This blog's more of an advice column for up and coming performers. As someone who's still working at it, and most certainly not 'there' yet, I feel that this piece of advice is fairly fresh and new, but nonetheless important.
Making a transition to being a full-time performer is something I have spoken about before, but I thought that it might be useful to hear more examples and details about how one can earn 'a little bit on the side'.
As humans, we all have some sort of skill. Of course, our main aim is to turn our hobby and passion into a full-time thing, but until then we make do by using the skills we already have. You'll know the cliché stories about actors and actresses waiting tables in LA (which makes it sound like every person who works in a restaurant in LA is the next Jack Nicholson), but it's pretty true. Waiting jobs are fairly easy to come by and have a high turnover rate, so plenty chances for you to slide in to a job that has flexible hours so you don't miss an audition.
Waiting might not be the one for you though. In my case I made use of my driving license and my marketing background and freelanced doing DJ and Artist liaison for a club in Dubai (picking up at the airport, ferrying to the show etc.) and freelance social media marketing, something that I pride myself on in my own social networks.
I managed to make the ends meet quite well for a while before the comedy and performing began to take off and take up more and more of my time, along with more and more of my income.
Of course, it doesn't always work as easily as that. It's feast and famine being a freelancer. That's why a bar job is pretty useful, because at the end of the month you know how much you're going to make, and if there's no auditions you can at least put in the extra hours to make some more dough.
My closing point is, keep going and do what you can to fill your time and your income. Have you heard about that jar where you put big rocks, then small rocks and sand and it's meant to represent time? Well, as boring as it sounds and annoying it is to have successful people gloat about it to you, it's true and it does work.