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Full Time Plush Maker by SleepyMonster
I'm thinking about becoming a full time plushie maker.
I really enjoy doing this, in fact is the most fun I've ever had working. It's a lot of work, and can be tiring, but things like that don't matter when you like what you are doing. I don't think I'll be making a whole lot, probably just enough to live off, but I feel like doing something I love will give me a more fulfilling life then doing something just for the money.
I'm thinking about registering as a business so I can claim it all on my taxes. I've also started hammering out a full time schedule. I'm a little scared because I don't want to do this and then never get commissions and fail, but I mean I have a large queue at the moment and that seems to be pretty steady lately. I've been researching what I need to do to register as a business.
I'm also thinking I need to raise my prices slightly. It's just I'm the cheapest plushie maker out their and I feel my skill and quality is worth charging just a bit more. Even if I don't raise my normal process, giant plushies have been raised in price.
Are any of you guys self employed? How do you like it? Would you say it is worth it even when you have a bad profit month?
Full Time Plush Maker
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Comments
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It's so terrifying! Bad sales months can be a downer but after a while you get to know when they're coming (January/February is an obvious one - everyone's recovering after Christmas!) and you can prepare for it. It's pretty scary - but very rewarding. One thing I find tough is knowing when to stop - I end up spending all night in my studio and my family complain they never see me. Balancing work and play is hard - and also if you get sick then there's no sick pay! You have to rely on savings. It can be lonely too :) No work colleagues to speak to (other than on the internet) and no people to bounce ideas off in person. However you're totally in control of your path, you decide what you make next and what it sells for, and you have no one breathing down your neck except yourself!
be careful about not charging enough for your time, you have to pay yourself to survive and make profit too so your business can grow. I've started resenting time I spend doing "side" projects (trades, gifts, experimenting) because I don't get paid for it and I need money to survive. It sounds harsh, but your hobby won't be a hobby anymore. It'll be your business.
I'd definitely recommend it if you think you can do it financially!
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I find it funny how most people starting on that path work too much, not too little. XD
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Turning my hobby and my passion and what interests me creatively into my job was hard because I had to stop just making things when the inspiration and the mood took me. A job is very different, you have to make things you don't necessarily want to make and you have to do 9am-6pm with a one hour lunch break. That;s what your family expects, after 6pm if you worked a normal job you'd be home for tea and watch telly or do chores in the evening.
But when you're an artist and you're done for the day, you get time to "play" and work on new ideas and creative stuff - which is an integral part of the business. So you ARE still working! But it's a different kind of work. It's the FUN work. But to anyone else it looks like you just never stop working :b
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That's really true!
I think we are in a good financial position that maybe hitting a bad patch every now and then won't hurt too bad, and I will make sure to take a portion from each commission to throw into a savings account just in case. I am so bad at saving because I never think about it, but if I am going to do this I think I really need to.
I'll adjust my prices after making my next plushie. I need to find out how much time I spend on these guys on average and then kinda calculate a price from there.
Thank you!
Alex
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I make kigus and art for a living, but I am not registered as a official bussenis. I did have one when I was still a webdesigner but even then it was not worth it, cause I didnt had enough profit. So if you make enough profit then go for it! especially with taxes and such, if you exceed a certain income you have to pay them! In that case do it official)
With my kigus and art I dont make enough profit to do that so ppl can say its a hobby but its actually my fulltime job :P. I can do this cause I live together with my bf who is the main earner and works fulltime.
Working as a freelance artist is fun but also hard work! With a "normal" job you get paid per hour and with art and stuff you get paid per product, any time not spend with sewing will not be paid. So keep that in mind when charging the right price. For instance if a plushie takes 10 hours, but you also need to communicate and prepare what also takes a few hours + material cost. Take that total amount of hours and multiple that with a decent hour wage including taxes to decide your final prices.
For example I calculated this for myself and I am pretty slow so I only get 3,50 euro per hour, so this means I either need to work faster or raise my prices but you also need to compare the price with the quality you are gong to offer! So even tough you want to lets say earn 10 euro per hour and it takes 20 hours in totall, make sure the final product is worth the 200 euro. Hope that helps a bit!
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Realized the material part was a bit vague
Lets say: 8 hours work + 2 hours communicating and preparing = 10 hours x 10 euro hour wage = 100 euro + 50 euro material cost = 150 euro x taxes (21% in my country) = final price 181,50 euro
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or you charge the taxes before you add material cost :P prob makes more sense lols sorry for the spam :P
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I think for now I'm just going to work free lance without registering for a business license, then after we move and I get my work room all set up and I'm working full time and making good money I'll go ahead and register.
I've never actually sat down and timed how long a plush takes me to make. I know I can finish a Pony in a day. I really need to start recording that stuff to see if I am even making a fair wage and adjust my prices accordingly.
Thank you for your input!
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I started tracking my hours since 2 or 3 kigus ago, It helps me to get a proper insight how much work one takes me and how much i earn with it. So I can plan it accordingly! Now myself I just ask prices I think they are worth but it ends up me making just a few euro per hour or even play quite (how do you spell that?) so eventually I like to ask more for my work so I make a decent hour wage. (I use task coach to do that btw, you can easily time your work and fill in all other kind of information)
I would say just try to work on a freelance base and when you get the feeling you keep getting more and more customers and are safe to ask more for your work, then you can always do it official. Myself I keep track of the profit I make and fill that in that income tax form thingy in the category "other income" (so income beside your normal job or no job, so like a hobby). In my country (I guess same foryou), you can make a certain amount of income (weather its freelance or hobby) profit free, as long you don't exceed that amount its not necessary to do it officially and pay taxes. If you do exceed it, then it would be wiser to do so ^_^ Why charge taxes now if its not necessary right!? Makes things only more complicated.
Its good to first have your things settled, moving and such. I have the same, I am currently living in a small apartment and I def need a bigger space for both family future and working space! Carrying that sewing machine and materials from room to room and working at my dinner table can be a pain in the ass :P but its okay for now! I wish you good luck with the moving and freelance work! Your work is great so i am sure you will have np to do this fulltime ♥
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I like the idea, you obviously have a passion for your plushies and once you move and have the space for a whole room dedicated to your business you'd be able to do it I think. :)
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Yeah I think so too! I'm really going to give it a try and see what happens!
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I'm /trying/ to be self-employed off my tails. (As I think we discussed at TFF)
It's hard. I have health issues that prevent me from working on tails sometimes and I just am trying to build up a stock too.I don't seem to be getting any commissions
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You'll get there, you just gotta get your name out there! Try buying an advertisement, and use etsy too!
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I won't use Etsy because every crafter I've talked to hates it. The fees are outrageous, and there are just too many people using it to really sell much.
As for buying an AD, maybe once I make some money to.Right now my biggest problem is health preventing me from working. I am trying hard to get better though :)
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Irbis
I was self employed for a while, and I would say it was worth it. You are responsible for yourself, and that is liberating.
I strongly recommend that you form a corporation for your business, it allows you to fully separate the business from yourself, and is the best path for growth.