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.

Youlim

The first dollar I earned as a creative (actor) was when I was still in college in 2011, performing in a play in Daehakro, the Seoul’s famous theater district! It was my first professional acting job outside of school, and honestly, it felt surreal. No one in my family wanted me to go down this path — not even my mom, which is my best friend. But I was stubborn, and she knew it. Even though she didn’t fully agree, she still supported me financially, paying for my acting classes and college, quietly backing me up. Read More>>

Brandi.jae Hooks

The first client I booked on my own as a creative, really changed my whole mindset on doing photography professionally. I was working with a well-known food photographer in Atlanta at the time, learning the restaurant side of food photography. Before then, I was only doing projects from my home studio. I was mainly doing photography as a creative outlet, no so much a business. Read More>>

ROSANNA BONNET CARNEIRO

After earning my AAS in Graphic Design, I needed to raise funds for a big move to the Netherlands to study printmaking. I created a small line of about ten different greeting card designs and presented them to a local paper store. To my surprise and joy, the owner bought the entire production! That unexpected sale was not only my first real income from my creative work—it was also the moment I realized that my art could support my dreams. Read More>>

Lewis Hwang

Before 2023, I had never sold my art face-to-face. Most of my work lived online, separated from the people who bought it. At my first in-person market, a cultural festival hosted by the Tufts Asian American Center, I nervously arranged my dinosaur-themed stickers and pins. When the doors opened, people trickled past my table without stopping. I tried to smile, but I felt invisible. Read More>>

Hyero Veney

I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, but I never really thought of it as anything more than just something I loved to do. In my senior year of high school, I was in AP Art, and for the first time, I had access to unlimited supplies and the freedom to experiment. That’s when I really started to play around with chalk pastels — I liked how bold and fast they were, even if they made a huge mess. Read More>>

Dianne Betkowski

I was always very musical and rhythmic, and as a nine year in New York City with my family, I found an old out of tune guitar with one string missing in an alley. I’m a cellist now, and had never played a guitar before this. I figured out a few places to put my fingers down on the frets that made three or four pleasing chord-like sounds, and began to compose songs to them. Read More>>