It’s been a long time since I played and I was never professional, but I just powered through. The calluses build up relatively quickly if you keep with it daily. Sometimes I wouldn’t even play, just form chords for as long as my fingers would let me to reinforce the calluses
You could also try lighter-action strings. I’ve had some that were very heavy and absolutely not worth the pain. But as the saying goes, “you’ve got to pay your dues to play the blues”
It’s been a long time since I played and I was never professional, but I just powered through. The calluses build up relatively quickly if you keep with it daily. Sometimes I wouldn’t even play, just form chords for as long as my fingers would let me to reinforce the calluses
You could also try lighter-action strings. I’ve had some that were very heavy and absolutely not worth the pain. But as the saying goes, “you’ve got to pay your dues to play the blues”