My Revenue Streams
As a Photographer + Videographer I get a lot of questions regarding how I make money like - what are great ways to increase wealth and how much money you can make in general as a creative? I think moving forward on my Youtube channel LA LOVE CREATIVE. I will share some financial advice related to creators. I have been a working professional for a while and I think I have a few insights I can share. I'm not doing this to flex. I know people that are making way more than me in this business. I am no expert in anything, haha But I just want to just share my experience on this topic. To show transparency and make you feel better about jumping into the game. Check out the information below for a $150 B&H Gift Card giveaway.
Live Art Love Creative Company
LiveArtLove.com is a small production company I run with my sister and our team. We have worked with clients in the corporate, app development, fashion, and commercial space for numerous years. Creating content for brands, and startups. Everything from e-Commerce, fashion lookbooks, commercials, and lifestyle work. We have also partnered with some of the biggest ad agencies along the way.
I’ve been hustling for many years as a freelancer with my own production company. In the past, I’ve made more than six figures from Live Art Love per year. However, I’ve found that constantly trying to find clients and working long hours on set has gotten us burnt out. On top of that 2020 was a weird time for us. But a blessing because we got to re-evaluate our company. We no longer take on as much commercial work as we have shifted our focus to our other avenues. However, we still take selected work that inspires us and is fun. Plus we still have a few clients we love working with.
This projected income is about $60k - $100k per year from productions. However, moving forward we expect a lot less since it's no longer our only focus.
LA Love Weddings
LALoveWeddings.com is relatively new in this space, however, it’s been a blast and we love it. When you shoot weddings, you are delivering such compelling work that people will cherish forever. Compared to brand work, you see your client express so much emotion once they see their photos or videos. Working with couples vs. commercial clients has been so rewarding and exciting. Hence the reason we have pivoted from commercial work.
We are still relatively new and building our brand. Our Average Price for videography and photography is about $5k per wedding which includes the package price plus add-ons. We average about 2-3 weddings a month.
This translates to about $120,000 per year. Possibly more, possibly less.
We split that depending on the number of shooters.
The projected income is about $60k per year from Weddings. Which I believe will increase as we book more weddings next year and our portfolio increases.
Full-Time Production Job
After working Freelance for so many years I kind of yearned for some stability. I'm married to my lovely wife and we are thinking of kids so I had to start thinking ahead. This year I started working for a Corporate Production Company. I'm still creative, I'm still doing what I love, it's just more of a 9-5. Which then allows me to work on client work and Youtube in my free time. I also work for a great company that is aware that I still freelance and do weddings. There is nothing wrong with working a 9-5 and having your own company. Just make sure you find balance.
I have to admit, it's great having a 401K with match, health benefits, stock options, etc. If you find yourself as creative with a job take advantage of all of your benefits. It pays off in the long term.
Real Estate + Photography Studio
I own a home with my sister In Los Angeles that we purchased a few years ago for around $700,000. The only way that was possible was because we split the down payment with the money we had saved. That home is now worth around 1.2 Million because Southern California real estate prices are ridiculous. Aside from the mortgage, taxes, and upkeep. The appreciation over time is one reason my family always stressed to us the importance of buying real estate.
Another side income we have from this property is in the past we have rented it out for television and film productions and events. We did this more before 2020. However, we are in the process of renovations and adding on to the house so we will be renting this out again soon.
The projected income is about $15k - $20k per year in production rentals so we're hoping that will increase since we're jumping back in.
New Photo Studio.
For so many years I talked about opening my Photo studio. But it has been a dream come true, and it is finally here. Not only do I have a creative space now for future projects. But I also have created a dream rental space which I can create passive income from. The game plan is to have this space up and running within the next month. It's a joint partnership between my wife and her siblings. Which also spreads out the cost and risk involved. We plan to invest in more studios and real estate projects in the future. With the studio, I'm hoping to at least break even on our initial investment by the end of the year. However, in Los Angeles, studios are making $200k - $300k+ per year on rentals.
Hoping to make at least around $100k in the first year. But the more the better.
Investments
I'm a big believer in investing in the markets whether that's just dollar cost averaging different stocks, crypto, or ETFs because I'm lazy and don't want to research too many stocks all the time. ETFs and index funds are a great way to increase your income and expand your wealth over time.
My crypto portfolio was around $120k at one point, but you know how that market goes so let's not even talk about how much it went down haha I also have a 401K which my company matches.
Conclusion
In total, my projected income is about $200K per year.
Not including the home equity and investments.
At the moment, that's all my sources of income. I've been working for myself for more than 10 years. Try not to compare yourself to others. I was blessed to have a very supportive family. A family that taught me about investments and real estate. Paid for college, and supported my dreams. This allowed me to fail and know that I wouldn't be on the streets if I did.
In the future, I plan on creating some photography courses, selling digital products, and ramping up my content on Youtube. Excited about future videos on finance topics related to creatives and also excited about my new photo studio.
If you have any questions regarding finances and entrepreneurship let me know in the comments below.
See you next time.