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.

You Were Never Lovelier

I was playing guitar at a summer camp and one of my best friends there, who was teaching me how to skateboard, randomly threw $1 into my guitar case, and I said, “What is this for?” He explained it was a token of gratitude, and my 15-year-old mind was blown that my friend just gave me money. I have that $1 taped to the inside of my guitar case. Read more>>

Zhanrui Jerry Liu

Art has always been my passion, even from a young age when I used to doodle on my bedroom walls, I was lucky enough that my parents indulge my willfulness. Despite this love, pursuing a career in art felt like a distant dream. Growing up, I followed the conventional path through academic schooling, but I always felt a sense of unease. Read more>>

Mayila

I remember the first time some random person sent me an email asking how much I would charge for a feature. This was very early on in my career, before I had any credits or accolades. I was so excited to be deemed a professional by someone I didn’t even know. Read more>>

Jordan Asher

My first dollar earned as a creative was in 2018 when I had just moved to Nashville. I recorded a demo in a studio on Music Row. Looking back on it, I don’t really think I had any other intention behind it other than to just delve into the writing and recording process as an artist and performer. I had already formed a working relationship with Alan Parsons at this point as I was his touring stage manager for his international dates. Read more>>

Dayra Fyah

The first dollar I earned as a creative artist, was when I collaborated as a performer and rapper for Naomi Rincón Gallardo’s project, called “The Formaldehyde Trip”, which was presented at the SFMOMA San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Read more>>

Abel Sanchez

Dropped a shirt in the middle of pandemic 2020 which three years later has turned into a legitimate collection and local brand with almost two dozen original shirts, caps, art prints etc that continue to see out. Very rewarding, humbling to be embraced by your community and beyond. I’ve now shipped drip all across the country even as far as Hawaii. Small victories def add up. Read more>>

Cliff Dorsey

I was 17 and I auditioned to play a small BBQ joint back near my hometown in Florida. I auditioned with George Strait, Johnny Cash, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and my first orignials. It was 2 hour gig with a homemade PA system made up of two guitar amps one for my vocals and one for my guitar. I walked away with a crisp $100 bill, a plate of BBQ, & a second gig. Read more>>

Deijah Smith

The first dollar I ever earned as a creative was when I did background work for a lifetime movie. This was just a year after graduating college when I lived in Atlanta , Georgia. The thrill of being on set with one of my favorite childhood actors, while getting paid for it was such a great experience especially so early on in the pursuit of my career in entertainment. Read more>>

Mark Camero

June 7th 2016, This was the first time I ever made a dollar that came from being a creative. I had given a presentation at my colleges final semester pin up. I had just done really well and was finally finished. That is when the professor came by and gave me a card. It was a colleague of his that owns his own firm and wanted to talk to me. Read more>>

Yasmine Messaoudi

The first time I ever made money from a design I made was back in 2015. I had just finished my high school diploma and my summer vacation felt like the perfect time for me to get a first job. While I was expecting that that would be a job in the service industry it ended up being an intership with a communication agency. Read more>>

Trey Everett

I still remember the first royalties check I received my from first published novel. It was not as much as you would think it would have been, but it was mine. My words had earned it. I have wanted to write a book for years, never even trying. Then finally I say down in December of 2018 and started writing. My resolution for that year was to write a book, and there I was, with 30 calendar days left, starting Chapter One. I did write that book, and I was proud of that. Read more>>

Tanya Clarke

I came across the building of lighting by accident. I needed a fixture to replace the fluorescent overhead in my newly rented Venice Beach apartment and decided to build it myself. I had just moved to California from New York City and my piece combined the industrial nature I had left behind along with the water element which lay in front of me. Read more>>

Callie Hawley

In the early 2000s, “bead lizards” were all the rage. They dangled off of the backpacks of my classmates, and I spent hours with my friends meticulously threading plastic beads onto lanyard string to make every color combination we could dream up. At the time, the other kids in my neighborhood were standing up lemonade and hot chocolate stands. Read more>>

Michael Simeon

The first time I got paid as a creative was in the Fall of 2020. I was one year into making videos on Youtube and the show “Lovecraft Country” came out on Youtube and I was reviewing and talking about every episode. Reviewing that show really blew up my Youtube Channel, and before “Lovecraft Country” I didn’t meet the requirements yet to monetize my channel. Read more>>

Kristen Diaz

I was actually in my last year of college. I was focusing mostly on Motion Graphics at the time and practicing my craft and figuring things out with After Effects. I had done this scrapbook-style animation that was inspired by the Haunted Mansion because it was and still is one of my favorite attractions at Disneyland. I think I had posted it online and someone actually saw it and really liked it. They were doing a little project about the ride and they wanted to use it. Read more>>

Terrance Gawith

I spent months doing more research than I should have to start and put on my own show. I wanted to run a comedy show that was so good, people would have to keep coming back. I finally pulled the trigger, and I put on a show. Read more>>

Brennan Alexa

My first dollars earned as a creative came at a crucial time. I have always been making work, but I didn’t share it until lockdown April 2020. With so much time on my hands and no work, or unemployment checks to cushion me the first several months. I was creating work and selling it predominantly through Instagram. Read more>>