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.

Grant Wiens

I earned my first dollar as a disc jockey working on weekends while attending college weekdays. One of the local stations needed someone to work Sunday from midnight to 6 am and 6pm to midnight. They approached the college to find a student with potential, in financial need and nutty enough to work 12 hours on the air in a 24 hour period. I fit the bill! Read more>>

Reginald Rice

As a creative I earned my 1st dollar off my 2nd chance at music. Originally i was in a group i had just went solo and started working with all these new producers. The album that came about was a collaboration called “Spilluminati” it brought me back into the light locally and brought me my 1st music residuals nationally. Read more>>

Rianne Elyse Magbuhat

In high school, my Dad helped me print scans of my paintings onto label paper, and I’d sell 2 stickers for $1. I then expanded on that idea and did one of one abstract stickers with my peers preferred colors. While not a lucrative business, I got to see in real time peoples reactions to my work, and found a lot of excitement watching them put stickers on their water bottles and laptops. Read more>>

Larz Broussard

My first dollar earned as a creative came in the form of $10.34 as commission for making a video promoting a brand’s jewelry. I know, it doesn’t sound great. You can’t do much with $10; hell, an hour of work at pretty much any minimum wage job will get you more than that. For me though, it wasn’t about the money. I may sound like I’m lying, because money always plays a factor, but let me set the story for you. Read more>>

Weronika Zubek

My first dollar earned as a creative was back in 2015, I was still at my day job as a production artist at a printing company, and a friend reached out to me about creating a logo for her new business. I was a little surprised because I haven’t done any logos and didn’t do freelance jobs, but she saw my Instagram posts where I was sharing some lettering I was learning and thought I would be the perfect fit for her logo needs. It was and easy process and that’s where the idea of me pursuing my own creative business was born. Read more>>

Tay Richards

When I was around 13, in the 8th grade I had this English teacher who was really into fantasy. She used to see me drawing fairies and flowers during class and one day she asked me to draw her some fairies for her to keep on the wall above her desk. I did it and she had her fairy picture up for the rest of the year. Kids would compliment it and she would tell them I created it and it really sparked something in me so I started drawing more. Kids started to notice my art after that and compliment me when they’d catch me sketching in class. Eventually kids started offering to pay me in the student consession candy tokens if I made them little characters or portraits. I ate so much candy all throughout 8th grade year in Queen Creek, Arizona because of this gig. It wasnt cash. But it definitely felt like i was rich. I moved away to another school after that year and didn’t make another cent doing art until I was 20! Read more>>

Zitian Zhang

So, the first penny I made in the creative industry was in my sophomore year. At that time, a friend of mine was urgently looking for someone who could jump into creating some mood boards and storyboards overnight for an advertising campaign for a TV show. My friend approached me and asked if I could do it. After thinking for a moment, I agreed, but I didn’t have a digital tablet with me, not to mention that staying in a studio overnight by myself was a little bit worrying, too. He assured me that it was not a problem, as their studio had everything. So there I was, on a cold winter night in Beijing, pedaling my way to the studio. After briefing me on the requirements, they emphasized that the work had to be completed by dawn. As they left to lock up the studio, I was left alone, starting to work on the illustrations one by one. I still remember that their digital tablet was difficult to use, and I couldn’t access the restroom in the hallway as I was locked inside the studio, so I dared not to drink any water at all. Read more>>

Jayné Cahill

The first dollar I made as a creative artist was when I was 13 years old!

I was diagnosed with Lupus after being ill most of my childhood and had to isolate from friends and family during flare-ups. (Life during the covid pandemic felt very familiar to me!) Read more>>

Daquan Baker

I remember i was maybe like 13. i sold this dude a beat from like alaska for $20. He mailed me a $20 bill. My mother cursed me out so bad lol but thay day on i knew like i can make money from music is crazy. Read more>>

Cynthia Zitter

I’ve wanted to be an actor pretty much my whole life! At age 3, I played the Virgin Mary in the daycare Christmas pageant, and ever since then I’ve never waivered from my path. The only issue was that I lived in a very small farm community in Ohio, many miles away from even a community theatre where I could hone my skills. Therefore, as I got old enough to have a job, I looked all over for something I could do that was in the creative space. As soon as I got my driver’s license and was able to travel, I found my first creative job. A small resort in Indiana called Bearcreek Farms hired professional actors and musicians to come do original musical reviews in their little theatre, and they were in need of someone to assist with the tech work. I started out helping the “tech guy” with his myriad responsibilities, and eventually took on the task myself, giving him some nights off! This included setup for the show, as well as execution of EVERY SINGLE CUE. There was a light board, background music, sound mixing board, sound effects board, and a spotlight. For anyone who has ever worked on a musical review, you know how many cues happen in these fast-paced shows, and how quickly one has to move with any one of these responsibilities. I’m still so proud that I was able to pick up all of these skills and perform them in a professional setting. Read more>>

Cayla Birk

I am sure there are a few anecdotes of a lemonade stand tucked somewhere in my early childhood days with an entrepreneurial mindset, but my true first dollar earned as an artist came in my early 20s. I was struggling to pay rent just 3 days before it was due and a restauranteur from New York offered to buy a work of art I created that was in my home for nearly 6 years. I parted with the piece to make ends meet and often wonder where it is in the world. Read more>>

Monica Schick

As my dedication to paint with watercolor grew, I identified a need for high-quality watercolor brushes in the market. This led me to establish my own business five years ago, where I combine my love for art with providing artists around the world with top-notch tools to enhance their creativity. Read more>>

Keisha Pruhs

My first dollar I earned as a creative (that wasn’t from a friend or family member), happened a little after I opened my Etsy shop. Someone ordered a sticker that I had made from one of my original designs, and I was so excited! I packaged it and put it in the mailbox that very night. It was such a great feeling having someone selectively choose something that you created, even as small as a sticker. Read more>>

Willie Filmore

the first dollars I earned writing was when I signed a deal with a boutique-publisher. A boutique-publisher does all the leg work for you but you pay all the cost. You provide your story and they in return help edit, format, cover design and place your book on their website for sale. After a year pushing my book and finding out most my readers were not being able to download the novel half the time, I earned a whopping twenty-five dollars. (yes, you read that right) The thing about that situation is that I learned alot about the self-publishing industry and after getting the rights back to that book I have made alot more than that twenty-five dollars. Read more>>

Cara Hanna

My first dollar I ever earned as a fiber artist was from a friend who I had met through Instagram. I remember feeling that it “didn’t count” as my first sale because we knew each other. And I remember feeling imposter syndrome, and strongly: that the piece wasn’t worthy of belonging in someone’s home, let alone someone paying for it. There were these little details in my weaving that I would change, back then and now. Read more>>

Emily Alisa

My first dollar earned as a creative was actually on the side of a street in Downtown Phoenix. I set out one first Friday night to meet up with a group of friends. We were set to meet at the main stage but I was unable to get a hold of them. I am not originally from Arizona. I’m from Illinois so finding my way around Downtown Phoenix is still a bit of a struggle for me. I was on my way already although, so I gave a friend who lives in Downtown a call to see if he just happened to be going that night, and of course he was. We parked and met up together to make our way into the first Friday scene. While chatting and walking, we stumbled upon a Van lifer. He was all set up with his amp, guitar and microphone. Being the artist we are, we stopped for a moment to appreciate this mans beautiful sound. He offered my friend Ryan a chance to play a song and jam out a bit. While Ryan was strumming away, the van lifer then looks over at me and says, “What do you do?” I respond, ” Well I am a vocalist and a songwriter.” The man responses, “Do you freestyle at all?” At this moment I knew I had to at least give it a shot. Even though it is something I have not done before, I saw no harm in trying. So my friend Ryan, aka Rymo is diddling away and I start to sing and play around with the melodies. I sang probably two lines of a song total, and a bystander walking by stops dead in her tracks. I noticed her shuffle around in her purse a bit and she hands me a five dollar bill. I was struck, I had only sang maybe for ten seconds. She looks at me and says, “Keep doing what you’re doing , and never stop. It is so beautiful.” That was a very pure moment for me. She was not paying me because I was singing someone else’s lyrics, she heard my voice, my words, my sound and wanted to support me. That was the moment I knew I needed to continue to chase my artistry. Read more>>

Mandineau Mia

When I began my studies to become an opera singer, I created a couple of videos summarizing the stories of famous works. I had a lot of fun making these videos and it helped me learn about my craft in a fun and light way. At the time, I was the only one talking about Opera in a funny and accessible manner on the Internet and very soon I was approached by one of the biggest opera houses in Paris. The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a very prestigious and high class theatre, so I was very impressed and touched that they would hire me to present their next season online. I barely had any audience at the time, I had only started making videos for a couple of months and, most of all, I had never made videos professionally. Announcing the new season is always a big event for an opera house, so entrusting me and giving me ‘carte blanche’ for these presentation videos was a huge risk for the TCE. Read more>>

Royal Fools

We were 15 when we first tried busking. We awkwardly took our buckets and instruments onto the train, endured a few stares, and made our way into Boston. Grey was bucket drumming and I was playing guitar and singing. We were playing on the streets in mid-January so you could imagine it was wicked cold and no one was willing to take their freezing hands out of their pockets to fork over any cash. After a couple of dollar-less, excruciatingly cold hours on the street, a woman approached us on the corner of Hanover and Cross and gave us our first dollar. She said “thank you for making the North End beautiful.” We were so excited we could consider ourselves “professional musicians” because we’d been paid for making music. Busking became a regular thing after that. We learned better spots and a better set up. Things went a lot smoother in warmer weather! – August Read more>>

Edwin Chung

I would say the first dollar I earned as a creative was when I was given free product. Not too glamorous, but the moment was monumental for me. I’ve been editing for years as a hobby but something changed after I had my first child. I didn’t just want to share regular home videos of my child but I wanted to create some more memorable and magical. Read more>>

Megan Grant

When I was a child, I absolutely loved coloring in coloring books. It eventually grew into learning to draw from step-by-step drawing books geared towards kids and I began dabbling with paints. However, the turning point was when my parents sent me to a week-long art camp and I was introduced to painting flowers and using different mediums. I remember finding joy and pride in my work for the first time as a kid when my mom started framing some of my work to hang on the walls. I loved seeing my art get framed for the walls in our home so much, I decided to draw my version of a Magnolia print my mom had (my mom was one of the 90’s moms that collected Magnolias) framed on the wall. She loved it and framed it, hanging it directly next to the print that inspired it. I wish I could describe the pride I had. That pride wouldn’t compare to what happened next. A friend of my mom’s visited us from out of state and she too loved magnolias. I know now as an adult, that she just wanted to support and encourage my enthusiasm for creating (super sweet, right?), but she told me that she loved my drawing of the Magnolia so much that she wanted me to draw another for her to purchase. As a kid, earning some money for one of my drawings was unbelievable to me. I was so incredibly excited and was so very careful with the drawing. I wanted it to be perfect. Once completed and mailed off, I remember a few weeks went by and I was not expecting anything as payment, honestly. But when a check came for me in the mail, with a thank you letter, I think I was almost in shock from being so overwhelmed with excitement and disbelief. It was pretty cool. Read more>>

Herman “Nile Flame” Woods

I sold a beat for $100 at 18 and that was enough to know how intellectual property and know my music could actually feed me. Knowing it’s possible is enough for me. Read more>>

Ellison Daniels

I started my business during COVID. I had been crocheting for over 10 years at that point and I knew it was a great way to pass the time. A coworker reached out to me and asked if I would make her a blanket. I was so happy to help her pick out the perfect colors and I remember working on it for hours and hours at a time. When I met up with her and got to show her the finished project, the excitement appreciation that she had for the blanket was the reason why I still have Elli’s Crochet Critters to this day. I realized in that moment that I don’t crochet for me but I really crochet so other people can enjoy what I make. I made my first customer order/ my first dollar on that order and it meant the world to me and still does. Read more>>

Marissa Hernandez

My first mural was somewhat through submitting a request for proposals. I applied for an airport mural design project. It was my first time coming up with a mural design and submitting a proposal, I was nervous and didn’t know if I was doing anything “right.” I didn’t end up getting chosen for the mural which was a bummer, but the company kept my design on file. Another client of theirs ended up seeing and liking my original design, but wanted me to repurpose it for their early education center. I reworked the design and ending up completing my first mural. It was definitely a challenge but one I’m super proud of. Though that first project had a lot of learning curves, I look back on it fondly as the beginning to my creative journey. Read more>>

Jetta Juriansz

I’m pretty sure the first time I was paid to act was in an anti-smoking campaign that I booked when I was 17 or 18.. In the audition, I didn’t even know how to hold the cigarette correctly (all of my reference points were from high school and community theatre productions of Grease.) I don’t think I was really convincing as “addict” (heck, I don’t really think I was convincing in Grease either.) But if there intentions were to steer people away from smoking, I certainly did that by making it look so painfully uncool. Read more>>