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.

Ashley Orlando

I was about 15 or 16 years old the first time someone paid me to sing. It was for a wedding at my church. Somehow the couple had heard me sing either on Sunday or at the local high school where I was a member of various choirs and school musicals. I was still relatively shy and quiet at that time in my life, so what an incredible feeling it was to stand at the choir loft balcony edge and share my unique gift–my voice–in a professional way for a couple’s special day. Read more>>

Ard Su

I was very lucky to receive a commission from The New Yorker shortly after I graduated in 2021. It was an editorial piece for a contemporary short story by Lorrie Moore. The story describes a female doing Face Time calls with her gravely sick father during the pandemic. I drew a female figure, who was trying to connect her own room to her father’s ward using a tabloid as a tunnel, but it’s so narrow and dark, and the two characters looked far away. Read more>>

Monroe Parker

I can’t put into words how I felt when I received my first dollar as a creative. Joy and happiness are two emotions that come to mind. It was a joyous moment, an incredible sensation that I will never forget. The sense of accomplishment I felt was indescribable, and I knew that all of my hard work and effort had finally begun to pay off. Read more>>

Matt Harry

The first time I earned real money as a creative was in eighth grade. I would meet with Mr. Werner, my English teacher, during the lunch period to discuss my writing. He would read whichever silly story I was working on and give me feedback. (Now that I’m a teacher myself, I realize what a sacrifice it was for him to give up his lunches!) Read more>>

Trinelle (Elle) McHughes – Thomas

My first dollar ever created in my profession has been under Michael Duck Casting. It was an amazing experience working on a project that was already green lit for Netflix. I would have done it for free, and that’s how I truly knew that the film industry was my passion. Read more>>

Lydia Faith

The first time I was paid for an aerial performance… picture it. It’s 2014. I’m at a gorgeous Rio-themed Christmas party. I’m feeling a little imposter syndrome (not that I know that term yet). I’m wearing a black blazer with my logo on it, and it makes me feel so professional. I walk into a gorgeous venue with colorful decorations and glittery ostrich feather centerpieces. The event looks so well put together, and I want to do my absolute best to meet the expectations set by the décor. The pressure is on! Read more>>

Christina Tarbush

When I discovered my craft I was still working full time at an International Shipping company. I had been there at least 10 years by then and never intended on selling my earrings there. My first pair was created by me to match with a suit I had purchased for work because I got tired of others wearing the same earrings as me and I was bored with the ones I saw in stores. When I wore my earrings at work with that suit and even different outfits, Read more>>

Jennifer Gregoire & Jim Lee

We’ll never forget our very first real order. It was 2014 and we had our first collection of cards printed. We didn’t have any sales reps or much of an online presence yet, so we knew we had to approach potential stores directly – which was really nerve racking for a pair of creatives with no prior sales experience! Read more>>

Grinxhy

My first dollar I ever earn off rap was my first show ever back when I was 19 I got paid $500 a show .. it was lit for sure because that was my 1st paid show ever Read more>>

Oksana Derina

I came to USA to pursue my career in film industry. Not having any education in the industry ( I went to law school), I knew I wanted to work with costumes in films. I love period movies and always wanted to be involved in research and costume design for them. I started collaborating with film students and help them with costumes for their school projects. It helped me to get knowledge and experience, that brought me confidence to design my first feature film, and finally get my first paycheck as Costume Designer. Read more>>

DeMarcus George

As a creative person who aspires to showcase all my different crafts, it’s very enjoyable when others are interested in utilizing you for your services and skills. My true first dollar earned as a creative was when I hosted my first cooking class through the University of Louisville for a homecoming event. Read more>>

Yen Jung Chung

When I was about to graduate from graduate school at Savannah College of Art and Design, I was very anxious about my. future. ” Am I ever gonna make money with my talent?” ” Have I chosen the right path?” “I don’t see where my life is going” All theses thoughts were spinning around in my head. It’s really interesting how I got my first paid job. Read more>>

Sunday Avanti

I’ve been money from my work in some capacity since I was a child. This started when I was in Kindergarten selling crayon drawings of butterflies for a dollar. I usually spent it on treats from the vending machine after school. That’s one of my favorite stories to tell about my early art career. I also spent a lot of time drawing cartoon characters for friends at lunch and summer camp. Read more>>

Parker Pruneda

When I started making music it was mostly just me in my dad’s garage. I slowly started to network and meet other artists and I soon had several guys come in and out of the garage pretty regularly. At that point, I was still so new so I didn’t really have a good idea of what to charge for studio time or for beats, and almost everyone I worked with was a good friend of mine anyway. Read more>>

Monika Szczerbińska

I remember it perfectly! I started my Instagram art account at the very beginning of January 2020. Although I didn’t have high expectations and didn’t expect art to be my source of income one day, I wanted to try to be professional from the beginning. So I set up my new email address in case anyone wanted to contact me. I remember my friend joking (in a nice way!) about my new email and asking if anyone had contacted me yet. Read more>>