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.

Karyn Savory

Yes, I have and I couldn’t be more grateful for where my business and I are today. I feel that growing up, there was a lot of stereotypical messages about the potential of making a living as a creative. Luckily, I never let that deter me and was very fortunate to have parents who encouraged me to pursue whatever I chose. As for my journey, ever since I was little, I had always dreamed of being an artist. I was a master doodler. Whether I was drawing animals or illustrating words, my love for the arts was apparent as soon as I could pick up a crayon. Read more>>

Kristin Bendigo

Being able to make a living and supporting my family and future as a creative is amazing! I started off building a portfolio by photographing couples and families for severly discounted rates; I basically took any gig that was offered to me or shoot anyone who volunteered to model. As my portfolio grew, so did my understanding of the business side of things, as well as the market. Read more>>

Chris Fruci

Going into 2020, we were incredibly excited about how things were progressing for our band. We were profitable for the first time ever in 2019. We played a ton of high-paying shows, covered our recording expenses, invested back into our project, and had cash to spare. Things were going well with our college booking agency, Neon Entertainment, and we were selling our music through the online sync licensing library, Artlist. It was an encouraging year. Read more>>

Paul McDermott

I have always been a photographer. Since I was 14 I’ve been mastering the craft and now, 20 years later, I am just truly coming into my own. From day one I devoted myself to being the best. I decided that I would learn as much as possible. I would grow as much as possible. Every time I got stagnant I would shift to a new genre and, once again, start fresh and grow as much as I could. If someone asked me if I could do a certain type of shoot the answer was yes – even if I wasn’t confident. I would then turn to who I considered the best in the field and ask to go work with them until I was capable. Read more>>

Nicole Galluccio

For me, my creative work began in a fine arts undergrad program, leaving with a BFA and not having any idea how to get started. Back then we didn’t have such access to information and tech that has made the journey significantly easier. Leaving art school, I was petrified and did what most people do and took a corporate job out of fear, with the constant dream of “what if” in my back pocket. However, through the process of being in that environment, I gained some amazing insight into business, marketing, sales and promotion. Read more>>

Manola and Maria Ramirez

We are happy to say that we are making a full-time living from our creative work. It has not been an easy journey but it has been a very fulfilling one. We would be lying if we said that we were making a sustainable living wage right off the bat, our persistence and willingness to do multiple types of creative jobs has kept us going. We not only keep our own art practice going at our studio, we also screen print, design, fabricate, do mural work, and teach workshops. I don’t think we would speed through any of the process if we had the opportunity. Read more>>

Moni Yael Garwil

Being able to earn a full-time living as a self-employed artist and creative is a continuous challenge and can easily veer into unsustainable. There is no steady paycheck and time-off is virtually nonexistent, especially when you are starting out. Don’t get me wrong, it’s achievable and I’ve been fortunate enough that my decision to leave a 9 to 5 visual design job worked out. I just want to be transparent and paint a realistic picture. Read more>>

Spark Dawg

As long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a Rap Star. When I was younger, I was so naive and thought talent alone would make me blow up. But as I learned more about the rap game, I realized that success in the music industry is 10% talent & %90 business (Meaning it takes money to make money). Fortunately for me, I’ve been blessed enough to support the dream by running my own jewelry business that specializes in removable gold teeth aka “Grillz.” And I’ve been able to use my money to invest in my music career. Read more>>