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.

Christine Almendras

As of now, yes, I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work! It was something that was two years in the making though. I was definitely one of those people who did not land a job right after college; in fact, it took me a year and a half to land my first design job at a marketing agency! Before that, I worked at Olive Garden as a server full time, took on freelance projects for friends and family, and even did an internship for a political consulting company. Read more>>

Victoria Morales

Yes, I have! The first 6 months or so of launching my live wedding painting business I was unable to do any paid weddings as it was in the midst of 2020 during covid. During that time I took any and every commission I could to earn an income, gain experience, and build my portfolio. A huge part of my early success was the support of my husband. He believed in me from the beginning and we made sure we were in a good spot financially (almost debt free, living within our means and on a budget) before I took the leap to start my business and quit my old job. Read more>>

Matt Wheatley

I am one of the very fortunate people that make my full-time living from my creative work. That said, I’ve worn (and still wear) a lot of different hats to make that possible. My journey has not been a short one, but its been worth every step forward and backward that I’ve taken in my career. I grew in the Cincinnati music scene where I initially learned how to start working hard within the music industry despite not having a clue what I was doing at that time. I’d handle all the bookings, tours, merch, pre-sale tickets, fan engagement, etc. for the bands that I was in. Read more>>

Atari Jones

I have been able to make a full time living from my creative work. I was able to do this by seeing my creative work as a product, researching my field, consistency & not relying on others. From day one I have been very stern on these things, from sending out 500-800 emails a day, to traveling 10 hours out of the day for an interview to go right back home afterwards. The key is wanting to go and get it for yourself without any outside motivation, just your own. Read more>>

Rilla Force

Being a Full-Time Musician is one of the most amazing/scariest things one can experience in their lifetime, for me it’s second nature. I’m an artist, record producer, DJ , & audio engineer on and day to day basis. The beginning was simple, yet super unexpected, in September 2016 I dropped my first solo body of work. A few months later I was thrown into some huge Spotify playlists, and in the beginning of 2017 I received a huge royalty check! At the time I thought something was wrong so I thought nothing of it until I received another check, and another. Read more>>

Tyler Herwig

Earning a full-time living being a musician didn’t happen overnight for me. At 16, I began singing professionally in weddings and restaurants around my home town but it wasn’t until recently that I was able to support myself and my family full time. I was able to do this by emailing new venues constantly and working hard on social media to get my name in the public eye. In hindsight, my biggest challenge while growing my music outreach was myself. One of the biggest milestones not only in my career, but in my life was overcoming my drug and alcohol addiction. Read more>>

Kiara Shannelle

I am able to be full time with my work, thank god! But it has not been easy. I worked at a body waxing place for 10 years alongside working as a freelance makeup artist to help make ends meet until I felt I was able to be completely full time as a makeup artist. I’m not sure if there are any steps I could say would’ve made the process quicker, some things just the time, And that’s completely ok! Read more>>

Helen Laser

Short answer: Yes! I am happy and proud to say I make my living from narrating, acting, and voiceover. Ever so slightly longer answer: When I graduated from college I made an ultimatum with myself: if I didn’t make any money from acting within the first year of being out of college, I would reevaluate and do something else. I left school wanting more than anything to be an actor and make all my money from creative pursuits. But I wanted to be realistic. I knew I didn’t know much about this industry, and I didn’t want to be some sad story of a deluded old lady who foolishly still thought “it’ll happen!” Read more>>

Kim Hymes

Earning a full-time living from your creative work may seem like a pretty big mountain to climb but as with anything in life, perseverance is key to turning your creative passion into your full time job! Many people find themselves with a hobby and turn it into a side gig, especially in today’s economy. Make a little extra money while doing something you love! But what if you want to turn that passion into your full time job. What does that look like? How do you make the switch from hobby to full time? How can you earn a living off your passion? Read more>>

Lauren Robertson

I had been doing a small pottery business on the side for a few years, but was a full-time speech therapist working in a school when the pandemic hit. At the beginning of the lockdown, many shops around the country were seeing an increase in orders for homewares as people stayed home, and a lot of pottery studios were temporarily shut down. Right at the time I decided to quit speech therapy, I started receiving inquiries for wholesale orders. I already had a home studio so I was able to hit the ground running. Read more>>

Justin Henkelman

Unfortunately, I currently do not make a living off of my hobby. That is most certainly a goal and probably more of a pipe dream. I really do the best with what I have. I am always learning and my page/photos are always evolving. One of the important lessons I have learned is you have to make your own mark and put you own stamp on your work. Figure photography would be pretty boring if everyone’s work looked the same. Read more>>

Yun Gluv

Having my music monetized and distributing to online stores has been a huge help, along with Paid performances. Honestly of course none of it happened overnight and it took some time to build, where I could make money from this full-time and somewhat live off of it. But the investment process went from paying for Studio time etc. which led to marketing finances, which led to finding my own road expenses. Read more>>

Melissa Monroe

I always knew that I wanted to be an artist. But I also knew that I wanted a family. I was able to devote more time to my art career as my children grew and started school. It was the perfect match as I was able to create work while my children were in school and attend art shows on the weekends. My business ramped up gradually as my time allowed. My pottery skills improved throughout this time and I honed my style. When I was able to go full-time into my pottery career, I already had many years of experience. Read more>>

Adedolapo Adekanbi

Earning a full time living from my creative work has always been one of my top desires even far back as days i spent doing photography. There’s a desired level of success one must attain to comfortably earn from your creative works and plan for the future also. In as must as i’m not there yet, i believe strongly that i will make it to that point and yet beyond. Read more>>

Brit Waye

Looking back, it has definitely been a slow-build process, but I’m proud to be making my living as a fine arts painter and graphic designer – and loving the freedom to be doing it on my own terms. Realizing my dream of entrepreneurship began with a little streak of bad luck, actually. Enter – the pandemic of 2020, which saw me get laid off from my corporate design job, grieve the loss of one of my most special loved ones, and stuck in lockdown with an inbox full of rejection letters. Read more>>

Gabrielle Jordano

In 2021 I worked in Denver as a full time waxer for a corporate company and part time as a Lash Artist. I had just finished Esthetician school with the goal of eventually starting my own business doing lashes full time and freelance makeup. My best friend of 8 years called me to tell me she was opening up a Permanent Makeup Studio in Austin and she wanted me to work with her as an independent contractor. I worked non stop with few days off for six months so I could save up to move across the country. Read more>>

Christopher Printz

Yes, I currently earn a full-time living from my creative work. I started off filming a few weddings a year, and a few more the following year until I realized that I was making more money than I had ever made before. I then dove into weddings full-time and never looked back. Some of the major steps were definitely when I realized that great vendor relationships were just as valuable as producing good work. Read more>>

Isabella LoRe

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to earning an income from social media. I think the one I often come across is that it is a super quick process. I found out pretty quickly that wasn’t true. I often heard that to be successful as a social media creator, you have to be in it because you truly love creating, not for money. Although it’s cheesy, I have found this really rings true. I have built up my YouTube channel and other platforms for years, every single day. Read more>>

Dylan Goldberger

I feel very lucky to be making a living off of my art. I’ve been doing freelance illustration for the past 10 years and I can tell you the jobs I’m most proud of have all come from the client seeing self-generated work. You need to have the drive and discipline to work for hours on your own stuff. When there’s no work coming in, get started on that new book idea, or t-shirt graphic. Put it out in the world and who knows who will see it and say hey, we should get him to do something like that for us. Read more>>

Tony Chetta

I love this question because it begs a further reflection of how you view the creative work that you do; as a business, as an art, or a marriage between the two? I’ve felt from the beginning that it’s very important to nurture both the business and artistic side of your work and I believe that’s what has led me to having the privilege of being full-time today. Read more>>

Bobbie Worthy

I have. I’m a self-taught cake artist, with no experience or training except a ton of practice and watching how-to videos online. I began making custom decorated cakes for my children many years ago. That eventually led to friends and family asking for cakes for their events, and simply from word of mouth, I completed my first “paid” cake order in July 2011, from my home kitchen. I continued this small home business for another 6 years, and went on to open my first storefront bakery in January 2017. Since then, I moved that bakery to a much larger location, and in April 2022, opened my second storefront bakery. Read more>>

Ginnie Cappaert

I have been fortunate enough to earn a living from my full-time creative work for the past decade and my path to get to that point happened exactly as it was supposed to. My creative journey started part time when I was raising three young children. My husband at the time agreed to me leaving my full time Court Office position to stay home and raise our children and do my creative business ‘part time’. I am a driven personality and continued to work harder and more passionately in my art while my kids grew up. Read more>>

Jordan Roepke

When I first decided to start a photography business, there were two things that I heard that really shaped my mindset. The first is from Jerry Ghionis, who is one of my favorite photographers. He said “Most photographers start a business thinking, ‘I want to be a photographer, I’m going to start a business!’. That’s the wrong mindset. You should think. ‘I want to own a business. I’m going to be a photographer!’” Read more>>

Ashley Dixon

Took a risk and bet on myself and it has paid off! 2022 marked my first year as a full time entrepreneur, content creator and speaker. I made 2x my entire 6 figure corporate salary in the first three months of the year, doing what I love home decor, DIY and organizing. To date, I have more than tripled my salary bringing in over $300,000. It is wild to think this is my journey and I run a six figure business because I just knew my path was destined to be in the corporate sector plugging away for the next 30 years. Read more>>

Janel Young

I have been fortunate to be able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. The journey here was a diligent and faithful one. When I began working as an artist full-time, I had to put myself and my work out there for people to see. At the beginning, all transactions were not monetary. Some days I was lending my time as a volunteer or panelist, some weekends I was investing in a vending booth at a popular event, etc. I knew that in order to create value and trust where I wanted to be paid for my work, I would have to build a portfolio and network that reflected my capabilities, my value and my aspirations as an artist. Read more>>

Savannah Cano

I have been able to earn a full-time living by doing makeup and nails. In the beginning it was very hard trying to build my clientele, learn customer service skills, learn how to price my services, learning about how to set policies in place. But at the end of the day I regret nothing, because of my mistakes I made as a young makeup artist & nail tech, I’m doing as well as I am now. Read more>>

Rose Hendershot

I started my business to earn a living and not be afraid that I will be “downsized” without warning again. My previous two bosses decided that they were cutting back in workers and I was the person let go with no warning at all. I had been photographing local children for the Chamber of Commerce and was very happy doing so. After the second job “downsized” me, it was time to take control of my own employment. My business took off slowly allowing me to grow and build it as I went Read more>>

Max Mospanyuk

OVERVIEW I have been self-employed since college. Pretty crazy to think that was over 8 years ago. It’s very difficult to sum up the highs and lows over 8 years, going from cold-calling potential clients to maintaining client relationships and managing your own schedule. I remember taking the megabus or greyhound to the next state just to take a project. I remember buying my first car after saving enough money. I’ve mourned lost clients and missed opportunities and also celebrated landing big clients or projects. Read more>>

Richard Waine

In 2006, I bought my first camera, and began taking pictures of anything and everything. I wasn’t very good, and I had no idea why my pictures were as awful as they were. I accumulated plenty of equipment, and didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I turned to The University of YouTube for help. I stumbled across a YouTube video where Peter Hurley, the foremost authority on headshot photography, was speaking. He had a magnetic personality, and a gift for teaching. On top of that, his images were beautiful! I was immediately inspired. I needed to find a way to learn more, and I needed to meet Peter. Read more>>

Rebeeca Price

Sometimes I am still amazed that I can earn a good living doing what I love! I started working part-time in a florist when I was 14 years old and quickly learned that I had discovered my passion and natural talent! During high school and college I worked at a couple other florists in my area. I learned so much at each shop, but I knew that I wanted to be my own boss. I think designing my very first wedding all on my own about 5 years ago was a major step for me. Read more>>