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BUSINESS IS DIRE - PATRONS OR I HAVE TO QUIT
a year ago
General
TL;DR : If I can't make up for lost of Patrons, I will be forced to quit making art indefinitely.
My goal is to get above $700 per month MINIMUM or I will have to quit making art to survive
https://www.patreon.com/foxmcfly
The numbers:
- My rent & basic utilities cost me $920 per month.
- As of writing this, my current Patreon income is only $557 (that's $363 short- every month)
For perspective, the poverty line in Missouri is $1,063/Month, and I am making half that.
- This means that I need, at minimum, $150 more just to pay rent on the 1st of each month,
and have to find $213 before the utilities are due near the middle.
- I am given $290 in food stamps which basically is my only way to buy groceries each month, or I could not afford to eat.
(food stamps are given to those in extreme poverty so they don't starve- a debit card that only works for grocery items)
- Last month, I worked a total of 201 hours (46 hours a week).
- To be able to lead even the most meager life, covering taxes, expenses, rent, food, etc.
I would need to be making closer to $1,500 a month ($18k a year).
What does that mean?
- It means that I am forced to beg for discounted emergency work, which keeps pushing back, delaying, or at worst adding to the very long queue of art I already owe. This strains/damages my relations with my regular customers, and scares away new ones.
How do you fix it?
- I desperately need PATREON PATRONS. People donating small amounts like $5-10 each month are how I pay my rent/expenses.
Without patrons, I would need to take on $1,000+ a month in commissions. And I neither have a fan base that wealthy, nor enough demand to even make that possible. So I seek those of you who enjoy what I make- Animation, line art, and other art forms not supported on FA. Without Patreon patrons like you, I would have been homeless since 2015.
What are your options
- Either I get my Patreon income up above $700-800 per month, or I will have no choice but putting my art on hold indefinitely and getting some sort of work elsewhere. But that may not work either.
"Why don't you get a REAL JOB"?!
- I had a "real job" in college, the year my eczema first became too unbearable to leave my bed- which cost me my job, and effected my grades. Since then, my mental and physical disabilities have gotten much worse. I do what I love- My art isn't just what I am passionate about, it's also one of the few things I feel I can do fairly reliably to survive. I don't think I would last long in retail, food service, or other "normal" jobs.
"What about welfare or other government assistance?"
- Thank god I at least have food stamps, but that doesn't work for anything else but groceries. If we lived in a state where welfare wasn't a joke, or in a country that took better care of its poor, this wouldn't be an issue. Missouri is very "If you can't work 12 hours in a factory each day for minimum wage, you're a burden on the billionaires and don't really deserve to live". And we are about to enter an era where the President wants to put corrupt narcissist billionaires into the cabinet. And that's not good for the poorest of us- in case you need a reminder how bad things were in 2019. My ex-wife is even more mentally disabled than I am, and even with a lawyer who was 100% certain she'd win her case, after 2 year of trying, even with the state doctors saying she's not fit for work, the judge denied her and she has to start over.
So welfare for me is not an option. Even if I applied (AGAIN yes I applied when I was bedridden and unable to move and was DENIED) I'd be waiting a year or two to see the same horrible judges. Meanwhile, I could be homeless on any given month.
I have been fighting to survive since 2019, and things just keep getting worse.
If I hadn't gotten sick for a full year during the pandemic- that was the year things were supposed to equalize.
And then it all went to hell, and I went from "almost out of the hole" to the earth swallowing me deeper than ever-
and now the dirt is falling in on me and I may not survive. Or at least my art business might not. God I don't want that.
This is what I have wanted since I was a kid, and wasted 8 years of college on. But it's looking grim.
This job is what I want more than anything. And I don't think I'll last long at any conventional job with my disabilities.
If you have the ability to pledge to keep me going, please, I am desperately in need of your support.
https://www.patreon.com/foxmcfly
https://www.patreon.com/foxmcfly
https://www.patreon.com/foxmcfly
For now, I am still here. Wish me luck. I don't know how much thinner I can stretch myself.
- Fox
My goal is to get above $700 per month MINIMUM or I will have to quit making art to survive
https://www.patreon.com/foxmcfly
The numbers:
- My rent & basic utilities cost me $920 per month.
- As of writing this, my current Patreon income is only $557 (that's $363 short- every month)
For perspective, the poverty line in Missouri is $1,063/Month, and I am making half that.
- This means that I need, at minimum, $150 more just to pay rent on the 1st of each month,
and have to find $213 before the utilities are due near the middle.
- I am given $290 in food stamps which basically is my only way to buy groceries each month, or I could not afford to eat.
(food stamps are given to those in extreme poverty so they don't starve- a debit card that only works for grocery items)
- Last month, I worked a total of 201 hours (46 hours a week).
- To be able to lead even the most meager life, covering taxes, expenses, rent, food, etc.
I would need to be making closer to $1,500 a month ($18k a year).
What does that mean?
- It means that I am forced to beg for discounted emergency work, which keeps pushing back, delaying, or at worst adding to the very long queue of art I already owe. This strains/damages my relations with my regular customers, and scares away new ones.
How do you fix it?
- I desperately need PATREON PATRONS. People donating small amounts like $5-10 each month are how I pay my rent/expenses.
Without patrons, I would need to take on $1,000+ a month in commissions. And I neither have a fan base that wealthy, nor enough demand to even make that possible. So I seek those of you who enjoy what I make- Animation, line art, and other art forms not supported on FA. Without Patreon patrons like you, I would have been homeless since 2015.
What are your options
- Either I get my Patreon income up above $700-800 per month, or I will have no choice but putting my art on hold indefinitely and getting some sort of work elsewhere. But that may not work either.
"Why don't you get a REAL JOB"?!
- I had a "real job" in college, the year my eczema first became too unbearable to leave my bed- which cost me my job, and effected my grades. Since then, my mental and physical disabilities have gotten much worse. I do what I love- My art isn't just what I am passionate about, it's also one of the few things I feel I can do fairly reliably to survive. I don't think I would last long in retail, food service, or other "normal" jobs.
"What about welfare or other government assistance?"
- Thank god I at least have food stamps, but that doesn't work for anything else but groceries. If we lived in a state where welfare wasn't a joke, or in a country that took better care of its poor, this wouldn't be an issue. Missouri is very "If you can't work 12 hours in a factory each day for minimum wage, you're a burden on the billionaires and don't really deserve to live". And we are about to enter an era where the President wants to put corrupt narcissist billionaires into the cabinet. And that's not good for the poorest of us- in case you need a reminder how bad things were in 2019. My ex-wife is even more mentally disabled than I am, and even with a lawyer who was 100% certain she'd win her case, after 2 year of trying, even with the state doctors saying she's not fit for work, the judge denied her and she has to start over.
So welfare for me is not an option. Even if I applied (AGAIN yes I applied when I was bedridden and unable to move and was DENIED) I'd be waiting a year or two to see the same horrible judges. Meanwhile, I could be homeless on any given month.
I have been fighting to survive since 2019, and things just keep getting worse.
If I hadn't gotten sick for a full year during the pandemic- that was the year things were supposed to equalize.
And then it all went to hell, and I went from "almost out of the hole" to the earth swallowing me deeper than ever-
and now the dirt is falling in on me and I may not survive. Or at least my art business might not. God I don't want that.
This is what I have wanted since I was a kid, and wasted 8 years of college on. But it's looking grim.
This job is what I want more than anything. And I don't think I'll last long at any conventional job with my disabilities.
If you have the ability to pledge to keep me going, please, I am desperately in need of your support.
https://www.patreon.com/foxmcfly
https://www.patreon.com/foxmcfly
https://www.patreon.com/foxmcfly
For now, I am still here. Wish me luck. I don't know how much thinner I can stretch myself.
- Fox
Anyways, if you try to save up & look for discounts, maybe you'll get more money THAT way???... I mean, Trump already does something similar, why not try new saving, business, strategies, & Economy Guides???... If you come up with a way to make more dough, There's Bread on The Table!...
Sadly, saving is only an option when you have money to spare. Each month I start with an income of about $700, and rent/utilities expenses of about $930.
Which leaves me with scrambling to find the difference within that month, usually via more art than I can handle. If not for the couple hundred in food stamps, I'd be absolutely done for.
Every time I happen to have a few extra dollars to save, they get eaten by the need for gas, or toilet paper, or other necessities. I rarely buy myself anything, usually video games or used collectables at their deepest discount (e.g. $4 Skyrim or $3 Halo or whatever) maybe once every month or so, just to keep morale from the suicidal-zone.
I buy discount bulk when I can afford to. I don't buy retail anything unless necessary. I wear clothes til ragged, then shirts become ragged pillowcases, and then dust rags. Shoes are the second-cheapest option so they don't fall apart right away, and then I wear them til the soles are gone. I get my haircut for $5 every 6 months or so at the student academy. I don't have cable/sat, stream/game subscriptions, I don't smoke/drink/gamble. I don't drink energy drinks or designer coffee, I eat at home for cheap and I only eat out with coupons or when it's the same price as eating at home.
I have exploited every frugal, penny-pinching life hack, pro tip, and old farmer's almanac advise from the last 100 years. My problem isn't that I am bad with money, frivolous, unaware, or lack the ability to make money or to know how to market. My problem is lack of interest from potential patrons, or rather plenty of interest and miniscule support by comparison.
Well, there's a couple good options for Patreon. Price leveraging, to find a price everyone can afford while you still make money... Or advertising, you can try that for Patreon! Chances are, someone will pay to see Patreon Exclusives & Such. I've never seen any myself, never using Patreon myself before, & I don't think they take gift cards... Plus, my folks would probably FREAK if I was paying for porn from them, let alone myself!... They'd probably ask why I don't have a GF yet!!! DX But, ye, Mom has ADHD Masking with Autism. Not an excuse, but she's still toxic as hell! DX
WALL OF TEXT:
I could go on about how bad she is, but she doesn't seem willing to change her ways...
Hell, she's not taking accountability for (I know this will sound petty, but bear with me here... Allow me to let me cook, please...) a 1UP FaZe Rug Piece of Sour Burst Fruit Chews we got at a Circle K, for $4.48 of $5.00 I asked her for & she gave me, to buy me some candy. Now she's acting like it's our's! Just The Other Day, she STOLE 1 Orange Candy from The Bag. I caught her, because she was The Only Person Driving Me to pick up a Fawn Great Dane we were picking up from adoption, & she WAS The Only 1 Person to go with me that day! She even threatened to DUCT TAPE my Mouth Shut, because I was trying to teach her what she did wrong! She KNOWS she was wrong, & even BANGED on My Door to My Room after I BARRICADED IT, AFTER SHE THREATENED ME!!!... She told me to shut up, & called me a "Psychopath" for GETTING RIGHTFULLY MAD AT SOMETHING SHE KNOWS SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE. Florida's Tax Rates are %6, so it was either $4.24 or $4.20. And I told her everything that was in it too, AND it's Genetically Engineered, & depending on what hasn't been affected yet from what I can tell, because some GMO's have Carcinogens for example!!! DX
Short version is, Economy is higher than it should be, & not just patreons, but EVERYONE is paying Higher Prices!... The Dollar is worth MORE now, because of (I could be wrong here...) Inflation. Supply & Demand is a root cause of this. Trust me, I've Watched Old Private Snafu Cartoons, & The Inflation 1 shows Supply & Demand In Effect. Yes, mom was mad because I paid for something expensive... "Almost" all of her money is gone, except for $0.52 (I sometimes like to use the old cents sign, "¢" I learned about in school for this, "52¢".) She allowed me to have the rest, & the next day, threatened to THROW MONEY at me, Possibly Even COINS!!!...
But, ye, for Clarity's Sake; Try checking what people are willing to pay, & then work out a price plan from there. ;3 If Patreon prices are too high, hmm... Well, people running on Patreon work out prices for everyone, & they're not all the same, price-wise nor content-wise. I'll leave the pricing up to you! Good luck!
Advertising on FA works well, and it's affordable if I don't do it every month.
I actually just got some ad space today, so hopefully that will help when it goes live.
I think in some cases, branching out would be rare, because maybe some people just aren't interested in the ads. But on places like rule 34 xxx, you can probably get someone to click on it as well; They'd have to be strategically placed as well.
Honestly, if it weren't for the downright charitable ad options on FA and the humble and kind people who I have found here to support my work, I would never have had a chance to do this for a living at all.
I mean, unless there's a side hustle out there to be made, there's not that much going out there... Some people even do Freelance Artworks for a living!...
In Toby Fox's example, you can still support him, even without buying UT, as long as you spread the good word about his game! I even saw a reddit thread on r/deltarune about such a take. Sure, pirates will steal, but what matters most is that you get paid in some way, even by in Toby's Example, encouraging others to buy it as well.
What I'm trying to say is, there are ALWAYS people who will support you, even if it's not payment! What matters is you get paid at all & from all the support surrounding it!
But ye, pirates are NOT always good for business; In some cases, they can be downright detrimental as well!... Point being, you can also still support your favorite creators even when not paying by spreading the good word about them as well. ;3
Good thing you're able to make a living, eh?...
And I actually went to one of the pirate sites and contacted mods and begged them to delay posting my work there (basically it's a site that just fully scrapes every post I make on Patreon in the name of "archiving". And I told them I barely make a living, and I already post almost 100% of my work for free after 3 months. They compromised with me and said they'd delay my pirated content for 1 month. It's not 3, but it's better than 0.