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.

Damon Richardson

As a graphic designer I have been able to make a living, firstly working for design consultancies as a full time member of staff until I felt I had the confidence to step away from the security of full time employment (and all the benefits) to pursue my own path and find my own clients. Read more>>

Ramin Guseinov

I was able to earn money in music production right away when I launched my online beat store. But of course at first the money was very small and I barely could make a living with it, but I was lucky enough to have the best partner in the world. My wife was very supportive and believed in me from day one and together we were able to pull it off. Read more>>

Riley Waite

My journey towards earning a full-time living from my creative work had humble beginnings. Initially, I focused on honing my artistic practice, dedicating time to improving my skills, and assembling a portfolio that showcased my talent. One significant turning point in my journey was discovering the potential of online platforms like Etsy. Read more>>

Jerry Danielsen

When I was a teenager, I knew I wanted to “do” music for a living. I joined a band and learned how to play bass, then guitar. Quickly, I started to write songs and pitch them to the band. Read more>>

Derek Harrison

I think all creatives dream of a life where they can pursue their art/passion as a full time career. This took me almost a decade to achieve. There have been a lot of ups and downs along the way. Some successes and a lot of failures. I fondly remember signing with my first gallery. Doing big shows, etc. I’ll never forget an exhibition I took part in where I worked very hard on some new and experimental subject matter. Read more>>

Madison Stevenson

I’ve been a full-time photographer going on 1 year in October. When I started my business at the end of 2020, I knew I wanted to make it a career, but didn’t give myself a timeline. In 2021 after plenty of word of mouth sessions, my business really grew and I significantly started to book myself to the point where the money I was making from doing photography was more than my day job as a bank teller. Read more>>

Flobo Boyce

One of the hardest things about earning a full-time living from your creative work is to decide you want to do whatever it is full-time. There is a bit of a nudge to perform when you “bet on yourself” I think comes only after deciding to take the plunge. Read more>>

Blair Christianson

This year marked 10 years of having my Etsy shop & for 8 of those years it has been my only income source. Being a mom to my 3 babies is my most important full time job, but my business has also been a full time career for many of those years which was challenging but rewarding. For about 4 years, my business did 6 figures in sales with me being a one-woman-show & taking care of my kids full time as well, so you can imagine I didn’t get much sleep lol! Read more>>

Josh Sahunta

I was able to earn a full time living from my creative work because I diversified my portfolio quite early on. I was always looking for ways to make an income through music, and this led me to discovering many different mediums that I didn’t even know existed. Some of these included: writing custom songs for people, teaching music lessons for a short time, pitching myself for performance opportunities in unconventional settings such as art gallery tours and university cafeterias. Read more>>

Yasmine Singh

I have always enjoyed writing but I never thought I could make a living doing it. And so I worked in all different fields and tried my hand at different businesses, too. I wasn’t happy but I was trying to be practical. I thought being a writer was just a dream. But when I became a mother, I realized that I had a lot to say and I needed an outlet. Read more>>

Adriana Lemus

I’ve been earning a living from being a ceramic artist for the past 3 years. At the beginning of the pandemic the wine bar I was working for, went out of business and I started doing ceramics full time. This was a blessing in disguise. Because of Covid, everything was shut down and most people were are home. Read more>>

Keeuina Wilson

I began braiding hair at 13 in order to feel normal. I did it mostly as a hobby until I require doing additional income in 2017 after a job loss. I used it as a source of income while searching for a new job. I found work as a substitute teacher and enrolled in school to receive a Masters in Education. I completed most of the program until the COVID epidemic. Read more>>

Lex Poulakos

After quitting my full-time job on a whim I knew I just *had* to dive deep into building my photography business. I honestly had no real plan but began attempting to put myself out there as much as I could to try to at the very least let people know I was for hire. It was a bit slow going at first — I was undercharging, shooting for free to build content, and doing giveaways just to get people in front of my camera. Read more>>

Christian Powell

I started photography about 7 years ago with just a passion for photography. After purchasing my camera I started off by taking landscape photos and pictures of my daughter. Shortly after I started to get inquires for weddings, portrait work and events. So I continued photography part time as a passion to make some additional income every so often. Read more>>

Jamal-Akil Marshall

I give thanks everyday for the ability and opportunity to work full-time in this creative field. When I first moved out to Los Angeles about 2 years ago, I decided to leave my job after 8 months. I was serving at a wonderful restaurant out here in LA that cared greatly about all the artist and staff that worked there. They congratulated me on my exit as they felt I could go after pursuing photography and creative direction. Read more>>

Mary Pow

I haven’t yet found it possible to earn a living from my creative work. I’ve pivoted often over the past 12 years of being self-employed, especially as my children have grown and our family dynamics have changed. Since 2020, my goal has been to get my art out there by doing art fairs. Of course, the pandemic threw a wrench in that pivot and things have been delayed. Read more>>

Shelby Blair

As a business owner for 2 creative brands and a full time freelance design consultant, jumping into the world of creative careers was a no brainer for me. I’ve always had an urge to create but in college I developed an understanding that artists can thrive in corporate and career setting. So many businesses need that imaginative eye to guide their brands to stand out in any market, especially in today’s ever changing world. Read more>>

Joao Bosco

To make a living by marking people’s skin permanently, with a design created from your imagination is surreal. Still to this day it’s hard to believe that I’m living this dream. Read more>>

Joey & Laura Martino

Our journey to creative freedom and professional success started in 2007 when Laura and I met. We knew instantly that our connection to music and each other was special and meant to be. We both grew up dreaming of a life where we got to do what we love with who we love and music was always at the center of that. We quickly found inspiration in one another and began writing, recording, and planning our path to success. Read more>>

Nikki Montana

I pay attention my peers/ mentors who are successful within various creative fields, and I find that an important ingredient to their success is maintaining consistent & constant motion forward with anything to get results. Just as with anything in life: if you’re not active with putting in effort for anything there are no fruits to bear, stagnant water doesn’t not flow. Read more>>

Preston M. Smith

I have been earning a living solely from my art practice for the last 8 years now. It took me 16 years of working a part-time job as a server in restaurants to make it happen. I worked on my craft and built my body of work while working nights and weekends in various restaurants. I was miserable for a long time as I didn’t care for my day job at all. Read more>>

Jacob Rountree

I was always raised with rather traditional career expectations. Although, since a young age I always found ways to monetize my passions whether it was competitive snow skiing, or photography, I never expected myself to leave behind the pursuit of a more stable option. I even graduated college with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and sought out employment for that. Read more>>

Hamilton Williams

I started my ceramics career right out of college with only the vaguest idea of how to manage and operate a business. The early years were full of trying things out to see what worked and building off of the efforts that were successful. The two biggest challenges were putting together a cohesive product line of pots and figuring out where I could most successfully sell my work. Read more>>

IndiviDúo

It’s been a wild ride, but happily we can say that we are now successfully making a living as full-time performing artists and songwriters. We joined forces as IndiviDúo when we met 13 years ago in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We were both producing solo albums at the time and we found that coming together to create and perform was more engaging, powerful and overall more fun – plus we fell in love and wanted to be together all the time so that helped a bit too. Read more>>

Ryan Parma

I have been working as a full time freelance director since 2014. The journey to this step in my career was filled with many ups and downs as well as unexpected opportunities that prepared me for the leap I took. I moved out to Los Angeles in the fall of 2009 with big dreams that Disney was going to sweep me up and hire me to direct their next big movie musical because I had made two award winning movie musical shorts that had premiered in film festivals. News flash… that did not happen. Read more>>

Anandya Alfiean

Absolutely – Yes, I earn a full-time living from my creative work. I started my full-time creative work services when I was in 2nd grade high school. When I graduate from high school, I don’t immediately go to college, I’m more focused on expanding my knowledge, my skills on my services. Read more>>

Maison Jay

I have been able to earn a full time living from my creative work. I was very difficult at first getting gigs here and there for a few hundred bucks but i realized the thousands of hours i put into my craft i needed to put into the business side of it . I started going out to the streets of miami filming my second do magic to people passing by and asked them to post me saying i was the #1 magician in miami and little by little i started gaining more and more recognition. Read more>>

Destiny Tirado

It started off when cannabis related products I needed to promote were getting shipped to my home where I was living with my mother. My mother found the products, discarded them, and kicked me out of the house. I then created merchandise with the little money I had in hopes to make a profit. I am blessed to say that is exactly what happened. Read more>>

RUBEN REYES

In the moment that I decided to make my artistic activity something more “professional” I had to establish a discipline that was more related to a work schedule and set goals; I started working on creative processes and execution of new pieces of art with a daily schedule in order to respect or allocate the necessary time, this with the intention of not having dispersed processes and leaving them free on weekends to also have rest periods to clear the mind. Read more>>

Alessandro Meynardi

Came from Italy to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Moved to LA in 2020 during pandemic. Working as performer and producer, owner of Studio Thunderpetz in North Hollywood and Diamond Thunder Publishing Read more>>

Benedikt Brydern

For many artists, managing the business side of their work seems an afterthought or a less important aspect of their career. And to make a living 100% with your art, you certainly need to have a plan. You want to fully immerse yourself in your art, in my case music, and create, enjoy and engage rather than managing or thinking about your retirement accounts or savings. Read more>>

Michael Temple

As a graduate and alumni of San Diego State University, with a degree in Painting and Printmaking, I made is my duty and promise to myself that I would have a career as an Artist, that I wouldn’t settle for a job that had nothing to do with my degree. Knowing there would be struggle along my path I embraced it knowing success would follow. Through consistent hard work, opportunities flow like water. Read more>>

Scott Van Orden

Eventually, one day is the most common response for me. In recent years I have made a conscious and consistent effort to make this a reality. With the support of my family, friends and associates, I am reminded that this is what I want to do. When I wake up I want to create. When I sleep I dream of alien landscapes and ‘Other Worlds’. I am extremely fortunate to have a support system in place. Read more>>