WAHM > Stay at Home Mom Work Ideas > Selling a Service > Start a Freelance Art Business from Home

Become a Freelance Artist  

What you will be doing.  Magazines are full of advertisements.  Children’s books have colorful covers and interesting drawings throughout the stories.  Ever wonder who does these?   

This is the work of artists, probably freelance artists.  Freelance artists provide artwork for many different media.  They illustrate books, comics, magazine layouts, and advertising for companies and other organizations.   

How to start.  Develop a business plan.  The business plan is a guideline for your business.  It details what you want to do, your skills, and what you see as the future for your venture.  Unless you plan on applying for a small business loan, you can keep the plan informal. 

If you attended art school or college, talk to professors about whom they would recommend in the art and business world as worthy contacts.  While you’re at it, put together a portfolio of designs for various industries.  You could do variations on current logos, book covers, and magazine ads.   

Starting costs.  For the type of software and equipment that could be needed by a freelance artist, the starting costs can be steep.  Think about costs in the range of $5,000.  This price includes computer with state-of-the-art graphic software, drafting table, printer, copier, telephone, and fax machine. 

Be thinking about your hourly fee.  Some projects may take longer than others so your time is precious.  Your rates need to be competitive.  Selling yourself short could cut into your profits. 

Skills needed.  An artist needs to be talented.  But, talent is not the only thing that you need.  Your job will be to visualize their ideas and turn them into a finished product.  A freelance artist needs to be time conscious and detail oriented.  Some projects will have short turnaround times and some will take longer.  Using your time wisely gets the work done under deadline without having to rush.   

Marketing.  Create your own brochures and business cards.  Send them out to local businesses.  Place ads in the telephone directory, business magazines, and on the Internet.  If you know any family or friends with their own businesses, offer your services for the first time for free.  This advertising will get noticed by everyone who uses their business. 

A website is a great way to run this business as an Internet enterprise.  Advertise on freelance websites and eBay.  You can sell your services to publishing houses, writers, corporations, and web designers.  The field is wide open and is only limited by your advertising savvy and your skills. 

The proof of a good freelance artist is in the finished product.  Your work can speak for itself if you use personal contacts to get the ball rolling.

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