BE INSPIRED, BE CREATIVE, SIDE HUSTLE Nicki Traikos BE INSPIRED, BE CREATIVE, SIDE HUSTLE Nicki Traikos

Sketch & Paint: New Watercolor E-book by Nicki Traikos

Have you ever wanted to learn watercolor painting but aren’t the greatest at sketching or drawing? I get this comment a lot! People tell me they don’t know how to sketch anything; therefore, they can’t paint anything that feels “finished” or “polished,” so I started creating my Trace and Paint books.

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My Top 5 Calligraphy Projects to Sell

Working from home as a calligrapher is something that I’ve done since 2012. Over the years, I’ve offered a huge variety of services and products to my clients. In this post, I’ve compiled 5 of my favorite calligraphy projects that I recommend you consider selling too!

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SIDE HUSTLE Nicki Traikos SIDE HUSTLE Nicki Traikos

Passive Income, as part of your calligraphy business

A few years ago I was working a lot! I was designing for my clients, printing orders from my shops, creating my first few online classes and teaching workshops all over town. Seven days a week was the norm for me, and my husband also travelled a lot for work, which meant I was the kid’s numero uno.

I kept that pace for about a year and then started to feel burnt out!

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Wise Words For New Entrepreneurs

A brand new startup is one that is taking a significant risk. You’re heading out into the big bad business world, and you need it to be a success; after all, you’ve poured your everything into this venture! Experience is going to teach you a lot, and owning your own business is going to be the biggest lesson you will ever learn in your life. You are about to embark on something amazing, challenging, and life-changing, so it stands to reason that there will be wise words to hear before you get started!

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BE CREATIVE, SIDE HUSTLE Nicki Traikos BE CREATIVE, SIDE HUSTLE Nicki Traikos

How to Easily Hand Letter and Paint Greeting Cards

Years ago I was busy lettering, digitizing, designing, printing, selling & shipping, greeting cards as part of my online shop! It was a very busy few years in my business that required a lot of time and effort from me but I did enjoy creating some fun and sassy greeting cards that quickly became popular in my shop!

Greeting cards are a great way to share a personal message with a friend, say thank you to a client or if you are a calligraphy or letterer, to create a gratifying income stream or two in your business!

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My 5 Tips for Starting a Calligraphy Business like Megan Markle

I read recently that Megan Markle, as in Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex Megan Markle, had a little calligraphy side hustle going. Before HRH got her big break working on the show Suits, she worked for a paper company and offered calligraphy for celebrity weddings and even taught a workshop! How cool is that?! She prides her self on being very disciplined as she learned and practiced the art of calligraphy!

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BE CREATIVE, SIDE HUSTLE Nicki Traikos BE CREATIVE, SIDE HUSTLE Nicki Traikos

Calligraphy from a hobby to a home business - insight into my personal journey

Everyone’s journey is always so different and inspiring. I thought I’d share this lengthy post about how I got started with lettering and calligraphy as a hobby and a love for writing, and how I turned it into a home based business. Sit back, pour yourself your favorite bevvie and allow me to share with you my journey along with some practical advice!

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Learn about my Top 5 Ways to Make Money with Calligraphy/Lettering from Home

Teaching others how to start a home-based creative business has been something that I’ve wanted to do for years. I feel very fortunate to have been able to work from home while my kids were growing up. Working from home allowed me to have independence, to keep a part of who I was, and it gave me a break from being a Mom along with all the other jobs that go along with staying home.

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Advice to fellow creatives entrepreneurs who are struggling to grow their business

If you are a fellow creative entrepreneur and are struggling to grow your business, then read on!

What I’ve learned most over these last few years of being a creative and building my online business is; how to focus on important tasks, managing my time so I’m not working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and lastly how to rely on those around me for support and advice!

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Dealing With The Dull Business Things

In reality, the business path can be both rewarding and challenging. When you’re keen to engage with your creative ideas and let the inspiration flow through your mind and body, the last thing you want to be doing is to manage a business.

Who says business management is all about responsibilities, administrative tasks, and plenty of documentation. It’s fair to say that as a creative entrepreneur, you want to lose yourself in the artistic process of giving life to your ideas.

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Six Podcasts that have helped me in my creative business

At any point in starting, growing and running a business, I feel like we need inspiration, information, a fresh perspective, and motivation to push through when we need a little boost. Podcasts for me serve all of those purposes and more. So I thought I’d share with you Podcasts that have helped me in my creative business.

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Balancing Creativity and Business As a Creative Entrepreneur

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know that I balance being a creative and being an entrepreneur, wearing many hats in-between. Becoming a creative entrepreneur can be an interesting clash of two worlds. On the one hand, you have a creative skill that you want to market, whether it's decorating people's homes, producing music or making jewelry. On the other hand, you need to put your business hat on, and get to work promoting your creative skills or products. Growing a business while also carrying on with your creative work can be tough, and require a lot of work. So how can you balance your creativity with your need to grow your business? Take a look at some of these tips.

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Six years ago today, I began a new journey and never looked back

In a very random but powerful aha moment, I knew that I wanted to create art, share art, and inspire others to surround themselves by art. I knew that I wanted to continue to work from home, on my terms and with freedom to choose, when I worked and how I worked {My kids were still young, but didn’t need me as much}. I knew I wanted to maintain my independence while earning my own money and still be able to contribute to the family budget. I knew I was happiest when I painted, blogged and created.

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SIDE HUSTLE, BE CREATIVE Nicki Traikos SIDE HUSTLE, BE CREATIVE Nicki Traikos

Why take online courses?!

I believe in taking online courses so much so, that I have taken time away from my art and creative practice, to create courses to help others achieve their personal goals. I’m excited to share everything that I’ve learned over the years in the hopes of inspiring, empowering and saving you time and money! No matter what your goal is. [More about life i design online in another post]

Here are the reasons why I think taking online courses is the way to go! Read to the bottom to see my top online class resources.

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