Photo by CoWomen from Pexels — Photo by **CoWomen** from **Pexels**

The entertainment industry was hit hard by the pandemic. While the famous names may not have suffered, those of us in supporting roles certainly have. Although concerts, filming, and live events are finally starting to pick up, there is still a long road ahead. Fortunately, there are many ways to put yourself on track and earn an income until you can get back to doing what you love.

Start a freelance business.

If you’ve ever worked a gig where you were only paid for the time and days you were on site, had no insurance, and were free to work with other clients, you’ve already worked in a freelance capacity. Nothing stopping you from doing so again. As a freelancer, you can refocus your passions and expertise, do what you love, and get paid for it. A few possible ideas are to work as a videographer, YouTube commercial personality, or virtual music teacher.

As a videographer, your videographer hourly rate goes up depending on how much experience you have behind the camera. Filming YouTube commercials lets you shine on screen for other small businesses and others trying to make ends meet. For this, you’ll need equipment and you’ll have to set your own rates. As a virtual music teacher, you will likely work with students of all ages to help them learn an instrument.

If you’re diving into freelancing, you may want to create a limited liability company for your business. Not only will this entity protect your assets in case of legal action against you, but you’ll also gain some tax advantages. The easiest way to register your Michigan LLC is through an online formation service.

Refine your business skills.

Once you’ve had a taste of the freelance lifestyle, you may never want to go back to a union or guild. But, there’s more to running a business than simply being good at your job. You might also join local workshops through your Chamber of Commerce or you can use websites, such as Alison, to take free and low-cost classes on everything from customer service to administrative support and management.

Other Income-Generating Ideas

As someone that works in the entertainment industry, you are likely skilled in other areas that you may not give yourself credit for. You might, for example, make money by:

Painting houses. Working on a movie or television set, you likely have plenty of experience making things look just right.
Photography. Run a camera for a living? Instead of moving pictures, consider selling your time and skills shooting family, portrait, or event photography. You already have an understanding of lighting, aperture, and other technicals involved in digital imagery, you may as well use it.
Tour guide. It might not be glamorous, but as museums and other public spaces open up, working as a tour guide will help you stay comfortable in front of a crowd.
Event planner. Chances are, you have plenty of experience organizing people and places. Large events, such as Comic-Con are happy to hire people with experience around actors and in tight deadline situations. If you can snag an interview, let your personality shine through.

There is no way to plan with pinpoint accuracy when your job will go back to full time. Until then, there are still ways that you can feed your family while using the skills you already possess. From freelancing to refining your business skills to landing a coveted role at major events, the above are a few ideas that can help make up the slack until restrictions are lifted.

Visit Achickwitbeatz.com for all your instrumental, songwriting, and vocal arrangement needs!