We recently connected with Mikaela Shafer and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mikaela, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I have been making a living from my creative work for about 6 years now and full-time for the past 3. When people think of creative work, they probably think I paint all day, and I really wish I did, but that’s not it. I make my own hours, work from home, travel, paint, dance, eat when I want, move around, and generally get to flex my creative skills all day without a boss, and that’s success to me.

About 6 years ago, I decided to make it my goal to go full-time creative, and to get there; I knew that I needed to make a skillset that allowed me to make money while giving me the flexibility to pursue my art and other creative endeavors. So, I dedicated a lot of time to growing and perfecting my creative professional skills, and around 3 years ago, I could go full-time as an independent freelance creative. I do copywriting, social media management, and business s coaching, which pays my bills and allows me to spend a lot of time pursuing my art which I hope to one day be able to do full-time.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started my career in journalism and the newspaper advertising industry. I wanted to be a writer, but the only available positions wherein advertising, so I started there and worked my way up. At the same time, I was running a successful independent blog and publication. Eventually, I was scouted by another publisher for my work with my blog and was asked to run their newspaper as the editor-in-chief. e had a really good run and an incredible staff, but sadly, there were cuts to newspapers all over the state at the time, and we just could not maintain funding.

After that, I got really passionate about community building and art again. I taught a course to small b businesses at the university and dedicated myself to my blog. I eventually landed a job with an incredible startup which led to more opportunities, and I realized I could do this full-time on my own and still have time to do art, but I needed to make sure my skill were stable enough to sustain me.

I relocated to Washington 4 years ago, and that is when I started to really pursue going full-time freelance. First, I started building up my clientele until I could finally quit my corporate day job and make the switch. From there, I worked on carving out more and more space for my art by rowing my skills and reputation enough that I could take on higher-paying clients.

I am proud of how far I have come and my work. Over the years, my biggest caveat was that I would not sacrifice my values. I would only work with brands and businesses that I loved, that inspired me, and that made me feel good to represent. I certainly said no to opportunities that could have gotten me here faster, but I wanted to do it on my terms and feel proud at the end of the day. I would say that a considerable part of my success has been my authenticity and passion for supporting my community and never compromising for a paycheck.

I recently made a big brand change and decided to combine my arts and professional skills into one business while allowing my culture to shine. I have always had these things separate — culture, art, and business. I wanted to combine them because it just made sense to me that instead of spending time cultivating three different areas of my life, if I combined them, I could build them up together while allowing clients to see the real me.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I would say the most rewarding thing is hearing that I inspired someone else to take the leap. It’s not easy out there for women like me, and if I can inspire just one other person to take charge of their life and live their dreams, that is everything to me.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think my biggest strength is my resistance. I am a minority, come from poverty, left an abusive marriage, and am a single mother. By all statistics, I should have failed, but I didn’t. I have always been stubborn, which has worked out in my favor. When you come from the background I did, you want to prove people wrong, and no one is helping you out along the way; you have to do it all on your own. But it doesn’t have to be. I am passionate about sharing everything I have learned to show other women like me that it can be done. I am not gatekeeping anything, and I think people really appreciate that.

I am also not afraid to be vulnerable. My journey shaped my ability to be a great storyteller, nurture a business to success, and understand what it means to keep going against all odds. Sharing my story online has opened so many doors, and possibilities for me, and helping my clients do that for themselves has proven successful over and over again.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://maqacollective.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maqacollective/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaelashafer/

Image Credits
Val Gleason