How I Turned My Calligraphy Hobby into a Full-Time Business: The Full Story
Wow, it’s been exactly one year since I quit my job.
I always get asked the question, “Dina, why did you do it?” or “What was the journey like?” so I decided to write this blog post for you about turning my calligraphy hobby into my full-time work!
As of July 2020—the time of writing this blog post—I have been full-time in my calligraphy business for one year.
Gosh, time passes fast. I remember my last day at my old 9-5 job and saying goodbye to my coworkers. I was so sad to leave because I loved working there, but I knew that greater things lay ahead.
Right when I started learning calligraphy, my goal was to quit my job a year later. I didn’t know if I could do it, but I told two close friends.
How I started learning calligraphy
In August 2018, I was browsing Pinterest a lot, and one day, fell into a calligraphy hole. Around the same time, my mom was discharged from the psych ward of our local hospital, having been treated for her depression and psychosis for a couple of weeks.
To help her integrate back into society, I thought that maybe I could make greeting cards with her—I planned to learn calligraphy, and she would paint. She had a lot of paint supplies but didn’t paint often. I thought making greeting cards with her would help her stay on her feet and give her something to do.
That's why I named our business Jennidi Creative. It's a combination of our names: Jenny + Dina. (In January 2020, I rebranded to Dina Calligraphy because later on, it was mainly me working in the business and the name confused people.)
So that’s when I bought my first brush pen! It was a Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip brush pen.
I practiced with it for a week—needless to say, I was pretty inconsistent in my lettering because I was trying to learn it myself through Youtube and articles online. I read multiple blog posts like this one by Lindsey Bugbee, who runs the awesome calligraphy blog The Postman’s Knock.
I was so intrigued by all the pretty calligraphy I saw, so I up-levelled from the brush pen and bought a kit of pointed pen supplies.
For two months, I practiced calligraphy every single day, sometimes for three hours each day. On average, I’d say I practiced for 30 minutes every day.
The first “big” thing I did with my calligraphy was when my good friend Selina Ho, Founder of sustainable fashion consultancy Recloseted, invited me to make size signs and name cards for her business launch party in September 2018.
While I learned calligraphy, I shared about my mom’s recovery in her mental health on Instagram.
My first try at business: selling greeting cards in December 2018
In the meantime, I continued to practice, and I encouraged my mom to paint. I made a business plan of what I wanted to do in my business—I had so many ideas it was hard to niche down.
When November rolled around, I finally decide to go with the original idea of selling greeting cards. It was perfect timing because Christmas was approaching.
I took some stars my mom drew, and I turned them into a set of holiday cards.
The response I received when I launched these cards made my heart so full—I was so grateful to have such supportive friends. I got the cards printed at a local Vancouver print shop, and my mom helped me fold and score some of the cards.
Meanwhile, I was still working at my 9-5 government office job. My typical day would look like this:
Listen to a business podcast while eating breakfast
Skytrain to 9-5 job while posting on Instagram
Work at my 9-5 job
Skytrain back home while listening to a business podcast and replying to DMs on Instagram
Eat dinner
Package cards and work on the greeting card business for 1-2 hours
I’ve always wanted to have a side business, and I finally did!
(In the past, I had some other ideas that didn’t work out: resume freelance editing, opening a home bakery selling cakes, travel blogging.)
I was so happy about having a legit business (and especially after I registered my sole proprietorship with the BC Government) but at times, I thought, Okay, so now that I have a little greeting card business… where do I go from here? How can eventually quit my job so I can live out my dream of working for myself?
New year (2019), new business endeavours
After I successfully sold about 100 greeting cards, I was ecstatic and thought, the world is my oyster!
In January of 2019, I had the idea to go pursue my long time dream of becoming a travel blogger. So I bought a travel blogging course and a domain. After about two weeks of setting things up, I felt a bit weird. Why am I doing this completely different thing and struggling so hard when I have the calligraphy business that I’ve already built momentum with?
So I scrapped the travel blogging idea and went back to brainstorming what I could do with calligraphy.
At the time, I saw a lot of calligraphers doing workshops, and I thought that was super cool. So I wondered if I could do that too. I had a couple of friends ask me if I could teach them, so I thought maybe I could, even though I had only learnt calligraphy five months prior.
I invited three friends over and tried to teach them calligraphy, without any worksheets, just to see what they struggled with and if I could even teach them. They actually learned quite a bit from our very casual session, so I decided to go ahead and make some worksheets.
I was confident I could finish the worksheets in three weeks, so I went ahead and found a location for my first public workshop: an underground cafe I passed by often in downtown Vancouver.
Long story short, I hosted my first workshop with eight people—half strangers, half friends. I was incredibly nervous at the time, but I did it. I was shaking and honestly wasn’t sure if people would learn a lot from the workshop. But the feedback I got was great—people enjoyed it and learned!
After that, I thought, why not host more?
Eventually, I was teaching 3-4 calligraphy workshops every month on the side of my 9-5 job.
Why I quit my job in May 2019
For years, I've loved the idea of being my own boss. I wanted to pursue my dream of being able to work remotely from wherever in the world. Was this the right time to do it?
Three months after teaching my first workshop, I felt like it might be time to quit my job because I saw so much potential in this calligraphy business. I had some difficult discussions with my dad, but in the end, he agreed to me quitting my job.
At the time, I was making about a third of my 9-5 salary with my calligraphy workshops, so financially, I didn’t feel ready to quit, but it was a now or never kind of thing for me. The main thing was that I didn’t have enough time to work on my business. I knew that if I quit, that would free up time for me to do way more in my business. While my calligraphy was a side business, I only had about one hour on weekdays to actively work on my business, and maybe six hours on the weekend. It wasn’t enough.
Also, I had been working in my job for two years and didn’t see any more growth opportunities. (Unlike many entrepreneurs who hate their job, I actually loved my job: it was an awesome job because I learned so much about business development and international trade, it let me travel every two months, and I loved my coworkers to death.)
I was also living at home so I didn’t have any major financial obligations like a mortgage, so that helped me feel better about the financial aspect of quitting my job and not having a salary.
What was the worst-case scenario? If things didn’t work out, I could get a part-time job or go back to a full-time job in business development or international trade. I was quite confident in my hireability—if I had some entrepreneurial experience, that would actually even add to my hireability if I ever wanted a job again.
If you’ve been thinking about quitting your job to try to run a business, there’s never a good time to do it.
At the time, my biggest worry was not being able to make money. But I truly believed that if I worked smart, invested in the right resources, and persisted, I could do it—like the many other entrepreneurs out there!
For a year prior to quitting my job, I volunteered for League of Innovators, which is a Canadian charity that supports young entrepreneurs aged 15-25 with free resources and programs for them to start a business. I was connected within the entrepreneurial community in Vancouver and personally knew entrepreneurs younger than me who were running their businesses full-time. If they could do it, why couldn’t I? I’m so grateful that I had this community that pushed me to keep going in my calligraphy business. League of Innovators will always have a special place in my heart because they’re some of the people I first told about my business.
So before I quit my job, I made a plan of how I would replace my salary. I thought it was possible to do it within two months—they tell you to reach for the stars, right? (In the end, I didn’t replace my salary until half a year later after trying a lot of different things, but it worked out and I’m so grateful.)
The day I quit felt surreal. That 9-5 job was my first and only job out of university. I never handed in a real resignation letter before—unless you count the resignation letters from part-time retail jobs at the mall. Two weeks later, I said goodbye to my coworkers and peaced out.
Life as my own boss: it was awesome at first, and then I burnt out
The first two months after I quit my job were super fun. I was ecstatic, having finally the opportunity to set my own schedule, do whatever I wanted, work from home every day, and not report to anyone. It was awesome!
I worked hard to replace my old salary by continuing to host calligraphy workshops; I started to reach out to companies in Vancouver to do corporate team-building workshops; I even experimented with different art forms like watercolour painting and tried to sell custom home paintings to realtors.
After two months, I didn’t really make much progress on my goal of replacing my old salary.
That’s when I started to freak out.
My dad was also asking if I was looking for another job at this time, to which I sheepishly said ummm no I’m going to make money with calligraphy...
That’s when I became so stressed that my eyes started twitching, I got muscle pains in my shoulders and neck, and I had headaches all the time.
It wasn’t a fun time.
I was so stressed trying to make money that I wore myself out. I was super scattered-brained and trying to do way too many things at once. This was also the time that I thought about offering business coaching to calligraphers, and so I created the Facebook group Calligraphy Business Bosses to see if business advice was needed in the calligraphy community (always do market research!).
Around fall of 2019, I was doing way too much to handle: I was teaching 10 public calligraphy workshops a month, I was working with 3 beta coaching clients, I was creating social media content about how to build a calligraphy business, I was designing new holiday cards, I was cold-emailing companies in Vancouver to do holiday team-building calligraphy workshops, and I was debating whether or not I should get a job.
When I finally realized that I couldn’t go on like this anymore, I calmed down and tried to get my health back in order.
I started exercising regularly again, I got frequent massages, I tried to work less, I tried to do less but focus more on what mattered.
It took a few weeks before I felt okay again.
It was good timing to get back up and running again because the holidays were approaching. I knew that the holidays were a huge time for calligraphers because everyone’s buying gifts and hosting parties.
I’m glad my health was okay during this time because I really couldn’t have gotten through December without taking care of myself. I was right—December was a huge time for calligraphers. I had finally surpassed my old salary in revenue (mainly with workshops, on-site calligraphy, and selling Christmas cards).
Then 2020 happened
In January this year, it was quieter. The holiday rush was over, and I could take a breath.
I had planned a one month trip with my mom to Beijing to visit relatives. I was planning to work on the coaching part of my business for a month in Beijing.
On January 23, 2020, my mom and I arrived in Beijing.
But remember what happened that day? On that exact day, Wuhan started its lockdown. No one could leave the city.
This weird virus was suddenly all over the news. I didn’t go anywhere in Beijing; I literally stayed in my grandpa’s complex. Didn’t see any friends, didn’t go out. It was scary.
On day five of being in Beijing, I flew back to Canada. I was so sad to end the trip early, sigh.
But health and safety are always first.
I quarantined for two weeks and then started hosting public workshops again in mid-February. I kept teaching calligraphy until mid-March—that’s when everything in Vancouver started shutting down because of COVID-19.
Since then, I've obviously stopped hosting in-person workshops.
It was a blessing in disguise because the only thing I could work on was my online coaching business for calligraphers—and that’s what I did. In March this year, I started to work with five talented calligraphers to grow their calligraphy business. Since then I’ve continued to coach calligraphers on a 1:1 basis and I also welcomed six calligraphers into my group coaching program Calligraphy Business Accelerator.
Looking back, I'm so grateful
I really can’t believe it’s been one year of me being full-time in my business.
I remember the days I would get off work at 5 pm, and then teach a workshop at 5:30 pm—I would be super tired but super grateful for everyone who showed up to learn calligraphy from me.
I remember the days I would write Instagram captions on the Skytrain during my one-hour commute into downtown Vancouver—I dreamed of being my own boss so badly that every spare minute was spent working towards it.
I remember the days when I had no idea how to register a business, how to invoice clients properly, and how to create a discount code on Eventbrite—looking back, I’m so glad I didn’t let uncertainty and fear hold me back.
I remember the days I would struggle so hard with ink pooling, inconsistent lines, and cramped hands while learning pointed pen as a left-handed calligrapher—I wanted to start a business and get my mom involved in something creative, so I didn’t give up.
Right now, most days I get up and start working right away. But recently, I’ve been reflecting a lot on what has happened the past year.
They always say that the first year running a business full-time is the hardest. Now that it’s been one year, do things get easier?
In some ways, I’d imagine yes—but in some ways, I’d say no.
I’m so incredibly grateful that I finally have more of a stable income. I’d say that I’ve generally replaced my old income from my 9-5 job. It goes up and down each month, but overall it’s okay.
I’m so blessed to have such a supportive family and group of friends, who have always cheered me on and helped me find the courage to keep going.
Am I still worried about where my revenue will come from? To be honest, yes. And I think the uncertainty is also exacerbated by everyone not knowing when this quarantine will end.
Do I know what I’m doing? I find the hardest part is planning out what I want to do next. I’m still kind of scatterbrained in that I want to do everything. Focusing is the hard part for me.
3 pieces of advice if you want to turn your calligraphy hobby into a full-time business
1. Start small
For sure, definitely dream big, but you’ve got to start with small steps. Look into how to register your business, connect with other calligraphers, and start taking some action! Check out my blog post How to Start a Calligraphy Business from Scratch, a 6000+ word resource on concrete things to do.
2. Stop caring about what other calligraphers think of you
I hate to admit it, but I care about what other people think of me. I think it’s really hard not to care about that, but are you caring about what the right group of people think?
So many times, I’ve felt stuck or didn’t feel like doing something because of what other calligraphers will think of me. Who am I to start hosting workshops when other calligraphers in Vancouver are doing the same? What will other calligraphers think when they see I’m selling greeting cards?
But I’ve realized that it doesn’t matter what other calligraphers think of me. What really matters is what my potential customers will think of my work.
Are calligraphers buying from me? Nope. It’s my customers who are. And those are the people whose thoughts I should care about.
3. Take care of yourself
I’ve always been a big advocate of taking care of oneself, but it wasn’t until I quit my job that I realized I, myself, was not doing a good job at that. As I mentioned earlier in this blog post, I was so stressed out that my health took a toll on me and it took me a couple of weeks to get back to normal.
No matter what we’re doing—whether it’s running a business, pursuing a career path, or going to school—everything suffers if you don’t take care of your health first.
It’s always easy to say the words “Take care of yourself,” but sometimes it’s incredibly difficult to realize when you’ve got to stop living the lifestyle you’ve been living and make some changes.
For those of you who are working or in school full-time, I know that time is a huge issue when it comes to starting a business. Don’t pressure yourself to work if you are too tired—you’d be much more productive if you took the time to rest and then continued working on your business the next day.
So what’s next for Dina Calligraphy?
I’m excited about the future! I think I’ve overcome a big hurdle in my business the past year, which is finding what I’m most passionate about—helping others achieve their dreams—which I accomplish through coaching and mentoring calligraphers around the world.
For now, I’m going to keep coaching calligraphers 1:1 and in group programs.
I’m also planning to do more with this blog. I want to make business resources publicly available for all calligraphers who want to start a business—so I’m slowly working on writing blog post versions of the Facebook group trainings I’ve done in the past.
At the time of writing this blog post, I’m currently taking a one month break off Instagram to focus on other important priorities I’ve been neglecting: friends and family, personal finance, and self-reflection. To be honest, I find Instagram a bit draining—it’s a combination of needing to be super active in stories and my bad habit of endlessly strolling through my feed when I unlock my phone. I’ve gone out of balance with Instagram, and am using this one month to refocus and come back with a more effective way of using Instagram.
Work-life balance and lifestyle design are really important to me. Now, instead of working 10-12 hours on my business every day, I’m trying to cut it to 6-8 compact hours of efficient work. In the past little while, I’ve realized how much I value my leisure time and friendships. I’ve read a couple of books on personal finance lately, started making kombucha again, and caught up with friends I haven’t talked to in a long time.
My homemade kombucha!
In the longer term, I want to do more to support mental health initiatives and young entrepreneurs starting businesses. I’d like my business to be a little more stable, and then I’d love to volunteer my time more—starting next year—to support organizations I care about.
Keep going and don’t give up
Wow, if you got to the end of this blog post, I’m honoured.
This isn’t one of my typical blog posts where I share specific advice on how to do something specific in your calligraphy business.
Because of this Instagram cleanse I’m doing, I’ve been reflecting a lot and wanted to write this more reflective piece so I can document my journey. (By the way, if you’re not documenting your journey, I’d highly recommend journaling… I’ve been doing it since I was 10 years old, and I love looking back at my progress.)
I’m blessed to be where I am right now in my business, hugely in part of my supportive network and my privilege of not having any major financial obligations right now.
The journey has definitely had its ups and downs—but overall I’ve found it extremely rewarding and enjoyable. My favourite things are being able to connect with such creative and talented people all over the world, seeing people smile because they learned something cool (calligraphy!), and the freedom to do what I want to do as my own boss.
Some people think you need something very special to run a successful business—maybe being born into a family of business owners, or a genius brain, or an incredibly wide network—but I’d disagree with that.
All you need is courage to keep going, and courage to not give up.
You will make it.
