Start Your Own Project: #3 Funding

Show Me the Money

Financial Tips for Your Own Project

Since moving to the city I've started the Chicago Neighborhoods Project. I'm in the process of visiting and photographing architecture in all 77 community areas of the city.

I'm following in the foot steps of many great projects, like Humans of New York, documenting the people met on chance encounters on the streets of New York City; and Advanced Style, exploring the magnificent beauty of mature women. There are an endless number of projects out there.

If you want to start a project it means figuring out how you're going to find the resources. Some projects, like Julie and Julia--spending a year cooking all the recipes in Julia Child's famous cookbook--were completed while still working a day job. Others require more time and money.

The sad fact is that every project I can think of started out with the creative person giving away his or her content for free online. There was no paycheck for their work in the beginning. Many people curating a project will never be compensated for their hours of work. It's simply an enjoyable hobby. 

My own experience is the more hours I can stay focused on just my project, and nothing else, the more success I have. My family and I have had to make changes in our lives to free up my time to immerse myself in learning to photograph architecture in Midwestern light and get my project started. I won't say I'm a great photographer, but after a year I have sufficient skills. I gained that technical knowledge by having plenty of hours to practice.

Everyone has bills to pay. So how do you find the resources to have enough time to work on your project? 

Reduce Expenses and Find Funding

Below are some ideas for finding the resources to work on your project. While we tend to think about getting paid, getting rid of some costly expenses can be equally important. I'll also point out that while there are many approaches, some strategies are more likely to be successful than others.

All of my advice is based on my own life and observations. Your situation may be different. Use this list as a starting point, not as a set of rules. Once you start to think about the possibilities you may brain storm a lot more ideas to add to the list.

Save Money

What expenses can you reduce or eliminate? Can you live without a car? Lower any interest rates on borrowed money? Find cheaper housing? How much creative time would you have if you weren't paying rent or a mortgage?

Alternative Housing

• Downsize: Find cheaper housing and own less stuff.
• Patronage: Your life partner agrees to downsize and/or pay the household expenses.
• Shared Housing: Find roommates or move in with family or a friend.
• Residency: Live in an artist's residence program. Can be a week to months.
• Artist Housing: Subsidized housing specifically for low income creatives.
• Student: Go back to school to start a project.
• House Sitter: Get paid to stay in other people's homes.
• Hostel/Hotel Living: Might be cheaper, as long as you don't mind not having much stuff.
• Live Abroad: Go to a much cheaper country.

Find Resources

In the absence of being hired to create your project, here are some ideas for finding money and resources to work on your project.  

Recommended

• Grants: Gifts of money. (A grant writing workshop can be helpful.)
• Family & Friends: Direct financial support.
• Kickstarter: Online fundraising sites.
• Fundraisers: In person raffles, bake sales, dances, or whatever moves you.
• Merchandise: Make stuff, like t-shirts, with your slogan or logo to sell.
• Part-time Day Job: Money to buy food, but doesn't take too much effort.
• Service Provider: Can you get paid to do something related, such a tours, coaching, talks, etc?
• Freelance Articles: Sell some of your research, writing or photos related to your project.
• Teach: Hold workshops and classes.
• Paid Expert: Will someone pay for your opinions, such as expert witness in court?
• Sabbatical: Are you lucky enough to have a year off from a job?
• Inheritance or Divorce Settlement: May as well use the money to do something you'll enjoy.
• Student: Could you work on your project as part of earning a degree?
• Full-time Day Job: Can you develop project-related skills at work, such as new social media?
• Volunteers: You'd be surprised how many people are willing to help you for free.
• Strategic Partners: Can you split the work or the costs with others?
• Freebies: If you write about travel, can you get hotel rooms donated? That sort of thing.
• Sponsorship: Will an outdoor store donate the tent you need for your expedition?

Great, But How Likely?

There are some ideas I hear routinely discussed for funding that don't seem likely to actually happen--at least not in a timely manner at the start of your project. Better to think about them down the road.

• Publish a Book: The vast majority of book authors lose, not make, money on their books. This is particularly true for unknown first time authors. Your first publications should be considered expenses. You're going to need to raise additional money to fund them.
• Book Advance: A lot of time and energy can be expended in trying to find an agent to sell a book idea and get an advance from a publisher. Yes, I've read the stories about a writer who was rejected 60 times, but the number 61 submission was accepted and lead to an international bestseller. I've never met any of those authors in person. People also win the lottery. I have, however, met plenty of writers who've lost money paying an agent (don't) or having a manuscript tied up for a couple of years before being returned unpublished. Many writers now prefer self-publishing. You can try finding an agent, but don't spend too much time on it.
• Social Media Payments: There are folks on social media sites, like Blogger, YouTube, or whatever, who have enough followers to get paid. They can sell ads, get donated products or services to review, get invited cool places with free tickets, and generally live a charmed life. The vast majority of content creators will never reach this level. If you have your heart set on trying, I suggest you find emerging social media sites which aren't established yet. The next stars will ride the wave of the next Big Thing.
• Start a Nonprofit: I can tell you from experience that starting a nonprofit from scratch is harder than it sounds. Some advantage are: creating a structure so your project can eventually function without you, more easily qualifying for grants, donations (with or without a tax write off, depending on type of nonprofit), and the bank account. Still, all your time and energy can get sucked into it. Plus, the IRS has gotten much stricter about the 501(c)3, so you may need to find an alternative type of nonprofit. It's complicated. It can make sense to do, I just don't recommend starting with it.

Very Expensive

You can find easy money, but it will cost you too much in the long run.

• Loans: Would having to repay a loan force you to stop work on your project? Yes, I did suggest going back to school as an option. Be careful about student loan debt. An inexpensive degree might be a better option than a more famous school, particularly if you'd rather run your project after graduation than get a conventional job. Have you thought about alternatives, like a degree earned for free in Europe?
• Credit Cards: Worse than loans, the interest rates will eat you alive. Yes, I've heard the stories about film makers who made their first full length feature by using a credit card. What we haven't heard is all the times it doesn't work out. There are online calculators which will show just how much money you would have to pay back. The final cost can be many times higher than the original amount. Paying high interest rates from credit cards should be saved for emergencies only.

Don't

Just don't.

Wait for Retirement: I hear so many people tell me about all of the amazing things they're going to do once they retire. They're going to build a house from scratch, set up urban neighborhood gardens across the inner city, and write a best-selling novel, all within the year of retirement.

You retire because you're beyond working age. It's fine to expect to take up a hobby or two. Maybe you'll get that old model train set in the basement running. But you're not about to become the next hottest photographer or have a novel on the ten bestseller list in the first year.

Malcolm Gladwell estimates to takes 10,000 hours to master a new skill. Let me do the math for you. If I want to wait to retire until I can take my full Social Security benefits, I will be 67 years old. If I work 40 hours a week, with 2 weeks off for vacation each year, that will take 5 years to master a new skill. So at age 72 I will start to be professionally competitive with my new project. And I'm going to what? Build a brand new career starting at age 72? That isn't retirement.

The only exceptions would be if you can retire relatively young, such as from the military, or you plan to take an early retirement. If you work at a corporation it doesn't hurt to ask if they offer any incentives for leaving early. Likewise, if you own a business, can you cash out early?

You can't wait to get started. As you can see from the numbers above, the sooner you get going, the better. Time spent on a hobby project now can help you master new skills, which can help you to transition to creative work later in life. If you'd like to eventually publish a book of photography, better get that camera out now. Don't wait for retirement.