Ira Kadir

Please tell us about your work?

I am a stay at home mom and I started my online business 2 years ago. During that time, my husband is the only breadwinner and I wanted to find ways on how I could earn money from home. I did some research and I decided to teach art class through Skillshare. My class started doing really well and I am able to earn consistent income every month and I have also managed to earn up to $1,000 USD in a month. This is purely passive income as it requires very minimal work on my part to maintain it so it’s perfect for a busy mom like me.

Then, earlier this year, I opened up a shop on Creative Market where I sell digital products and so far, it has become successful as well. I am also able to earn consistent income and again, it requires very little effort to run. My business model is geared towards passive income as I think it suits my lifestyle really well. Now, I am in the middle of writing my ebook called The Creativepreneur Handbook where I share everything I knew about earning passive income as an artist/designers. You can find out more about it on my website.

What is your art background?

I have a formal education background in art. I graduated from Art and Design school with a Bachelor Degree in Textile Design. I have always loved art as a kid and it’s been my passion for as long as I can remember.

You sell DIY design kits for bloggers, is that a good
business?

Yes, it is. A lot of people are starting a blog these days so I wanted to help them simplify their design process with the templates that I made and be able to get a high-quality product at an affordable price. As you know, starting a blog can get expensive and there are only so many things that you can do so I want to make the process of promoting their blogs as painless as possible.

Why did you choose CreativeMarket.com to sell
your design kits?

I chose Creative Market primarily because it caters to my target market and they are very well known. They also have the free goods every week which you can participate and gain a lot of exposure. My free offer has been downloaded almost 30k+ times so you know that your customers are there. I personally feel that Etsy is so crowded and you have to do your own promotion otherwise it’s almost impossible to get discovered. Another thing that makes me choose Creative Market over Etsy is because Etsy seems to cater more towards handmade and physical goods whereas Creative Market is purely digital products. It’s much more niche in my opinion. The best thing about Creative Market is it’s completely free to join and started selling your stuff.

Your Skillshare art classes seem very different than
the products you sell on your website, do you try to
keep your art and your business separate?

Yes, I feel like as an artist and designer, I try to diversify my income streams. I don’t want to rely on just one product as I think it’s not sustainable. Furthermore, I think a lot of us designers and artists are multi-talented so it makes sense to grab every opportunity and see which one works for you, which in my case will be Skillshare and Creative Market.

Is Skillshare a good platform for promoting and
selling your classes?

Yes, absolutely. This is especially true if you’re just getting started. Of course, you can host the class on your own website and earn more money but that comes with a lot of work as well. I don’t think I can manage it as I have 2 daughters under 2 years old that I need to take care of. Skillshare does the heavy lifting of promoting my class and the fact that they have a lot of people coming to their site every day really helps.

One drawback that Skillshare have is that they recently change their payment system and it did affect my monthly earning. But I decided to still keep my class there as I already have an audience and I still earn consistent income every month. This is also the reason why I advise not to put all your eggs in one basket. The smart thing to do is diversify your income streams.

Do you have any advice for someone interested in a
graphic design career?

Start NOW. Don’t wait. I feel like a lot of people said this but I also wish that I start sooner. It took me a long time to start as I don’t have enough confidence in myself as I’m not a native speaker and I’m afraid that this won’t work. Just start. You’ll be so glad you did. I truly believe that you don’t have to wait until your product is perfect. You can definitely make them better over time. I always started out before I’m fully ready and that makes all the difference.

Also, stop comparing yourself to other designers because that is the worst thing that you can do to yourself. You’re amazing and people need you and your talent.

Thanks!