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.

Kevin Curtis

I have to tell this story as it was one of the worst best things to move me into a full time career in music. I was working as Sam’s Club in the marketing dept. (another story for another article). I was going out in to the field with another associate. She was going to drop me off to pick up my car which was at my mechanics. Read more>> 

The Ceasars

Yes, but it took time and you have to be smart about it, like every other freelance job. One thing that is definitely important is to try to diversify the ways you’re making money. As a music producer, besides songwriting and production you have mixing or mastering engineering, sync for tv, movies or ads and many more ways that might feel less “exciting” but that can sustain you, especially while trying to establish yourself. Read more>>

Patricia Shih

I have been a creative all my life, starting at age 4 when I won my first art award. I began my professional music career at age 15 when I signed my first recording and managerial contract with Unicorn Records. It is then that I realized one could make a living making art. Read more>>

Phillip & Lauren Kenney

Back in 2012, we were two hopeful artists and avid photography lovers, yearning to follow our creative dreams. We decided to take a leap of faith and turn our passion into a full-time profession as wedding and portrait photographers. Read more>>

Richard Tiland

When I started out in video production I still had a full time job in sales and marketing. I remember my mentor telling me that if I could not fully pay my bills with my video income, I should not quit my day job. So over the next several years I worked at my day job and also on building my agency, often at the expense of 14-16 hour days. Read more>>

Gaston Quieto

Illusionist /Magician Touring the world with my shows. Now Mostly on Cruise ships with the most important Cruise lines. Used to perform my shows in Theatres & many corporate clients. Lived for 20 years abroad…Mexico, Japan, Vegas & Dubai the last 16 years. went back Home in Buenos Aires just Before the Pandemic Read more>>

Paul Cozzi

Making a living as a photographer seemed like a far off fantasy. I had a steady job with decent pay and benefits. AND I didn’t hate it. It was creative adjacent. Better than most. But I was unfulfilled. I knew that what I was doing for a living went against what my personality was built for. So I made a decision that I had to move on. Read more>>

Roger Naylor

Being a writer was all I ever wanted and I blame that on Mark Twain. As a kid I was a voracious reader consuming books and stories. I was mostly keen on action and adventure but somehow stumbled across a collection of Mark Twain essays when I was 13 and it turned my world upside down. Read more>>

Jean He

Presently, I serve as the User Experience Lead at Fantasy Interactive, a globally acclaimed design agency. It’s an honor to collaborate on product design ventures with industry titans like Amazon, Microsoft, Alibaba, Snowflake, Vimeo, and many other tech front-runners. In this role, I’ve had the distinction of spearheading a team of adept designers, researchers, and producers. Read more>>

Michael “A.V.” Mitchell

As I child I would write when there was nothing else to do. At the time it was poetry because I didn’t have much exposure to music outside of the blues songs that my mom would play sometimes when she was cleaning or had guest over. I later found out that my writing was actually an emotional outlet. Then as my exposure to music increased, I started writing songs word for word so that I could memorize them. It wasn’t because I had an interest in being a performing artist, but because I wanted to share the message so that someone else could feel the way that the music made me feel. Read more>>

TaylorRae Schnepp

The Origin Story Read more>>

Dee Davidson

My journey becoming a fulltime photographer/videographer was a lot like trying to roller skate down a sand dune. Read more>>

Mathias Kunzli

I’ve been making a living playing, recording and producing music for about twenty-seven years. There are always ups and downs and keeping up the trust and the morale is key but not always easy. During my years at Berklee College of Music, I studied and played with a lot of people who would later show up in my professional circles. Read more>>

Patricia Vargas

I’ve been selling my art online for over 10 years, and in that time it has grown and transformed in a way that I could’ve never imagined. Read more>>

Owen Davey

It took time for me to build up a client list as an Illustrator; for people to know my work and want to commission me; to find the right art directors to contact; honestly, for my work to be ready. Read more>>

Lee Price

It took me many, many years to make a living as a full-time painter. I graduated from college in 1990 with no money, student loan debt and a painting degree. I assumed I would make money as a waitress while I forged my career as a painter. I was ignoring the fact that I had little to no ability to multitask, I was a terrible waitress, and most importantly, I hated waitressing. Read more>>

Elaina DeBoard

I’ve been lucky to earn a full-time living from my creative work for about a year and a half now. Before that, I was working full-time doing corporate marketing work and my creative work was a side hustle for about six years. At the time, I was just happy to have a little extra money every month for bills and student loan payments. Read more>>

Joshua Alvarez

Making a living off of my music has always been a huge goal. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened in my nine years of making music, but I’m continuing to pursue it. Sometimes it can be demotivating not seeing the numbers go up much over time, but that’s just a part of the grind for most artists. It’s rare to blow up out of nowhere. Read more>>

Kari Shannon

I was previously a Store Manager at Bed Bath & Beyond for 19 years and as Im sure some of you know working in retail takes up a lot of your time and energy, they suck you in so to speak. I was working 50 hours a week, tending to my 8 year old daughter and my husband and doing photography on the side. I was comfortable, I liked my job, I liked the people I worked with and even some of the customers who became regulars, it was the only thing I knew. Read more>>

Alison Lowery

From an early age, I delved into painting. Portraying my middle school peers led to unexpected sales. Resourcefully, I repurposed leftover house paint and salvaged wood, sparing my wallet. I never dreamt of a full-time artistic career; however, my journey shifted when I settled in New Orleans four years back. Read more>>

Velvet Marshall

As an artist, I love to create. The ability to work with someone to create the image of their dreams is a really fun experience for me to share. I’ve had the pleasure of working with top designers throughout Southern California to create together, one-of-a-kind artworks for client’s homes, businesses, offices, rentals, staging and more. Read more>>

Rachel Solomon

I love making money from creative work. I knew when I was a teenager that music was my career path, and I’d like to share a many-layered story about earning a full-time living and other metaphorical “returns” throughout my career in music. Read more>>

Pat Saunders-White

The journey of supporting myself through my creative work was arduous, to be sure. Having written articles on my career for a number of years, it has given me the insight to understand my development in becoming a highly creative being. Being the middle child of five daughters, I enjoyed the ability of flitting between my older and younger sisters. Read more>>

Tom Goss

It always starts with the work. In order to sustain your art, you must create. It won’t always be good, but even bad work has value. As a singer and songwriter, not only do you have to create the work, but share it with others. Most people won’t listen. Read more>>

Ingrid Urena

Yes, I have, in fact today I earn enough to support 2 households taking care of my family. Oh, it’s been quite the ride! Making a full-time living from my creative work didn’t happen straight out of the gate. Honestly, it was a lot of trial and error, and learning as I went along. Read more>>

Timur Bekbosunov

As an immigrant to this country from Kazakhstan, I was always encouraged to pursue singing by American mom from Kansas. She always was my cheerleader and came to every single performance, even if it was overseas. I started out in music theater, but as my voice started to grow, I focused on classical opera and then gravitated to contemporary, modern opera. Read more>>