Is there ever a “right” time to start a creative career? Our goal has always been help people pursuing their passion. Helping those people often means helping them think through important decisions such as when to start, when to take the leap. Below, you’ll find our conversations with successful creatives reflecting back on when they had to decide whether to start or wait.

Victoria Lomboy

This question comes to my mind a lot. Being a part of the older portion of Gen Z, I grew up watching YouTubers and content creators in their early years, doing creative and entertaining things online. Read more>>

Stephanie Duley

I have been writing and sharing stories with friends and family since I learned how to string words together in a sentence. When I was in first grade, I vividly remember sitting in the bay window of my room writing out alphabet books for my grandma, you know those “A is for Apple” sort of books. I must have written her at least a dozen of them. Read more>>

Roger Hyman

Strike while the irons are hot and don’t let life’s distractions get in your way, they say. Opportunities will only knock so many times until they either disappear, or become much more difficult and costly to obtain. Read more>>

Ruhana Nova Ra

Growing up in an environment where music was negatively portrayed as an unhealthy distraction, I began listening to music in secret. Like many creatives, I found solace in singing in the shower and in front of the mirror, using music to process my emotions during my adolescent years. Read more>>

Jen Desmarais

I sometimes wish I had started my writing career earlier, especially regarding co-writing with my husband. We have kids, and it’s sometimes hard to carve out time during the day to write. Read more>>

KJ Baker

I wish I would’ve started sooner. As a middle school and high school student I was very focused on athletics but I was always singing in the choir and swing choir and that was always my favorite time of the day. Read more>>

Sloan Harlow

Growing up, being a writer never felt like a viable career option. It was the thing I heard most about writing: “It’s a good hobby, but no one really makes money writing.” And that’s honestly fair. Read more>>

Catherine Haverkamp

Yes and no, like many things this answer is complicated. I started my career in the arts later than most. I had every intention of devoting myself to an artistic practice. Read more>>

Lydia Muir

In my high school year book, I was nominated “Most likely to be the next Steven Spielberg” so there was a part of me that has always been fascinated by filmmaking. Read more>>

M E Klesse

It would hardly have been possible to start my career sooner than I did as I was already trying to fashion construction paper into wearable designs by age 6, drawing my own dress designs by age 8 and taking painting lessons from my artist Great grandmother by age 9. Read more>>

Yuki Jackson

Looking back at my path, I’m glad that it has taken me longer to achieve my vision. While at times a longer path may be painful, I can see the benefit of delayed gratification. Read more>>

Scott Charles

Well to be honest, I don’t know how much earlier I could have started. I’ve been singing in choirs and by myself my entire life, I got into the lifestyle of being a musician and being in a band as I became a teenager. Read more>>

Minnie Yang

I wrote my first song in high school and had always been a creative person in many ways, for ex. I learnt how to draw, to cook, to knit, etc. I also had experience in acting in TV drama and singing original sound track for TV shows for the past, but regardless of all these experiences, Read more>>

Carolyn Wirth

Although I always knew that I wanted to be an artist, and especially a sculptor, my family–second-generation immigrants–discouraged me and thought I wouldn’t make a living. Read more>>

Julio Solorzano

I used to paint and enjoyed painting when I was a kid. But I stopped doing it while I was growing maybe because I thought I was too cool for it and I prefered to go after sports! jaja! Read more>>

Heather McCormick

If I had a Time Machine and could go back in time I would definitely not choose to go back and start my art journey. I’ve always been crafty, I’ve always enjoyed aesthetically pleasing spaces, and I’ve always created miscellaneous items and gifts… so I guess I’ve always been an artist. Read more>>

Sunni Combs

As an artist of fifteen years with an affliction for cars, one of my biggest regrets is not sharing my art with the world earlier. My public debut as an artist only began in early 2023, as I did not carry the confidence to post my artwork prior. Read more>>

Amari Miller

Sometimes yes, I do catch myself wishing I started earlier. Although I think those thoughts are just part of human nature, I also consider it a bad habit. Read more>>