Earning that first dollar is incredibly special and a moment many never forget. We asked some very talented creatives from the community to tell us the story of the first dollar they earned from their creative works.

Ankita Prasad

I still remember the day, not because of the amount I earned but the feeling it gave me. She found me through my instagram page, and asked me to make a portrait of a baby boy. Knowing that my portraits could create an emotional bond with people gave a sense of satisfaction and purpose. She didn’t just take that portrait with her but a lifetime emotion. It motivated me to keep creating memories for the people and their friends and family. Read more>>

Addi Welder

The first dollar I’ve earned was when I was SEVEN years old, it was a six foot wide spider that I welded with an old beat up miller mig welder my dad got me . But I built it while I was learning how to weld not knowing someone would be interested in buying it. Read more>>

Tunde Dugantsi

I was a stay at home mom with 3 kids. I am from Hungary and we live in Kentucky. We have no family around and I’ve never hired a baby sitter. So I spent the last 8 years taking care of my kids, with not a single day of break. I started decorating cookies and really enjoyed it. I created more and more and posted pictures of my cookies on the internet. Read more>>

Courtney Faith

I started taking content creation more seriously in 2021. At that point, I was focused on getting comfortable in front of the camera and figuring out my personal style, so I offered to work with brands in exchange for PR. I treated every gifted product like a full campaign because I knew that if I kept showing up and putting in the work, a paid opportunity would come. Read more>>

Jaymie Seabrook Stryker

In 2023 I was waiting tables and studying to get my psychology degree. Randomly a regular that comes into the restaurant I work at started chatting with me about life and what my hopes are for the future. This regular (Andy) and I randomly started talking about life and I told him how in an “ideal world” I would love to be an artist full time. Andy was so interested to know more so I pointed him to my instagram which at the time only consisted of work I’d done in high school and a few drawings from electives my freshman year of college. the next week he commissioned me to paint an abstract piece for his office and gave me way more money than I thought my art would ever be worth. Read more>>

Landerman Evra

First dollar earned as a creative was during New York Fashion Week. I was paid to help with producing a fashion show event. The show went successfully and we were able to reconnect with the designer/client in the future. Read more>>