Emmy and AACTA Award-winning producer turned screen sector executive coach Ellenor Cox explores how to achieve harmony between artistic fulfilment and financial security.
Three decades ago, I made a life-altering decision to leave a secure, well-paying corporate job and embark on a journey as an independent freelance producer.
At that time, I held the common misconception that pursuing a career in the arts meant sacrificing financial stability, potentially leading to the stereotypical existence of a ‘starving artist in the garret’.
Now, in my role as a coach within the film industry, I frequently encounter individuals who grapple not only with financial management challenges, but also with their beliefs and attitudes toward financial prosperity. Over the years, I’ve come to realise that our romantic ideals of leading creatively fulfilling lives can coexist seamlessly with financial security and stability. However, achieving this balance requires specific choices and actions, especially when dealing with the inherent income fluctuations in the creative field.
In an industry where permanency, associated leave loadings, and decent superannuation are becoming increasingly rare, we must equip ourselves with the tools to navigate the waves of an artistic life without letting money stress hinder our creativity.
The first step is to examine our internal world and our beliefs about money and wealth. In Gay Hendricks’ book The Big Leap, he explains how we all have internal thermometers set at ‘maximum’ levels in areas such as wealth, abundance, love and success. These individual maximum temperatures are determined by our upbringing, experiences and values, and each of us has our unique upper limit or capacity wired into our brains.
When we exceed this limit, or as Hendricks puts it, when we hit our “Upper Limit Problem,” we subconsciously want to return to our comfort zone, often displaying self-sabotaging behaviour. For instance, during the final stages of negotiating a contract, we might decide not to pursue an overtime clause or an extra $100 a day rate. We justify this behaviour as not wanting to ‘rock the boat,’ but the truth is that internally, we don’t believe we deserve this level of wealth and, therefore, don’t feel comfortable pushing for it.
Only by pushing past this discomfort and testing our upper limit can we raise our internal thermometer setting on what we believe we deserve. The more evidence we accumulate of successfully negotiating outcomes in our favour, the more confidence we gain in these areas, and new stretches and upper limits become achievable.
However, shared beliefs within our cultural community can reinforce the notion that authentic creatives shouldn’t be concerned with money if they are to retain their authenticity and integrity as artists. This is where understanding your active ‘money type’ can be useful.
As Leanne Gundry, the founder of Money Energetics and an Australian-based certified money coach, explains, “Knowing our unique Money Type combinations and how they manifest in our lives can help us understand our individual relationships with money and guide us toward personal growth.”
It’s no surprise that Creator/Artist Money Types often wrestle with their relationship with money. They may cherish the freedom of the artistic life but remain detached from the material world, unconsciously impeding the flow of money in their lives.
Becoming aware of our unique money patterns paves the way for transforming less resourceful habits into more positive ones step by step. There’s a wealth of practical content available online and in publications to assist us in this journey. Two standout resources for me are Scott Pape’s The Barefoot Investor and Molly Benjamin’s online presence at The Ladies Finance Club.
Once you’re aware of your current relationship with money, how you arrived there, and what you can do to change it, it’s time to consider the structures you can establish in your external world to reflect your newfound ease with money.
A crucial starting point is to monitor your spending habits. Free apps like Mint, Pocketguard, Wally, and Expense Manager, among others, enable you to track your expenses and create budgets that align with your spending habits. Tracking your expenses also reveals areas where you can redirect spending into saving or paying down debts. I recommend maintaining discipline in tracking three months of spending to enhance your money consciousness.
Additionally, consider redefining the term ‘spending’ and start viewing every financial transaction as an ‘investment’. Before making a purchase, ask yourself, ‘Is this a wise investment?’ ‘Does it align with my highest values?’ Allocating dedicated time each week to review finances, seek saving opportunities, and compare expenses against a budget can yield unexpected savings by avoiding the ‘laziness tax’ associated with automatic renewals of unnecessary services or failing to shop around for better deals on insurance and health insurance.
For those grappling with debt, it’s essential to confront the fear of denial and tally up your debts. Only when you know the total sum can you devise a strategy to conquer your debt mountain. Consider approaches like the snowball method, which involves paying off the smallest debts first, or the avalanche method, which prioritises the highest interest rate debts.
Another effective strategy involves leveraging ‘investment’ outcomes through the power of gamification. For example, if you want to socialise with friends on a Friday night but lack funds for
expensive drinks, identify your most fulfilling motivation, such as connecting with friends. Then, gamify the experience by challenging yourself to drink a certain number of glasses of water instead of alcohol or allocate the same amount you would have spent on drinks to pay down a debt. You’ll wake up the next morning feeling energised from seeing your friends and without a hangover.
I hope the above illustrates that the age-old notion of the ‘starving artist’ need not dictate our financial reality. By reshaping our beliefs, understanding our unique Money Types, and adopting practical tools and strategies, we can strike a harmonious balance between artistic passion and financial stability. From tracking expenditures with user-friendly apps to viewing every financial decision as an investment aligned with our values, and even gamifying financial challenges, there’s a wealth of approaches to empower creatives on their financial journey. The path to financial security and creative fulfilment is not only possible but also within reach for those who dare to challenge the status quo.
Ellenor offers a range of free resources available to the screen sector at www.ellenorcox.com and is available for individual and team coaching, consultancy and workshop facilitation.