Our hands are not for boredom, or how to build a profitable business on creative ideas

First steps

Making money from creativity is a simple, but multi-stage process. It’s not enough to just do something, you also need to take care of good photos, placement sites and advertising. If large stores implement these tasks at the expense of a large staff of people, then a creative person has to cope with all the difficulties on his own.

The first thing you need to decide to start your business is how the product will be sold.

First, a site for selling the goods is selected:

• Internet. You can sell online from scratch and without investments, but you won’t have to wait for outside help. Products may be sold out in a few days, or they may not buy anything for many months, depending on the skill of advertising and luck.
• Offline. A more traditional sales method, but requiring a lot of time and effort. You need to look for a place to sell the product and spend time that could be allocated to creating a new one. However, this method also has its advantages.

The second important decision is the composition of the work team.

Of course, if the business starts making good money, you can hire an advertising and social media manager. You can hire a salesperson for a small store. But staff have to be paid already in the first stages of business, especially when it comes to offline sales.

Earn money on creativity on the Internet

Making money on creativity on the Internet is becoming easier every year. If previously a craftsman had to work only through his personal pages on social networks or on forums, now there are many special platforms for posting hand-made goods.

You can make money online in several ways:

1 Method. The most creative method is through social networks.

On VKontakte, Instagram or Facebook, you can run a full-fledged store, both officially and unofficially. All sites offer special widgets for products and prices, helping to control turnover and audience coverage. Also, through the built-in systems of social networks, you can conveniently buy targeted advertising, attracting your audience.

2. Method. On special online platforms.

There are many services on the Internet that offer craftsmen to unite “under one roof” to simplify sales. Opening your own store in such a place is simple - you need to register on the site, as if it were a social network, and post photos of your products there with a price and description.

Examples of sites:

• https://www.livemaster.ru
• https://www.etsy.com
• https://spinbo.ru

3. Method. YouTube or website.

In addition to online sales, you can also earn income from the content itself. For example, for someone who has created their own channel on YouTube, monetization can become a source of income.

4. Method. Notice boards.

Sites like “Avito” or “Yula” will help you find a buyer for creative products for free.

The main problem with selling online is that it is multitasking. The master has to independently carry out all the calculations, order advertising, and monitor sales. Because of this, there may simply not be enough time for creativity itself.

How much can you earn?

Profit directly depends on the quality of the product and its relevance. The approach to advertising and reputation building is of no small importance. In the initial stages, income will be modest.

However, already in the first month it is possible to compensate for expenses (if any). In St. Petersburg, the price of a handmade toy can vary from 500 to 1,500 rubles. Clothing made to order is more expensive than what is presented in stores.

One person will buy products every day, while another can sell them occasionally. Accordingly, their profits will vary.

With the right approach, handmade work can replace full-time work.

But not everyone manages to do without investments and intermediaries. This is due to the fact that in order to remain competitive it is necessary to constantly monitor trends and promote your product.

The most important factors influencing earnings include the following:

• quality of work and materials;
• choosing the right niche;
• unique author's style;
• regular monitoring of trends;
• advertising.

To show the dependence of profit on the experience of the master, I will demonstrate real amounts.

Analyzing the information in the table, you can see that with each visit to the fair, earnings double. It should be understood that costs are also increasing. Therefore, at first it is advisable to invest the amounts received in further production.

How to make money for a creative person offline

The ideal working business plan for a creative person is to have your own small store. A beautiful sign, bright advertising and a flow of people passing by will help you achieve stable income. At the same time, for most people creativity is a hobby, and immediately equipping a store for it is irrational and too expensive.

You can sell the results of handicrafts offline without your own trading platform:

• Personally. By standing at fairs, exhibitions or bringing a tray to gathering places for craftsmen on pedestrian streets and bazaars, you can sell your goods yourself without major expenses.
• Through an intermediary. There are many stores that accept goods for sale. You can also earn money through creativity by donating the results of your work to such a place.

Personal selling

If a creator has a day job and cannot devote all the time and resources to their creativity, they can still sell handicrafts in person.

For this purpose, fairs and creative exhibitions are held in most large cities .

Places on them are provided to craftsmen free of charge or for little money so that they can create an assortment for guests and raise the overall prestige of the event.

This method has many strengths:

• Personal approach. It will not be possible to blame the seller for offering the product incorrectly. Working at his stand personally, the master can instantly receive feedback from customers, quickly navigate what the public needs and what they will buy.
• Communication with other masters . An artist is a self-sufficient and independent person, but communication with colleagues in the workshop will not harm anyone. From them you can learn about problematic stores and customers, places to purchase materials and useful life hacks.
• Socialization. Many craftsmen who work from home rarely leave their homes, especially if their main profession is also remote. Fairs and exhibitions provide an opportunity to communicate with pleasant, creative people and make new acquaintances.

The main disadvantage of this method of sales is time and seasonality.

You will have to stand behind the counter in any weather and at any time of the year. In addition, such events are most often timed to coincide with holidays, so a stable income cannot be obtained using this method.

Intermediaries

The second option to set up your creative business without extra costs is to trust an intermediary. There are different mediation options available for those wishing to realize their handicraft:

• Regular stores. Large trading organizations do not accept hand-made goods for sale, but small outlets do so quite often. For example, if a master sews toys, his product can be accepted into a small children's shop at a percentage.
• Specialized stores. In the last few years, craftsmen have begun to actively earn income from creative shops. In such stores there are a huge number of shelves where the creator buys only 1 shelf for a symbolic amount. He places his goods on it, indicates prices, and the store sellers themselves sell it.
• Other creative people. If the master has found a friend who already has his own handicraft store, you can offer him to sell goods at a small percentage. If the subject matter of the items being made is different, and the artists do not compete, both sides will benefit.

The main disadvantage of mediation is limited feedback and mark-up.

To cover costs, you have to make the product more expensive, which can negatively affect its sales. The alternative is to reduce your income, but this method can lead to a quick loss of interest in such a business.

Top 10 best job search sites in Russia

The relevance of finding a job in our time not only does not decrease when compared with previous decades, but, on the contrary, is becoming increasingly higher. Some people quit, others are fired, some want to change jobs for some reason, others simply face the need for change. But if earlier everyone used, so to speak, the classical method: buying a newspaper - searching for advertisements - making phone calls - scheduling interviews; then today the two, and more often than not, even the first three points of this method can be safely crossed out, because people have the Internet at their disposal.

Searching for a job via the Internet allows you to significantly reduce your time, avoid standing in queues and preparing documents, because you can simply find a vacancy you are interested in and respond to it, or write a letter to the organization, sending your resume by e-mail and briefly telling about yourself. Moreover, you can do this while sitting at home at your computer and drinking your favorite green tea.

However, special attention in this matter should be paid to finding the most suitable site for finding a job, because you can find many options, but not all resources can provide professional services and help you finally find a job. Therefore, we decided to provide a list of what, in our opinion, are the best job search sites in Russia, which have already been tested over the years and by a huge number of applicants.

Below we will look at the “hot” ten sites, by turning to which, any person significantly increases their chances of finding a suitable job.

JOB.RU

The Job.ru website is one of the oldest job search sites - it has been operating since 1996. By contacting here, the applicant has the opportunity to find work in the Russian Federation and the countries of the former CIS, and the vacancy bank consists of over 100 thousand offers, updated daily. In addition, on the site you can learn how to correctly write a resume, how to properly interview with an employer, and find a lot of useful materials related to labor law and careers. All resumes received from applicants into the database are carefully moderated, so that requests from job seekers best meet the conditions of employers.

HEADHUNTER.RU

The resource “HeadHunter.ru (hh.ru)” occupies a leading position among resources working in the field of job search. On the site you can find over 300 thousand current job offers and more than 13 million resumes of applicants. Each job seeker is offered the opportunity to use a very convenient search system, learn about news on the labor market, get acquainted with the updated salary catalog, get online help from a specialist, create a professional resume, as well as learn about various training and advanced training courses and visit the research section. Among other things, this site is very useful for employers.

RABOTA.RU

The website "Rabota.ru" is a portal that offers candidates over 180 thousand job offers in the regions of the Russian Federation and the countries of the former CIS, and employers - more than 3 million resumes. Searching for a job on this site is very convenient, fast and accurate, and its specialists are in touch 24 hours a day. A student, a storekeeper, a manager, a leader, or a specialist in any field can find a job here. However, the resource has fairly strict regulations for posting resumes and vacancies, which was done to avoid dubious publications, repetitions and spam. In addition, the site has a mobile version and a special application that can be installed on a smartphone or tablet.

SUPERJOB.RU

The database of the Superjob.ru portal contains over 220 thousand vacancies from companies of various sizes and formats, both domestic and foreign. But the main activity of the site is not only the provision of job offers, but also useful materials and the most up-to-date information in the field of the labor market, salary reviews, career guidance tests, and even assistance from specialists in drawing up professional resumes. In addition, applicants have the opportunity to obtain a list of recruitment agencies, learn about various thematic events and find training courses, advanced training or professional retraining.

ZARPLATA.RU

The website “Zarplata.ru” has been working in the field of employment for 12 years and cooperates with the popular and well-known publication “Work and Salary”. The resource invites users to familiarize themselves with a huge number of offers - there are more than 40 thousand in total, and the number of people visiting the site daily exceeds 100 thousand. The site is equipped with a functional, fast and convenient search for vacancies, which are updated every day, news sections, reviews in the field of the labor market and analytical data, as well as the ability to post a resume and subscribe to updates. Moderating all incoming resumes allows you to quickly find vacancies that meet the specified parameters.

RABOTA.MAIL.RU

The Rabota.Mail.Ru portal is very well known to Russian job seekers and employers. Every day on the website you can find a lot of fresh job offers in all regions of Russia. Almost everyone can find suitable offers here, regardless of what their specialization is - there is work for everyone, from general workers and housewives to managers and specialists. In addition, site visitors have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with labor market news and all kinds of analytical data, and students can take advantage of a special section that contains very good and promising offers for people without work experience and who want to combine work with study.

FREE-LANCE.RU

The resource “Free-Lance.ru” is very well known among Internet users and people who are specifically interested in remote work. This site is most suitable for people specializing in copywriting, text translation, article writing, infographics, web design, photography, programming, etc. By and large, the presented resource is one of the most popular also for the reason that it allows offline employees to present their works and creations for sale and opens up a very wide scope for anyone to work and create with the possibility of receiving a good financial reward.

VAKANT.RU

The website “Vakant.ru” offers job seekers high-quality services and a convenient search for vacancies, the total number of which exceeds 170 thousand. Users can add their resumes to the data bank and look for work, both on the employer’s premises and remotely. The resource has been operating since 2000, and is currently considered one of the best. What sets it apart from the masses of others is quick registration, the ability to post a resume, and the presence of internal mail, which simplifies the interaction between job seekers and employers. In addition to this, we can note the opportunity to create your own archive of vacancies, subscribe and get acquainted with current news in the labor market.

GORODRABOT.RU

One of the youngest job search sites GorodRabot.ru is already included in the Top 7 most popular employment portals on the Runet. More than 8 million users choose GorodRabot.ru every month. There are almost 1.5 million vacancies here. The portal contains vacancies from 150 verified sources, including the most famous job search sites in Russia. Employers can post vacancies on GorodRabot.ru for free. Plus, it contains a database of candidates from 1.3 million resumes and services for quickly finding employees. It also contains salary statistics, an indexation calculator, the latest news, useful articles, comments and expert advice.

PROHQ.RU

“Prohq.ru” is another professional job search service. This is also another most popular site specializing in offers in the field of legal freelancing, which is why you can find a lot of excellent performers and many worthy customers here. In addition to the ability to search for or offer a job, you can create a personal account on the resource, which can be easily linked to your current account. There is also a service for preparing electronic documents required when registering an individual entrepreneur, which is very popular among some freelancers.

AVITO.RU

The Avito.ru website is a very functional resource, offering over 720 thousand vacancies to applicants, and more than 300 thousand resumes to employers. To get the most out of the resource, it is recommended to create an account, enter all the information about yourself, and also post a resume and photo. After posting, all data is moderated, and employers see a new applicant in the database, and then job offers are not far away. However, site administrators recommend some caution, because... Fraudsters often register on the site for the purpose of deception.

Thus, you have at your disposal ten of the best job search sites, and if you are currently a job seeker, then do not put off your job search until later and follow the links provided.

JOB FOR YOU: Surely you have heard more than once that work should bring not only income, but also pleasure. But for it to be enjoyable, you need to understand what kind of work is suitable for you and what kind of work is not recommended. In other words, to find a job you like, you need to undergo career guidance. And today you have the opportunity to do this without leaving home and without turning off your computer - we invite you to take our specialized course on self-knowledge, which has a special section on career guidance, as well as a lot of materials that will help you find out the characteristics of your personality, which will be useful not only in finding a job, but in life in general.

Follow this link, and we wish you success in knowing yourself and finding your life's work!

4BRAIN.RU

Of course, we couldn’t help but pass by our portal, because we are actively growing, and therefore we periodically look for workers in different areas: programmers, tutors, assistants, designers and many others. We also welcome interns and invite them to paid internships. Look who we need now in this section.

We also recommend reading:

• Storytelling
• Pros and cons of teamwork
• 10 job search trends in 2020
• 10 most common interview mistakes
• Reasons to create your own website
• Web resources for creative inspiration
• A-player: how to find an effective employee
• Affiliate programs: type of earnings, famous examples
• How to select sources for learning: 3 simple steps
• How to find the best employees
• The Strength of Weak Ties

Key words:1Self-knowledge

Business and creativity

For many, business and creativity are incompatible concepts, but in reality this is not the case. Every year the cost and demand for manual labor increases, against the backdrop of total robotization. Now even a teenager can make money from creativity, if you approach the issue thoroughly and wisely.

Business ideas for creative people

Creativity is diverse, so it is impossible to single out a “gold mine” in it. Some people are able to earn millions from handicrafts, while others cannot earn even a few thousand from sales. There are many ideas for creative businesses, so finding yours is not that difficult.

• Handicrafts from scratch. If an artist has his own creative workshop, then you can seriously think about creating a unique product. Modeling from clay, forming jewelry from copper, creating notebooks - such pleasant and cute things sell well as gifts for the holidays.
• Recycling the old. Another popular type of creativity is decoupage and restoration. By purchasing old furniture, jewelry, and decorative elements, you can update them, creating something completely new with minimal investment.
• Creativity to order. A personal studio or at least a small workroom will allow you to do more complex needlework - painting, sewing. This work is most often performed according to the client’s order, according to his specific measurements and needs. Having a work space will help you take measurements and draw sketches from nature.
• Selling media content. You don’t have to create something with your hands—you can make money with your own mind. On the Internet, the main demand is for virtual content: videos on YouTube, photos on Instagram, texts for various sites or a personal blog. You can make money both from selling content and from advertising and monetization.

It is important to remember that the center of any creative process is the creator himself. If his work is made without soul, is a carbon copy and is poorly presented on the market, there will be no sales even with high quality.

First of all, the creator needs to create original, eye-catching things that he himself will like, then a client will be found quickly.

Where to start a business

There is no universal algorithm for how to turn your creative ideas into money. Each person has his own financial capabilities, connections and free time for business. However, there is a certain sequence of main steps, without which no one will be able to make money from creativity.

1. Decide what will sell. Even in the literary world, this question is relevant, because the future creator needs to decide in what genre and what to write about. It is impossible to cover everything, so first you should choose one type of creativity.
2. Decide on the target audience. Products for children and adults are sold completely differently. Also, the way of selling depends on gender. For example, women are more willing to buy offline after feeling the item before purchasing, while men do not like to waste their time in stores, so they usually order online.
3. Select a sales platform. Online or offline, in person or through intermediaries - a lot of future planning depends on this.
4. Find a suitable name for the brand. You need to choose something sonorous, not too long, preferably consisting of one word. It is also worth checking to see if there is another well-known brand under the same name. For example, a good option is the word “Kurako”.

After completing these simple steps, everyone can determine their own path for themselves. You can create a portfolio and work only to order, you can create availability and wait for the client. The main thing is to enjoy the process.

What is needed for work

There are no strict requirements or framework for hiring people on the Internet. Everything here is much simpler and more flexible. You don't need an education diploma, service certificates or medals. Only your work and skills are evaluated.

To work on the Internet you need a computer.

Tools

You need to do the work using special computer programs that will allow you to transfer your work online. Scanned drawings will be of little interest to anyone; they will need to be pre-processed and brought into proper form.

1. Photoshop is the most famous multifunctional photo editing program. It is mainly used for working with raster images, but it has a number of vector tools.
2. Illustrator – designed for working with vector graphics. You can use it to create website layout, watermarks, logos or other images.
3. A graphics tablet is not a required item, but with a graphics tablet you will be able to draw immediately electronically. Later, you won’t have to transfer the drawing from a sheet of paper to the computer. It may be unusual at first, but you will get used to it pretty quickly.

You can transfer paper sketches using a scanner. Just scan the drawing and then process it in Photoshop.

Personal qualities

Making money on the Internet requires complete dedication from a person. Here no one will stand over your soul, you are in control of yourself and your work. You are personally responsible for everything you achieve. So an artist needs to have certain qualities:

• Creative thinking. You will need to generate new images every day, create unique elements and objects. Much depends on the chosen field of activity, but in general an artist needs to think creatively.
• Self-control. Sometimes you're not in the mood to work, but customers can't wait. You need to force yourself to work, even during a creative crisis or bad mood.
• Punctuality. Inextricably linked with the previous point. You need to meet deadlines for completing work. Deadlines must not be missed. Customers do not like to be let down and may stop working with an unpredictable artist.
• Ability to make decisions. You will have to work from the customer’s words and create the final product based on his wishes. Decide what should be in the final picture, what elements to add and what to remove.

The work is undoubtedly creative and interesting, but over time it can become routine. You need a sense of humor, curiosity, and out-of-the-box thinking to avoid burning out.