Nuki News #4 - January Review

 So goes the first month of the year, already! It’s always hard to realize how time flies. This is going to probably be the more “new-sy” of NukiNews issues. It’s good to assess where you’re going and where you’re at. This year has a lot of changes in the first 4 months - I’m getting a new roommate this month, and moving in late March/April. These sorts of changes I admit can be pretty nerve-wracking! There’s no going back, and a change has to be inevitable! Honestly question how possible it’ll be for me to do commissions during those times, ahaha. 

But enough of the future, let’s talk about the past! The past month, that is. I’ve begun the year by reworking this very Patreon, and opened for commissions. This was probably my best haul of comms yet, getting enough money to cover almost all of my bills(rent, electric, utilities). It was a sobering moment for me, because it makes me realize how much I’d really need to support myself! But I hit over 10% of my monetary goal for the year in one month for my art business. Which is a good sign for things to come. Although I don’t expect the same level of financial success like this moving forward, it does provide me some wiggle room and a big confidence boost. 

Now, I wanted this month to focus on how this Patreon thing will work out, and didn’t try to advertise my patreon to folks- if anything, I need to update my patreon links, haha, since I’ve changed the URL to ‘artienuki’ since that’s my handle nowadays. But this month, and the months moving forward, I’m going to be advertising my Patreon at least once a week, and my goal is to have 20 patrons by the end of February! I admit, there are still some doubts in me about my approach, but consistency will be key and the results will be what I get to observe. 

I’m hopeful these posts will give anyone who reads them some value! I am essentially trying to put down my thoughts for 18-year-old-me to look into. My biggest challenge personally is to make $2000 a month regularly through art, which I know to a lot of folks may sound crazy. But that’s my job to figure out! For all I know, I’ve already reached it without realizing - if I consider the fact 45 hours a week is used up for a dayjob, if I could just open up to do 5 more commissions a month, I’d be a lot closer than I thought. But then doubts crop up - could I find 10 people month-in, month-out, to want to commission my work? Could I work to reach $250 a month earned through this Patreon to offset things or generate savings? 

Money-talk I find makes people nervous, but I’ve gone past that point over the last year. It’s important to talk about money! If you don’t, you may find yourself coming up short.  I feel if I go through this year focusing on Patreon and art commissions, and of course posting my work online, I’ll get to a point where I can support myself, and then branch out into other things. (Perhaps merch and making tutorials or giving my time for teaching furry artists!) At the end of the day though, I know it depends on the community I’ve built. Managing a patreon for those who support me is important, but it’s also important to put myself out there and meet more folks! 

Overall, January went pretty darn well; it wasn’t easy, but I’ve executed my plans! For February, I’m going to be letting folks know they can support me here, and what they can get out of it! I’ll also open commissions around mid-month.