I’d really rather be making stuff, but as long as the sales of my handiwork limp along, I’ll need to periodically reach out for help. This is one of those Decembers when the holiday sales push essentially came to a halt the week before Christmas. Now I am coming up short on the funds to buy groceries and cover the last remaining bills for the month. (I’d say for the year, ha ha, but the bills’ll be starting all over again in January … )
Anyway, as I write this I need a total of $250 $0 to get through this final week of the year. That breaks out to $150 for bills (3 utility bills plus a payment on LuvLee’s credit card for her vet care expenses), and $100 for groceries.
As many of you know, I run an arts & crafts business that provides my earned income. I have other facets of my creative business that provide a boost when they happen, but it’s usually very few and far between. But … the sales often don’t stretch far enough to keep the roof over my head. Here are the immediate ways to help, and I’ll tell about a possible long-term solution in a bit:
PayPal is burchjan atgmail dotcom (friends and family, please); purchases using PayPal from my Zibbet shop and "coffee" through Ko-Fi will also help.
Fyi, my Zibbet shop is where I sell my arts & crafts. I have lots of neat stuff that makes great gifts — just in time for the holidays, too. Note: Using PayPal when you check out with your order will get the funds to me immediately; other methods can take as long as a week).
Here’s an example of what’s on offer from my shop, and I’ll post others in the comments ~ this scarf btw is brand-new!
And now, for that long-term solution — You have the potential to free me from these fundraisers!
… to help while keeping me making stuff is to support my Patreon page. It’s a monthly pledge (and I realize not everyone can do that) — which means the more my pledge total grows, the less I have to “beg” for every month. And when it gets fully funded — or heck, even half or 2/3 funded — I won’t need to do this fundraising every month, and yes, I’ll be able to focus my time and attention on making beautiful things that make people happy (or so I’m told ;)
In fact new or increased pledges will help me now, with the first pledge reaching me immediately, and help me later as subsequent pledges are charged on the 1st of every month to follow. It’s a great way to build sustainable income for artists (think “Act Blue for creative types), and my Patrons get early access to my creative output, plus exclusive content and really cool thank-you gifts for being part of “Team Jan” ;)
If only enough people could shift their thinking to an “Act Blue” model for supporting freelancers & creative types like myself … Our missing friend bfitz always said,
Patreon is like Act Blue for artists.
Just like Act Blue monthly donations make a big difference for our Dem campaigns, Patreon monthly pledges could make a big, big difference to the lives our makers & creatives. It’s a thought …
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One last thing — for those who want to know How I Got Here: Let me refer you to this diary, wherein I detail the backstory about my precarious financial situation. But the short answer is, I outlived my money.
Last and final word (as almost always) goes to LuvLee the Cat:
Thanks for reading this, and please help get the word out by sharing, tweeting, rec and tipping … because that helps, too
Thursday, Dec 27, 2018 · 4:57:02 AM +00:00
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jan4insight
Wow, you folks are fast! Goal Met — and then some, thanks to the orders and contributions that came in! I’ll be replying to comments and sending out thank-yous & purchase acknowledgments over the next couple of hours. But for now — Thank You to all who helped. This community rocks!