Life Before Joining HPA
Shivani is a full-time sales consultant and has been painting all her life. She always wanted to pursue painting professionally and paint in different parts of the world. Her mother is a professional artist as well, so this may be something she had from her.
Anyway, of course, having someone working professionally in a field that intrigues you helps a lot as you get an idea of what you can expect out of it. But Shivani didn’t make painting her side hustle until she joined Hustlepost Academy.
Becoming an Art Teacher
Shivani started painting during the lockdown and was consistent with both painting and posting her art online. She started selling her art online through her website and Etsy which caters to international clients.
It was when she was posting online, on Instagram primarily, that she found that people were interested in learning more about painting but there is a lack of guidance available regarding art specifically. One can watch videos on YouTube but it still isn’t satisfying when it comes to learning from the basics and understanding how painting exactly works.
That’s when Shivani decided to start teaching art. The goal was to teach and not monetise but when she realised that people are willing to invest in learning, she decided to monetise her classes.
Now, she offers workshops for beginners on weekends and masterclasses for people who are familiar with the basics of painting and wish to learn a very specific style.
Challenges of Being an Artist
There is no doubt that making money as an artist is a little more challenging than other side hustles and freelancing options.
For an artist, the target audience is very specific, and that was exactly the case for Shivani as well. Shivani mentioned that her audience can be divided into two categories. It’s either school students or people who are extremely passionate about learning painting and art.
When you’re targeting school students, that too in India, where the market is anyways price-sensitive, you need to market your products in such a way that children are able to convince their parents to pay for them”
That is one of the challenges because art is just a hobby for most people. And even out of those, there is a section of people who are interested in learning but aren’t confident about their drawing skills. So, an art teacher has to first change the mindset and make it clear that you don’t have to be an expert in whatever you do just to make money through it, and then convince people to pay for learning.
Managing Side Hustle Along With Full-Time Job and Family
Did we mention that Shivani is a full-time employee and a mother?
Well, here you have our boss lady who is working on 3 different projects- job, side hustle, and a family.
We are sure it wouldn’t have been easy for her. We asked how she manages to paint and teach along with the full-time job. She said she likes painting in the mornings because she can record videos under natural light for her social media. That’s all she does on weekdays, sometimes she edits her videos after work but not always. Weekends are dedicated to the side hustle alone. She conducts workshops, paints, and plans everything around her side hustle on weekends.
Current Revenue
Even with her side hustle, Shivani has a number of income streams. She sells her paintings on her website, on Etsy, and on third-party websites as well. Then she offers workshops on weekends, and finally, there are masterclasses.
Through all this, she is earning around INR 40,000 to INR 60,000 per month. And mind you, she is investing just a few hours of her day into this.
Experience With HPA
We had to ask how was her experience with HPA, after all, she was once our student and is still a part of the community. Shivani believes Hustlepost Academy has a lot to do with her success. She considers HPA an investment that has given her more than stocks (great comparison) and even mentioned that she liked how the course covered every information that she, as an artist, side hustler, and entrepreneur required to start.
Shivani pursued our start and grow your side hustle course and she was given access to all the classes ranging from how to build a website to how to use social media to grow your business. We are glad she liked the information that was provided and followed everything that was suggested in the course. Her dedication and consistency is the primary reason behind her success.
Parting Words
With that, we decided to end the interview but we didn’t forget to take notes for you, our aspiring artists. We asked Shivani if there is any piece of advice she would want to give to her fellow artists, in any and every creative field. We loved her response. She Said..
Just start. And if you want any guidance on where to start and what to do, HPA is an amazing investment. I have seen the results. Also, you don’t have to excel in your skill to monetise it or teach others, there are always people who wish to reach the level you are at.”
