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.

Brittany and Bayley Ward Callahan

We had been offered many trade opportunities, but had never been paid along with product gifting. A hat company named Mother Trucker reached out to us and offered us a paid opportunity! We were beyond excited not only because it would be the first paid collaboration, but because it would allow us to promote their brand using our own creative ideas! Read more>>

Zamir Stills.

I was in middle school making mashups on some free DJ software that I had downloaded on a school laptop. I remember one of them was a mix of “Drank In My Cup” by Kirko Bangz with “American Boy” by Estelle. I had put together a tape with about 10 of those on there and brought a bunch of CD copies to my middle school to try selling them to other kids. Read more>>

Christian & Brianna Ramirez

Our first dollar ever earned as Imperfectly Simple was at the OB Farmer’s Market in February of 2018. We had made our entire display ourselves, from wood of course. We put it on wheels and loaded it up with our product, booth decor, and high hopes. We were set up in the middle of the aisle and sharing a space with one of our buddies. The market seemed pretty slow, but towards the end we started getting more attention. Read more>>

Samantha Grimes

I vividly remember the first dollar I earned from my music. I was sixteen and had written a song entitled “Glasgow”. At the time, I was recording demos using Microsoft Windows Audio Recorder. (It was free!) I would have thirty-odd recorders up on screen, and I would meticulously cut sections of the wav and paste it into a master audio recorder window. It took hours and hours to create a three minute demo. Regardless of the time consumption, Read more>>

Jennifer J. L. Jones

Funny enough, the first time I received money for my artwork was in 9th grade. My Algebra teacher, Mrs. Merrill, commissioned me. It was a watercolor image of a flower… I had used a black marker as my pointalism tool. It was about 11″x14″ and it was a delicate, yet strong drawing/painting. I was quite proud of it. I’ll never forget it… she drove up in her brown corvette on a Saturday afternoon at my home and gave me a check for $25. I can’t remember if it was before or after that commission when I stated to my parents, “I want to be an Artist for my living!” Read more>>

Ryan Dillard

In 1987 i was as a novice graffiti writer who was commisioned by DJ Disco-T & his manager & uncle Carl to create a poster board of restrictions written out in graffiti fashion explaining what not to wear, use or do at his legendary teen parties. In doing so I able to secure my very first payment through hip-hop culture which also boosted up my confidence to continue working on my art form and making hip-hop culture a permanent fixture in my life as a hobby and a business. Read more>>