We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Claire Forrest a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Claire, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, including paying for both mine and my husband’s education, cars, and our home. My goal was just to be able to support myself– when I quit my first official salaried job, I was determined to make at least the same amount on my own that first year and surprised myself by doubling my income in one year.
From there, it was a growth balloon that I just followed up and up slowly!

From where I am now, I think I could have accelerated my growth by investing in personal relationships with creative and successful artists inside my city and people that were at the top of their markets in other US cities, but the early investments I made into my own personal growth as an artist and understanding entrepreneurship were also beneficial and did reap rewards!

From the beginning, I was very cautious about money and never took out any loans or borrowed any money. The first 2 years of my salaried job were spent investing into equipment and building a base of work, while I had the security of a paycheck and insurance so that when I did strike out on my own, it was profitable from the start.

Claire, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

So I have two different businesses– I do photo and video for clients all over the US, with an emphasis in luxury weddings.

I also have a swimwear company with a mission to plant a baby coral in the ocean for each swimsuit we sell, and use only recycled fabrics for the suits.

I have been so proud to grow both of them completely self- funded and with all the hard work and energy I have to give them from the ground up. I believe in the work that we are doing in both companies to help people and better the planet, and I sincerely hope that our efforts can make a difference in the future of ocean health for all of us.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is truly the freedom to build the life I am dreaming of, even if it’s slow and over time. Being an entrepreneur means that I can achieve as I imagine, and that has allowed me to expand my life and grow as a human as I create a new version of myself and my life through the years, on my own terms.

Freedom and the ability to find daily joy in creating for clients and for myself.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think many people are often confused about the difficulty and time required to run a small business, and maybe even more so a creative one. While it sounds like a vacation, many of the required travel for work is equally exhausting and inspiring, so sometimes a trip will leave me emotionally drained for the next project at hand, or sometimes it will fill me completely up with more energy for the next client, but there isn’t really a minute or a day where I can ‘turn it off’ because the life of a creative is all-encompassing.

I no longer watch a tv show, I study how light and cinematography were used in a way I might be able to draw inspiration from. The next project is always in the back of my mind, and balancing all of that creative energy with a backbone of marketing, accounting, project management, client interaction and scheduling is more than a “full time job”.

Just a fuller, more encompassing lifestyle that may look exhausting and/or ridiculously easy from the outside. The truth is, it’s a mix of both in a way that enriches my life and deepens my interest in the work itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.claireforrestfilms.com /// www.coraleeswim.com
• Instagram: @claire_forrest_films /// @coraleeswim

Image Credits
Claire Forrest Films Coralee Swim