Earning that first dollar is incredibly special and a moment many never forget. We asked some very talented creatives from the community to tell us the story of the first dollar they earned from their creative works.

JaXon Gállery

Here’s a shorter, polished version: “My first dollar in the music industry came through LA Reid, thanks to Tricky putting me on his radar. LA flew me, Lonny Broux (Frank Ocean), Milla (Quentin Miller), and a few others to New York. I felt the pressure, as I had promised my parents I’d pursue music for a year before returning to college for baseball if things didn’t work out and I was approaching that year mark.. Read more>>

Rebecca Torres

I still remember my first time earning money for my creative work. I was freshly postpartum… 3 days to be exact. I had just given birth to my 3rd boy and Del Taco’s marketing team had sent me an email. It all started with a simple email. I had been posting fun content on my social media for a while, and my following had grown steadily. Read more>>

Maverick Rose

A little over ten years ago, I started teaching myself guitar. I had sung in bands and played drums in high school but this was something different. I started watching YouTube videos and learning chords and worked up how to sing while playing. Read more>>

ILU

It was definitely a surreal moment seeing money I made through music. I legit screamed and happy danced in my bedroom. I didn’t connect my bank account to my distribution site till maybe 2 years after uploading a lot of music onto streaming platforms so when I did I was able to cash out on an accumulation of streams my music got over the years which ended up being a lot more than I expected. Read more>>

Nick Flook

I still think back on this fondly. I’d always had an interest in art. Creating art and music was always my favourite thing to do, even as a super young kid. I just knew that’s what I was meant to do. Around 1995, when Toy Story came out, my love and interest for 3d animation really took off. I was 9 at the time. Read more>>

Christopher Lucero

When my college bought 2 original prints of my work and hung it in it’s halls for all to see! I was delighted and felt I wanted to keep earning for my work. Each piece hangs on 2 separate walls of 2 different campus buildings. One in Sugar Grove and the other in Aurora. Read more>>

Kazo Hyjaki

I’ve always been passionate about music. In high school, my friends and I began creating music together, which quickly gained popularity around the school. This buzz was so significant that we started earning money from our streams. This success gave us a new drive, leading me to release more music for people to enjoy and to evolve my creative approach. Read more>>

John Draper

In my early 20’s I picked up wire wrapping jewelry as a hobby. My girlfriend at the time was a karaoke DJ, and I would work on my hobby at whatever bar she was working. One day, after doing this consistently for a few months, one of the karaoke regulars, whom I would see every week, came up to me. Read more>>