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.

Alexander Blanco

Turning my passions into a commodity has been a struggle because it causes a conflict within myself as an artist. It is one thing to make a living off of what you love to do, it is a blessing that only a few people can achieve in the arts, but in my experience, this mindset and lifestyle is a slippery slope leading to burning out the love you have for your craft. Read more>>

Elliot Guidry

Currently, I am a full-time Photographer/Videographer. Been this way since 2021. Prior I was the guy who used to tell people to circle back around the airport and was stopping fights in the terminals. While I miss the people I used to work with, I would not want to “circle back around” to the airport. I love what I am doing now. I get to help creative people be creative. Creating images and visuals that they thought they could only imagine. Read more>>

Alicia Renee ‘ Aka “blue Eyes”

I am a full time Independent vocalist/bandleader/street musician in the French Quarter, New Orleans. Known to the Press as the ” Gem of the Vieux Carre ‘ ” (Queen of the French Quarter) After living in Switzerland for almost one decade,(originally from Flint, Michigan) I was asked to come to New Orleans to takeover a friends full time gig as a Bandleader on Bourbon Street. Read more>>

Kelci Buss

Yes and no. Approximately 8 months into my first year of business I had my first truly profitable month as a designer and muralist. From there, I began to feel the effects of building my clientele, social media marketing, referrals, and organic inquiries in general. Although I was never booked out more than a month in advance, I managed to maintain my creative business as my full-time job. Read more>>

Kalin Devone

In the beginning of my career I remember working multiple jobs at once while simultaneously trying to create art. The societal pressure of maintaining a meaningful, well paying job weighed heavily on me. I cycled in and out of random jobs from being a teacher assistant, admin at multiple law firms and side hustles. While I was able to support myself I never felt fulfilled. I always felt like something was missing and that I wasn’t truly doing what I was supposed to be doing with my life. Read more>>

Lindsey Windett

Earning a full-time living from my creative work has been a long, meandering journey that feels almost impossible to sum up. As with most things, there are a lot of layers and nuance and it’s easy to fall into useless platitudes about “working hard.” The last thing I want to do, though, is advocate for hustle culture. In my personal experience, success has been measured by my own willingness to cultivate meaningful connections, look inward and ask myself, “what do I want?” Read more>>

Clémentine Gelly

I make costumes and props for a living. These days, I work for companies only (film, commercials, video games, events and so on), but I used to make custom outfits for cosplayers. When I started, my pay was barely covering materials, and once you remove taxes you are basically not getting paid. It went on for quite some time, I was steadily rising my prices, but I was still working 12 hours a day, no weekends, no holiday, and got almost nothing in exchange. Read more>>

Jade Hassouné

I jumped in since the beginning of my career where there was no plan B. That meant a journey of uncertainty and challenges that I now realized has al contributed in a beautiful way to teach me about abundance and the energy of money. It has in a way been visible since graduating from theatre school as I really started to be paid to do what I love. And since then I had developed a faith that comes with being self employed, never knowing where the next opportunity will come from. Read more>>

Lincoln Caplice

I feel incredibly fortunate to make a full-time living from directing. I didn’t study film at school, I studied business and I think that gave me a fantastic foundation to base my career on. I firmly believe that even as creatives, we need to know how to sell ourselves and this is something I learnt quite early on. I understood that in order to be employed to make commercials, you need to show people you can make commercials – so I made a film for a friend’s skin care brand and that got me signed to a production company in my early twenties. Read more>>

Dorey Kronick

Yes! I’ve been freelancing full-time as a Creative Director, Graphic Designer, Photographer, and Mixed Media Artist for 9+ years. I raise my rates every year, adding new projects to my calendar, and new clients to my roster. Although I’m not exactly living a life of “luxury” (yet!), I typically bring in more cash flow each year, without needing to sell my soul. Read more>>

Dara Frazier

The journey to being able to earn a full-time living in the arts has come in fits and starts. There were so many times when I got close but never earned enough to quit the day job. A big disappointment was a signed deal with a small studio to develop a new TV series and at the last minute, one of the main producers pulled out of the project and as a result I went from earning a solid five-figure check to nothing at all. Read more>>

Eric Chacón

From a very young age, I embarked on my journey in music, beginning my formal studies at the age of 8. As I grew and matured both in age and experience, I transitioned into a professional career around 18 or 19 years old, right after completing my studies at the Conservatory of Music of Venezuela. In my view, the true foundation for building a career in music—or any artistic or professional discipline—lies in a steadfast commitment to continuous learning and personal development. Read more>>

Imran Hasnee

Yes, I earn my living solely through my creative work, mainly as an actor. I came to India from Mauritius with the dream of working in the film industry. When I arrived, I didn’t know anyone or where to start. Back then, people would leave their photo prints at production houses with their phone numbers written on the back. I was a bit hesitant to follow that trend. Read more>>

Paul Fuentes

Yes, I work from my London-based studio, combining my own photographs and footage from real places to create multi-layer image, with elements separated and then brought together to create one cohesive work of art. we create fine art prints of Travel Photography and Product-Pop-Mashups that reinterpret everyday objects into surreal, colorful compositions alongside fun and unexpected twists. Read more>>

Tamara Venn

I’d been working as a freelance illustrator for about ten years. That continued when I moved to Siem Reap, Cambodia but its only been the past three years since Covid that I’ve found my stride in painting, and for the first time in my career have managed to not live hand to mouth as a freelancer. Read more>>

Chris Newbury

I have, just like most artists I know, I have varying sources of income. I started playing drums and studying music at the age of three. My father was a music teacher and anytime I’d go visit him at work I naturally gravitated to the drums that were set up in the band room. I always say that I don’t really have any memories prior to playing music. I start with this because so much of my childhood focus and my focus now is “skill development”. Read more>>

Alinne Fernandes

During covid I was let go from my “dream job” (at the time) twice due to budget cuts. I kept finding jobs that were semi relevant but never the best fit.. I was searching for the next thing through the lens of “survival” and out of desperation. This obviously is not sustainable and within a few months I found myself at a start up feeling miserable and being asked to do tasks I was never even interviewed for. Read more>>

Brandon Wisecarver

I came to NYC in 2008 with a simple dream to work in the arts… somehow, whatever that meant. Within the first two weeks of arriving in NYC, I received a response from a Craigslist ad looking for artists to show in a small Lower East Side gallery. It turned out to be a vanity gallery (one that asks you to pay to show your work on their walls) and I was naive enough to try but I didn’t have the $500 they were asking for. Read more>>

Matt Alvis

I was a 19-year career bartender with an art hobby before the pandemic. It was my belief that skilled trade jobs like bartender and barber were immune to layoffs. People drink and hair grows no matter what. Ironically the barbers and the bartenders were immediately put into the same boat. Read more>>

Lorrie Hobler

Makeup Artistry has always been a passion of mine since the early age of 13. I received working papers and worked along side my mother (who is also a makeup artist) in her Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio in upstate NY. At 16 I was mixing makeup shades to match customers skin, as back in the 80’s, foundation seemed to have a limit of shades. I went to Los Angeles for makeup training and was hooked. For over 40 plus years of networking and getting my name out, I was able to get repeat work without an agency. Read more>>

Maurice Sapp

First let me say, entrepreneurship looks really fun and cool from the outside looking in but, it is hard as hell. There’s so many ups and downs and you have to be mentally and emotionally prepared to roll with the punches. I started creating lanes for myself back when I had a corporate job. I built contacts, created relationships, and even started producing while I had the security of my day job. One of the most important things I did was pay it forward and help as many people as I could. Read more>>