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.

Leah Dowdy

My first paycheck as a creative came from working as a background actor in the movie “Sorority Row” during college! I was studying film at the University of Pittsburgh at the time, and I sent my headshot to casting as soon as I heard they would be shooting on campus. I ditched class and spent the entire day on set swooning over the lights, cameras and cranes. I think every actor remembers the first time they stepped onto a set and fell in love with the crazy process that is filmmaking. It’s a rite of passage. Nothing beats getting paid to play make-believe. Read more>>

Roy Covington

I have created music since late 2008, but got distracted along the way. I finally decided to stop allowing the distractions to take hold and told myself, “This is it! My ‘Plan A’ has always been music & entertainment and I needed to stop treating it like a backup plan.” I released a single named “Heard You Was A Freak” in December 2019 because a friend heard it and told me it should be out. From there, I fully dove into my music trying to discover what I wanted to create. Now I didn’t know how payment really worked at that time, but now I do. When I got that first fifty cents from streaming, you couldn’t tell me ANYTHING! My entire mindset changed. I became a professional artist! Ecstatic isn’t even an accurate word to describe how I was feeling. Read more>>

Elisabeth Ladwig

That’s definitely something you don’t forget! I was in the car with my husband, in the lot at the local park & ride. No idea why we were there. Anyway, my phone rang – it was Lex, owner of the gallery where my first solo show was on view in Nyack, New York – a super cute, vibrant town with lots of foot traffic. It was a vanity gallery, meaning you rent the space. I was brand new to the art world, having just spent a full year building my portfolio and launching my website. As I searched for ongoing gallery representation elsewhere, this show was a great item to add to my otherwise blank resume. Read more>>