By Shana Lynn Yao

Money. We all need it and for self proclaimed creative people - or what I call "creatives" - making money with your creativity and skills becomes a bigger challenge than other people.

As a self proclaimed creative person, I'm here to tell you that you're not alone. For me and my clients and creative friends, it's not as simple as "get a job and make money". And whether you have your own business or you have a job, in order to make a solid income, you have to understand why the traditional making money formulas don't work for you.

Why Making Money Is Challenging As A Creative

1. FLEXIBILITY - you need it. Creativity is not something you do on the clock. And it's not like you're not motivated, but trying to fit your big ideas into a structured schedule challenges most creatives.

2. FREEDOM - some people define freedom as running a beach on some exotic island. But to a creative person, freedom could be as simple as having control of what you do, when you do, where you do it, and how you do it. Chances are you're a bit introverted at times and very focused in your creative endeavors. And when you are in your genius zone, that IS your freedom.

The truth is, the phrase"starving artist" exists for a reason. Creatives are a bit hard-headed (admit it!) and we don't want to sacrifice are "art" just for money. But as you and I both know, making money is essential to being able to live, let alone pursue your creative pursuits and get paid to do them.

The Creative Way To Monetize Your Skills

So let's get down to the basics. In fact, having the ability to make money is more important than having money. Knowing that there are other ways outside of what you know already to make money will open your mind to the possibilities that YES, you CAN be creative and make a good living without sacrificing your soul and your work.

By having the ability to make money, you won’t be obsessed with the "how am I going to make money" conversation that troubles most people and blocks your creativity.  Now you know that you can always earn the money when you need it.

This way you can be useful to your cause in three ways:

You have the time to do important things for your cause that aren’t related to making money. That’s because you aren’t so obsessed with having money that your time is occupied with work.
Your money can directly help the cause because you’re willing to give it away.
You can help other people earn more money. They can then be useful financially to the cause and thereby create a multiplier effect.
As you can see, you are useful in many ways if you have the ability to make money. That’s why you should focus on increasing your ability to make money.

Whether you are a blogger, a person with a job, or an entrepreneur already, you can use these ideas to make money doing what you love. Remember, it's ok if you are a little hard-headed. I call that having HIGH STANDARDS.

1. Find a job or start a business in your field of interest. Look - you don't even have to do it full time. You could fund your own business while you work to make it profitable with a part time job in your field of interest. Even better, having a job will provide a stable income doing what you love AND open you up to new contacts that could become future clients and colleagues.

2. Teach it. As a Best Life Strategist who works with entrepreneurs to build and grow their business, I'm here to tell you that if you're not teaching your craft to others and making money from it, WHY NOT? Adding coaching or teaching to your income generation is not only the easiest way to make money but it's purposeful. 

You have a skill - something you have mastered (don't be shy here - take credit for your natural born skills!) Other people don't have the special gift you were born with and would pay good money to learn it. Whether it's teaching people how to start a business, how to workout, how to lose weight - all of those are valid business ideas that other people are making money from. Why not you?

3. Sell your words. - Is a book calling your name? Write a book and self publish. Don't have enough content? What if you started a blog and decided to write a page a day that you PUBLISH on your blog and that content is used for a book? If you did that, did you know that in 6 months you would have a 180 page book? And these days with Kindle books, you literally can write a 30 page book and make money from it.

Or ever thought about selling your articles to magazines? Some magazines pay upwards of $500 to passionate writers who appeal to their audience. Things like recipes, personal stories, and so much more are money making opportunities just waiting for you to try.

4. Get On Stage. - Love to talk? Find an opportunity to share your voice to large crowds at industry events, seminars, and even your local bookstore. Whatever your passion, everyone has a story to tell. While you may not initially get paid for your work, speaking about what you do and know publicly will bring awareness to what you do and open up new and future opportunities for new clients and paying gigs.

5. Sell products - Create an online course with your knowledge (practically free!) and sell it. Make jewelry? Open a store on etsy. Sell it on Amazon. What can you package and sell as a product? The term "passive income" means it can make you money while you're working in your creative zone somewhere else.

6. Monetize Your Website. - This is why Google Adsense exists! Have you thought about hosting ads on your website? This is one of the first ways bloggers start to monetize their work. The more people you have reading your blog, the more money you can make. Feel like a sell out if you do? Really? Because having relevant ads that appeal to your target niche actually can help your visitors know their in the right place. It can align you with recognizable brands that can raise the perception of your work.

The truth is, making money as a creative is actually about understanding the core fundamentals of having a business. It's about 3 distinct things that people need in order to make money. They involve you, another human being, and business strategies. I call these “The Money Commandments”: 

1. Recognize your value
2. Know what people are paying you for
3. Have the strategies to have a sustainable business

Making money is actually much deeper than just having something to sell. It's about understanding how to provide your highest value to someone else in such a form that they want to exchange money for. It's about understanding human emotion and knowing how to share your creative pursuits with others.

So I want to ask you, what ideas can you add to your money making empire as a creative entrepreneur? Tell me below. And be sure to download the FREE guide to 18 Ways To Make Money Online. 

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