We recently connected with Forrest Heusinkveld and have shared our conversation below.

Forrest, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

People often ask me if I make a full-time living from my creative work in music. It depends how you define “full-time living” and “creative work.” In music school I was told the chances of making a full-time living as a performer were basically zero. I noticed all my musical mentors wore multiple hats, so I focused on becoming the best teacher I could be. On nights without gigs I bar tended at local music venues and learned the business side of music. I made a lot of connections with musicians from everywhere; watching their performances sharpened my skills and improved my bands. At this point I could make a living performing, but it wouldn’t be a particularly comfortable one, and I’m not interested in crashing on floors or cramming six people into a dirty hotel room. I like owning property, having health insurance, and going out to eat. If you define “creative work” as working in the musical environment—teaching, performing, composing, recording, booking, managing, running sound, bartending—then yes: I’ve earned a full-time living from creative work the whole time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Forrest Heusinkveld. I’ve been passionate about music and entrepreneurship in the arts for my entire life. I earned two AA degrees from Kirkwood Community College, a BA in music, and an MBA in finance and leadership. While in graduate business school at the University of Iowa I managed live music venues, performed in multiple bands, and taught private lessons.

I play drums and percussion with groups including Diplomats of Solid Sound, The Uniphonics, The Swampland Jewels, The Lonesome Thrillbillies, Jumbies, Plastic Relations, Heads in Motion, Fork in the Road, The Soul Practitioners, Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos, and more. I also rap and record solo as “Black Forrest Ham,” and teach thousands of private music lessons each year.

I own and operate Penfield Books, a publishing house and wholesale distributor founded in 1979 by famed photographer, writer, and civil-rights activist Joan Liffring-Zug. Penfield Books has published more than 200 original titles and offers a large collection of books, postcards, and magnets focused on Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Irish, Italian, Mexican, Norwegian, Polish, Scandinavian, Scottish, Slovak, Swedish, and Ukrainian heritage. Based in Iowa City—one of two UNESCO Cities of Literature in the U.S.—Penfield Books is among Iowa’s longest-running publishing houses.

My two worlds, music and publishing, are increasingly intersecting and informing one another.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I woke up on the floor of a crack house with two pit bulls in heat on top of me. I don’t know if you’re allowed to print that, but it captures the flip side of the music industry: people see the glamour, but the reality is rough—and often more interesting than the show. One of my bands toured with no money but endless determination. When strangers offered a place to crash, we accepted without asking questions. One night we’d be at a multimillion-dollar mansion; the next we’d wake up in a dilapidated trailer. We rarely knew what we were getting into until we’d already crossed the point of no return. The pit-bull incident was one of many signs that mistakes were being made, and it convinced me it was time to go back to school. I would not go so far as to say that waking up in a crack house with pit bulls in heat on top of me was the best thing that ever happened to me, but it left an impact. Figuratively, not literally.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I don’t know how to build a huge social media following without a budget—if I did, I’d have one. I’ve never paid to promote myself as a musician, but I have plenty of work. Penfield Books doesn’t spend on social media either, yet many titles keep selling in bulk year after year. Maybe the lesson is quality over quantity. If you live under a dictatorship, your audience is one person—it doesn’t matter who is watching as long as the dictator thinks you’re cool. Most of the musical overlords in my region follow me or one of my bands. Students and their parents likely follow me too and can confirm that I’m a good guide—hopefully the pit-bull story doesn’t affect that. The bookstores, museums, gift shops, and other partners Penfield Books targets are likely following us. A massive social presence would help, but it isn’t essential. Excelling at my craft is.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/forrestheusi
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forrestheusi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forrest.heusinkveld
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/forrestheusinkveld/
• Twitter: https://x.com/forrestheusi
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@forrestheusi
• Other: https://www.penfieldbooks.com

Image Credits

Emily Collins
Bill Houser
Joan Liffring-Zug Bourret
Sandy Dyas