We’ve seen way too many talented creatives quit because they couldn’t make it work financially. No doubt, the financial challenges of pursuing a creative or artistic career are daunting, but we felt there wasn’t enough discussion around how to make it work. So, we connected with artists and creatives who’ve been able to earn a full time living from their creative work and asked them to share their stories with our readers.

Abdul Malik Abbott

I’ve been incredibly fortunate and blessed on this thrilling journey. From the moment I walked out of the hallowed halls of New York’s School of Visual Arts with my film degree in hand, the conventional 9-to-5 life became an alien concept to me. Oh, there were those days when I made a few dollars as a busboy in NYC’s Village eateries: Tortilla Flats and Gulf Coast to help fund my education. Read more>>

Megan Morrison

Being a full-time creative artist is definitely not for the faint of heart. You really have to love what you’re doing and you have to be able to push yourself through on those days when you want to just curl up in a ball and give up. People say you’ll never work a day in your life if you love what you do, but that’s just not true. Read more>>

Gille Klabin

I’ve spent 20 years as a freelance filmmaker. I started off creating music videos for unsigned bands and making comedy shorts with friends. As I got on with my career I placed way to much value in paying all my bills as a “director”. This mix of pride and insecurity left me directing any and all projects I could get involved with. Read more>>

Emma Croft

When I left makeup school I was taking zero paid/incredibly low paid jobs for the first couple of years of my career. Luckily I was still living at home because I wasn’t earning nearly enough to support myself; I was selling all my belongings on Ebay at the same time just to stay afloat. After a while, as more/better jobs started to trickle in I started to up my rates and upping my rates is something I continue to do every year. Read more>>

Janelle Gramling

I’ve been doing my creative work full-time for almost 20 years. Several of those years I wasn’t quite pulling 40 hours because I was raising kids, and other years I was working much more than full time. But I was able to be only self-employed that whole time. Now, at age 40, three years out from a divorce, I just recently decided to get a part-time job. I noticed an overall decline in revenue over the past 12 months, aside from the very normal ups and downs that all business owners experience. Read more>>

Carolina Nuñez Bussolini

Earning a full-time living as an artist has been a long and rewarding journey for me. I have always had the encouragement and support of my husband to make the decision to pursue my dream. The world of art requires passion, determination, patience, commitment, and a constant ability to adapt. It also involves achieving personal and professional goals, maintaining motivation, and being flexible. Often, countless hours of work are invested, and doubts arise about whether we are on the right path. Read more>>

Chel Strong

Committing to work as a full time artist is one of the hardest but most rewarding things to do. Our careers are a constant uphill/downhill battle but our passion keeps the gas in the tank to keep going. I was lucky enough to find a stable way to do what I love and be able to make a living doing so by treating my artistry as a business rather than just a dream. Read more>>

Jacob Chattman

Ahhh 2020. I was working part time at the Trader Joe’s on 3rd street – global pandemic, couldn’t smell or taste anything, riots, fun times. I had moved to Los Angeles in 2013 in pursuit of my dream to be an actor and a writer and I was finally having some success- I did a guest star spot on Lucifer, a Scifi-Pilot called SOLUS that I produced was screening, and a few my scripts were placing in contests… BOOM. And now the entire industry had been put on hold. Read more>>

Abigail Manning

I have been working as a full-time author since February of 2023. I first started writing in July of 2021 and published my first book in November of 2021. Truth be told, my first release was a disaster. I’m still proud of the book, but I had no clue how to market myself or gain sales. Read more>>

Teryn Ré

I believe that if you really love what you do, you can make a living doing it full time. That might mean having multiple jobs, but if it is all work you love, then it is worth it. Read more>>

Colin Wright

There are many benefits to working for yourself, but figuring out how to do things you love and which you can sustainably, healthfully, growthfully do over time is tricky—that’s where a lot of people get stuck (or decide, not irrationally, to return to a paycheck-earning employment situation). Read more>>

Bill Ratner

I was hosting “The Phil & Bill Show” during morning drive-time at KBIG-FM 104.3 Los Angeles—the #3-rated station in the Southern California radio market. We played “easy listening” (some called it elevator music,) the wildest tunes were a few mellow Lionel Richie tracks. But it was a great gig—my newsman and I bantered back and forth, I reviewed movies, and interviewed celebs. Read more>>

Giselle World

I appreciate this question so much. It gives me the opportunity to reflect back to how it all started and have gratitude for how far I’ve come against all odds. It had so much to do, if not all to do, with perseverance. Read more>>

Molly Cooke

I have been living off of my work full time since 2021. I always had some income coming from my businesses sales, but I would supplement my income by working side jobs such as teaching classes, restoring antique weapons and armor, jewelry repair, contract work as a bench jeweler, and more. Read more>>

Charlene Mosley

Making a full-time living from my creative journey had been circling in my mind since the end of college. I had always been a little insecure about only producing art for a living; especially coming from a low-income single parent family. There was no money to fall back on for support if my decision to be independent would fail. Consequently, I explored everything from AutoCAD, to Biology, Business, Sports, Philosophy and so many other areas. Read more>>

Neosia Davis

I’ve been able to earn a full-time living being a Cosmetologist by being determined to learn, giving it 100% effort, and being confident. A major step I had to take was improving my communication skills to grow & maintain my clientele. another major step that I had to take, was sitting down with myself, and making clear goals for my career. Read more>>

Nami Bey

i just jumped into the art world, and learned how to sell with a creative touch. I love alternative therapeutic activities and gained a therapeutic art life coach certification and is what started my mission to create an alternative art space. i named it Diiviinetime the Neon psychedelic portal is because its a unique art space where i can sell art, teach , practice my spiritual services, tattoos, and more!. i have been successful running my business for the last 6 years Read more>>

Leo Manzari

I’ve been a professional artist since I was a 14 years old. I’ve always been guided by my artistry and doors have opened for me along the way due to my passion and consistency in the craft. As a song writer and producer, I create the musical landscapes I dance to. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Read more>>

Felix Jones

Making a full-time living is a magician’s dream. But it’s definitely not easy to do. Since I began performing in 2016, I was pretty much running from gig to gig, like many magicians. These corporate events and private parties were actually excellent learning experiences because I often had to adjust the length and content of my show to suit particular audiences. Read more>>

Carl Reid

I have been fortunate enough to be supporting myself solely from my creative endeavors for well over a decade now. I moved to LA from DC about fifteen years ago with the goal of writing and directing features. I had to pay my dues for a while, writing a lot on spec and taking feelance gigs that didn’t pay much. Read more>>

Natasha Ivkovic

The film industry is super multifaceted. There are endless branches of it that will expose you to a new skill or another version of a skill you already thought you honed. I started writing and producing films to create opportunities for myself to act, but this process led me to the edit bay, which is now a major part of my income. Read more>>

Phillip Lewis

Yes and No, Read more>>

Michelle Do

It’s difficult to earn a full-time living from your creative work. I don’t get the luxury of working from 9-5, or the benefits from doing that. I might work full-time hours, but they’re scattered across a few institutions, and I’ve made a patchwork quilt of hours logged from different gigs. Often, my day is a gig at 10am, teaching from 12 – 5:30pm, and then rehearsal from 6 – 11pm, at three completely different locations. Weekends are also work days, because that’s when shows happen. Read more>>

Errol Sack

There really is nothing I feel I could off done different. My interest of being in the film business came at a very young age. I feel one of the best things i did when I was younger was learning how to play the guitar.This helped me with patience for everything I wanted to learn.I defiantly had a lot of optuninites to learn about film making in all realms .  Read more>>

Natashia Taylor

Transitioning into a full-time creative career while juggling motherhood, pursuing education, changing careers, and relocating was quite a challenging but rewarding experience. Read more>>

Eve Batelle

Being taught our whole lives we had to go to college to get a degree then get a regular desk job to be able to retire comfortably, I hated the idea that I would have to wait until retirement to truly enjoy my life. I decided to leave my last corporate job and put my organizational skills to good use within event and party coordinating. The fact that I could actually pay my bills while doing something I fully enjoyed blew my mind! The more I got into my creative side the more I thrived. Read more>>

Hongbin Xu

I’m a keyboardist and producer based in Los Angeles, California. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Keyboard Performance from the Musicians Institute, I became a teaching assistant at the school as my day job. I still utilize most of my time dedicated to practice, and networking to be able to pursue my career. Read more>>

Ashley Vargas

Becoming a full-time artist was definitely not something that happened overnight or right away. It’s taken me roughly 7 years to get to the point where my creative talents pay my bills. Read more>>

Nic Greene

Freelancing is not a nine to five and working as a creative retoucher and finisher freelance is how I’ve made my living for quite a while now. While it might not be everyone’s dream career, it is and has been a deeply rewarding and fulfilling path to a good living for me. As it is now, I work from home, remotely, serving clients across multiple time zones. Read more>>

Rob Kleiner

I’ve spent my entire adult life working in music. For the 1st 10 years I would sometimes need other part time work to stay afloat. Though I was spending most of my time making music, expenses often exceeded profits. Though I was doing what I wanted, I wasn’t looking at it from a business perspective. Read more>>