Earning that first dollar is incredibly special and a moment many never forget. We asked some very talented creatives from the community to tell u s the story of the first dollar they earned from their creative works.
Brashell Santos
The first dollar it was actually a Dominican Peso. My first earning came as an actor on a commercial for a drink. It was super exciting because I previously had multiple experiences as an unpaid extra in commercials and films. After my first paid role, things started to pick up and I was able to land more paying roles in movies. Read more>>
Kevin “kPod” Podmeyer
The first time that I ever got paid for a live performance was when I played drums in a band during high school. There were 5 of us in the band and we were just a bunch of unknown high schoolers, so the “crowd” that we drew essentially consisted of our parents and our friends from school. That meant that our measly $20 show payment had to be split 5 ways…but I can’t even express in words how exhilarated I felt to be handed those 4 loose, dirty $1 bills simply for doing what I already loved to do for free…make music. Read more>>
Veronica Berry
The first time I earned money as an actor was on the set of Mortal Combat. I started as an extra. Fell in love with acting and then proceeded to enroll into acting school. Read more>>
Daaja Sutton
the best way to describe the feeling is warmth. i had signed up for a local artist’s pop up shop in atlanta, ARThouse, this was in about early 2020 just before the pandemic really took effect. the feeling of not knowing whether or not you’ll attract people to your booth let alone not knowing if you’ll make a sale is definitely a scary one. especially if you’re already not one for socializing and trying to sell yourself but there’s always going to be somebody ready to support your craft and support they did. Read more>>
Sofía Iglesias
My first dollar besides chores was a pillow/blanket commercial. I auditioned and they chose me to be one of the girls enjoying this pillow. I didn’t think I would get it due to the fact I had gotten braces a few months before. When I did I was thrilled not just for the money but the experience. I learned to have patience especially when it comes to any type of filming, the amount of times you have to re record things it’s crazy. But it’s all worth it in the end. I received my paycheck and with that I got a new phone. Read more>>
Keila Maloney
If I’m being completely honest, the first dollar I ever earned being a writer was when I was in high school. I had a friend who wanted to rap and I charged her to help write it. Fast forward ten years and I’m about to publish my own book. Two very different experiences but the same wild excitement. It took so much to get to this point because I started writing the book about 6 years prior to publishing it. When the pandemic hit, I put all my energy into finishing it and getting it editing which was a long process. Read more>>
Chiamaka Nwokeocha
I’ve worked on a variety of projects, but I actually received my first dollar from Youtube. When I was a sophomore in university, I launched my Youtube channel, FOREVERCHIA, where I gave college advice, room tour, and vlogs about Georgia State University. I gained many views and subscribers to the point where my channel became monetized. It was the greatest feeling to know that I was getting paid for videos that I was happily making to help others. Read more>>
Karrë
I think the first time I made some type of money was off my song called First and Last and it was from streaming. I was so surprised and grateful! It made me feel like if I keep going I can earn so much more! So I was going on checking my numbers and my steams and I was looking to see if I had made any money. I never check it so I was thinking “Man I ain’t make shit” but I was still checking and when I saw I made something from it it really surprise me because I didn’t expect me too. I went ahead and deposit it to my account. Read more>>
Jessica Robinson
So I was so excited, when I check the mail my first year and received a check for 1 dollar from BMI. Hahaha, inspiring because I was like wow, I’m Capable of making money off of my music and that inspired me to create and promote more. My second quarter check was a hundred dollars more and my mechanical royalties totaled $300.00 the second quarter and $500 the next quarter. Man I was so excited that I purchased a few keyboards and drum machines using my royalties. Read more>>
Angie Mejia
The first time I earned money as a photographer happened in January 2021. My friend Mandy, had reached out to me to take photos of her. I had set up a small price sheet that could help compensate what I have to spend in doing this as a hobby. She had reached out to me and let me know that she wanted to do package 3 at the time which was just $140. I was very surprised that she had trusted me so much with these photos and willing to work with me at her expense. I was elated and wondering where else I can go with this. Read more>>
Belina Wright
For a very long time, I never thought of myself as an artist. Being self-taught, I didn’t believe I had earned the right to be called that. As I was learning to paint and developing my style, I showed my art to my family members. My cousins and I have a group chat where we discuss things going on in our lives. I showed them my paintings and they were shocked! They didn’t know I started painting. One cousin was drawn to a piece, and immediately said, “I want it!” I was excited, nervous and humbled because it never occurred to me that someone would want to purchase my work. Read more>>
Deshunte’ Benham
It was January 2022 when I received my first royalties check from my distribution company from my first single “Look into my eyes “ off my SOUL OF A KING -Ep. I’d released that particular song August 5, 2021. I refreshed the app to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and once the thoughts of disbelief dissolved, it hit me hard ! Full of excitement and joy from the hard work an dedication I put into this craft. But I knew this would happen jus wasn’t sure of the timing of it all taking place. Read more>>