Keep Your Day Job

In this new millennial era, it seems the most uncool thing any young person can have is a 9-5. Everywhere we look there are young people starting businesses, creating career lanes, and encouraging each other to chase their dreams before chasing a paycheck. For most of us, working the same job for 30 years sounds like the closest thing to death by monotony. So what do you do when you have a 9-5 and a dream, and all your peers seem to be thriving with their dreams but without their jobs? You keep working.

Perception is everything, but reality is a different thing. The struggling artist/entrepreneur prototype is still a thing. For millennials who have complex identities besides being born after 1985. For those who are raising children, supporting their parents, or trying to keep up with the gentrifying surroundings of their city, quitting your day job is not only a bad idea, but it could set you back from your ultimate goal.

Bills are still relevant. Now more than ever. Rising healthcare cost, staggering student loan debt, and skyrocketing cost of living make it impossible to drop everything without a plan. It is not wise to quit your day job without being able to keep your day to day needs afloat. Everyone’s situation is different. I know artist who will always have a safety net either in the form of friends or family that will support them by providing a roof and a hot meal. I also know artist who have to work all day and stay up all night perfecting their craft.  I am an artist who is also a single mother, who manages to draw, paint, write and edit, in between cooking meals and keeping my home organized. Not to mention my 9 to 5. My dreams are a priority but fall at number 3 on the list with my daughter and bills sitting at one and two. There are creatives who busted their ass to build a career while simultaneously maintaining a day job. Crissles, from the ground breaking podcast “The Read”, detailed how she didn’t quit her day job until she was absolutely sure she could maintain without it.

A day job provides parameters around your work, a system that requires discipline to create in a home environment. Whether starting a business or creating art, you need to write emails, you need to take calls, and you need to maintain a calendar. No one gets to their version of success without organization and systematic progression.

Providing for yourself and your family is a noble cause. Not all of us will have a team of supporters, help from parents, or a million-dollar loan from our fathers, word to Donald Trump. Our day jobs are a means to an end, not a life sentence. Your ambition and work ethic will be the difference between success and complacency. As long as you keep working, little by little, day by day, you will continue to progress. The one thing most entrepreneurs fail to say is that it took them years, sometimes even decades to reach a point of no longer needing a day job.

Get off the internet and focus on your craft. The reward will be the life you always dreamed of and a career you designed yourself. Entrepreneurship isn’t easy, being an artist is even harder. Most of the greats died without ever seeing the impact their work had on the world. Being an artist and being an entrepreneur are two different things, and while there are more lanes to profit off of the creation of art, the decision to create artistically shouldn’t be based on profit, but that’s a story for a different piece.

j.h.

I Sold My First Paintings & Cried

A couple weekends ago,  I participated in my first art/fashion show. I had modeled before but it has been a 15-year hiatus and I’m 70 pounds heavier and 1000x more body conscious. I invited a selective handful of loved ones, but didn’t really want any of them to show up. I was nervous, I felt unprepared, and I just wasn’t ready for close friends to see my work. Only 2-4 people have ever really laid eyes on my paintings, and like Erykah Badu once said “I’m an artist, and I’m sensitive about my shit.”

One friend in particular asked me how much I planned to sell my art for. I replied “I don’t know; I’m not expecting anyone to buy it because I’m not that good yet.” After weeks of rehearsing, the night finally came and the show was a success. All the models were beautiful, the audience encouraging, and the paintings amazing. I was honestly really intimidated by the level of skill the other featured artist had. I took a painting class in 2010 that I half assed through and have only been painting consistently for the last year.

I left my paintings to be displayed over the weekend since our show was Friday (Feb. 10th) and other events would be taking place on Saturday and Sunday. I got a call from the show curator around 9:00pm on Saturday. I answered and she excitedly responded “Someone wants to buy your paintings! All of them!” I was flabbergasted. I hadn’t prepared to sell any of my paintings and didn’t think anyone would care to take an interest in mine. I went high with the price and then low, I was grateful that someone cared enough to want to take a piece of me home.

I was on my way to a birthday party at a friend’s house when I got the call, and I didn’t really begin to process how I was feeling. When I was talking to one of the guest at the party, about how my paintings were never coming home, how I had created them in times of boredom or pain. How incredibly beautiful it was that someone wanted to take home the little weird things I created in my alone time, the tears just started flowing. I released a very special part of my heart to the universe and someone answered the call by giving all three of my featured paintings a home. I still feel a tinge of sadness when I look at my art wall at home and see three empty spaces. I guess all artist go through this when they’re separated from their first pieces, maybe not, but this was my experience. Very grateful to the lady who cared enough about my art to give it a new home, very grateful to the ones who have supported and pushed me (I needed the pushing the most) to this point of expression. I taught myself how to draw, how to paint and I’m still learned a lot every single day.

 4 years ago I was a mess barely understanding what direction I wanted my life to be going in. All I knew was what I didn’t want and not what I did.  It still changes every day, but I am finding my way. I’m proof that whatever you want you have to create it, connect with the right people, and watch your seeds prosper. I am beyond grateful to see the day that I’d find peace in my purpose.

Young, Black, and Corporate: 3 Ways I Went From 18k to 57k in 5 Years

In September of 2011 I moved into my first apartment, post break up with the father of my child. I was making $8.65/hr plus tips being a barista at a drive thru only Starbucks. I loved my job. I had a manager who was nearly the same age as me and all my co-workers meshed well together, I even grew to call some of them my friends. I looked forward to going to work because every day was a lot of laughs sprinkled in with hard work. My rent was $765 a month not including utilities and although I had to combine my bi-weekly paychecks to pay it all, I was comfortable and happy.

My only complaint was my unpredictable schedule. With a small toddler, who was spending more and more time away from mom at pre-school I hated having to take her to school on my days off and most of the time I didn’t. But being the futurist I am, I knew I couldn’t maintain this balance forever, especially when my daughter started elementary school, I decided it was time to find the dreaded 9-5.

Ahead of the millennial wave, when social media was still in its infancy, working a 9-5 was not the curse we’ve made it out to be. For many of us that are still in school building skills, trying to identify what our passion is, or just trying to keep a roof over our heads, a stable job with moderate pay is still essential. I had a limited work history and an incomplete college degree I had to formulate a plan. 

In a year I managed to grow my salary from $18,000/yr to 35,000/yr. Present day, I’ve made the leap from $35,000/yr to $57,000/yr. I did this all by strategizing and making pay my priority. I started with a temp agency and sorted through a ton of Craigslist I worked 7 jobs in the span of 18 months, in a variety of fields. From hospitality to start ups to marine insurance. I finally landed a job I wanted to keep at the Federal Home Loan Bank in their Business Technology department. I did well but not great enough to stay on with the bank permanently.

After leaving the bank I did a two year stint at the biggest retailer in the world, Amazon.com, which took my resume and profile from random submission to recruited candidate. I now work as an Executive Assistant at a prestigious University and my goals are bigger still. Read below to find what three rules I’ve carried with me.

Always be Impressive, Never Impressed

Being Black in corporate America has often called for ass kissing but I don’t partake in that tradition. What I choose to focus my time and talent on is doing the job and doing it well. While my movement in my varied positions has been lateral, my pay has always increased. Why? Because I focus on building skills more so than being impressed. My boss is my boss, no amount of ego stroking and praise will change that. I can influence my boss with my value. Once you’ve established yourself as a valuable employee, you gain more flexibility to take on projects that of one’s self interest. Self-directed projects allow you to learn new skills outside of those which fit your job description, which makes you an even more valuable employee.

Collect Skills not Contacts

Happy hours are weaved into the structure of the corporate world. A great opportunity to network and build relationships with your co-workers, being introverted (like myself) makes this difficult. If your goals are similar to mine and your more focused on entrepreneurship than a promotion, your attention would be better used building skills. As I stated in the previous paragraph building skills creates value. Gaining new skills also gives you well rounded experience to take on several aspects of managing your own business. Gaining new skills can increase your pay without taking on an entirely new position.

Create an Undeniable Resume

Resumes are your first impression. You want to make sure you’re as impressive as possible. You always want to align your resume to the job or industry you are applying for. Study the job description and extract the skill you’ve perfected in your previous roles. Use varied but relevant vocabulary and keep your resume confined to one page. An impeccable resume will get your foot in the door and the rest is up to you and your interview skills. I’m far more charming in person, at least when I can talk about myself.

Stay tuned for more tips on networking and resume building, but I hope my readers have found this useful.

Love & Light