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.

Dawn Rhys

Yes I have been earning a full time living from my dancing though not always easy over the years due to the rises and falls of the economy. Covid was extremely difficult and clawing my way back has been challenging. My work is deeply affected by the sky rocketing cost of living. I built my business incrementally. I not only perform but I also teach dance and Pilates classes, and perform weekly in a Lebanese restaurant . In the beginning, I waitressed to supplement my income. And after Covid, I went back to the restaurant hostessing while building my teaching business again. Having a back up plan has always been crucial. I knowing what I know now and if could do it over again, I would have added Polynesian and fire shows sooner. And I would have separated my businesses right away. I didn’t understand the public’s perception right away. In ballroom, teachers are expected to be proficient in at least ten dances but in belly dance and hula, you are not taken seriously if you are. So now that I have separated my belly dance and hula, I book so many more shows.  Read more>>

Grant Pogosyan

Yes, I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, though it wasn’t always like that from the start. The journey began when I dropped out of high school to pursue homeschooling while attending college. Initially, I freelanced, and it took time to build my client base. One major milestone was gaining confidence in my skills without relying on formal education. Along the way, I focused on self-education, practical experience, and providing great value to clients. If I could speed up the process, I’d probably have networked more early on. Relationships and personal connections have been key to my success. Read more>>

Elzara Yusufova

Making a living from my art has been a gradual and evolving journey. It wasn’t like that from the beginning, especially after moving from Crimea to Istanbul and then to St. Louis. Adapting to new cultural environments took time. However, in St. Louis, community support has been an incredibly important part of my success. I started building a following through online communities on Facebook and Instagram, where I could share my work and connect with local artists and art lovers. The local CRC (Central Reform Congregation) community played a big role, helping me learn new ideas and expand my network. Read more>>

Latrice Pace

I have been extremely fortunate to be able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. I began this professional journey straight out of high school. I began traveling the country with our family group, The Anointed Pace Sisters. When you’re in the grind you don’t think about how much you’re grinding, you just know that you have to keep working to keep the money flowing. How do you make it happen? It’s simple, Say yes to everything. In the beginning stages, you’re building so my mentality was to go to every audition and say yes to every job. You don’t cherry-pick your jobs until what you’ve been working hard to build, manifests. I would tour for months nine months at a time with a theatrical production, but for the three months I was home I’d do temporary work for Randstad. I’m not your typical artist. I can’t sleep til noon every day, lol. I’m happiest when I’m working and feeling productive.  Read more>>

Brook Page

I’ve always excelled in art, even from a young age. In grade school, I succeeded in every art project, and in high school, I won every contest. I continued to thrive at the Rhode Island School of Design, one of the top art schools in the country, if not the best. So, when I graduated, I was surprised that I wasn’t instantly successful in the real world. Straight out of art school, I moved to California and immediately went into teaching art. My degree was in illustration with a focus on children’s books, and in hindsight, I probably should have stayed in New England and taken my portfolio to New York to seriously pursue that dream. But at the time, I was homesick for California, and that’s where I wanted to be. I did some art shows but quickly became discouraged because I wasn’t making any sales. Coming from such a prestigious school, I had the expectation that success would come easily, but that wasn’t the case. Read more>>

Chad Hollister

I’ve been able to earn a living as a musician and songwriter through years of dedication , belief and extremely hard work. It takes time to find your community and who is going to resonate with your message and music. Once I started to find that,it built from there and continues to build to this day. From day one, I was playing , putting bands together and doing all the PR, advertising, recordings,touring, and booking on my own. This takes belief and true dedication to the craft and my moniker in all of it as I dealt with people is “pleasant persistence”. Everybody is busy and nobody wants to he harped on for not getting back to you. If you continue to reach out with kindness and appreciation, it goes a long way. We also give back to our community which is very important to me. We’ve raised funds for Women Helping Battered Women of VT, Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, The VT Federation of Families for Childrens Mental Health and I’m currently working on creating a foundation to create more beds in Vermont for mental health. Read more>>

Sophie Wyatt

I’m proud to say that I’m an artist making a full time living off my work. This certainly did not happen right away, it took about 2 years of gaining the confidence, finding the rhythm, and learning to get to where I am now. I’ve known I wanted to make a living as an artist for a long time, received my BFA in Studio Art in May of 2022, but even after art school I still had little idea how I was going to start making money through my work. Luckily I’ve had a supportive boyfriend and family who supported me and encouraged me to keep going. A few months after graduation I found a job with a schedule that really allowed me to dedicate a few set days to paint. I started painting every Wednesday and Sunday, and soon my boss allowed me to start offering pet portraits to her friends and customers in the store. Read more>>

Shad Fer

Being a full-time entertainer on a small island is no easy feat. In order to get to a point where most of my income is the result of my entertainment ability, of course, I had to develop my skills to industry standard. Whether it be music production, acting, hosting, writing etc. I had to study and pay attention what was considered “good”. People may read or hear that phrase “industry standard” and sometimes, although they understand what it means, they can still miss the point. So I am simply saying I looked at what various potential clients deemed “worth paying for”, and I consider that the base level. For example, I’d look at the ads being produced for television here. Not only do I know I can write those scripts, but I could write more creative and effective ones. Read more>>

Chanelle Van Nguyen

I’ve always been a creative at heart, whether it was writing short stories at a young age, creating short films, or making art getting into photography it’s always been my passion to create things. With the rise of Influencer marketing and content creation in my background as a pro athlete, I’ve been able to use my platform to inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle as well as work with brands and sponsors. How I got into it:  Everything just came in to place organically when I would post pictures and videos of me sharing my professional tennis career. I would put my own creative spin to it. I began to share behind-the-scenes of my life as an athlete, and also give tips on Tennis, Padel, Pickleball. (which seems to be the sports that are currently trending right now) I would also share my favorite brands that I used daily to my community and from there started to work with brands doing paid partnerships while still being authentic with my followers.  Read more>>

Christopher Adell

After returning from my deployment in the Middle East in 2009, I developed a vision to start my own business. Despite the trauma and chaos associated with war, I recognized a significant opportunity in serial entrepreneurship. I observed that substantial financial resources were being directed towards skilled labor and businesses that catered to soldiers and units in combat. I embarked on what I called the “Transfer to Wealth” process, where I systematically saved a portion of my military paycheck, starting with $50 a month and gradually increasing it to $500. Although I didn’t officially establish my business until 2013, I was my first investor, ensuring that I never started in the red. I firmly believe that investing in your business is crucial; if you don’t invest in it first, others are unlikely to do so. Read more>>

Carson Overstreet

Yes, I have been able to earn a full-time living from my work; however, it did not happen overnight. I built my art career over the last eleven years while I was learning to paint; which meant my failures and successes were visible for everyone to see. For the first four years, my painting was a part-time gig, but life events made it necessary that it became full-time from that point forward. I would say I work many more hours a week than I would in a more traditional job, but I would not trade it. While I do refer to my painting career as a job, I truly believe it is my vocation or calling. Read more>>

Convince

My journey as a DJ and producer started when I learned how to DJ in high school for fun at the age of 16 in 2006. I took lessons from a friend of my brother, who was a successful DJ in the nightlife scene (DJ Circle). When I began my lessons, I didn’t think it would turn into a full-time career like it is now; at first, I thought it was just something fun to do. Since I was already a huge music lover, it just clicked when I took my first lesson. Read more>>

Nicholas Petumenos

I do earn a full-time living from my creative work. I remember trying to get some private teaching income rolling between my first and second year of college at Berklee College of Music and I mistakenly thought I would get a lot of students by undercutting the going rate (which still would have been more than I would have expected to make hourly at most jobs available to me as a teenager), but very few people signed up. The following summer, as my confidence increased, I set my rates above the standard going rate, indicating that I saw my teaching as a high quality product, and lessons sold like hot cakes (to use an old colloquialism). Read more>>

Dar San Agustin

Honestly, it wasn’t like that from day one. I actually started out with a hobby—photography and doing aerial arts—and from there, a few friends who were also into it asked me to take photos of them. Back then, I was just having fun with it and didn’t really see the monetary value. It was purely out of passion. I loved the concept of creating Renaissance-inspired images—models in the clouds, highlighting their form, kind of like how classical paintings did. That’s when I thought about combining this concept with aerial and pole photography. Read more>>

John Vernon Peterson

My retirement job of music (both teaching and playing), has enabled me to earn a full-time living from my creative work. However, it took me about 38 years to get there! Although I graduated with a music and a psychology degree in undergraduate college (Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa – Bachelor of Arts Cum Laude); I graduated in 1982 at the height of a recession. Luckily I had been working two jobs: one as a temporary employee at upstart Midway Airlines, the first carrier of the deregulation era (1979-1991), and my summer job as a camp counselor for Camp Gray, operaterd by the Archdiocese of Madison, Wisconsin. Read more>>

Wes Kenney

As my wife (who is also a professional musician and conductor) has pointed out, we have had a very rich life–just not very lucrative. When people ask me what I do for a living and I tell them I’m an orchestra conductor, they invariably ask, “what’s your day job?” Although my goal has been since I was 13 to be a professional orchestra conductor, making a full time living at it took quite awhile. Along the way, I painted houses, worked temp jobs, worked for a moving company–but because I never gave up on my dream, eventually a full-time living came through. In fact, before I retired from CSU, I was working in many ways three full-time jobs! Those were the professional orchestra (Fort Collins Symphony), university orchestra (CSU Symphony), and youth orchestra (the Denver Young Artist Orchestra.) Each ensemble afforded me different musical opportunities, but keeping up all three was certainly a stretch. Having multiple jobs is nothing unusual for a musician and conductors often have multiple groups which they direct. This also includes guest conducting (which has taking me across the country and around the globe.) Read more>>

Andi Morse

I have been able to earn a full time living but it didn’t happen overnight. I fell into this business accidentally. I have always been into interior design and fashion. I had a friend that asked me to help her by designing some rooms in her home. She said she wanted my help, but would only feel comfortable if she was able to pay me for it. There was a lot of back and forth about it, but finally I relented and agreed to charge her. I started with a very low fee for this client. I did the job and found out I loved it. From there business began to be referred to me. As my experience grew, so did the size of the jobs. When I started I had 3 kids in college. I had lots of time when they were gone, but wanted to be home and available when they were on breaks. This business allowed me to pace myself and set my schedule so I could work when I wanted and take the time off when I needed. I wouldn’t change any of that. I loved being a mom as much as being a designer. I didn’t want to miss any time with my family. Read more>>

Merch

When I was 19 years old, I was fortunate enough to go into business with my mentor, TerryJosiah Sharpe. At the time, I was going into my sophomore year at the University of Colorado, Boulder. 6 months after we started our business, Anthem Music Enterprises (AME), the entire world shut down due to Covid, and I spent the next two years traveling between Colorado Springs and Boulder multiple times a week, juggling business operations, classwork, and a fleeting personal life. However, as graduation day came closer and closer, it appeared as though the stars were aligning. It was 2022: Covid was under control, we had signed the lease for our first studio space, and I was gearing up to jump into music full-time straight out of college. Read more>>

Treyonna Renee’

Unfortunately, it is difficult to earn a living as a model residing in the DMV. Most don’t recognize what models do as a service. Just like a hairstylist, a barber, and nail tech etc., modeling is indeed a compensable service. As a freelance model, it is important to protect yourself and advocate for your desired pay or wage. Read more>>

Daniel Tauber

Yes! And I’m very grateful I have been able to. The biggest step in creating that full-time living off of music was when I started working with Audiomachine. They were wonderful in helping me and new hires get up to the production standards needed for the modern trailer industry and they were invaluable in helping me learn and grow as quickly as possible. As a result of this, each year has just gotten easier to sustain myself through the music I write for them. The biggest thing to help speed up the process is just embracing each new experience as it comes by, even if it seems daunting, and having a great support network behind that you can learn and lean on if needed. Learn by doing and frequently get opinions from other people, there are fewer ways to learn faster. Read more>>

Robyn Accetta

I am finally in a place in my life where I can say that I am making my living entirely from work related to my art. I have been working and studying as an actor for almost 30 years and it has taken this long to get to where I am today. I’m not suggesting that it takes everyone this long but that has been my journey. I have always had a foot somewhere in my acting or teaching but was never able to make it my sole focus. Life is expensive and unfortunately artists are not compensated appropriately for their time or talent, so a second (or third) “Joe Job” was always required. Especially later in my journey, when I became a mom and I was no longer the only one feeling the pinch of small stipends for work done, it became important to have a reliable source of income. I often wonder sometimes if I had been more focused in my younger years if I wouldn’t have had to wait so long for things to come together. But I also don’t believe in regret. I do believe that I am exactly where I was meant to be and I had to take the path I took to get to where I am today. Read more>>

Christina Cloud

I have! I’ve been immersed in the world of boudoir photography for nearly a decade now. It’s been an incredible journey—definitely not without its challenges. Mastering the art of photography is one thing, but navigating the business side? That’s a whole different ballgame. Thankfully, my background in the restaurant industry gave me a solid foundation to kickstart things, though I quickly realized that running a photography business requires a completely different mindset. To level up, I invested in a business mentorship program specifically designed for photographers, and it was a game changer! Now, here I am—nearly 10 years in, and still just as passionate about empowering women through boudoir photography as the day I started. Read more>>

Karina Gonzalez

I am incredibly lucky to be able to earn a full-time living from my job. At the beginning, I worked a full-time job and had a full-time apprenticeship at the same time. If I’m being honest, I’m not entirely sure how I made it work. I had very little free time and all of my free time was spent pushing myself independently to be better, to continue to learn and grow and really hone in on my creative abilities. At some point I felt confident enough to leave my full-time job and pursue tattooing full-time. I left my apprenticeship and with what little knowledge I had, I moved up in the tattooing industry until I got to where I am now. I think if I had trusted myself enough in the beginning and focused only on my own art instead of trying to please everyone around me, I could have built myself up a bit faster. Regardless, I’m incredibly grateful for where I am today! Read more>>

Nicole Rae

Initially, I dabbled in freelance projects while working a day job. I focused on my college courses in psychology and my full time job as a child development specialist. When I found free time focused on honing my skills in content creation and understanding digital marketing. It wasn’t easy balancing both, but it allowed me to build a portfolio and start networking without the pressure of making an immediate income from my creative work. I genuinely enjoyed creating content and wanted to make sure I kept that joy without applying too much pressure on myself to supplement my income right away. The travel content is what really took off and made me realize that I was stuck between my job security and where I wanted to be. At that point I had to calculate the risk of pursuing my “hobby” and transitioning it into a full time income, but I couldn’t do that tied down with such a demanding job. So I hesitantly went part time and focused on immersing myself in the creative skills that eventually led me to where I am now. I do not think I would have wanted to speed through that process because I needed the time to be realistic, learn, adjust my goals, lifestyle and overall comprehend the reduction of pay and stability when I finally chose to leave my job of ten years. Read more>>

Ida Hvitsand

My main income comes from creative work, and I absolutely LOVE it! Of course, it has its challenges—mainly gulp sales. Something I had to learn the hard way is that people don’t always see creative work as something tangible. So, I found that comparing it to things like building buildings or different types of cars (Toyota vs a Lamborgini) helps them get it. Learning how to explain things clearly and figuring out how to sell my services without feeling “salesy” has been super important! It wasn’t always easy. People have their own ideas and don’t always trust you as the creative. It’s a challenge all creatives face, I think. One thing I’m really glad I did was starting out by working for someone else. That way, I got to learn my craft without taking on all the risk. Plus, it helped me build a solid foundation and a more structured approach to my projects. But after a while, I felt ready to go solo. So, when COVID came around, I decided to just go for it and start my own solopreneur business, mainly focusing on websites and design. I called up local businesses and spread the word through friends, family, and acquaintances. Read more>>

Brandon Burket

I have been able to earn a full-time living from working in the industry I’m in, which is the film production and content development industry. From a young age, I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mind, specifically when it comes to anything involving a camera. I attended film school at the Liberty University Zaki Gordon Center for Cinematic Arts, marrying my wife between my junior and senior year. After graduating, I wanted to jump right into freelance work. I had been working for $11 an hour as a porter at a car dealership throughout college where I would basically park people’s cars coming in for service. About two months after film school, one of my classmates asked me to mix sound for her short film/pilot episode for a series she wanted to make. I accepted her offer for no money, besides a little bit for gear rental since I had a few lights and other miscellaneous items she could use to make the film. At that time, I decided to quit my day job at the car dealership and jump right into the world of freelance. A month later, I got my first paid gig for $250/day for 3 days mixing sound for a short film. I got that job from a man who has his own production company and was looking for a sound mixer. He had a connection to the film school I attended and reached out to my professor who recommended me. Since then, I’ve been hired back multiple times from the same man and we’ve had a blast on every job! Read more>>