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.

Jeh $inatra.

As it is always exciting to generate any kind of revenue from your creative works, I was fortunate enough to be able to perform for a live crowd and get paid for it. What made it even more rewarding was it was our first ever indie label showcase we put on for the city. One of myself closest friends/colleague who’s an event promoter reached out to us about doing a showcase highlighting the talent on our label and a bunch of other creatives that were close to us in the collaboration process. Read more>>

Soheila London.

I was only 3 years old when I landed my very first paid modeling gig. The event which was a VIP National Photography Workshop, held in Nashville, TN, was recruiting kids models ages 6-13. My mother submitted my portfolio regardless, explained that I was capable and competent, and I was successfully booked as the youngest model of the group. Read more>>

FAE.

It means a lot to that people listen to my music, and give me the opportunity to keep on creating. My first dollar came through performing, but my first meaningful dollar came through streaming revenue. I was in the kitchen writing a song when my publicist pointed out that my album streams had brought in money. I was honestly shocked when she said that because I didn’t expect that many people to be listening to my music. Read more>>

Jessica Ambuehl.

One of the very first paid gigs in my career as an actor happened to be with my boys. It was a commercial shoot for a hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri that was needing a mom with two young children. After auditioning and being cast, I learned the script actually called for a boy and an infant girl. So, my oldest (Camden) who was 5 at the time, played the older male sibling folding laundry by my side in the living room while I spoke my lines and held a newborn (Gavin) in my arms . . . my actual son I gave birth to a couple of months prior but who was now dressed in a pink onesie and referred to as “Maggie.” Read more>>

Dani T.

So this is a throwback to when I was the new kid on the block from another state in a middle school setting. I was “the weird art kid”, ya know. I got picked on like most kids. However, as I started showing more of my personality I tried different clubs and sports then I began to find my groove as a teenager. As I opened up more, it felt like more eyes were on me. I never liked people peeking over my shoulder but when you’re an artist, you encounter it often sketching in public. Slowly but surely I had gotten comfortable enough to draw in front of the other kids without hiding it and they thought it was cool. Cool enough to be the year book cover. Cool enough to get paid. Read more>>

Kevin “mr.soul” Harp.

My first dollar earned as a visual artist was around the 7th or 8th grade. I began doing graffiti on jeans for some of my fellow students. It started out as just something to do because at that time, Hip-Hop Culture was big and brewing, and airbrushed jeans, jackets and hats with graffiti-based art was the inspiration for me. This was pre-airbrush for me though. I hadn’t earned the right to grasp one of those in my hands yet! But my process at the time was this: Read more>>

Michelle Burgess

The first dollar I earned was in 2019 from a lady that did custom shoes. It made me so happy to know that someone would trust me with their creative vision Read more>>

Nathaniel Dupre

Aaaa , when I started uploading music to other platforms I use a distribution app called “UnitedMasters” . I released my 4th song through it , but as months went by and ya know payout days I was getting 0$ . And this was around January 2020. And it was like that for a year straight just no guap , shit crazy. But like come 2021 November- December my streams started growing growing and I was like “ nah this an’t real I’m going back to sleep. Then I actually wake up and it was REAL life. Read more>>

Emily Eaton

Kelsi and I started our podcast Ridiculously Imperfect not with the overall goal of making money, but the goal of making a difference in people’s lives. Our mantra from the beginning has been: sharing life stories while embracing our imperfections. Both of us had experienced plenty of life hurt and growth, so we wanted to extend the power of community through authentically sharing in our podcast. We officially launched in November 2021, and by January we had built a steady stream of listenership. Read more>>

Kelly Jones

The first dollar I ever earned was this beautiful blue berry bowl that I had listed on Etsy. I’m not entirely sure that I was really even thinking about selling pottery at that point, I was just testing the waters of taking good photos and making listings. I didn’t even have anything else listed yet when the item sold. I was terrified! What if they were dissatisfied with it? What if it they came back and gave me a review telling everyone how disappointing my work was? Read more>>

Lord Scorpio.

Once I started college for Audio Engineering I was collaborating with classmates and friends outside of the classroom. I remember I would go over a friends place everyday and a group of us would sit his basement studio making so much music. It was in that basement and the basement of other musician friends that I found a passion for not only singing but songwriting. Read more>>

Gae Polisner

As an attorney, then author/artist, I think a lot about the clash between art and business a/k/a money and art. One of the things I like least about my brain is how it equates my own earning capacity with self worth. In that event, I had most worth as a family law attorney, and less worth as a critically acclaimed writer published with some of the most prestigious and literary publishing houses in all of New York (and, I guess, the world). Even though I certainly made some income from my books. Read more>>