The world needs artists and creatives. Unfortunately, being needed doesn’t often easily translate into financial stability. The struggle is real for so many incredibly talented artists and creatives and so we think it’s important to hear from creatives who have made it work – there is so much to learn from the folks we’ve featured below.

Supriya Soni

Hello beautiful people, at first I started my henna artist career as a hobby as it was always my hobby since childhood but then slowly as I practiced, connected with correct wedding vendors and customers I was able to grow this hobby as a full time profession. Read more>>

Frankie Foti

Performing Magic has been my only full-time job! My father passed away a month after High School and my mother was out of Work. I had to get a job as soon as I graduated High School and Magic became my Career. Read more>>

Evo Bluestein

I have made a living in the arts for my whole adult life. I grew up in a folk music family–The Bluestein Family, eventually performing with my father and all four of his children. Read more>>

A’saph Darby

Earning a full-time living from creative work is something that most, if not all creatives and entrepreneurs desire. “I’M TIRED OF WORKING IN A FIELD THAT DOESN’T ALIGN WITH MY PASSION”, are probably words we all have uttered. Read more>>

Valeria Nicole

One of the most difficult questions I faced as a new Wardrobe Stylist was, “How much do I charge?” Why is it SO DIFFICULT to find an answer to this question? I spent weeks consulting teachers and searching online, only to hear, “It depends.” Read more>>

Outlawed Beats

I always had a passion for music. My Dad used to used to blast music in the mornings in the house and in the car, and my mom always encouraged my participation in the band at school (I played alto Saxophone). Read more>>

Lindsay Kate Brown

The path to becoming a professional musician is one that requires dedication, strength, and perseverance…along with a passion for music, of course! Read more>>

Trisha Gianakis

Discovering my battle with cancer prompted me to reconnect with art as a form of healing, leading to daily dedication to my craft for the past eight years. Read more>>

Jeff Walker

I had been doing Rhymecology part time while I worked for a mental health agency for 15 years. It just never felt like the time was right to make the move to full time Rhymecology. Read more>>

Heidi & Christina

When Heidi became a new first time mom, we knew we had to team up in order to make our hobby a more steady income for the both of us. It started off slow by getting exposure at school craft fairs. Read more>>

Michael Gormley

In 2022 I was working for Larimer County Food Bank as a truck driver, while Blast N Scrap was just certified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. My coworkers were by and large the happiest coworkers I’d ever had. Read more>>

Robert Crombie

My beginnings with oil painting were purely as a hobby, something to do other than my career. There were several impressionistic masters that I was very impressed by once I started looking into the possibility of painting. Read more>>

Jessamyn Go

My name is Jessamyn Go, and I am a full-time ceramicist. Three years in, and so far, it is proving to be a career path that’s both exhilarating and demanding. Being a solo exhibiting artist poses its challenges; Read more>>

Courtney Taniguchi

I have been a full-time Twitch streamer and content creator for almost 6 years. At first, it started off as a hobby. Just something to do outside of my main job. Read more>>

Daniel Zorrilla

At first I thought I’d be an animator or comic book artist, I never thought about tattooing as a career path. In fact before I left for the marine corps three days after graduating I was asked by a shop owner if I wanted to learn the art of tattooing, l looked around and said no I’m good. Read more>>

Jesse Espinoza

I have not been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, yet. The biggest step for me was stepping out of my comfort zone and collaborating with other artists and musicians. Read more>>

Olena Babak

Earning a full time living from your creative work “Don’t be an artist!” they say, “You will starve!” Of course anything is possible, but in many ways, it could not be farther from the truth. Read more>>

Andy Degan

There are so many ways that you can make a living doing music and I like to think I’ve dabbled in just about all of them. The common misconception is that most full time musicians only do one job the way many people do a 9 to 5, Read more>>

Tine Riis

When I started out, I did not earn enough to make a living. This was mostly because I couldn’t enough jobs/gigs to make it go around, and in retrospect I hadn’t planned out everything I needed. Read more>>

Tayanna Love

When I was younger I always wanted to be an ENTERTAINER. I’ve taken singing classes, acting classes, performed in numerous talent shows, plays and musicals during those days. So it only seemed right to make it my chosen career. Read more>>

Sam Heydt

As an artist committed to a full-time creative practice, I’ve had to grapple with the inherent tensions between making a “living” through my work and resisting the commodifying forces that can constrain art’s emancipatory potential. Read more>>

Kimberly Van Driel

When I was young, I never knew exactly what I was going to do to make a living. I was always a creative kid but I wasn’t good at being an artist. Read more>>

Jimmy Palmiotti

The job I hold now is the most satisfying and gives me the most room to create. It is being my own publisher of my own creator content on our website www.paperfilms.com and publishing our own books via Kickstarter and other platforms. Read more>>

Kemar McZenna

I initially started as a hobbyist Videographer until one day I got paid for my hobby and that’s when I decided this was my calling. Then my Video editing required a bit of graphics, so I had to develop a new skill: graphic design. Read more>>

Tanza Hines-Tucker

So starting out in this business, it was a moment of we have a newborn, we need income but I can’t afford nor do I want to put my baby in daycare with a stranger. Read more>>

Drew Berries

I feel very grateful to be making a full-time living that supports my little family of three! In retrospect it feels like it came easy but I went through half a decade of having no savings and barely getting by. Read more>>

Kyle Goodloe

I began earning a living full time as a DJ in 2022. My career began back in 2006 when I started to DJ for my college radio station at Kennesaw State University. Read more>>

Alexis Farley

From the moment I learned how to handle a camera in high school, I was hooked. Photography became more than just a hobby; it was my passion, my calling. Read more>>

Tom Olesindki

I am A CPA and in 2020 I had spent the last 15 years of my career as the CFO and CEO of one of the worlds largest ad agency network. After years of stress , I needed a break and left the agency world. Read more>>

Suzanne Savoy

I think because I started performing at a relatively late age, I skipped a lot of obstacles others faced in making a full-time career out of this. Read more>>

Maranda Fowler

Funding your life from income provided by your passion is the dream, right? It’s rewarding, and SO complicated.  First, all the dreamy encouragement flooded me in the tiny tot days. Read more>>