe your plant’s growth over time. Before you know it, you’ll be growing enough staples indoors to add fresh flavor and nutrients into almost every wintertime meal.
Concerts in the US make $8.49 billion yearly
Making a living as a musician is hard until it isn’t. Just getting started, you’re not really going to make anything. You can monetize your streams and try to sell some merch, or perhaps make some cash doing a sponsored post on Instagram. Beginning your career as a musician will be slow, and you’re going to have to work hard in order to make a living for yourself. While it will be a challenge, the bright side is that as a musician, there is a well established, multi-billion dollar market to tap into for a living, once you can market yourself as a credible musical artist.
Getting started playing shows at the local farmers market or open mic, you’re not going to make a killing. Sure you’ll make $50 here or there, or maybe even $100 and some drink tickets if your event organizer is generous. In order to make a sustainable living though, you have to figure out a way to break into the live events and concert marketplace.
Luckily for you as a musician, there is an extremely reliable industry of live events, festivals and concerts to try and break into. You just have to figure out your way in. According to Statista, “revenue in the Music Events segment is projected to reach US$8.49bn in 2022. Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate of 9.49%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$13.36bn by 2027.”
This statistic is all inclusive of every level of music event in the United States. Getting booked at a festival? That revenue is counted in the total. Playing your first small theatre show in Chicago? That revenue is counted in the total. Did you make it big and now play stadium shows? That revenue is included in the $8.49 billion total.
While $8.49 billion can maybe seem like a small number when considering the sheer amount of musical acts that are out there, there is absolutely enough room to breakout.
The current record holder for best selling tour, which is a series of concert dates over a period of time, is Taylor Swift. “Between May 8 and October 6, Swift performed 38 dates across the country. Those shows were enough to gross $266.1 million on ticket sales of over 2 million. It's the highest-grossing U.S. tour since Billboard Boxscore began tracking touring data three decades ago,” as reported by Forbes.
In the year that Taylor Swift set the record for highest grossing concert tour in the history of US tours, she actually would have only represented around 3.1% of all ticket sales for that year. The falloff from the mega-stars like Taylor Swift is, well, swift. In 2021, the highest grossing tours were: The Rolling Stones — $115.5 million, Harry Styles — $86.7 million, Weezer/Fall Out Boy/Green Day — $67.3 million, Eagles “Hotel California Tour” —$59.2 million, Dead & Company — $50.2 million, Lou Bukis — $49.7 million, Guns N’ Roses — $47.3 million, Dave Matthews Band — $46 million, Phish — $44.4 million and the Jonas Brothers — $42.5 million.
In 2021, the cumulative total for the top ten best selling tours in the United States was $608.8, or only about 7.1% of that year’s total ticket sales in the US. That leaves around 92.9% of the $8.49 total, or $7,887,210,000 left for the rest of the musicians in the United States to split up amongst themselves. That’s a pretty good pot to split up.
As the frequency of and revenue from concerts and music events in the United States is only expected to increase in the coming years, it is safe to say that it is (and will likely always be) possible to make a living as a working musician. While it may be a far off goal to match the profile of a Taylor Swift, BTS or Grateful Dead, it is absolutely not impossible to figure out how to make a living for yourself by playing live music events and monetizing your music through streaming and merchandise. You just have to figure out your in. Start by playing whatever shows are accessible to you, build your resume, and rise up the ranks from farmers market to concert hall.
Flexible jobs for working artists
Making a living as an artist is hard. Making a living as an artist is even harder if you have yet to make your break, or develop a consistent base of clients for work or sales. Making a living as an artist means that you do not necessarily rely on a steady paycheck to reward you for your creative work. Sure you may make a living as a graphic designer, or through another creative profession, but making a living as an artist usually entails selling (or otherwise monetizing) your original works, not commissioned by a boss or corporate entity. If you want to make a living solely by selling your art, or through your wholly own creative expression, you may need to find another revenue source before you can fully make a living based off of your art.
Jobs like barista, bartender, server, retail, etcetera have traditionally been thought of as good jobs for working artists. These are jobs that can be flexible, provide reliable pay, and are within trades that allows for some job portability. In the days before the internet and the gig economy, these jobs could be thought of as “day jobs,” allowing for an artist to explore their individual creativity pursuits off the clock.
Nowadays, there are ample opportunities for working artists outside of these traditional jobs. While working a few shifts at the local coffee shop while you record an album or write a book at night is still a possibility, these jobs usually demand a regular work schedule. A new crop of work is now mainstream enough to support working artists, while also providing the flexibility that some creative types may find to be less limiting.
It is now possible to pick up work at the press of a button, instead of potentially committing to a rigid set of hours. If you’re a working artist or creative that has random hours and would like the ability to stop working when inspiration strikes, you can now work for Uber when you need cash, then spend the rest of your time on what you love. Amazon, Doordash, Postmates, Instacart, Taskrabbit, Shipt, Upwork, Fiverr, Wag, YourMechanic, HelloTech, 99 Designs, Angi, Soothe, Thumbtack, and more are all companies that offer start-stop gig work to workers in all different industries and categories of work.
In a city like Chicago, “the estimated total pay for a Driver at Uber is $38 per hour. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated base pay is $31 per hour. The estimated additional pay is $8 per hour. Additional pay could include bonus, stock, commission, profit sharing or tips. The ‘Most Likely Range’ represents values that exist within the 25th and 75th percentile of all pay data available for this role,” as reported by Glassdoor.
“On Upwork, the rates for top content writers can range from as low as $15 dollars an hour to as high as $80, though most fall in the $30-50 range,” the company states on its about page.
As for the dogwalking and petsitting platform Wag, “earnings vary based on factors like the services you offer, rates you set and length of time you provide care. The average pay for a 30-minute walk is $12 plus tip, according to Wag. The base pay for pet sitting or boarding is $26 per night. You can get paid extra if an owner has more than one dog or requests recurring walks, and you’ll receive 100% of any tips you earn,” explains Nerdwallet.
Amazon’s warehouse jobs can now be thought of as gig work thanks to a new offering from the online megaretailer. Now offering what they call Anytime Shifts, as a Flex worker you can, “create your own schedule. Use an app to pick shifts up to 15 days in advance, and as soon as 15 minutes before a shift starts, giving you total control of when you work – with no set schedule.” These jobs pay a different rate across the United States, but on average, “The average hourly pay for a Amazon Warehouse job in the US is $16.50 and it ranges from $12.02 to $21.15,” according to ZipRecruiter.
If you’re making your way through your first creative masterpiece or have yet to establish yourself as a self-sustainable working artist, it can easy to get down on yourself. Without the validation of getting paid for your creative works, you can easily think less of yourself, or think that what you’e doing isn’t worth it. This is completely understandable, as the art world is hard to navigate and even harder to understand. Not everyone starts at the same starting point. What matters is creating a lifestyle that with help you actualize your creative goals. You can still get that barista or server job, but if you find the hours to be too constricting or the work to be too stressful, there are now new options to try. It is now possible to pick up work as needed, and build your own schedule. Why not give yourself the bandwidth to make just as much money as you need with a gig platform, and dedicate the rest of your time to what you love?
Keeping a routine helps maintain productivity
You don’t have to do everything all at once, overnight. You don’t need to build a self sustaining business in a year. If you haven’t reached a goal you have in mind yet, that’s fine, as long as you maintain progress over time. Sometimes it’s easy to rush or worry that you aren’t working hard enough, but as long as you maintain productivity, your effort can accumulate. Keeping a healthy routine, or some sort of a schedule, helps this. If you create a routine that gives structure to your days and weeks, you can build productive things into the extra space.
You likely already have some sort of schedule from work. If you’re a freelancer, maybe you don’t. If you have a traditional job with regular hours, then your creative time can be when you have free time around those hours. If you’re a freelancer, you may have to do some structuring in order to build personal creative time into your day to day life.
If you freelance, start with waking up at a set time every day if you don’t already. Decide to cook food for yourself more, if that’s not something you already do. Figure out a way to incorporate exercise into your week, even if you just go for a walk. Maintaining a routine that’s based around these things can give structure to your day, where you can then find new creative time.
Keeping a routine can help unlock new time to work on creative pursuits, build businesses or otherwise work on self development. You don’t necessarily have to keep a rigid schedule either, maybe you like operating at set times, figure out what works for you. Think of a handful of things to start at your routine, either daily or weekly. Don’t stress about missing days. Once you find what works for you, keep at it, and your routine will become second nature.
How to prune milkweed in fall
Cutting back your perennial milkweed plants in the late fall, after the leaves and top foliage has died off for the year is a good way to ensure the long term health of your pollinator plants. Pruning your perennial milkweed keeps your plants cleanly, healthy, and if done right will give wintertime shelter to beneficial insects and wildlife. All you need is a pair of gardening shears and a few minutes at your milkweed plant or pollinator garden, and this autumnal task is complete for the year.
As walked through by Save our Monarchs, “cut back milkweed stalks in the late fall or winter, after they have produced seed pods and these seeds have had time to mature. Leave at least 6 inches of stalks to provide habitat for insects throughout the winter. Leaving stalks also gives you a marker so you know where your milkweed patch is. Birds such as Baltimore orioles can also strip fibers for nest material. When Spring arrives, you will have an abundance of new shoots and you won't have to do a thing!”
Furthered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, “pollinators are in decline worldwide. Habitat loss, pesticide use, competition from nonnative species and diseases are killing pollinators. We can help pollinators by providing habitat in pollinator gardens. Native milkweeds are important components of pollinator habitats.”
Cutting back your plants gives less surface area for disease and gives next year’s growth a clear path to flourish. It also keeps your landscape clean for the following season. While pruning back most perennials in some way during autumn is recommended, it is possible to keep some plants as is, to create visual winter interest in snow. Milkweed is one of these plants that can be left alone for the next year, especially if the plant is wildly occurring.