How to Get Funding For Your Creative Passions - #62

Treyton DeVore

December 17, 2022

Welcome to The Loaf - making money & business more approachable for creatives & freelancers

creator crumbs

Money: Introducing The Creatorbread Creative Grant Program: Funding Creativity [article]

It's believed that the term "starving artist" was first mentioned in the 1700s.

Back then, creatives were assumed to be destined for a life of struggle and minimal pay.

Even famous artists like Van Gogh had challenges with making money during their lifetime, only for their work to be revered long after they're gone.

Since then, the world of art & creativity has evolved into a place where commerce is a regular practice as the industry was valued at $448 billion in 2022.

To be a career creative in today's world, you have to balance 3 core skills:

Art
Money
Business

I don't know how to teach art, but the entire Creatorbread brand is dedicated to making money & business more approachable for self-employed creatives.

One piece of that mission is the newly-established Creatorbread Creative Grant Program, a movement to remove the financial limitations from pursuing a creative career.

Anyone with a creative idea, project, or business can apply for funding to assist with their journey.

So far, a few of the applications have requested funds for studio time, equipment replacement, education costs, clothing materials, and filming a music video.

I briefly mentioned the Grant Program in the newsletter earlier this month, but this past week we received enough donations to fund the first grant 🎉

I'm going to share the recipients story soon, but it's excited to see the money already making an impact so shortly after launching.

If you'd like to learn more, support, or apply, check out this article.

🗓 this week

Friendly money & business reminders for self-employed creatives

✅ Consider electing as an S Corp in 2023

Why? For businesses making more than $75-100k, converting to an S Corp can potentially save thousands of dollars in self-employment tax
How does it work? When you pay yourself from a regular LLC, all of your income is subject to income and self-employment taxes. When you pay yourself from an S Corp, you pay yourself a "reasonable" salary first and then any other profits can be taken as distributions, which aren't subject to self-employment tax (15.3%)
The reason that I believe $75-100k is an appropriate income threshold is because for businesses making less money, the tax savings and additional filing requirements aren't usually worth the headache of switching
Further reading: When does it make sense to switch to an S Corp?
*This should not be considered tax advice

✅ Review your welcome email

Why? If you have a newsletter or offer free downloads, your welcome email is most likely going to be someone's first email from you, so it needs to leave a good impression
Don't leave the standard "Action required: Confirm your subscription" subject line and don't leave the default "thank you" text within the email
Every piece of communication is part of your brand, so it needs to reflect your messaging and purpose
Take a few minutes to customize your welcome emails and if you've had a list for awhile, make sure the messaging still aligns with what you currently do/write about
Bonus: If you set up automations, make sure they're still connected to the right forms and working properly