Picture this: it's a late night in deep February and you're Gollum-hunched over your laptop, sifting through old receipts and invoices, sipping on stale coffee, and wondering if maybe — just maybe — you should have paid someone to do your complex artist taxes this year. Or perhaps you're on the equally harrowing flip side: you just dropped $800 on an energetic social media manager and now you're eating instant ramen for a month, second-guessing whether those fast-paced Instagram reels were really worth it.
The question of when to DIY and when to hire help is one of the most persistent dilemmas in an artist's career. It's not unusual to take on multiple roles in the creative process — you might be a multi-hyphenate director/choreographer/performer, a writer/editor, or a producer/host. On top of these noble creative hats, you're often your own grant writer, fundraiser, PR person, costume assistant, finance department, and communications manager. That's... a lot of hats 🧢👒🎩⛑️
Here at Fractured Atlas, we are confident that you have the capacity to do much of this work yourself. With the right tools, mindset, and some best practices, you can accomplish amazing things on your own — our members do, every. single. day. But we also know that sometimes it's best to bring in the professionals. The trick is knowing which situation you're in and how to preserve the most precious of resources: your time and creative energy.
Yes, doing something yourself is technically free. But here's the uncomfortable truth: your time and energy are not infinite resources, and they're definitely not free.
When you spend eight hours learning video editing instead of actually making art, that has a real cost. When you burn out from managing every aspect of your project and start resenting the work you once loved, that has an unrecoverable cost (your well-being!). When your DIY publicity efforts fall flat and your show opens to an empty house, that definitely has a cost, too.
The risks of taking on too much are real: burnout, lower success rates, and soul-crushing frustration. None of these appear on a budget spreadsheet, but they'll drain your creative practice faster than any invoice.
You should probably go DIY when:
🧮 Your budget is genuinely tight. If hiring means you can't pay performers or book your venue, DIY it is.
🍎 You actually want to learn this skill. If you're curious and have the bandwidth, a project deadline can be a powerful teacher.
💡 You have a very specific vision. If you'll just end up spending more time explaining than doing, consider going solo.
🎲 The stakes are relatively low. Instagram stories for your practice? Fine to DIY. Documentation of your first major public installation? Maybe hire.
🕰️ You have the time to spare. If you can dedicate focused time without juggling three jobs, DIY can be rewarding instead of overwhelming.
The beautiful thing about DIY? You build skills with every project. These become part of your artistic toolkit and could even become income streams themselves! Become someone’s next hire 🪚
There are tasks genuinely worth outsourcing, even when money is tight. You should strongly consider hiring for:
📄 Grant Writing (Especially the Boilerplate Language). A good grant writer knows the language that funders respond to and can create foundational boilerplate language you'll use again and again. If you're applying to three or more grants a year, this investment often pays for itself.
🧾 Accounting and Taxes. If you're juggling 1099s and quarterly estimated taxes, an accountant isn't a luxury — it's a necessity. They'll often save you more money than they cost by maximizing deductions and helping you avoid penalties.
🔌 Technical Expertise You'll Only Need Once. Need to wire a gallery for a sound installation? Hire an electrician. These are skills that take years to develop, and the learning curve isn't worth it for one-time needs.
🕳️ When You're On The Edge of Burnout. Sometimes hiring help is creative self-preservation, making the difference between a project coming to life and falling by the wayside.
☠️ When The Task Actively Makes You Miserable. If you absolutely loathe managing spreadsheets and can afford help, that's not lazy—it's strategic about where you direct your energy.
For many artists, asking for help can feel like admitting failure. This myth that "real" artists do it all themselves is stinky, asking-for-raccoons garbage, and it's keeping us stuck.
Bringing in professional help isn't weakness — it's how serious work gets done. Think of it this way: when you're building a house, you don't apologize for hiring an engineer to make sure the foundation is solid. You don't feel guilty about bringing in an electrician or a plumber. You recognize that these are specialized skills that ensure your house doesn't, you know, collapse or catch fire. The same logic applies to your creative practice. When the stakes are high — career-changing grants, complex financial situations, big contracts — that's when you need professionals. This isn't admitting defeat. It's building a foundation that can actually support the weight of your ambitions.
🚩Pro Tip 🚩 when you're fundraising, budget for the professional help you need. Include the grant writer, accountant, web developer in your budget. These are legitimate business expenses. Funders understand this and would rather see a realistic budget than watch you burn out.
Ask yourself:
It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You might hire a grant writer to create skeleton language then handle subsequent applications yourself, work with an accountant quarterly while managing day-to-day bookkeeping, or bring in a professional photographer for key documentation while shooting your own behind-the-scenes content.
The goal isn't to do everything yourself or outsource everything. The goal is being strategic about where you spend your limited resources so you can create your best work and focus on things only you can do.
Whether you decide to DIY or hire for your next project, the most important thing is that you're making an informed choice rather than defaulting to either extreme out of guilt or fear. There's value in learning to do something yourself, and there's no shame in recognizing when you need help.
At Fractured Atlas, we're here to support you either way. Need tools and education to tackle something yourself? We've got you. Need help figuring out when it's time to bring in a professional? We can help with that, too. Ready to stop pretending you're going to start your own 501(c)(3) and just use fiscal sponsorship instead? Friend, we thought you'd never ask.
Ready to take the next step? Schedule a 1-on-1 call with one of our fundraising experts to talk through your specific situation, or explore the resources below on everything from budgeting to creative roadblock to building your creative team.
Whatever you're working on, we're rooting for you. Even at 2 AM. Especially at 2 AM.