We’ve seen way too many talented creatives quit because they couldn’t make it work financially. No doubt, the financial challenges of pursuing a creative or artistic career are daunting, but we felt there wasn’t enough discussion around how to make it work. So, we connected with artists and creatives who’ve been able to earn a full time living from their creative work and asked them to share their stories with our readers.

Haley Weight

I think it’s important to do something your passionate about and like they say you’ll never work a day in your life. As a hair stylist learning a trade and everything that comes with it is hard. Being your own boss and managing a schedule is hard. But nothing comes easy you have to start somewhere. Read more>>

Leo Chan

Levitate Style was started as a creative side hustle back in 2014 to share my passions in fashion, travel, and photography on blog and social media. I was working in corporate finance at Morgan Stanley and then Barclays Bank when I noticed that Instagram was just starting to take off. Growing up as an immigrant in NYC, I did not see much representation for Asian males in the media (TV, movies, magazines, etc) From there, I realized my purpose is positive Asian presentation by making a change by creating my own content and sharing on my platforms. Read more>>

Randall Richards

Earning a full-time living through my creative work was far from an overnight success story. In the early days, it was a relentless grind. I clocked long hours, took on odd jobs, and sometimes found myself working on projects that didn’t seem to align with my creative vision, but they paid the bills. Read more>>

Thomas Pitilli

I do earn my full-time living as a creative and it definitely wasn’t like that from day one [laughs]. Read more>>

Jess Humphrey

I’ve been a working a creative since I was a teenager. From the age of 15 until my early 20s, I was a photographer. I traveled around the east coast taking photos of the hardcore punk scene. After moving from Norfolk, Va to DC, then to Boston, I moved to NYC where I somehow found myself working as a fashion designer for almost twenty years. Read more>>

Molly Luquin

The work I do is split between content creation and spiritual readings. Although I was aware that I was creative and into spiritual work, I didn’t know right away that I would be doing both as a combined full-time job. Read more>>

Steven Curd

I left a very secure full time job to pursue music back in 2016. I was a week away from turning 21 and figured that was gonna be my biggest hurdle out the gate so I wanted to time it a bit. My first day of being unemployed I started driving around San Antonio looking for solo acoustic gigs and ended up at the Quarry. Read more>>

Kaleigh Ma’ake

Turning passion into my income was never what I had planned in my post-grad game plan. I graduated from BYU in December 2022 and officially started my own business as a digital creator, social media manager, and brand photographer in March 2023, called Kaleigh Creative LLC. Those three months in between were pivotal, and it really just boiled down to if I should take this leap and go after it. Read more>>

Mike Williams

I was 23 yrs old when I realized there was a real possibility of making a full time living doing what I considered fun, not work. I set out on foot going door to door offering to create renderings of peoples homes and boats. 25 years later it still feels like fun, not work. In order to be successful you have to dedicate a lot of time and effort into what you love. Read more>>

Courtney Cox

Earning a full-time living from my creative work is a goal I’m actively working towards. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset, as well as a lifelong interest in creative arts, and have explored different iterations of having a creative small business. Living with health issues also makes it difficult for me to work a regular job. A career as an artist is the perfect fit for me. Read more>>

Jacob Barnett

In the last 7 months, I have stepped into music as a full time job. I have been drumming around the Knoxville, Greater Tennessee area. Though I’m just getting my start here, I feel like I’ve gained some great Jackson. I’ve had the opportunity to play with 40+ artists in and around Knoxville Read more>>

Anie Attaryan

Earning a full-time living from my creative work has been a challenging journey. Nevertheless, it has been the most rewarding. I have always had a strong passion for art and I believe that has led me to where I am today. I started off as a traveling makeup artist. I met a lot of people and built many experiences that helped with my professional growth. Read more>>

Elliott Sabbagh

I believe in the motto “wear multiple hats,” which has been fundamental in shaping my career. Initially focused on my role as a DJ, my career led me to work in various related fields such as post-production, engineering, live sound, and teaching. This ultimately gave me the opportunity to establish multiple sources of income. Read more>>

Daria Konoverska

From the very beginning, the path is never easy. I didn’t start earning money from day one. At first, I gained a lot of experience in various creative fields related to my career and met new people. The environment and events in which a person finds himself or herself have a great impact on future development and who he or she will be in the future. Read more>>

Alisha Turner

I think being a creative with an entrepreneurial mindset is such a door-opener. Read more>>

Shawn Coss

It’s taken about 10 years but over the last 4 years my brand and art have been able to support me full time. Read more>>

Mia Muhyee

actually never intended to be an entrepreneur. By the time I was 22 I had already had over 40 jobs. From retail to restaurants – you name it, I’ve done it. In college I would often work 2 or more jobs at once, and I always made videos for different businesses to make extra money on the side. Read more>>

Anjali D’Souza

Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? Yes and 18 months ago I made the jump and went freelance so that I could work on projects that needed an experienced UX Designer to lead it, I have autonomy and choose the type of work I took on and work remotely. Read more>>

Liesl Walsh

I work full time as a fine art photographer and make a living with it now, but it was a frustrating start. Years ago as an amateur I dreamed of going pro and selling prints, but it took time to learn how to do it. In college I learned how to create art, but was not taught the business side of marketing my art, so I had to figure that out on my own. Read more>>

Blake Spiegel

To most, the journey as a full-time creative might appear to be an uphill battle, but it’s undeniably feasible. Many designers, artists, and creatives have ventured down this path successfully, provided they approach it with intention. Read more>>

Max Wasa

I started working in the arts at a very early age. I was 5 or 6 when I did my first voice over gig and by seven my first film. Years passed between jobs and you naturally question if you will ever work again. But work I did. Night and day studying to become the best version of myself at each point in my career. Investing in myself so that at some point I could invest in others. Read more>>

Aarohi Devasthale

Throughout my creative career, I have worked full-time, both in India and here in the States. I think the two main strengths I realized helped me in full-time corporate roles are being adaptive and being good with people. I have had diverse work experiences, from being the only employee in a startup to being a graphic designer in one of many teams in a large-scale advertising agency. Read more>>

Christian Oestmoe

My journey has been a roller coaster. It started when I was 11 when my dad taught me how to play guitar. Fast forward 7 years later and I was getting into producing on the computer. I was not too serious about the computer stuff for the first couple of years, I was just having fun and figuring things out. When I finished my service in the Norwegian Army is was at a crossroads: Get a degree and take a 9-5 or see if I could make this music thing happen. Read more>>

Stephanie Orta

I’ve been able to make it a full time for about 6 years now! I worked full time as a sales associate for about 4 years and even though my job was fun I wasn’t fully happy. I decided to save money and put in my two week notice to figure out what exactly I wanted to do! After I left, I took a two month break to see what I can do with my art. Read more>>