We think the world needs more artists, more creatives and more folks unwilling to spend their days as a cog in a giant corporate machine. We don’t necessarily dislike cogs or machines but we think the world clearly needs more artists and creatives and so we wanted to try to figure out how more artists can make it work financially since this is one of the major obstacles blocking so many artists and creatives from pursuing their art full time. So, we asked folks who have been able to make a full time living through their creative work, how they did it.

Gudy Prada

I’ve been fortunate to work in the creative field since the early stages of my career. It’s been a learning journey, and over the years, I’ve gained experience by going through the ups and downs. When I first started, I had no idea how to price my time and skills. It was also challenging because I needed to build a portfolio, which meant relying on people willing to give me opportunities to work on their music. This made the initial steps more difficult, as I had to balance earning a living with delivering high-quality work that could attract future projects. Read more>>

Nii “prince” Engmann

I started my teaching journey through volunteer work, teaching music theory and giving lessons in the bass guitar. Once my passion shifted into dance, because of the lack of teachers in the area I was in, I was able to take advantage of that and fill a role that was needed at the time. Then came learning the business of my new profession. As an entrepreneur and artist, having the knowledge and ability to market and advocate for your worth in business setting are things that should be learned. All of these things has allowed me to build myself to a place where I am currently able to make a living off of my passion Read more>>

Frankie Gomez

Yes, I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, but it definitely wasn’t like that from day one! I started my business while I was still in college. Back then, I was learning everything I could from YouTube and investing in courses created by other creatives. College was the least of my concerns—during those days, I spent most of my time building my business and just wanted to get a degree so I could keep building. It was a lot of trial and error, but that’s how I built my foundation. At first, I was photographing friends and family for free. It was all about building my portfolio and getting experience. Gradually, I started to build a business here in New Mexico. Now, we serve clients all over the state and even attract people from outside who are drawn to our unique Southwest style. Read more>>

Lecasshius Stargell

Yes, By the grace of God and his love bestowed upon me, I have been fortunate enough to earn a full time living from my Creative Work and Career path. Let’s get into it, the journey was more than difficult but has over the years become a beautiful struggle in hindsight. I could never say I was earning from day one, and I’m Not certain that I have recouped financially what I initially Invested with no knowledge in my Earlier Years. Financially I would say I’m at the halfway mark of getting back what I’ve initially put in, but if were looking at resources, opportunities, and great mentors Met upon this journey, it out values the finances by at least 10x. These days I am blessed to make A Stable Earning with my Creative Career Choice. Read more>>

Interscare Sleep

From the moment I first pressed “upload” on YouTube, I knew I was hooked. Over the years, I had dabbled in various channels—video editing, haunted house reviews, even internet mystery essays. While none of those early attempts gained much traction, they ignited something deep within me: the desire to create. But despite all the hard work, success remained elusive. Then, one evening, my wife, Mrs. Interscare, said something that changed everything. After hearing my voice on one of my old videos, she casually remarked, “You’ve got a soothing voice. You’d be great at narrating stories to help people sleep.” Her words lingered, and when she later introduced me to channels like Being Scared, where creators shared spooky tales for people to fall asleep to, I realized something: maybe this was the niche I’d been searching for all along. Read more>>

Arın Aykut

In today’s world, where it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make a living solely from your primary profession, doing so in the field of music is undoubtedly challenging and dependent on numerous factors, often requiring a long journey. At my current stage, I feel incredibly fortunate to be working full-time in my profession, earning my living as a versatile film composer, pianist, and conductor. Of course, this hasn’t happened overnight; it’s a goal reached through time, patience, planning, and strategy, as well as overcoming various challenges. However, it’s not impossible. To those just starting their careers, and to everyone who isn’t engaged in music or the arts, I strongly advise them never to shy away from taking on different jobs or developing themselves in other areas, all while patiently staying focused on their ultimate goals. I also believe that rather than fixating on the highest dreams, it’s essential to focus on the individual steps that lead to them, one by one. This is what keeps us mentally strong and helps us stay on our feet during this difficult journey. Read more>>

Nick Bailey

Earning a full time living at songwriting took a long time. It takes a lot of hearing “No” and unaswered emails/ DMs. First, I expanded on my collaborators. It takes a lot of outreach. I used Twitter and Instagram to reach out to successful writers and producers. The ones that responded gave an inch and I took a mile. In the beginning it was a lot of syncs on commercials, film and TV placements. That kept the lights on. Over time I met more artists, signed to a publishing company and started getting cuts with artists on major labels. That ultimately lead to songs on radio, and songs on the chart. I think anyone who is self employed/ has their own business has to grind everyday to make it happen. It’s a never ending journey, if we’re lucky to ride it that long, and I’m trying to fall more in love with the craft everyday.  Read more>>

Jay Gittens

I’ve been fortunate enough to make a living through my art. My journey began on the streets of Soho in New York City, where I sold my work to people from all corners of the world. It was a melting pot of cultures and perspectives, and through these interactions, I met individuals who opened doors to new opportunities. One of the key milestones in my career was showcasing my artwork at Christie’s auction house. This experience introduced my work to a global audience and elevated the price point at which it was sold. It was a transformative moment, one that shifted the trajectory of my career. Looking back, we often believe we could have made better choices, but that hindsight is part of the process. Developing both as an artist and as a person takes time. The level at which I paint today is far beyond where I was when I first started, and I’ve grown in ways I never anticipated. Read more>>

Curbie Toles

I have yet to be able to maintain a living as a full time artist. But that is a dream that I am currently pursuing. In doing so, I’ve observed and learned from other artist who are currently living as fulltime artist. The major steps are building meaningful connections with people. Networking, taking every opportunity to promote yourself and showcase your art work. There is no certain way to speeding uo the steps other then doing what I’ve just mentioned. Catching the eye of someone or a museum to sponsor you takes time. As there are other artist who are chasing the same dream, the key is to not get discouraged. Continue to believe in yourself, have faith, practice and profect your craft. I believe if your are doing that, on top of making yourself available, the notoriety will come. Read more>>

Phylicia Hoopes

I’ve been full time at this since 2019, but even before then I was on and off in the modeling industry. I started in 2013 as what you would call dumb luck- I met a person who launched my career for catalogue modeling when I was just 18. Later, the job became predatory and at 20 I left the industry temporarily to heal. I always missed it though and stepped back in around 2017 when I wasn’t working at my regular 9-5. The restart was expensive, as most business owners will tell you. I had to rebuild my portfolio from scratch, did unpaid shoots, paid for a lot of shoots, paid for clothing, props, and travel expenses. For two years of balancing both jobs I went into about 6k of debt to rebuild my brand. Slowly though I had all I needed and started doing paid work again and recouping that. Read more>>

Ariel Sugar

My path to independence as a creative started in July of 2018 when I took a leap and invested in an online stock-trading educational/mentorship service. I at first invested only a few hundred dollars, and ended up investing around $10K over the next 6 months… The first few months and years were quite painful, as I continued to make the same mistakes and quickly give back whatever gains/profits I was able to pull from the market because of my stubbornness, past trauma, and ego (thinking I was smarter than the the market)… Now, a little more than six years after taking that first step towards my goal of developing a skill that would allow me to earn income independently of an employer or an office, I have become a sustainably profitable stock trader/investor. My intention from the beginning of this journey has been “create” a money-making system/machine from stock-trading to fund my numerous creative visions/projects. While I am far from generating enough money to fund the full development of the projects that I have in mind, I am progressing, and enjoying the rewards of the pain and stress I have endured in my endeavor. Read more>>

Alex Rancman

Yes, I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, but it wasn’t always like this. My journey began in retail, where I started working as soon as I got my worker’s permit at 15 and a half working in a local bakery. Over the years, I became a luxury retail manager, but it was a tough career, filled with stress and poor treatment. After being repeatedly disrespected at my final retail job, I reached a breaking point. I woke up one day and knew I’d had enough. Around that time, I was asked to do an immersive art installation for HGAB Studios at Art Basel ’23. That felt like a sign—it was the moment I decided to quit and fully pursue the arts. The very day I put in my resignation, I landed a major styling job for a hotel chain. It felt like destiny was pushing me forward. From there, day by day, I started working on new projects, which helped me realize just how many skills I had—set design, wardrobe styling, vintage curation, and content creation. Read more>>

Cole Rolland

Fortunately, yes! I left my day job five years ago and have been growing my creative pursuits ever since. When I first started taking music more seriously, it was still very much a passion project. The YouTube Partner Program didn’t exist, and the main place to upload your music was iTunes. My first video was a guitar cover of DragonForce’s gold single, “Through the Fire and Flames,” in 2009. Given the ideal timing, that video racked up a few million views during the early era of YouTube. Eventually, I learned how to create full-production covers, originals, and collaborative projects that could exist on newer platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. This allowed me to monetize these works while simultaneously growing my network through collaborations and covers. Read more>>

Lilly Abington

I started posting on Tik-Tok during covid in hopes of promoting my vintage clothing shop. Most of my videos were promo for people to come see my pieces I was selling- I always watched people like Emma Chamberlain and wished that could be me but I’m a little camera shy and it just wasn’t ever something I thought would happpen! Eventually after a few posts one or two of my own “for fun” videos went viral and I realized I could make this into something if I took the right path. Four years later and it’s my first year doing this job full time and I am SO grateful everyday that this is “work”. It took a long time to build up what I have, and while I wish I got it overnight- I didn’t. There’s years worth of unpaid work and time spent but I think that’s pretty common across the board for anyone who is “self employed.” I signed with my managers almost a year ago, and their help has totally changed my life! They have helped me get deals with brands I never could’ve dreamed of working with and I really do credit a lot of my success to them! Read more>>

Katherine Zammuto

Four years ago, I started my podcast Kat on the Loose as a personal pet project, hoping to share my experiences and insights about dating and relationships after leaving a long and abusive marriage. What began as a small venture slowly but surely grew into one of the top podcasts in the world, thanks to relentless consistency, dedication, and constant engagement with my audience. Building this platform has been a labor of love—requiring countless hours of work, thoughtful content creation, and actively connecting with my listeners on every episode. It’s been challenging, but the reward is in seeing how much my audience resonates with the honesty and authenticity I bring. Through dedication and passion, Kat on the Loose has not only become a platform to inspire but also evolved into a successful side business that continues to thrive. Read more>>

Alan And Ruben Hernandez- Villon

Yes, we’ve been fortunate to earn a full-time living from our creative work. Our journey began in Alan’s small bedroom with just a ring light and an iPhone. Initially, it wasn’t easy; we had to build our audience from scratch, which required relentless dedication and creativity. Our first major milestone was hitting 10,000 followers, which gave us the confidence to explore monetization options. https://www.instagram.com/p/C7lM-Yzunme/?img_index=1 One significant step was collaborating with brands, which started with small partnerships and grew as our audience expanded. Our collaborations with Fabletics, Athena Razors, and other brands were turning points that allowed us to turn our passion into a profession. Read more>>

Bryson Coalt

My ultimate goal is being able to live off music but I haven’t been able to earn a full time living so far. It takes a long time to get to that point and I’m more than determined to get there. There’s some small little things that I definitely would’ve told my younger self that would’ve sped the process up slightly but I’m not upset about the choices I’ve made that has gotten me to where I am now. Read more>>

Freddy Monday

I have been very lucky to have made my living in the field of music Read more>>

Julieth Ramirez

In this moment I feel so happy because finally I can say this is my real Job, When I started the most difficult step was the people knew me so I supported myself on social networks this was a huge help .. Posting every day .. recommended other local businesses and the most important thing I ever posted my jobs made by me this make people trust on you , know your level and progress  Read more>>

James Wignall

If the school career advisor had suggested that I would end up making a living from my creativity, I would have died laughing! The creative industry just wasn’t even talked about back in the early 90s UK education system. Hard to believe given the UK’s rich history in the arts, theatre and not to mention eccentricity! Like many kids of this era, we were left to find our own way. I always loved making things move by drawing flick books, which then graduated to SNES Mario Paint (yes!) and further down the line, Photoshop. Read more>>

Patrick “embryo” Tapu

I’ve earned a living as a Director from the moment I started in 2009 and I’ve been doing this full time ever since with no side jobs. One of the obstacles for many creatives is getting paid for their work, and even more so, feeling they deserve to get paid for their work. It’s almost this sort of inferiority complex. We have been conditioned by the traditional education system to essentially work for someone else and if you work hard enough, then your rewarded with a paycheck. That programming creates a conflict when it comes to getting paid for something you actually love, because if you really love your craft you would actually do it for free. So there’s this predicament created because we are used to getting paid for doing things we don’t love, which we call a “job”. Now you can actually love your job, I’m not trying to discourage or judge anyone who has a more traditional job. Read more>>

Violet De La Vega

Yes, I have finally been able to earn a full-time living off my craft. It certainly did not happen overnight; it took many years to earn what most would consider a livable wage. When I first started making a little money, I was about eight months into the first year of my apprenticeship. You don’t make much in those early days. A couple of months after having done my very first tattoo on a living, breathing human, people volunteered their skin as a canvas for my practice. These, in turn, were free tattoos. Eventually, my mentor allowed me to charge $25 for small designs, upon his approval. After a couple of months of trial and error, I was permitted to move on to palm-sized, premade flash (also with his approval) and charge a slightly higher rate. However, this time in my career was not a livable wage. I worked full-time at a local dry cleaners that had opposite hours from the shop, which gave me the leeway to work full-time at both places. Read more>>

Felix Fox

Yes for the past 4 years or so i have been! I’ve always been a creative type ever since i was little. My escape from the real life has been drawing and watching movies. Which later on sparked an enthusiasm to learn more about it and to get a degree out of it. I studied graphic design and media but i have collected my knowledge by skipping classes and got skills by just doing the job and creating relationships with different people later on to be clients. I started my beauty influencer journey 5 years ago and that definitely helped me to get noticed. And i believe that being seen is in these days a social currency and that helped me propel to have some leverage when it came to making deals. A year ago i went to the LA and my life changed. Somehow everything fell together and i started shooting a few Selling Sunset Stars and i worked with Jason Derulo, Mark Whalberg, the Kardashian Doctor and famous influencers & youtubers. But I’ve been teaching and expanding proactively since i was 17 so i believe in working smart while listening to your gut feeling. Read more>>

Roberta Sparta

It was a build up to allow myself to earn a full-time living from my creative work. At the beginning as I was building connections and working on different projects and I always had a side-hustle (or more than one). I poured my heart and soul in all the productions I was involved in and the people I was working with, saw it. With time, this led to consistent work. Word of mouth is what truly built my network! I always try to keep up my energy and enthusiasm for what I do! Read more>>

Aaron Larget-caplan

I do make my living and support my family through creative work, though ‘creative work’ includes performing, recording, arranging, publishing, teaching, coaching, speaking and writing, networking, grant writing, and fundraising. These avenues took years to build though some, like composing, are relatively recent. I consciously started the process as a student at the New England Conservatory by signing up for courses that I thought would assist in the short term while I improved my abilities. Once, I made the decision to be a professional musician, make my living with music, and all my decisions since have been in support of that. I did not come from a musical household and had very little guidance in creating a small business or working in the classical music industry. Some of the things I did early on: Read more>>

Grayed School

Making a full time living from my craft has been indeed a struggle. I have a full time career as a mail carrier But i aspire to make a living wage writing and producing music  Read more>>

Lucille Amado Aires Guilhon

Working with art is never easy, it is a type of journey that looks glamorous from the outside but in reality it’s a lot of hard work. I’ve been living only from my dancing for the past 3 and a half years, and the only reason this is not longer is because Covid lockdown came a month after I quit my full time job to go full time dancing – not the best timing😅😅, but it all worked out at the end. I believe one of the most important steps to make the possibility of living from my art happen was to make sure I had a solid base before I quit my other job. I’ve seen many people fail to persue the artistic area because they think it will be monetarily rewarding in the first few months. This is not how it works at all. My main field as a dance teacher for example, if you are a new instructor it will take time to build your name, so having no other source of income when you start this career is not the best choice because you will feel pressured very quickly, and if not enough people show up to your classes that will affect your income and basically make you feel like you’re failing. Read more>>

O’neil Thomas

I’ve been a full-time creative since 2020. During the pandemic, my job at that time was temporarily closed due the pandemic so with the amount of free time that I had, I finally listened to my friends and started creating videos on TikTok. Like many other creative outlets of mine, I never do it with the thought of earning money from the start, I always cared more about my passion for creating in general and how I can continue to create things that I ultimately love. Since I started, I remember getting my first brand deal a few months later where a brand wanted to pay me $250! I couldn’t believe it! The process was amazing and the video responded well. Since then I’ve been able to earn enough to officially be a full-time creator and it was something I always dreamt of. Now I negotiate all my deals and get to work with such amazing people along the way! Read more>>

Daniel Ulibarri

Despite being a first generation college student, and maneuvering through the constant, albeit well-intentioned pressure from family members to pursue a less financially risky career, I have been an arts professional for close to four years. From the day I decided that I would do whatever it takes to make a living off of my camera, I never looked back. I can wholeheartedly say now that commitment to my craft was the right decision, as my camera has allowed me to travel the world, meet and photograph several of my childhood idles, and yes, has paid for every utility bill since I moved out of my hometown. I took the motivation I found in high school daydreams, scrolling through the instagram feeds of live music photographers and acclaimed contemporary artists, into the forging of my own path out of generations of manual labor workers. Read more>>

Devin Moses

Over the past couple of years I have been able to make writing and recording music my full time job through SoundBetter and sync music. It all started in 2020 when I lost my job at Scott Frankfurt Studios because of the covid lockdown. I was introduced to Stefan Lit, an incredible producer, and we started making music for a few different sync companies. We sent the songs out and within 6 months we were already starting to get placements. That snowballed into me working with dozens of sync companies and producers, even big label publishing companies like Universal Publishing and Extreme music under Sony. Read more>>