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.

Connor Stehr

For years I have had a passion for cocktails and started a small cocktail blog. To make my blog better, I started learning photography. Soon my passion for photography outpaced the cocktails and I began moonlighting as an amateur photography. Read more>>

Rita Brent

It was a difficult decision to let go of my full-time state job to become a full-time creative. I was apprehensive and frankly, uncertain if I’d be able to survive. I had bills and financial obligations. But as Dwyane Wade has been quoted saying: My belief is bigger than my doubt. I believed in my ambition, skill set, and God-given favor to “make it”. I also had a plan-, unapologetically market myself and my services. Read more>>

Rondell Lane

Yes, I have been a full-time business owner for the past 9 years. I saved up money and built my business while I was working a full-time job. Once, I felt I had enough saved and after I was consistently earning more money from my then, part-time business than I was at my job, I made the leap. There was slow periods but I always stayed consistent and figure out ways to market myself to land more gigs. I definitely feel like I would have sped up the process if I knew the things I know now. Read more>>

Melanie Westheiden

I have been able to earn a full-time living from my work. It was a difficult journey working long hours but it was so worth it. I started doing pottery in my spare time from my 3-4 jobs after graduating college in 2017. I would be in the studio at odd hours, even for just 30 minutes whenever I could. At this time I was also participating in local art shows selling my work when I could. I slowly dwindled my jobs down to one, working at the local animal shelter. In April 2018 my parents sat me down and helped me realize it was time to take my business full time. Read more>>

Georgia Nubia

I quit my full time retail job to pursue my creative career. Of course, it’s been a very different journey but it’s truly worth it. I have been able to test and push my artistic abilities beyond my own expectations and have created more income for me. I now teach children Self Expression through Creative Arts sharing my gifts of photography, poetry, painting, and even designing jewelry. I share a poem with them daily “I think I can, I think I can, I KNOW I can, I can!!!! Read more>>

Joey Paone

I’ve been very lucky to have been employed consistently for most of my career. I graduated during an upswing in the animation industry when streaming companies started investing in more animated content for their platforms. That has kept me fed for some time now, even though the work seems to be slowing down. Back in college, I tried my best to develop the skills needed to be a valuable animation asset by regularly attending life drawing sessions and asking peers and professors to critique my work. Read more>>

Farro Jarro

I have been fortunate enough to be able to earn a full-time living from my craft of producing dope beats and audio engineering/recording. It’s definitely not easy and it takes a lot of time to generate a stable income, because you have to establish a network of clientele that will spend money with you. Read more>>

Aleasha Rennie

My whole life I have absolutely been devoured by art. Not just through nail art designs but throughout the years my art has shown through many different types, I use to make cakes which began as a hobby then I got more serious & started creating bespoke wedding cakes. Throughout lockdown when I could not work I used my imagination then I started making press on nails & resin pallets this was super therapeutic sitting in my cabin & I could create what ever pieces I wanted & no matter what I made every item sold. Read more>>

Dionte Askew

Man!! To keep this answer from taking forever, I am a IT pro by trade and it took a log of time and prayer for me to have the courage to leave and pursue my dream. I became a full time business owner on July 1st of 2022 and it’s been the best decision I ever made. From day one of this journey is was a lot of unknowns. I didn’t know any DJs in my area, let alone to reach out to. I researched on Google and YouTube and found a few helpful options. Read more>>

Ruth Gamarra

Yes. My whole life have been inclined towards the art and I like to transform things, so this is the perfect business that involves both. It was not easy from day one but with courage and family support I was able to grow the business. Read more>>

Elyse Tanner

When I first started working in the beauty industry, it was really tough. But, was very blessed with finding a job right out of cosmetology school. My boss is fabulous and an amazing hairdresser/blonde specialist. She has taught me everything i know, she’s also the best role model. I strive to be where she is one day. For the first 2-3 years I was living from appointment to appointment. Barely able to pay booth rent some weeks. But I knew this was my passion and if I could stay dedicated, I would become a successful hairdresser and makeup artist. Read more>>

Cameron Havens

I played my first gig my senior year of high school. My Uncle brought me to a jam circle in Plano, TX at a place called Cafe Bohemia. I was the youngest one there by a long shot, the music I played didn’t really match anybody else who played. I felt like I kinda blew it. On the way out, the owner ( Evie Rossi) gave me her card and invited me back to play. It was 90 minutes from my house and it didn’t pay, but she was the first person to allow me the opportunity to come out and play. Read more>>

Michael Bielaczyc

Aradani started over 20 years ago when I was laid off from my tech job. I had always done artwork, and this clean break made me think I would try my hand at making it in the art world. I had always loved the Renaissance Festival here in TN, so I thought that would be a good place to start. Read more>>

Cari Colclough

Yes! Art has been my passion since I won my first drawing contest at age 7. By age 12, I was studying at the Corcoran Museum School of Art and Design and painting my heart out. (I wanted to be as good as my aunt who is an AMAZING artist!)In college, I studied Fine Art and Advertising which did not go over well with my parents. “Your going to be a what?! An Artist?! That’s not a career. You need to get a business degree.” What I tell people is, trust your GUT! Read more>>

Paloma Leon Velarde

Yes, I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. My first job out of college was an office job. I started working there in 2019, and I learned a lot about myself in the 3 years I was employed there. I learned that it didn’t fulfill me as a person to work for someone else, and I also learned that I wasn’t happy working in an office environment. Read more>>

Paloma Drehs

Wow this is a big question. I think the trickiest balance is making money and doing what you love. Even when you have a big budget you still encounter limitations. It’s nice to aim to get to a point where you earn enough money to survive/thrive! And you don’t hate your job. Everyone has a journey unique to them. And I think the signposts in the road for each person’s journey is to keep following what you love. Read more>>

Bri Downard

I only launched myself into this crazy space of working full time as an artist because my circumstances called for it. I was burnt out as a teacher, going through a divorce, and knew that if I continued pouring myself into the classroom, I’d have nothing left to give my two year old son. That sounded like a recipe for more and more bitterness. Read more>>

Jordan Mansour

Fortunately, I have been able to live comfortably on a full-time artist income, but the journey has been both challenging and highly gratifying. I started my business on my 35th birthday, while I was still working full time for the federal government. My original plan was to slow-build a side hustle over the course of my career so that I could have something good rolling when it came time for me to retire. Read more>>

Sam Soper

I am a freelancer earning a full-time living from multiple facets of creative work. The art side of my business manifests itself as a broad mix of murals, custom immersive installations, illustration commissions, live painting, and selling merchandise made from my work. The other side involves more commercial services, like graphic and UX design, website maintenance and development, and creative and interactive marketing consulting. My goal is to someday make my full-time living from just the art side of my business, but I am having patience and slowly moving it that direction. Read more>>

Natalie Keller Reinert

Making it to full-time as a novelist was a long road, and I’m not sure I ever expected to get here! I wrote part-time for about ten years. As long series began to bring in more readers, I began trimming back on my professional (office) work in 2019, dropping to part-time hours so that I could write more. Read more>>

Michelle Leagans

When I got my college degree in Dance, I never believed it would be my full-time career. I started out dancing in the summer during college at Busch Gardens. I was working to build up my resume for when I was out on my own. Once I graduated, I started teaching at the studio where I grew up and then became a Honeybee for the NBA Charlotte Hornets. Through this experience, I learned how much I loved teaching and really wanted to make that my permanent job. Read more>>

Meg Melchert

I dont think any FULL TIME SELF EMPLOYED journey is easy. How did I make it happen? HARD WORK, EVERY SINGLE DAY. I think it is a common thought that going from a full time 9-5 for someone else to working 100% for yourself cant be “that hard”. I have heard the statement “must be nice to do what you want, when you want:” a million times. There is no more false statement. Read more>>

Daisi Pollard

I’m a firm believer in being able and being prepared to monetize your creative work from day one. So when I started Daisi Jo Reviews I was thinking about monetization. almost immediately which is very different from how many of my peers think about earning a living in the content creation space. Conventional wisdom believes that you must build a large following before monetizing. So there’s a lot of seeding content and doing brand deals for trade before a creator thinks about pitching to brands. Read more>>

Dianne Yingst

Yes, I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, but it has not been an easy journey. I earned my BA from Southeastern Louisiana University in New Media and Animation and my MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design in Sequential Art. I graduated from SCAD in 2019 completely burned out and with nothing lined up for work. Read more>>

Phoenix De La Rosa

I remember the first time I sat down, after a long day working at a corporate job. and thinking to myself, “The American Dream is pulling up your bootstraps. and that’s what I am going to do.” As a Puerto Rican woman in the corporate world, the amount of work I had been putting in wasn’t being reciprocated or recognized. At the time, I had worked numerous different fields, but I always had my passion for theatre through-out those occupations. Read more>>

Sari Diskin

I started my career in corporate advertising and spent a few years in account management. After my wedding and a big move to a new country (originally from Canada), I decided to follow my passion for working in health and wellness. I took a bunch of small jobs and got my certification at IIN (Institute for Integrative Nutrition). I sold my healthy baked goods in the lobby of my apartment building and started to put myself out there in the local community. Read more>>

Mariery Young

“Messy never Straight” is how I like to describe my creative journey as an artist and entrepreneur. There is no one path, checklist, or one-fit-all timetable for me. It’s about learning to trust the process and find the joy in it, knowing that mistakes will happen, and that bit of fear you get in making a choice it’s a good thing: it’s your body telling you that choice matters to you. Read more>>

Isaac Denton

Not full time…yet. I am still Active Duty Air Force (19 years), but have been working to build a post military career with my artwork. Out of High School I started college at ETSU IN 1995. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do within the realm of art. Basically I didn’t have a clear path or direction, or really any idea how to make a career with art. I eventually dropped out wandered around for a while and eventually joined the Air Force in 2004. Read more>>

Melissa Golden

After having babies and being a full time mom for 14 years, my youngest was about to enter preschool and I was going to have a few hours of kid-free time in the day. I thought, “If I could create any job for myself what would it be?” I instantly knew the answer: Design. I had a Bachelors Degree in Technical Sales and I had taken design classes, I had worked in sales for a major tech company, I knew I could do it….but I was rusty. Endless diapers and sleepless nights will do that to a person. Read more>>

Kathrine Allen

It took me several years to break into being able to be a full time artist. During that time I had several “real jobs”. The jobs I took however were all connected with the arts and helped me improve my skill sets. A photographer for a small newspaper, a picture framer, and I worked in an art supply/printing shop. All of these jobs helped me find my way, and learn. Read more>>

Kimaris Jones

I consider myself blessed when I think about how I am able to earn a full time living from my creative work. I was working at MAC Cosmetics and I remember looking across at our other cosmetic and perfume counterparts and seeing this sweet looking older lady passing out perfume samples to customers who were passing by. At that time I was working full-time and I was in my late 20s. Read more>>