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.

Kimberly Moller

Yes! I began teaching as an opera singer and early music professional singer in Boston while getting my masters degree in voice. I was a student and way undercharged for my skills but had female entrepreneurial friends who had a few more years of professional experience. I knew that my students wanted to sing contemporary music and musical theater, and I wanted to sing that stuff too since I was a versatile musician and grew up on jazz too. The problem was that training at the college level in a voice program was not focused on teaching and singing all kinds of music – only classical. Lots of debt for a degree that did not serve these goals in learning or teaching! No grad student teaching – everything I did for experience was not through my university. Read more>>

Emily Pope Harris

I work full time as an artist, and very fortunately I am able to support myself and my family that way. I was an Art major in college with a concentration in Art History, so I have always loved the arts, the history behind it, and just old things in general. It has definitely taken time to get my business to where it is today. I started out working and learning alongside another decorative artist and learning how to use the materials, tools, and media that I currently use for my work. I worked for her for a handful of years before deciding to venture out on my own and try things by myself. From there is when the Fine Art side of my business began to evolve. Read more>>

Susan Wechsler

When I went to college, my father advised me to take business classes along with my art classes. I failed out of economics 101 so then took the path my mom suggested and went into Theatre design. They felt I could never support myself on my art but that the theatre would be a good path to a creative field I could live on. I never loved working on sets and never felt it was my creative calling. So 1 day I walked into a gallery with my new work- mosaics! and got my first show. I sold $10,000 worth of art and the confidence I needed to say, ” I can do this! ” I like to think of my art business as a tree. Read more>>

John Burke

Yes, but I have many eggs in many baskets. I play events, direct music, compose, accompany, mix and master audio…the list goes on. After college, I started working as a Spanish translator for a health insurance brokerage. I kept music on the side, but soon I was booking gigs and releasing albums regularly. I struggled to separate work life and music life, which led to my boss firing me for letting music interfere with work and, honestly, being a terrible employee. Losing that job was the best thing for my career. Read more>>

Twyla Gettert

I am always grateful to be a full-time artist for over thirty years. There is nothing safe about being an artist and making it your full-time profession. I have found that the most important factors behind my success have come from following my instincts and taking risks. Success comes my way, when I strive to listen for my inner voice and follow it when I hear it. The road leading to where I am today has been a continual lesson in risk, perseverance, drive, and finding new ways to express my creativity through my art. There have been many challenges. It has always been a goal to keep my artwork inspired and fresh. Read more>>

Carlos Averhoff Jr.

Yes I have been able persue my professional music careeer as full-time. My profesional career is divided in two main paths, a performer as a band leader – leading three main Jazz projects – and as a sideman – collaborating with other band – but also as a music educator. I feel that professionally my creative work needs to have that balance between performance and education in my life. . How I made it happen: Read more>>

Ty Cunningham

I’m certainly far from living luxuriously, but I live comfortably and that’s honestly all I ever really wanted. I definitely would like to make more but for now, it is okay. It wasn’t like this for quite a while. I remember working 50+ hours a week for numerous weeks, only to MAYBE make $400. Starting in this industry is honestly very intimidating. The will power to work through extremely demanding weeks is very hard to keep consistent. This is a grind like I’ve not quite experienced in other jobs. I spent years scraping by and only recently, (as in the last couple of years) have I been able to make a decent living from this career. COVID certainly made it worse. When your entire life is shut down and you’re told you don’t know when the next event will be, that will make you reconsider your choices. Read more>>

Rico Acosta

My career as a Professional Musician has taken on many shapes and adapted in different seasons of my life. When I was in my early 20’s I lived in the greatest city in America, Nashville, Tennessee. I started out working in a rug warehouse but was able to leave the 9-5 model about 10 months in and dive head first into music as a “full time” job. It wasn’t as glamorous as it sounds but I made it happen the best way I knew how. I started out in 2013 playing for Singer/Songwriter, Jon Mullins and many other artists who were playing gigs around town, playing at churches, conferences and just getting my feet wet in any opportunity I could. Read more>>

Ashleigh Owens

I worked at 4 different salons before making the decision to start my own business. I was afraid because I thought I would have a hard time gaining clients but the urge to be independent was stronger. I opened my business in November of 2019. In March 2020, the covid-forced salon shutdown happened. I spent most of my time making content for social media, which helped tremendously in finding potential clients. I started to think outside the box and created outrageous nail designs to get attention. I mixed that kind of content with wearable designs and was able to build up a demand. I think the timing was perfect and I can’t say I would have done anything different. Read more>>

Marty Quinn

I am very lucky to be earning my living solely through music. Most of my nights are spent playing music with Miami’s amazing music community. My days are open for me to rehearse, write, and record for my friends’ creative original projects. I also have a lot of fun teaching! Sometimes musicians can get caught up in teaching as many students as they can to ensure that they have a steady income. It can become a drag because it eats up so much time. Because I feel stable enough from my gigs, I can keep my teaching studio relatively small, taking only students that are passionate about learning and playing. Read more>>

Inga Hoehne Maike Morel

We’re Maike & Inga, two mommies with one idea – create something affordable that we both love, as well as our customers. We started a few years ago and with every year and all the things you learn going through this journey of being self-employed it gets better and better. There are ups and downs of course – just never give up. And it has really helped us to do it together, since you always can push each other and have someone to exchange thoughts, worries, successes etc. Read more>>

Sky Singleton

When you tell someone you’re an artist for a living, they kind of look at you different. No one really knows a bunch of peple that have got rich from art personally. That’s what it was for me, I use to be nervous to tell people that I was an artist for a living. But here I am 3 years out of the corporate world and striving with in my own buisness of making art for a living. When I first started customizing I didn’t think it would be like a big money maker. I figured it would be something I enjoyed doing on the side while I still worked full time. I remember doing my first pair of custom shoes, I believed I charged like $5o bucks. Read more>>

Evie Dross

I’ve been able to make a full time living from my creative work. Did I make money from day one? Absolutely not lol! In 2009 I was laid off from my corporate job as an Information Systems Team Lead. It was at that moment I no longer wanted to deal with corporate politics, be held captive to long hours that prevented me from spending quality time with my children or someone putting a cap on the amount of money I could make. I looked at this as an opportunity to venture into entrepreneurship and as a result Evielutions Design was born. Read more>>

Lynn Miano

Owning my little business has saved my life in more ways that one. During the start of the pandemic I was a full time bartender. Not being able to work and make money was extremely discouraging and depressing for me when everything shut down. That’s when I took a deeper dive into what my business has to offer. I began doing commissions and mailing out as much handmade products as I could and in return is helped restore my mentality and belief in myself and my creating business. I have gained so much confidence and growth through owning my business since then and continue to try and grow everyday possible. Read more>>

Audrey Stowe

Yes I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work! I started 7 years ago in 2015. I started my platform off by sharing daily outfits with friends as a hobby. In a year in grew to around 10,000 followers and I started getting brands send me free gifting. From there, I started to slowly monetize my platform. It’s been a slow but steady growth over 7 years that has now lead to me being full time. Read more>>

Johanna Boccardo

Yes, I entirely dedicate myself to my creative practice, which I divide into pure art and concept development and creative design for clients. My first steps were taken as an illustrator years ago. I was full of ambition and excited about finding projects and making business connections, so I reached out to most of the publishers of children’s books I could find in Spain (I was living in Barcelona at the time). I also reached out to British agents and found someone to represent my work. Read more>>

Brittany Crawford

Being able to fully transition from working for someone to fully working for myself has been the most exhilarating and learning experience that I’ve been a part of. Not being able to see a future in an actual company was discouraging so once I found my niche and realized that I’m actually not built for a 9-5 but I can build myself for my own 9-5 I did. OurSpace has become more than just my job or business; it’s become my home in business form. I thoroughly and truly enjoy what I do. I get to teach kids how to speak up for themselves and create in various forms while learning new and different ways to expand their thinking and creativity. Read more>>

Rissa

I’ve only recently reached a personal milestone of making enough from my dreams to fund my life. Of course, it wasn’t always like this. I kind of looked at it like any business job. When you first start in anything, it’s like being an intern. You do a lot of free work to find your Rhythm and learn about that industry. I shot with a lot of other up and coming creatives, to really perfect my craft. That eventually lead to brand work, better photos, and ultimately paying jobs. I think those starting experiences are priceless, because you learn so much about yourself and others and can better refine your craft. You have to be a student of the game first to master it! Read more>>

Nicole Richmond aka “NeekoMya”

Yes! For the last 12 years. I have been able to earn a creative full-time living off of my creative work/talent. It took years of consistency, hard work and drive to reach. Most weekdays I am off, but the weekends are my normal work week but its also possible to grab a Wednesday or Thursday ladies night gig in and around my city. Some of my my major steps have been, having a thriving international entertainer for 10 years in some of the most exotic countries and for some of the most luxurious hotel brands and cruise lines. Read more>>

Shunita Salone.

After years of baking as a hobby and side gig, 2021 was the year I began earning a full time living from my creative work. I decided to take the leap and make it happen. When I started out, I wanted every customer just to get my name out there. I thought that volume was the most important key to making a living out of my creative passion. I soon realized though, that not all clients are created equal. Once I accepted the fact that it was okay not to have every customer, my work flourished. The most-effective change I made was to start charging my worth! This seemed counter-intuitive to me: was I out-pricing my market?  Read more>>