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.

Danney Paul

Thats the trick isn’t it?! Earning money doing what you love. I can’t remember when I got my first dollar doing what I love. There were so many first dollars. There was the first dollar doing music, then acting, editing, filming, etc. The first dollar I earned from my creative work was simply money that I was given while performing music in public. I wasn’t busking, I had played a show in West Hollywood earlier that night and I had to take the bus home to the valley. That night this particular bus was packed solid. I had my guitar which only took up space on an already crowded bus. Several people on the bus quickly took notice to me and insisted that I “play something”. Next thing I knew, I was playing and singing with half the people on the bus all the way home. I received some money that night from some of the bus riders and that was the first time I made money. Read more>>

Julie Torres

When I was around 12 years old, my mom had a pop up store in the local mall for the holiday season. At that time, I was taking oil painting lessons and making art anytime I could. My mom knew how much I loved being creative and understood this was an opportunity for me. She helped me buy supplies to hand paint sweatshirts and then allowed me to sell them at her store. I don’t remember exactly who the first client was to buy a sweatshirt, but I do remember that they sold out so quickly that I had to restock several times throughout the holiday season. I would finish my homework and then turn our living room into my studio. I had almost forgotten how much I loved doing that. Read more>>

Mariah Winchell

When I was 12, I had fallen in love with the world of anime and manga. I spent all my free hours watching these beautiful, heartbreaking, hilarious stories of these characters and each show I watched resonated with me in so many ways. When I found out there were others in my community who also loved anime, I started attending the local library’s anime club every week! One day, one of the club members asked if I was going to Anime Spark, a tiny little convention in my town that was happening in a couple months. They explained that it’s a place where thousands of anime fans come together and celebrate with panels, artists booths, and lots of cosplay! Read more>>

Tina Athaide

It was the early 2000s, and I was teaching reading to students with disabilities at an elementary school. This was back when you had to actually print and mail your manuscripts to editors, no email submissions yet! I remember coming across Lee and Low Books, the largest multicultural children’s publisher in the U.S., and seeing that they were launching an imprint called BeBop Books, focused on early literacy. I thought, *this is perfect for me!* So, I sent off my manuscript, crossing my fingers, but also knowing it could be months before I heard anything. Read more>>

Alkiviades Petrides

The first time I earned money as a creative was selling my paintings. My friends told me to do an art pop up show and that’s the first time I sold to people I didn’t know. That’s the first time I would consider making money as a creative. Ever since then, I’ve been slowly selling paintings, prints, clothing, stickers, my music, and having DJ gigs. I’m a multi creative person who wants to create creative monopoly for myself because I’m my own niche. Read more>>

Litong Zeng

I was 17 years old when I earned my first dollar as a creative. On the commission board of a social media platform, I found a client who wanted a logo design for her online shop, so I left my work in the comments. To be honest, I wasn’t much of a professional artist at that time, and my design was completely amateur. But I still managed to get the attention of one or two clients with my low price. Read more>>

William Campbell

My First Time Recieving Compensation For Singing Was When I Was 7 Years Old, It Was My Debut In Music And Entertainment Industry, That Night I Was Picked Up In A Stretch Limousine With My Mom My Aunt And My Other Godmother The Late Legendary Music Hall Of Famer Olivia Bernice Skinner And Driven To The Venue And My Godmother The Legendary Music Hall Of Famer The Late Ola Reagan Gave Me My First Opportunity To Sing In Front Of A Sold Out Audience Of Over Hundreds Of People And Gave Me $20 A Signed Book And A Card And Pictures Were Being Taken Of Me All Night And I Knew From That Night On I Was On My Way To Fame And Being A Star. Read more>>

Jiaqi Zhou

My name is Jiaqi Zhou, from Guangdong China. I’m a content creator who enjoys capturing different moments of life and sharing them on social media platforms. At first, I had very few followers, but my passion kept me going. I still remember my first dollar that I earned was from a pet brand. They loved my content and invited me to their store to create promotional videos. I was thrilled, feeling that my efforts were finally being recognized. Read more>>

Michele Palermo

It’s actually a fun story, but first I have to a tiny bone to pick and please don’t hate me for doing it. I’m not a fan of the use of “a creative” to describe people. This term originated in corporate culture to marginalize creative talent. It’s a bit of a mission with me to call out the usage when I hear it, because 1) it lumps artists and artisans and crafters into one giant nebulous category and 2) allows people who don’t actually create anything to jump right in and call themselves “a creative”. I know it’s not a popular stance, because suddenly it’s everywhere and everyone is using it, and calling out my interviewer during an interview might be a really bad idea… but I am, first and foremost, a writer. And “creative” is an adjective. Calling someone “a creative” is like calling someone a “nice”. O.K., got that out of the way, so if you’re still going to print my interview… ;) Read more>>

Kleo Mitrokostas

Technically, the first dollar I earned as an actor was a $200 stipend for performing in a summer theater production of “Sweet Charity” when I was 17 years old. I probably spent more than $200 on gas money to drive myself (having just passed my road test!) back and forth from the theater, but I still have that pay stub to this day. It was such a huge milestone for me! My first weekly paycheck for an acting gig was when I booked “Circle Mirror Transformation” at Pendragon Theater right after finishing my sophomore year at NYU. My first year of college was on Zoom and then my second year was hybrid, so I was coming off a lot of changes and challenges that summer. It was also the beginning of theaters being able to re-open and do summer seasons again, so there was a lot of uncertainty in the industry. Read more>>

Dalayni Etienne

My first dollar as a creative was amazing! It actually was from a classmate who asked me to draw a portrait of her and her boyfriend for their anniversary. I was honored that she trusted me to document their love in this stage of their relationship. After this piece was sold, it solidified the idea that I truly am capable of creating and selling my views on the world through my art. Read more>>

Dilana Ismailova

Reflecting on my first dollar earned from music brings me back to winter 2016. I was playing bass in one of my first bands, and we were hired for a corporate event. It was a unique gig, to say the least! The venue was quite far from my hometown, and let’s just say the hospitality left much to be desired. We had to bring all our gear since they didn’t provide any equipment, and their MC ended up borrowing our microphones after the show. It was a bit chaotic! One of the wildest moments in my early days was when I was playing in another band, and our drummer decided we absolutely needed a 15-minute version of “Hotel California” or a breakneck 170 BPM rendition of “Sharp Dressed Man.” Thank goodness I wasn’t the singer at that time! I can only imagine the look on the audience’s faces as we stretched those classics to the limit. Read more>>

Tassanee Croell

Of course, I was so excited! I started “JUST FILMs” my Youtube channel with no idea I would come this far. Even though it took about a year, it always reminded me that I did it. My small success told me that I came the right way. Right now it is just a hobby but someday, who knows, it could be my second job or a full time job in the future. Now I will enjoy every moment, do my best, and keep sharing my American experiences! Thank you to everybody that is always supporting me and thank you so much for clicking on my channel and I hope you leave with a smile. Have a fabulous day! Read more>>

Kelly J. Mendenhall

It was early 2018; I’d been immobile and living on the couch for nearly a year. At the time, I remained a medical mystery mostly, but we had figured out one piece of the puzzle: Piriformis syndrome. It’s a rare chronic pain condition that impacts one’s sciatic nerve. It would be a few more years before we figured out the complicated failures in my spine (and uterus,) but at the point that I wrote my first paid article, I was experiencing a massive milestone in my health journey; I was turning from patient to advocate. I wrote an article for Blasting News US. The title was horrible for SEO! It was, “Women do experience severe and chronic pain.” In that article, I wrote and defined the term “Medical Gaslighting” for the first time. I got paid per click, per “60-second view.” I didn’t get rich off of it, I assure you, but those few dollars sure did feel like a fantastic victory. It was the first time being paid for my writing *and* the first time I spoke out publicly and on a national forum about what was happening to me; I was becoming permanently disabled because doctors didn’t believe me and wouldn’t treat me. That first article made me feel empowered as Hell! Read more>>

Ann Drew

I had always wanted to attend a tabling event at a zine fest or comic con, when I was in my last semester of Graduate School and fresh off of the high of finishing my first comic book, I decided to give it a shot. I applied and was accepted into Tucson Zine Fest where I table with a fellow grad student in my program. Since it was more of a last-minute thing and I didn’t quite account for shipping time I didn’t have my brand-new comic book in hand with me to sell. I did, however, have a slew of prints and character sheets that I was all too happy to peddle to the masses. My work emulates vintage pulp covers and stories and I had astutely noticed that a lot of older pulp had prices on the cover mostly around the 25-cent range. Cheekily I thought of how funny it would be if I had a “price” on my covers of “$1”. Read more>>

Charletta Yazzie

The first time I came as an artist was from my family. My mom,aunt and grandmother were weavers of making Navajo sash belts and designs with full of colors. I started to weave when I was maybe like 10 or 12 to make key chains. Those were like $3-$5. And as I got older. I started to make Navajo sash colors for hair ties to leggings. Then was lanyards. Those were my best sellers when my mom would sell them for me. I would make them for my school supplies and clothes. Then few years when by and I would make little crafts here and there to sell such as pendants and purses. When I got into college. I started to make art such as drawing and painting. Then when I moved to Santa Fe to recieve my BFA I owned my first sewing machine to make fabric purse and woven purse. And still making lanyards and key chains.  Read more>>

Danielle Bloom

When I was just 14, I experienced a life-changing moment belting out Hymns in my dad’s church one Sunday. A guest pastor who was visiting and preaching that day heard me and invited me to sing in his church the next week. To my utter shock and delight, he handed me $100 for those two songs! At that age, I thought I’d hit the jackpot; it was like winning the teenage lottery! It blew my mind that someone would value what I loved doing so highly. It felt surreal to realize that my passion could be appreciated in such a tangible way by others. This experience not only gave my confidence a turbo boost but also lit up the path ahead for me, showing the potential to pursue music more seriously in the future. Let this story be your friendly nudge that your passions are like hidden treasure maps leading to epic quests if you just believe in yourself and stick to what makes you tick.  Read more>>

Nathan Duguid

This summer, I had my first paid performance. But it was much more than a paid gig to me. It was the amalgamation of the two sides of my passion: Music/Art, and Activism/Advocacy. I’ve been creating music and poetry for almost 6 years now, and I’ve always done so to express my experiences and my wisdom in a provocative way with a foundation in my faith. I believe that art is the most pure form of humanity. I also have been an activist, advocate and leader in my school and in the city of Newark for quite some time. Though music came first, I developed a passion for leadership, amplifying my voice and the voices of those that trust me to lead them. I’ve worked with organizations like Project Ready and the Gem Project on voter registration initiatives and Vote16 legislation (lowering the voting age to 16 for school board elections). During my Senior year in high school, I was a part of the 2023-24 cohort of the Rising Leaders Initiative, a fellowship with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Read more>>

Camilo Velasquez

The first time I generate a dollar with my instagram account was after one of my restaurant videos went viral on Nashville and different restaurants reached me out to invite me to dinner in exchange of a post, but one specific invited me just to try their food, no post, no stories, just to try the food. It was a Colombian street food foodtruck called SausFries. After I tried their hotdogs and loaded fries, they reached me out again to make a paid collabration. I was shocked because I did not know how much to charge, so I went to their place, shoot the content, posted it and asked them $300 i think it was. That was a lot of money for me just to make something I really enjoy. They agree and a couple days later the video went viral and their sales went up. That’s the power when you make things with heart and all your effort. Read more>>

Odester Hepburn

The first dollar I earned as a creative! Wow, that’s an unforgettable milestone. As a Palate Awakener and foodie, I am passionate about sharing the meals I create in the kitchen. I can also cook, too! One day, I received an email from a marketing team with an opportunity to partner with Imagery Winery, a family-owned winery in California. They provided an overview of the partnership and requested that if I was interested, I fill out a form so they could learn more about me and share it with their client. After a month of not hearing anything, I assumed they had decided to go in another direction.  Then, out of the blue, I received an email from the marketing company saying I had been selected. Better yet, they wanted it to be a paid partnership! I was genuinely blown away by the opportunity and the proposed payment—they wanted to pay little old me! I quickly signed the contract and started reviewing the requirements, planning how best to execute them while staying true to who I am. Read more>>

Kristen Bales

The first show I played at as a young artist was a jazz guitar event, ironically at a local bookstore. Even at fourteen, I was deeply entrenched in reading and crafting my own work, and enthralled to be playing at my personal refuge, a bookstore. Creatives tend to gravitate to the places that bring them joy; I was hoping, as naive as I felt about it, that if I stuck around long enough in the spaces that charged and inspired me as a creative, that the money would somehow manifest. In a way, it did. Amidst the stacks of a local bookstore in my childhood hometown, which I believe at the time was a Books&Co., I had my first tipping audience. Growing up, I was taught by an avid and incredibly gifted local jazz guitar player, who often took me along on his gigs to play with him. We settled in the back of the bookstore in a semicircle of folding chairs, playing guitar arrangements of Coltrane and Charlie Parkers, “Scrapple From the Apple,” for the books and paying customers that chose to sit and listen. Read more>>

Stacy Kroot

There are moments in your life that leave an indelible impression, for me it was when I was around seven or eight year’s old. At the corner of my street was a very hip exclusive women’s clothing store called Pucks. One day my best friend and I walked in. The owner was this man with long dark hair and kind face, I can still see him in my head. He actually spoke with us, was very nice, and engaging as opposed to having us leave. My bestie blurted out “It’s her birthday!”, he wished me a happy birthday and gave me a silk paisley printed neck scarf (it was the 60’s), we left giggling in amazement. He then came running after us, we panicked thinking maybe we should not have left with the scarf, it turned out he just forgot to give me the ring that went with it. From that point I would stop in to say hi, as now, he was my new friend! Read more>>

Noble Gray

The interesting thing is that my first dollar earned as a creative came as a total surprise! It was the Spring of 2014. I was a sophomore in film school. I had just completed filming on a four day short film–an artistic drama called All of Me. The whole team, including myself, were all in the living room of the main shooting location when that final “That’s a wrap!” was called. I breathed an immediately sigh of relief because I made it through another production as cinematographer with another movie in the can. I had a happy director; I had a happy crew; it was a good shoot. As exhausted as we all were, our excitement could not be contained. Prior to shooting, I spent multiple weeks prepping with Jayna, the director: learning her creative vision, crafting the look of the film, collaborating with her on the shot list–just making sure I was fully prepared to bring her vision to life to the best of my ability with the available resources. Read more>>

David Lowe

I had just joined a platform for freelancers to see if I could find any clients on there. Very quickly, a cryptocurrency startup contacted me and said they wanted me to make a 1 minute song for them that sounded like an ODESZA song. I had only been producing for a few months but accepted the job offer. They were really happy with my work and paid me $1000! I thought I was going to be a millionaire in my first year as a freelance music producer. But guess what? That gig was a one off on the platform and I realized that reputation wins you clients not just hustling on someone else’s website. My first dollar earned (well first one thousand dollars!) but more importantly, a crucial lesson learned. Read more>>

Sophia Kim

The first dollar I earned from my creative work was an incredibly special moment. It came from a paid reel I created for an ice cream brand called KuteKook. I remember the excitement when they reached out to me—this was the first time a brand recognized my content and wanted to collaborate! They loved my style and asked if I could showcase their product in a fun, visually appealing way. I poured my heart into that reel, focusing on every detail, from the creamy texture of the ice cream to the perfect lighting. When I saw the payment come through, it felt surreal, almost like I was dreaming. I never imagined that my Instagram page, something I started for fun, would lead to opportunities like this—restaurants and product owners asking me to try their foods and drinks! After I posted the reel, not only did I feel proud of the work, but I also saw my follower count grow. The engagement and support from my community made it even more fulfilling. That first dollar wasn’t just money—it symbolized the start of something bigger, the beginning of turning my passion into something that could support my creative journey. It felt like opening the door to endless possibilities. Read more>>

Youngin Da Sp

The first time I made profit from my Music was when I was on MTV. It was really like a movie how it all came together. The whole experience made me feel seen and rewarded. Rewarded, not just for my hard work, but for believing in myself and doing what I felt on the inside. Up to this point I’d been making music for about 3 or 4 years in high school. I was fully committed to my music grind and every dollar I made was really used to push my music forward or to feed myself. With this focus and commitment, I completed my first ever album “Swaggin & BackPackin.” I paid for studio time, beats, mixing, copies of my CD, CD cases, flyers, posters, t shirts and anything I felt would help make people want to check out my music. At 16 years old I would go everywhere in Cincinnati, Ohio to pass out my CDs, I put them in clothing stores and would post up and at all the big events passing out my CD, for free most of the time too.  Read more>>

Evan Gehr

The journey of generating revenue from creative work often begins with one critical moment that can be both exhilarating and daunting. My first sale was back where my career began (Charleston, SC). I had been learning my craft for about a year or so before I was introduced to an artist hailing from up north. This artist became my first client/customer. One day we were all in the studio and I played some recent beats I made at that time for him; He liked several and ultimately purchased 4 hip hop/trap beats from me. this first sale was not just a financial milestone but also a pivotal moment in my career/sound taking shape. This allowed me to realize my work/art had value in the real world and that my worth was determined by the work I was/am willing to put in on a constant basis. Read more>>