The world needs artists and creatives. Unfortunately, being needed doesn’t often easily translate into financial stability. The struggle is real for so many incredibly talented artists and creatives and so we think it’s important to hear from creatives who have made it work – there is so much to learn from the folks we’ve featured below.

Cade Kegerreis

I have been a full time artist for five years now, after graduating from Baylor University with a degree in Studio Art. In the beginning I took on any creative job that came my way- from photographing high school seniors, directing and filming music videos, commissioned paintings, and more. The wide variety of experience helped me network in all areas but also allowed me to naturally weed out what I was not truly passionate about. I learned that although I really enjoyed photo and video work, I could be most creative as a fine artist. Looking back, at the end of my college career I had fallen in love with oil painting, and that has prevailed. Read more>>

Jaxon Howell

I had owned a custom furniture & millwork company since 2006. In 2019, I was in a car accident that left me with a wrist injury that made my woodworking very painful and sometimes impossible to do. Then… the pandemic hit. And the demand for woodworking quickly dried up. Suddenly, not only was I physically struggling to work… I was also finding myself unable to earn enough to cover the wages of my employees. So there I was after fourteen years as a woodworker, faced with the difficult decision to let that business and career go. Read more>>

Lacey Funderburk.

Earning a full time living from Sullivan’s Board Co. was not as slow of a profession as I would have thought. I never went back to another job after Covid due to the success of our business! Although, it wasn’t like that from day one, I could tell it would be from the steady amount of order I was getting weekly! Read more>>

Sam Robbins

Hey! I started fairly young – I was working at a frozen yogurt shop in my hometown of Portsmouth, NH when I was 16, just playing acoustic guitar and trying to write songs and play as much as I could. I worked there two summers, and in the winter of my junior year of High School, I was asked to play a PAYING GIG! A Christmas party for my friend’s parents office. I showed up and played christmas music for a few hours, and at the end of the day he gave me $250. This was an unbelievable amount of money. Read more>>

Amy Schromm

My photography career began at an international advertising agency. Getting real world experience was helpful before branching out on my own. Working as a producer and photography assistant first I learned the administrative side while perfecting my craft. As a commercial photographer lead for seven years I was able to master lighting and technique. Read more>>

Ahmed Badr

Looking back to when I decided to leave my 12-year marketing and advertising career to pursue my creative passion makes me proud of where I am today. Moving to the United States was another reset point in my life. Leaving my friends and letting go of most of my belongings wasn’t easy. I’d say it started with me lowering my rates to be able to help new startups with their business during the pandemic to becoming the best photographer of 2022 Detroit took a lot of time, commitment, and passion. Read more>>

Sigrid Qian.

We had a lot of information sessions on how to become a full-time artist after graduation when I was in college, people shared many stories and their ways to success, but nothing I could relate to until graduation. I worked as a full-time fine art painter and a part-time set dresser when I started my career, but only the part-time job pays my rent. Life was pretty difficult because I didn’t know where to start. So I googled “how to become a freelance artist”, and the results didn’t help much. Read more>>

Cat Widner.

Since I was in high school I was chasing the dream of being an artist full-time. Most people told me I couldn’t do it. That there was no money to be made as an artist and I definitely couldn’t do it as a full-time gig. Honeysuckle Handmade Studio started in 2016 as a way to cultivate my artwork outside of my teaching career. Like most small businesses, growing took time and when the pandemic hit my business was just at a point that I felt comfortable diving into it completely. Read more>>

Jared Rauso

This is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. How did we get here? Making a living doing our dream work is something we don’t take for granted, and we’ve had to put in a LOT of work to get here. When we first started, we worked with a small team mainly focused on doing corporate work and videos for schools. We always loved music and commercials and wanted to figure out a way to work in those fields so that we would take the smaller gigs in those areas on the side simply for the love of it. The bigger corporate jobs were floating our bills at the time, but we knew we wanted to get a little funkier. Read more>>

Ryen Trenaé

I’m proud to say that my production company is my sole source of income! This journey has shown me in more ways than none that I was built for this. Once I graduated from Spelman, class of 2017, I entered into the corporate world as a consultant. I had little to no training in this field but the promised income was far beyond what I needed. Imposter syndrome completely led this decision. I didn’t want to be the one student who didn’t have a plan after school or didn’t know what they wanted to do. Read more>>

Dillon Mann

I started with doing a lot of background which then ended up turning into professional film acting through auditions my agencies were submitting me for. I’ve also worked a ton of production over the years introducing me to the 12 plus hour a day grind of film production. Read more>>

MyKenzie Mathis

I have been blessed to be able to earn a full-time living off of my work. Any creative entrepreneur will tell you that it is NOT like that from day one. There are many things that brought me personally to the position that I am in now with my business, but the top two would definitely be investing in myself + my work and just getting out there and doing the dang thing! I used to be scared to invest my hard earned dollars towards mentors and courses from others in the industry, but as soon as I started to do so I really started to see improvement in my business. Read more>>

Courtney Carteret

For as long as I can remember I’ve had a camera in hand. I have always loved creating visual memories and documenting my own life. I was, like many of us however, told that creative work was to be a hobby and I needed to find a stable job with benefits in order to establish security and live correctly. Read more>>

DJ Lyris

Yes, I’ve absolutely been able to earn a full-time living as a creative. Just a quick background from the previous interviews, in 2018 I was terminated from a company I was with for 14.5 years; however, during my time with that company I began growing as a professional dj. Additionally, I started learning other ways to create avenues to expand as a dj/creative. I officially became a full-time dj in 2018 and by 2020, during Covid, I launched my internet radio station, WLAG Timeless Radio. Read more>>

Dave Cerelli

I am very grateful to say that I earn a full-time living as a musician. Becoming a full-time musician was one of my first self appointed career goals. I’ve known since I was fifteen that I wanted to be a professional musician. Like many aspiring artists, I had realized what I wanted but I didn’t have the knowledge or experience needed to achieve that goal. So I did what every young musician does, play. Read more>>

Sherstin Schwartz.

Yes, I have been a full time artist for over 2 years now. Prior to that I worked on my art business for 4-5 years while I had a full time day job. It was exhausting at times doing both and had lots of challenges. I doubted if I would ever be able to take the leap to full time artist or if I was just wasting my time, but a voice deep down said that art was what I was meant to do. When I finally quit my day job, which was during the pandemic no less, I was actually really excited rather than scared. Read more>>

Michael Reibel

I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work as a professional fine artist (painter), however it has taken some time, a lot of hard work, courage and perseverance. My story is a bit unique in that prior to making the jump to full time creative, I worked in Corporate America and prior to that I was a Certified Public Accountant. I created and painted a lot during high school taking art classes all four years and garnering several scholastic art awards. Read more>>

Charles Kennedy

Earning a full-time living from my creative work as definitely been a journey. I got laid off from my corporate job in 2018 and I honestly started looking for a new job the same day I got laid off. My wife encouraged me to work on getting my business off the ground and start doing that full time. Without her encouragement and all of her support over the years I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing with the same kind of success. I don’t think there’s any speeding up the process. Read more>>

Hank Smith Pattie Kinlaw

Pattie & Hank: Yes, we’ve both been able to earn a living from our creative work collectively and separately. Pattie: At the age of four, I began studying the violin through the Suzuki method. It’s a method and philosophy that centers on ear training for very young musicians. Read more>>

Paul Downs

Within the last couple of years, post Covid, I have been able to earn a full time living from my work, I had been doing freelance commission work on the side of a non-artistic day job. Once Covid hit in 2020 my full time day job ended and I was , like so many other people at a bit of a cross roads for the future. Oddly enough it was in the same week that I was told my job was ending that I received several new print orders for my art on my Etsy shop. Read more>>

Crave Beats.

I’ve been able to earn a full time living from my creative work because I’ve remained consistent and passionate about my career. By no means is owning and running my own business easy however it’s worth all of the hard work it takes to be successful. It definitely didn’t start off this way, like anything you want in life you have to work for it. Consistency will always be key. Just staying motivated has been a major step and milestone being able to handle the fluctuations of entrepreneurship, having faith that the energy you put into your brand will repay you. Read more>>

Chantel Miller

4 years ago, if I was told I was going to be a Fulltime professional photographer, I wouldn’t have believed it. What started as a dream became a reality, but it wasn’t easy. Not only was I discovering who I was as an artist; I also had to learn and grow as a small business owner; by providing exceptional service, building and maintaining relationships with Clientele and networking within my community. Read more>>

Delisha

something that I think would have sped up my process…. time. I wish that time could of slowed down to compliment my intentions. Read more>>

Ladon Alex.

The first time I sold an art piece of any kind was in 9th grade when I was 14. It was drawn in a Strathmore Bristol pad that was 11×14 inches. I honestly can’t remember what the drawing was of but I know the person who bought it was a classmate of mine (as were most of my first few customers). Even though I make most of my income from commission and contract work now, in the beginning I used to sell drawings I had done in my free time with the hope someone would be interested in whatever it is I drew. Read more>>

Quinntin Smith

I started making money in music in Austin, Texas. At Huston Tillotson University my Professor Dr. Gloria Quinlan helped me develop a skill to work within many different music platforms. In college she often had me perform/work in studio sessions, religious gatherings, funerals, concerts, etc… Studying these techniques of preparing and observing I’ve been able to become a better performer but I also help other artist in development! Read more>>

Emma Adams

I am currently a full-time working artist. I started illustrating about 3 years ago and began sharing my work on social media. After receiving a lot of encouragement from my peers, I decided to create a brand called Fox & Fables. After a couple years of hustling on the side after my day job, I quit to pursue the dream! The biggest thing I learned that got me to where I was earning enough money, was to diversify my sources of income. Read more>>

Ben Moss

Being a full-time artist is something I probably should have done much sooner. The need for stability in income (especially having a family) has always taken precedence, at least up until the pandemic. COVID sort of forced my hand in that regard, to be honest. After working as a graphic designer for over 20 years, I had just recently started work as a public school art teacher. It was an itinerant position, meaning I was teaching in about 8 schools per week. Read more>>

DINKC Galicia

Yes, I am a full time artist! I am very fortunate to be able to make a living doing what I love for some years now. I officially started back in 2012 when I was still at the Kansas City Art Institute. I branded myself by making my logo, website, social media, and creating a consistent style within my work. I started pushing it out to local galleries in Kansas City, and showcasing during first Fridays. I loved the response I was getting, but felt I needed to go out and explore more of the art world. Read more>>

Luke Harbur

I quit my day job in November 2021 to pursue freelance creative production & entertainment full-time for one year. That anniversary arrives soon, and I’m proud to share my financial income surpassed my original predictions. This was possible by keeping this core philosophy each day: no job is too big or too small. Within this year, I had a production contract worth 5 digits in sales. In the same year, I took a performance contract worth 1 digit in tips. Read more>>

Kimtasha

I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. I started working with a makeup company at the age of 19 years old. I made great money but there was something within me that wanted more. I wanted to expand on my creativeness and have the freedom to travel, and personalize my customer service and experiences. I decided to quit working for the makeup company after 9 years. I remember the day that I quit. It was scary. I had nothing on my calendar, it was completely bare. Read more>>

Sarah Suwanasung

I haven’t always been lucky enough to earn a full-time living for my creative work and modeling. It definitely took me some time to find my groove and get the confidence to secure multiple agencies in multiple cities. Just like making a career change, moving to a new city pursuing a career I knew nothing about was pretty tough. I began in 2013 with one agent and stuck with them for about two years later moving onto another, and then, another. Read more>>

Kelsea Lawson

I get this question a lot, especially from new or inspiring creatives ready to take off with entrepreneurship. I love this question too, because I remember asking these same questions and I am still taking the time to learn and grow everyday. There is always something to be learned! Read more>>

Dijana Szewczyk

It’s a very well known fact that being an artist is not very well paid job, so once I discovered my passion for photography, it took me a bit to realize I need to do things differently if I want to actually support my family with this job. 2017 I bought my first semi-professional camera and I started doing A LOT of free photoshoots. My goal was to expand my reach, get my name out there and learn how to take the best images in order for people to actually pay money for my work. Read more>>

Nicholas Laws

My journey to full-time filmmaking started in 2015, when I quit my stuffy corporate job and went to work for a local production company making videos. It was fulfilling, despite making less money. Ultimately that job led to another, which led to another, which led to full time freelancing. If I could go back in time, I might tell myself that I need to pick a lane and work towards it. But at the same time, I feel like I’ve got a little experience in just about every type of production. Read more>>

Chelsee Foster.

I have! Very proud to say I just bought a house as a self employed business owner. The journey has been difficult, but the path led me to my livelihood. I started as a skater, which nurtured my love of music and expression. My single mom kept me in anything I could do: ballet, gymnastics, and acting. However, singing stole my heart. Especially when we didn’t have the means to keep me skating. Read more>>

Abhilasha FNU

Yes, I am earning a full-time living from my filmmaking career as a script supervisor. I have been in my journey of filmmaking only 2,5 years and being successfully part of more than 60 productions actually made it happen. Ofcourse, it was not like this before. I worked a lot for free as a filmmaking student before starting to earn during my work period in the United States. But it was always blissful to be on-set and wrap a production. Read more>>

Aundra Lafayette

First of all, the performing arts came into my life at the early age of 10 years old. I studied dance at Fisk University when I was 10 years old. I went through that journey until I graduated from. High School. After graduation I went to The Philadelphia Dance Academy for 5 years. After college I Began teaching Dance in the community, teaching Inner city children. That was the most gratifying job I have ever had. Moving forward the dancing took me to the most outstanding opportunities ever. Taking kids to Russia, performing the musical “Hair.. Read more>>

Shane Murray

The goal is to be a full time business owner /full time creative . I haven’t been able to do that yet. I’ve made small steps but more work needs to be done . I knew this would be a marathon and not a sprint . I’m confident I can make a full time living with my art . Read more>>

Ki Shuntiel

No, I have not been able to earn a full-time living for my creative work. While on my journey, I’ve worked full time on the side to invest into my creative work. If, I’d known what I know now, I believe that it may have been a smoother process. I feel that if I was a bit more informed I wouldn’t experience so much “burn out”. However, I do believe that I am on God’s timing. Not my own. Read more>>

Vanessa Leon

I didn’t start earning full-time wage until 2020. That’s when I saved enough money to take the full risk. If you want something to grow, it needs ALOT of attention. You need to think about it, feel it, and actually work it- the holy trinity. I was super active on instagram and one of my post went viral, awarding my business with best sellers. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any guidance on how to scale my business properly and I burnt out sooo badly! Read more>>

Jenna Henderson

In 2006, at the age of 21, I quit my part time job as a hotel front desk clerk, and officially went full time with my photography business. I was freshly married and fresh out of college, and having been in business for a year already, I was immediately earning enough to support my income. I think part of my early profitability was based on how cheaply I could operate; instead of spending a ton on my business on a lot of bells and whistles I didn’t need, I focused on what mattered most: Read more>>

Dominique Murray.

Being a full-time creative was not always my end goal, but I am so blessed to be where I am today. Growing up, I always loved taking photos with disposable cameras or the variety of toy cameras my family had gifted me. Going into high school, it was a no-brainer to opt for the photoshop course my school offered. I loved the entire process of taking photos, culling for the best ones, and learning quirky beginner photoshop techniques. Read more>>

Lianna Fertig

Yes! I make a full-time living off of my creative work. 8 years ago I was halfway through college with no set plan on what I wanted to do. All I knew was it had to be something creative. I’ve lived on my own since I was 17 so I was working at a restaurant, a shoe store, and a law firm paying my way through. I met a great little network of people at these jobs. One of the girls I worked with was expecting a baby and I helped plan her shower. Read more>>

Jay Ballesteros

I have been able to work in the creative field for the last 20 years and make a full-time living. During my last year at college, I started researching, networking, and contacting companies about work or internships. After graduation, I was fortunate to find a job in NYC as a freelance creative. That first time as a freelancer helped me with the foundation of my creative career. I gained experience working in a fast-paced environment, collaborating as a team to meet deadlines, learning new skills to help expedite the job, being flexible to changes during a project, and preparing for working long hours. Read more>>

Dee Rock.

I started video game content creation as a hobby back in March 2016. At the time I worked a full-time, office job as well. After work and on weekends I would stream on Twitch. Back then I was playing a game called Clash Royale. In this game, players could host in game tournaments for other players to earn in game cards. What helped my channel grow was hosting these to get players into the tournaments. As they competed, I would shout-cast the games. This is similar to calling the play-by-plays in sports. Read more>>

Claudia Chappel

I was very lucky to be introduced to a home design “fad” back when I needed to find full time work, but I was also a full time single mother. I had to find work that I could do from my home. Back then only the very wealthy could afford “hand painted tiles” because they either came from Europe or a company out of New York who supplied them. I was able to offer totally custom hand painted tiles on regular standard tile. Read more>>

Sarah Stewart.

Yes, I feel so lucky to be able to do this! It was a gradual process, and because it was something that I felt so strongly about, I have put so much energy towards making it happen. I think the biggest step I took was to quit my full time job about four years ago. This took alot of courage and a big leap of faith. I think this is still true today; if you are a self employed artist you have to trust that the next job will come, and the next. The other requirement is being able to make financially sound decisions. There may be some down time, so save while you can! Read more>>