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.
Andrea Gianchiglia
Yes, I’ve been fortunate to earn a full-time living through my creative work, but it definitely wasn’t like that from day one. It’s been a journey built on passion, persistence, and plenty of pivots along the way.
My dad was a creative and an entrepreneur, and although he passed away when I was just four, I’ve always felt connected to him. I like to believe I’ve followed in his footsteps—his spirit has always been with me, cheering me on. Read more>>
DJ CHUCK-T
I’ve been making a living off my talent and skills for nearly 20 years. Like most millennials, I was raised with the traditional mindset: go to school, get good grades, go to college, and then land a good job or join the military. For my parents, entrepreneurship and turning passion into a paycheck was just a dream—not something to prioritize. Read more>>
Elliott Genther
Earning a full-time living from as a musician is not rocket science, but it’s no walk in the park, either. Like anything, it can be a grind at times. At others, one of the most rewarding feelings. I will start by saying this…A lot of people might think of success in the music business as a one or zero, you either make it big or you don’t. The reality is that there is a “middle class” in our world. If you’re talented and you put in the work to build relationships, deliver consistently, and remain adaptable, it’s not unrealistic to make a respectable living singing and playing an instrument. I know this because in our little trio, two of us are full time musicians. Read more>>
Max Sharam
Oh, to be a Gen Xer—raised to be independent, armed with the profound wisdom of figure it out yourself. Unlike certain generations who got participation trophies for existing, we were handed a toolbox (sometimes literally) and an unspoken directive: If you want it done right, do it yourself. So, naturally, when it came to building a full-time creative career, there was no pre-paved path, no influencer course, no passive income hack. Just me, my wits, and an unshakable belief that I didn’t want to spend my life working for someone else. Read more>>
Patricia Logan
I had been a mortgage broker for 18 years prior to the 2008 market crash which wiped out my income and my business almost overnight. Once it became apparent that I could no longer earn a living in my field, I went home and tried to decide what I was going to do with the rest of my life. There were no jobs in mortgage, I had several rental properties but since my tenants also decided to stop paying us for a variety of reasons, I knew I was in trouble. To get out of my own head, I began reading my very large library of romance paperbacks. After about three months and 750 books, I got the wild notion, that if those authors could do it, so could I. Read more>>
Hunter Page
I’m extremely grateful to be making a full-time living doing what I love. This is my second full year of being financially self-sufficient through photography, but it wasn’t like this from day one. In the first few years, I took on various jobs to make ends meet—digging trenches, installing irrigation systems, laying rock, pulling weeds, and splitting wood—often in extreme heat or freezing conditions. Read more>>
Caden Taylor
Going full-time with photography happened over a long period. Part of it was just being passionate about photography first. Day one was borrowing my mom’s camera when I was 16. Then, I took it on my outings into the mountains and sneaked it onto a trip when I visited friends in Arizona. Finding a passion for photography was the first real step before even thinking about it as my career. Making sure it was something I first loved before I looked at it as a way to earn income. Read more>>
Ann Kliewer
I am a hairstylist. To some people this means I’m just a service provider, to me this means I can make a full-time living from my creative work. I have -always- been a creative and expressed my art in different ways. I did well in academics and always thought I’d take the more conventional route and become a teacher, veterinarian or orthodontist. I had never dreamt of being a hairstylist. I just wanted to succeed and make money so I could enjoy my life. My parents always encouraged us to go after our dreams and to work hard to make our dreams a reality. When I was in college, I started working at a salon as the front desk. It was at this “job” that I found my passion and career. I think everything shifted for me when I realized that I could have a career that I actually enjoyed. I could pour into something that fulfilled me. What do you mean I get to help people feel good about themselves while expressing myself through art? Read more>>
Jamie Aderski
I’ve been in the performing arts my whole life, and while I had always dreamt of being on Broadway and the big screen, I’ve ended up making a living as a writer.
Living in NYC, I stumbled into improv comedy, when as an actor, I wan’t being cast as I had hoped. Creating characters through my improv practice and performance gave me the courage to start writing the parts that I wanted to play. I felt such freedom in being able to create whatever I wanted for myself, not having to wait for the greenlight from anyone else. Read more>>
Dale Obrochat
Yes, making a full-time living as an entertainer is absolutely possible, but like many successful performers, you need to be where the work is. If you want to make it on Broadway, you go to New York. For movies, it’s Hollywood. And for a balloon entertainer, you need to be in or near major cities. Living just outside the third-largest city in the U.S. (Chicago) makes things a lot easier. There are far more opportunities here compared to, say, Arkansas, where the population, business landscape, and income levels just don’t match what you find in the Chicagoland market. Read more>>
Mike Wimmer
Yes, I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, but it certainly didn’t happen overnight. My journey has been one of persistence, adaptability, and a deep passion for art that has driven me since childhood.
The Early Days
My first taste of earning from my art came when I was 11 years old—I won a contest in Hot Rod Cartoon Magazine for “Draw the Hottest 18 Wheeler” and received a $50 check. That small validation planted the seed in my mind that art could be more than just a passion; it could also be a career. By the age of 14, I was selling my work at galleries and art shows, and by the time I was in college at the University of Oklahoma, I was already taking on professional illustration jobs to support myself. Read more>>
Landon Bryant
I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. I was a public school teacher for years and years, so it wasn’t really that hard to make up my salary because public school teachers don’t get paid nearly enough. But it still was scary because that was contracted work that was guaranteed. This creative work is not guaranteed, and it is different from month to month. But, there are a lot of different avenues for revenue. And I think if I did anything right, it was setting up lots of different avenues for revenue and investing in all of those avenues. Read more>>
Ikenna
My journey into DJing began in college back in 2014. I still remember the excitement of spinning at my first college party, watching the crowd move to the music I played. It was exhilarating. Over the next year, I did a few small parties here and there, but in 2015, my role as a Resident Assistant put a halt to my DJing. As an RA, I had to set an example, enforcing rules about underage drinking and dorm policies. It didn’t feel right to be at the same parties I was expected to regulate, so I stepped away from the turntables. Read more>>
Crazy Tomes
I’ve been a professional musician since I was 18, and I’ve been working in music full-time since I was 24—about 16 years now. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to make a living doing what I love, and I feel truly blessed. That being said, it didn’t come without a lot of dedication, hard work, and some tough decisions along the way. Success didn’t happen overnight. Read more>>
Michelle Erskine
Being a full time artist and business owner requires a constant state of re-invention and creative pivoting. Even though I have three different businesses, all three have a similar theme of connection, sharing and building community. I spend a significant amount of time volunteering for local events, and also running my own non-profit out of my art gallery. Read more>>
BriAnne Wills
I just decided to pursue content creation with my Girls and Their Cats account full-time this year. While it’s still too early in the year to know whether or not I’m making a full-time living, I am making money every month! Which I’m very proud of. I have done branded partnerships in the past but GATC has always been my side project. So it will be interesting to see where this year takes me as a full-time job. Read more>>
Laurie Lipton
Yes I am a self-supporting artist, but it was a long, hard schlep. There are no easy/breezy solutions or fast-track ways to earn a living form the fine arts. You simply have to believe in yourself to the point of self-delusion, and enjoy what you’re doing more than anything else on earth. Read more>>