Why many artists are terrified of getting rich

Artists who do not want to make money from their work have a hobby.

At a get-together, I spoke to Marit, a visual artist. At one point, she said: 'I don't have to get rich from my work, as long as I can make some money from it'. I hear that phrase very often. I have always shouted it myself.

It's not that crazy when everyone around you is that way about it.

Take Evert, artistic director of an opera company for 9 years. He works full time but does not pay himself. In the evenings, he conducts two choirs to pay his bills.

And Evert is not the only one.

For example, Lotte, a freelance production manager who was involved in a theatre production for 3 years. As usual, they made a budget in advance. She was supposed to get 3,000 euros. Because the subsidy was disappointing, it ended up being only 800 euros. For the same amount of work. But yes, get out of it when you have been working intensively together for more than a year. Then you have nothing at all.

And then ceramist Juliette, who makes beautiful garden sculptures but is always told when a potential buyer drops by that they are so expensive. Because you can buy something nice to put up at Intratuin for less than half as much. So she only sells them for a pittance.

I really wasn't any better.

I worked for 7 years as a freelance business manager for all kinds of theatre productions. I arranged contracts with actors or musicians, applied for grants and took care of selling 'my' productions to the theatres.

All heartily important. Without money, no performance. But when it came down to it, I was still really the closing post.

And I did that all by myself.

After all, I was in charge of the budget. I regularly deducted some from my own fee to still be able to pay for those fancy flyers or expensive sets. After all, I wasn't 'doing it for the money'.

I only gave myself one week off in a year and a half.

Because I had to work huge hours to pay my bills. Per hour, I earned 15 euros at most. (I worked 200 hours on a theatre project for 3,000 euros. Including VAT. I paid the stamps and prints for the grant applications out of pocket. As did my travel expenses and the cups of latte in the café during the many meetings).

Then in 2009, a lot of subsidies fell away.

To keep my business going, I had to start looking into new money streams. I started taking courses from well-known marketing trainers. That loosened up a lot.

I learnt that making money is not so much about money at all.

It's about appreciation. And we express that appreciation in terms of money.

It's about freedom. And we buy that freedom with money.

It's about being successful as an entrepreneur. And that success can be measured in money.

Many artists look down on people who want to make money.

"So commercial!" is then quickly shouted.

Because "you are an artist because it is your passion, not because of the dough.

But what if it could be both? A good friend of mine is a doctor and has a generous income. Yet she is super good at her job and hugely passionate. Among doctors, we find that quite common.

There are many more examples. I know very well-deserving lawyers, notaries, civil servants and IT professionals. Who love their work. Yet they don't mull over doing it for nothing.

So why would you?

Surely your work is no less important than theirs?