Getting started sounds so easy – but for millions of aspiring artists and creatives, the uncertainty of the path forward presents a very real challenge. So, we wanted to gather some artists and creatives we admire to open up about their experience and how they think about whether they should have started sooner or waited for a better time.

Teddi Krochman

I had a 30 year professional career in Behavioral Health initially as a therapist moving into upper management positions in the hospital that I was employed at. Ultimately becoming the Director of Behavioral Health Services and then in the last 3 years of my career as Executive Director of Breaking Free a community Substance Use disorder treatment facility I didn’t begin my creative career until 2 years after I retired. Initially dealing with treatment for a breast cancer diagnosis and moving simultaneously through the Covid pandemic. I began my creative journey on both YouTube and Instagram in 2022 I’ve always loved fashion and felt it would be fun to exhibit my fashion style through social media Read more>>

Baby Gap

For a majority of my life I was an athlete and that was my identity. I started played soccer in 7th grade and spent the following 10 years trying to go professional, and I wouldn’t admit this back then but I simply didn’t have the discipline for it. Another thing I wasn’t willing to admit back then is that it wasn’t my first true love, music was. Since a child I’ve been making jingles for show and tell at school or writing poems and practicing rhymes. I’ve never done anything in my life without music involved, so I was aware it was truly my passion. After a decorated career on the field, garnering in a high school state championship and earning All-American honors, I decided to call it quits in the summer of 2023 and fully pursue my creative career, and it’s a decision I myself wish I would’ve taken sooner, but I have accepted and made peace with the fact that I actually probably started at the perfect time in my life. I’ve been through a lot as an athlete and those experiences have actually helped me in musical journey. I’ve had the opportunity to grow in so many different ways because of soccer and I’ll always be grateful for my playing days. I’m only 22 so I am still fairly young, and the same competitor I was on the field is still there, now just behind a microphone and in front of big crowds in the future. Read more>>

Sarah Plasencia

I believe very much in events and circumstances that have happened, or are ongoing in your life, usually impedes or accelerates where you are career wise in your life. Where you are allowed to be. My artistic skills were always there, before I started my Sarah Plasencia Art business upon my 50th birthday. Maybe they were somewhat hidden and not used to their full potential whilst the fast and chaotic pace of life happened around me in England and Germany. I am English born and bred! For me art is never wasted, and it is always available at any time, if you want it. Its easily assessable. Art for me offers me a daily appreciation of the artistic sights offered in life, such as in nature, architecture, cooking, reading and your ever-expanding imagination. Everything is an art form! Art is what is evoked inside of you and make you feel alive. Music is also art! I think art and music literally go hand in hand. Music runs in my extended family as well. My sister plays everything, the saxophone, clarinet, Piano, guitar, flute… Read more>>

Jessie Demaree

Looking back, I’d say my career took off at the perfect time—though it totally caught me by surprise! I had just gotten back from an adventuring Colombia and Peru, where I was hoping to join a sustainable living community. While my partner and bandmate, Chris Del Favero, and I were volunteering down there, it felt like every time we got near a city, performance opportunities magically appeared. And then when we came home, venues were reaching out to book us! I didn’t study business or management, but lately, I’ve been feeling drawn to an MBA to pick up some more skills. So far, I’ve navigated things like contracts and marketing without formal training, and I’ve always told myself, “hey, you figured out the hard stuff—like mastering your musical skills—so now it’s time to learn the ‘easy’ stuff, like writing contracts or designing logos.” Even with the challenges, I wouldn’t change a thing about the timing. My career still feels like it’s on the way up, and as long as I’m growing—both personally and with my band—that’s what matters most. Some bands burn out too soon, but I’m all about the long haul. Read more>>

Heather Davis

I really would have loved to start my career sooner than I did, just so I could enjoy that many more years doing it! I love what I do behind the chair every single day. I started doing hair in my early 30s after a long career in the service industry.
Although it would have been great to start earlier, I believe that waiting to start my dream career led me to be very serious about working hard and doing my best. Read more>>

Alicia Beck

This seems like a simple question, but reflecting on an alternate reality doesn’t feel productive for me. The cards I was dealt growing up made my path challenging to navigate, so I’ve tried many different routes to get where I am. Although I’ve been writing music since I was a teen, I didn’t seriously pursue it until my early 30’s. Looking back, I don’t believe starting sooner would have necessarily improved my path. Every stage of my life brought experiences that have directly inspired the music I make today. Regret and heartbreak are heavy emotions that will arise if I dwell on the ‘what ifs,’ so I choose to believe that everything is meant to happen on its own timeline. If I’d started earlier, I may not have had the perspective I have today. Ultimately, there’s no right or wrong time to start your creative career path. You begin when it feels good and aligned within you. Read more>>

Michal Petros

Sometimes I wish I had started my creative journey earlier. Had the pandemic not turned my life upside down, I probably would have. But after being quarantined overseas for three months and then repatriated to NYC, I needed time to process the shock and adjust before I could think about creating for the internet. Looking back, it would’ve been amazing to document that journey, but I’m glad I went through that process privately. Those experiences shaped me in ways that prepared me for everything that’s come since. Transitioning from nonprofit to corporate challenged me to think differently and step into uncomfortable situations, which ultimately helped me grow. Read more>>

Alonna Nicole

I started my acting career during Covid, in my 30’s. I was hosting Game Night for my best friend’s family, and one of the guests, who happened to be a talent agent, approached me afterwards and suggested I get into acting immediately. I will admit, it’s something I always dreamed of but never in a million years did I believe I could actually do it. As a child, I took acting classes and was absolutely AWFUL. So, even though I felt in my bones, this is something I should be doing, I quickly fostered a new hobby and put the entertainment industry on the back burner. My father was a News Producer, so I grew up on set and saw the inner workings what life behind the camera meant. I was obsessed with the anchors, and pretty much followed them around, but since I failed at acting classes, I never considered asking my father for help into Journalism.  Read more>>

Daniel Siebert

I would consider myself a late bloomer when it comes to dedicating myself to pursuing music. Don’t get me wrong—I always loved music, but it was not my first career choice. No one in both my parents’ families had any artistic skills—no painting, singing, or anything—so it was natural for me to choose a “regular career.” At that time, I decided to pursue Electric Engineering. After a year of studying and working in the field, I felt I could never find myself doing that for the next 30 years, so I ended up earning a degree in Social Communication, a more creative approach to the same “regular career.” Read more>>

Deona Lizette

I wish I had known what I wanted to do sooner because I was always drawing, but not seriously. I knew I wanted to improve at the craft, but I never thought pursuing art as a profession would be an ideal path. Growing up, my mother always bought me pencils, colored pencils, and how-to books on elevating your artistic abilities, so she saw the potential, but I saw sports as a means of expression at the time. It wasn’t until I was in my third year of undergrad that I decided to major in the arts. I knew how to draw to an extent, so I was accepted into the program, and as I got better at creating work, so did my insight into how to look, think, and express how I feel through paint and marks on the canvas. Read more>>

Natalia Rueda

Very particular question that I have actually asked myself before. I started learning and doing music in my home country, Colombia, from a young age, just 7 years old. It started with latin percussion and it escalated from there. I was always involved in school bands; I was part of the Caribbean folklore ensemble in middle school and part of the Latin Jazz in high school, gaining academic recognition given my development in music. Once high school graduation hit, I decided to try something different and signed myself up for Film School, but music has a special place in my life, to the point that music itself claims its space if I ever take too much distance haha. After graduating film school I was selected to receive a 50% scholarship at EMMAT, which is the only Colombian school part of the prestigious Berklee College of Music’s Global Network. By this point in my life I hadn’t truly pursued music as a career; I had always looked at it as a hobby, something to enjoy. Read more>>