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.

Ashley Durham

Being a small business owner is not for the feint of heart, or for those who don’t want to work harder than anyone else in the room. When I first opened my photography business in 2010, I had no idea the journey that I was embarking on; to be honest, there is no way I could have dreamed big enough to know where I would be today. I have made so many mistakes over the year, but one thing has always gotten me through it: the passion for the work. Read more>>

Melissa Giles

My father was a photographer and had his own studio in the 70’s and 80’s. Even though he was a creative, he wasn’t supportive of me wanting to go to college for an art degree. Like most parents, he wanted me to aim high and become a doctor or lawyer. I am now 40, have a successful photography business, my own commercial studio space, and am doing what I feel I was always meant to do. Be creative. Read more>>

Zaine Vaun

I have been very fortunate with my ability to make a living off of many creative endeavors throughout my life. From ceramics to natural dyeing and a few other things in between, I have been able to find an outlet for sales and had people cheering me on. My most recent career shift to focus on Design and Illustration has been no exception! Besides being lucky enough to have a very supportive family and friends, there are a few keys to my success as a person making money off creative avenues. Read more>>

Jessica Shely

Being an entrepreneur and creative has been the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had. Though, it hasn’t always been that way. Growing up, I wanted to become an electrical engineer but quickly switched paths after realizing that math was not an area where I excelled. As I began thinking about things I enjoyed doing, writing was at the top of the list. Read more>>

Ryan Yingst

I have, and the most important part of early income as a musician is flexibility. Deciding to become a performing or recording artist is not something that brings success overnight. Lots of larger artists have the luxury of spending years without income while they have publicists, managers, bookers and agents building hype and creating a persona for them to step into, but that can be deceiving for small artists who don’t have that option. For those getting started I am a big believer that it is better to stay focused on the industry you want to be a part of. Read more>>

Whitney Belaire.

I was able to leave my full time job and start working for myself in 2018 after having my son. I had built up clients over the years in my side hustle as an artist. When I left I was nervous because of the unknown pay. But I realized I was in control of how much I would make depending on how hard I would market myself. Social media was blowing up and I took full advantage. I make sure I’m in people’s sight daily. That way whenever they are ready to buy, they don’t forget me. Read more>>

Chantal Hackett

I’ve been blessed to finally be able to earn a living as a full time creative. I say “finally” because it’s been a journey full of ups and downs. I’m a singer first and foremost, I specialize in Pop/Soul music but love almost all genres of music. If we back-pedal a little bit, I started taking singing more seriously when I was in grade 6: competing and performing anywhere people would watch! I remember volunteering to sing at church where people who watched me sing during mass would come up to me afterwards requesting to pay me to sing at their wedding! I thought, I’d do it for free, but I was excited to be making money and earning it doing something I love at such a young age. Read more>>

Claire Forrest

I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, including paying for both mine and my husband’s education, cars, and our home. My goal was just to be able to support myself– when I quit my first official salaried job, I was determined to make at least the same amount on my own that first year and surprised myself by doubling my income in one year. From there, it was a growth balloon that I just followed up and up slowly! Read more>>

Chelsey Ann.

Being an artist and also making enough money to survive has not been easy but in the past year, I have been able to find a balance by becoming a virtual assistant and social media manager. This job has given me the freedom to write music and play and work around that rather than working set hours and only being able to focus on music in the evening and on weekends. Read more>>

Jael B. Gadsden

I have been fortunate in the past several years to earn a living from my creative work. I am from Charleston, SC, and I moved to Los Angeles after graduating college to pursue my dreams of singing and acting. I lived in Los Angeles for a few years working a full time job while still pursing singing and acting. I performed live music with a band and went on auditions. Read more>>

Alanna Rivera

I’ve been working full-time as a fine artist for three years now, and it has been a difficult and rewarding journey. I may have my Master in Fine Art now, but I am a self-taught artist with a background in English and Spanish literature. I like to emphasize to aspiring full-time creatives that my path wasn’t linear and a lot of what has made me successful takes time. I did not always identify as an artist, though I always made art. Read more>>

Gracie Smith

When I started my blog “If You Want To Eat You Have To Cook!” it started just as an easy way to save my recipes. I fell in love with blogging in college and knew pretty quickly that I wanted to be a full time blogger. I love trying out new products on my blog and being able to write about new items is always exciting. The only difficult thing about being a blogger is to think about so many different recipes! I try to cover all basis so there is something for everyone- vegan/ gluten free/dairy free/ and meat based so anyone can find a recipe that they will love. Read more>>

Paige Turner

As cliché as it may sound, I’m truly living the dream. Most of us are familiar with the old saying “If you love what you do, it won’t feel like work.” That adage is my professional reality. Through determination, just the right amount of pushiness, and a strong foundation of skills and connections, I’ve been able to leverage and hone in on a natural-born talent as my livelihood. Read more>>

Rae Radick

I am happy to say I’ve been a full time performing artist and I love it! There’s a lot of steps that are involved that lead to this kind of lifestyle, and it involves perfecting your craft and hustling. A lot of what this industry is made up of is discipline, dedication, talent, and confidence. Read more>>

Bryan Segraves

I am very blessed to be able to do the work I want to do without any distractions, but as most people working in a creative field will tell you, it takes lots of years of multiple streams of income to set up. The most important steps for me were choosing to educate myself by getting a degree in music production, and then choosing a direct career path and sticking with it to get experience without losing focus. Read more>>

Ryan Coleman

It definitely has been a journey, and I always held tight to the dream of being able to focus full-time on the work I’m passionate about. I’ve been an artist ever since I can remember, growing up with a very creative Mother who was an Interior Decorator, and a Father who was a full time professional illustrator and product designer for Disney Studios for many years. Additionally, my Step-Father owned his own business, so I’ve been able to learn a tremendous amount on the technical/logistical side of being self employed.  Read more>>

Collin Cessna

I have been able to earn a full time living from my creative work for about 2.5 years now. My journey started when I quit my job in construction management. I quickly jumped into pet portrait commissions. My first year as a full time artist consisted primarily of commissions. I had an excel sheet that helped me schedule commissions back to back. I completed 39 pet portraits in a row which was paying my bills at the time. I started to get burnt out on pet portraits and began landscape painting when I had a few free days. I received positive feedback on my landscapes and I started to paint more of them. Read more>>

Jason Siemer

I graduated from Towson State University (now Towson University) in 1996 with a degree in TV & Film Production. My first job out of college was a paid internship in the production department of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. I started working on the game staff as a camera operator, and performing various control room duties during the home games at Camden Yards. My real passion was editing, so they also had me producing highlight videos that were displayed on the ballpark Jumbotron during the games. Read more>>

Christopher DeLorenzo

I’ve been a full-time graphic artist for the past 6 years making most of my income through commissioned illustrations for brands and companies as well selling my own work and doing collaborations that are more artistic in nature. It took a while for me to get to a place where I could work for myself. Besides the self doubt and fear that comes with trying to make a living by being an artist I was also happy being employed and getting to be around people and solve creative problems together at an agency and company. Read more>>

Mari Jane Sun.

Earning a full-time living from my talents has not been easy in this cutthroat entertainment industry. I have realized to be able to thrive in this environment I have to be very fluid & innovative. I started in the entertainment industry with the World Famous Hollywood Knockouts where I learned how to entertain a crowd and problem-solve anything that came my way. A major milestone for me was having my son & changing my entire trajectory in the entertainment industry. Read more>>

Kaleigh Allen.

I currently live in Los Angeles as a full-time creative. When I first decided that I wanted to jump into this adventure, I had to take a risk. I had to prepare myself for the financial instability, for the mental hurdles, and for the overall strength that it takes to make it in the industry. I knew the highest version of myself was at the end of this adventure, anticipating my arrival. Read more>>

Tim Falvey

Leaving traditional work to pursue a passion and develop my craft as a performing artist has been an immense emotional and material risk. I left a steady, 40-hr/week career-track government career to pursue music as my career in 2017 and I have devotedly worked an average of 60-hours/week as an artist since then. My primary work involves live performance, studying, networking, bookkeeping, and promotion. Read more>>

Matt & Laurel Trost

Working full-time as professional musicians has its ups and downs. Laurel and I lucky to be making a full-time living from our creative work, however it hasn’t always been easy and it wasn’t always this way. Both Laurel and I worked casually as musicians prior to meeting in 2014. In 2014, we realized we weren’t interested in the 9-5 grind and wanted to pursue our passions in music together. We both began hustling after and before work as an acoustic duo. Read more>>

Alex Cavanaugh

My story as a professional musician would start back in 2019. I was living with my fiancé (then girlfriend, Alyssa) in New York City and working as a marketing coordinator for a large law firm. At that time music was a side gig and had been for years. I would finish my 9-5, rush home to pack up the car and get to some bar downtown or in Queens or Long Island just to make a few bucks. Read more>>

Christopher Martinez

I have gotten a great opportunity at The Golf Club of Texas to be the Director of Golf Instruction where I get to connect individuals with the game of golf and show what opportunities and value the game brings forth. My journey started in High School in McAllen, Texas. I was able to assist with Summer Camps and Junior Golf Programs at the local golf course, Palm View Golf Course and found enjoyment in be able to teach and bring the connection golf can have and the addiction of the humility of the game of golf. Read more>>

Kelly A. Hanning

I would say the main things that have helped me earn a living as a creative are flexibility and having a couple of baskets to put your eggs in. I started out by getting my BFA in Painting, Figure, and Drawing at Florida State University in 2018. By staying in the state of Florida and keeping my grades up, I was able to get a full ride through the Bright Futures Scholarship. While I was there, I balanced schoolwork during the day with delivering pizza at night, and luckily made enough to sustain myself til I graduated. Read more>>

Oluwaseyi Thomas.

Although I have been doing video production since I graduated in 2016, I finally went full-time in 2019. Prior to that, I took whatever random video/photo gigs that presented themselves while I earned a living at my 9-5 jobs. The journey to going full-time stemmed from me realizing that if I did not make a move, I will be stuck doing everything but what I really wanted to do. This realization gave me only one choice, one I knew I had to approach aggressively. Read more>>

Matt Graifer

At the point I am at in my career currently: no, but I am closer every day. As a performer, I began as a bar room trivia host 7 years ago, to working in a tiny mall-front professional wrestling school less than 5 years ago, to being on stage at the Daytona International Speedway to introduce all of the NASCAR Cup Series drivers at the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The climb has been both fast and slow, but it has ALWAYS been upward. Read more>>

Juan Camillo Garza

You know, my first ambition as a creative person was to write poetry full-time. There was something romantic about it: the image of the tired artist, gaunt, tearing open the seams of a moonlit night in order to discover the truth behind the veil. And I pushed for it — I tried doing that exclusively for a little while. But it just wasn’t sustainable for me. One morning, I received a check in the mail from a journal I’d been submitting to for a few years and It was nothing, barely enough for a meal. That was a wake-up call for me. The young glossy romance of my heart was now confronted by my very real bills. Read more>>

Kelly Yarbrough

2022 has been the first year I’m completely self-employed. I got here in stages, and by re-thinking what it means to be a self-employed artist. By training, I’m a visual artist, so for a long time I thought that the definition of being a self-employed artist was to simply make 100% of my income from selling artwork. Read more>>

Dr. Tobby “THE KING” Leverette

Being a FULL time, Professional Beauty Expert/Celebrity Hairstylist has been my ENTIRE Life since the age of 16. I began in the field of Cosmetology in my Senior year in High school (1985) … & till this very day I’ve not had another job other than one that relates to the Beauty Industry. While being 54 yrs old today…. I’ve been afforded some of the World’s Greatest opportunities in WORK- (Celebrities, Movie Sets, Award Shows, Production Companies, TV Sitcoms, Stateboard Examiner and etc) to TRAVEL -(All 50 States, Europe & Bahamas) for Beauty Work assignments WORLD-WIDE. Read more>>

Micah Goguen

I got a Bachelor’s degree in art back in 2002. After graduating, I hit a wall of fear thinking that I could only make a living teaching at Universities or selling expensive paintings in a gallery. I deferred back to what I knew of waiting tables and working retail. Upon hitting a low spot in 2011, I relocated back to my home town and sought to connect with an art community. I attended a local art organization meeting where I overheard a woman talking about taking on a new job as a gallery director and she was looking for “sip n paint” instructors. Read more>>

Mistina Hanscom.

My very first job as a high schooler was working for a local photographer “retouching” by hand his Black and White prints of families and children. Spotting was what it was called then, and was done by hand painting directly on the prints to remove spots and blemishes. That taught me patients. After Art School, I went straight into assisting in the Photographic Industry. Gathering as many hands-on experiences as possible, while I was still fresh, excited, and could live on very sleep. Read more>>

Cherrie McRae

I am a full-time creative, yes! Financially I am able to cover a good deal of my day-to-day living, however, I am not remotely in that 3% just yet! I do understand that supplemental and passive income is very relevant and extremely important this day and age. The average working performer at best, makes anywhere from 12,000 to 50,000/yr. The A,B and high C-listers may see higher earnings but, at most, Actors must work smart and live beneath or level to their means because bills and expenses pile up, emergencies happen and operational expenses never go away (classes, headshots, local hire travel, grooming, equipment, etc) Read more>>

Ryan Clure

I have finally been able to make that transition where I earn a living off of my work. Since 18 I have pretty much worked in the restaurant industry somehow. It’s one of the more efficient ways to make money so I could have more time to pursue music. I started to make the transition when I started having more than one form of income in music. It’s not just my own project. I work as an instrumentalist for a few groups. Read more>>

NUNNABOVE

We have been playing together professionally for about 6 or 7 years. We’re getting to the point now where our performances are starting to pay for some of the band’s expenses. Prior to that our parents were the primary funding source for the band. We started out playing for $100, $200,$500. Just accepting what was offered. After 7 years of playing bigger venues around the Twin-Cities, and appearing on AGT, we’re getting gigs that cover our cost of doing the gig. Read more>>

Derick Cich Cich

When I first started my journey as a makeup artist I was twenty years old without a clue on how to build a business or even the thought that I could be paid to do something I was so passionate about. All I knew is that I loved this craft so much and I jumped at absolutely any opportunity to practice my art, many of which I had to create for myself through networking and cold emails to photographers in hopes of collaborations for portfolio images. As my relationships with other creatives grew, along with all our skills, so did all our businesses in an organic way. Read more>>

Lily Smith

My journey as a small creative business owner began shortly after I finished graduate school. I knew at the time that I wanted to continue my art practice and make a living from it, so I began building and growing my business while working in the food industry. At the end of three years, I was able to shift into pursuing my business full time. Read more>>

Aaron Krak

Over the last couple years I’ve been able to make just barely enough money from my creative work. which has been awesome, obviously, because service industry jobs are hard for introverts (haha). I was doing the coffee shop grind for years, and drumming on the side. I went to school for audio engineering but for about a year post-graduation I hadn’t really done much in the audio world. When the first lockdown hit in 2020, I realized I had an opportunity to give a lot of my time to the craft. Read more>>

Rachael Van Dyke

I began a career as a high school art and design teacher while pursuing a studio practice. This practice moved from ceramics into landscape painting while teaching. After twelve years of teaching and cultivating relationships with galleries, I decided to move into a full-time career as an artist. Over the past seven years I have gained representation with six galleries, each with their own personality and clientele. Read more>>

Annie Humphrey

In the early 90’s I had two small children. We were on welfare. We got $395..00 a month and food stamps. I took good care of my babies. Then talks of welfare reform became a popular issue and women were going to be sanctioned for not looking aggressively enough form employment. I had to do something. I asked a local coffee house if I could sing some songs. They said I could sing for 2 hours and they would let me keep tips and pay me $40.00. I accepted. I became a regular there and played some other coffee houses. I had my little ones with me always. Read more>>

Elizabeth Bonura

I have been earning a living as a full time artist for at least past 10 years. I did not start out as a professional artist although I always knew I was meant to be one. When I started college, I really struggled with choosing a major. I loved art but I was fearful of not being able to make a living. Growing up in a home with a single mother who did not have a degree, I understood first hand how hard not having a stable career could be. I decided to play it safe and major in computer science. I told myself that if after I had the degree I could return to school for art if I was unhappy. Read more>>

Courtney Benjamin

Yes I’ve been blessed to make a full time living and teach other creatives how to do the same. Your first battle is the mindset change and discipline to stick to in understanding how to manage your first business; your family. Second is becoming a person that can manage a $100. If you can’t manage $100; a million is definitely not going to be managed well; its tons millionaires living check to check. Organization and structure are your keys to unlock this journey of the business of music. Read more>>

London Elixir

I’ve been running my business full-time since 2019. In May of that year, I quit my corporate career in IT to do music full time. Music has always been my passion. I was merely using my job as a stepping stool to get to where I needed to be to run my own business full time. I didn’t want to be a “starving artist.” So, I while I was working my day job, I paid my bills but I also invested into my craft. I paid for music production school, equipment, moved to Atlanta, etc. Read more>>

Dave Koch

This was a big thing to overcome for me. Photography for the longest time was something I did for fun. Work was SUPPOSED to be a chore. One day, and with the help from my wife, I found a way to combine my love of making images and business. It has worked out very well! Read more>>

Elsje Bos

It took me several years to get to the point where I could make a full-time living from my paint party business. I was ready after two years, but then the pandemic hit. Luckily I was able to start doing virtual events during this time, which really helped me to be able to keep my business. I am so appreciative of this, especially having seen so many small businesses not being able to survive the social distancing and close-downs. Read more>>

Stewart Anstead

Creating art has been an exciting and challenging career but it started slowly while I was immersed in a marketing career that spanned 30 years. The timelines overlapped. It was always something I thought I would like to do but I created graphic art for much of my career until I started using paint and canvas. The notion of a starving artist is an axiom. If you look it up you’ll see that there are around 3 million adults in the USA who declare their occupation as ‘artist’. Read more>>

Adam “Wyshmaster” Cherrington

I have created my own career as a music Producer, which I support myself and my Family. This did not happen overnight and has taken many years of hard work and sacrifice to get to where I am. We can start at where I grew up, the Mecca of House Music, Sweet Home, Chicago. Out in the burbs and not much to do music was a big part of our lifestyle. I used my Dad’s record player as turntables and started spinning records and making mix tapes and CD’s. As a way to make money I would DJ at house parties and charge a cover for the night. Read more>>