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.

Mai Suzuki

I would like to rephrase the question to “Do you wish you had started your handcrafting-creative career sooner or later?” as I started my creative career pretty early on. After graduating high school I obtained an apprenticeship in an advertising agency to become an account executive where I developed my interest in the creative side of the advertising profession. Read more>>

Stacey Jackson

I have always been a creative person and have been able to use my creativity in other paths that I have taken in my life. Whether it be working behind the scenes at a television network, entertaining my 4 babies or teaching aerobics in my past! I believe that timing is everything. The life experience I garnered before I took the risk to jump into a full-time music career later on in life helped me enormously Read more>>

Anna Süßbauer

When we talk about the starting point of a creative career we often mean the point when we started to earn money from it. But sometimes I wonder if the starting point dates far back. I know that I thought about having a creative job when I was a kid and later a teenager. And even though most of the jobs that I had in my career weren’t creative jobs at first glance I always found a creative angle in fulfilling them. Read more>>

Hector Flores

I feel for Podcasts, sooner would be the answer. There is a benefit to being first to something and I think most podcasters will tell you the same. So now the challenge is, what do I offer that the other podcasts are not? For me, that is a challenge I like facing, but creating “Insert Name” FC sooner would for sure have helped. Read more>>

Eiman Hamza

I am the typical cliche story of a singer who “sang before she could speak.” My dad had instilled music in our household at a very young age, teaching my two sisters and I the guitar, violin and me how to sing. I would write music in my room, expressing all of my deepest feelings in lyrical form and then when I was a teen I realized I could express myself through fashion as well. Read more>>

Mallory Murphy

While I’ve considered myself a creative my entire life, I didn’t get into the tattoo industry until my late 20’s/early 30’s. It’s easy to compare yourself to other artists who started much earlier and think, “where would I be if I started this 10 years ago?” but I think I’m exactly where I need to be and the timing is always right. I think because I’ve had a full decade-long career prior to this, when I made the jump to an unpaid apprenticeship, Read more>>

Talé Ojeabulu

So I started everything late: music, singing, graduating college lol. I started making music in 2020, I was already 27 by the time I made my first song. While I could say I wish I started earlier, in reality I’m glad I started when I did. It’s never too late to start something you’re passionate about. No matter the age, music is music. I’m even glad cuz I have more to write about now than before Read more>>

Celia E Ochoa

I do absolutely wish that I had started sooner. Way back in 2009 while I was in college I wrote a short non-fiction story for an assignment in my English Literature class. It was that paper that prompted my professor to encourage me to either submit the paper to a magazine or to write a full book about my story. Read more>>

Alrick Bills

Absolutely sooner! I developed an interest in music at an early age by listening to the radio and vinyl records, watching music programs on TV and learning percussion, and performing in the public school system. For eight years, I was deeply involved in every aspect of music education, beginning with concert band, choir, and orchestra. Then it was marching band, jazz band, drumline, parades, musicals, festivals, competitions, etc. Read more>>

Kitty Pow

Honestly being a musician was always the dream and I wish I could’ve started sooner. However, financially it wasn’t possible for me to live this dream until I got a good job. It would be amazing if one day my music could support itself! Read more>>

Valentina Trentini

Strangely enough , when I discovered Sign Painting a few years ago, my first feeling was being bummed becasue I didn’t start this career sooner, that I’ve lost so many years finding the right path and it had always been right in front of me this entire time. But the truth is, I started at the perfect point in my life. Read more>>

Shakuntala Maheshwari

I often find myself wishing that I had started my career sooner. However, I’ve come to realize that time cannot be taken back, and dwelling on regrets won’t change anything. Instead, I believe it’s crucial for the younger generation to receive guidance from various sources such as teachers, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and friends. Having someone who can help them discover their passions and guide them on the right path is incredibly valuable. Read more>>

Cedric Logan

A younger version of me would have wished I would have achieved all that I have achieved at a young age but as I’ve grown older and gotten wisdom it’s not so much the destination but the journey so I’m glad because I was able to experience the highs and lows of life and made it out a stronger person still growing still learning still surviving still thriving Read more>>

Diane Larson

“IT’S NEVER TOO LATE!” At 65 years old I found myself in a place I hadn’t expected! Our retirement plans of sailing away, came to a halt when my husband became ill and we had to stop sailing. We sold our sailboat and moved inland to Raleigh NC. Read more>>

Beth Marks

Of course, everyone wishes they started their personal careers into the world of content creator/ influencer early on in the start of YouTube & Instagram! I am thankful though I began my journey during the COVID pandemic. Lots of free time to learn the skills necessary to create engaging videos for viewers. I believe I started at the perfect time. In my opinion the perfect time to start anything, is now…. Especially if it’s the start of following your dream career! Read more>>

Cardsy B

When I first stepped into wellness and felt so “on-purpose” doing one on one readings, hosting my podcast Hex and The City and writing I sometimes thought, “wow, I wish I had stared this way sooner.” But I’ve also realized that every part of our journey plays an important. The work I did as a fashion executive and designing for brands like NIKE, DKNY, and Playboy taught me so much about branding, marketing and running the logistics of my own business. Read more>>

Krystyana Davenport

Of course! Part of me wants to say yes because I think I would be a lot further with all of my platforms but also no because I believe everything happens on time, when it is supposed to! Read more>>

Emely De Paiva

I used to wish I had started my creative career sooner. But the fact is, that I didn’t and that is perfectly fine. I wouldn’t be who I am had I taken a different route. I wouldn’t have all the experiences that I can draw from as an actor. In my “previous” life I worked as an Interior Designer and Project Manager. Interior Design is a creative profession in an itself and it helps me today when creating set pieces and doing scenic design, while having experience as a Project Manager prooved very helpful when producing a play. Read more>>

Cae LaShawn

Absolutely sooner! I’ve always loved music, singing & writing. Although I wish I would have started it sooner, it’s all in God’s timing. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. There are lessons we need to either learn or to teach throughout our journey, but overall, I’m right where I’m supposed to be. Read more>>

Shakya Germany

I’ve always loved art, and I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in it. However, when I started working on my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, I quickly got burnt out with creating. The workload was intense and I started to doubt my abilities. I eventually decided to take a break from art altogether. Read more>>

Kt Allen

I definitely wish I had started sooner. I had always considered myself a creative & loved art. I spent most of my childhood & teen years in my room teaching myself how to draw. It was always what I enjoyed doing the most. After I graduated high school I felt pretty lost in which direction to go with my life. Art was all I really knew or cared about. I thought I was making the right decision in going to college and majoring in fine arts. Read more>>

Asa Bell

Now that I have been at it for a while, I definitely wish I had known that this is a path I would want to take much earlier in my life. It’s almost the question of “If you could start over with everything you know now, would you?” to which the answer would always be a resounding yes. That said, that doesn’t mean I feel like everything I’m doing now is happening too late or not as quickly as I’d like. Read more>>

Michael Scott

Actually, I wish I had joined writers’ organizations earlier, and that I had attended writers’ conferences earlier. I wasted a lot of time spinning my wheels so to speak before I learned more about the art of writing. Read more>>

Kahlil Allen

I wish when I was 17/18 I would of knew about my path in life and how to get started in trying to build an artist database and also create events for all creative artists. Being able to start the development of Hoca when I was younger could of put me a few steps ahead of where we are now but I’m okay with the development at the same time Read more>>

Annette Aviles-Natal

I started my business August of 2022 after 27 years of brin gin the Title Industry. I was working a Regional Director for a mid-size Title Agency that had branches throughout the state of Florida. I worked my way up throughout the years, starting out as an administrator for a real estate attorney in New York. When I moved to Florida, I started working for a Large Corporation which had Title Agencies in most cities in Florida. Wow who would have figured I would stay with that Corporation for over 14 years. Read more>>

Kara Dafnis

I do wish I would of started my creative career sooner. I didn’t start my path as a makeup artist and hair stylist till my mid 30’s, due to financial restraints. I always had a passion for makeup and hair, as a teen I would buy magazines and try and learn how they did a specific makeup look or a cool hairstyle that I really liked. There was no instagram or youtube in the 90’s when I was growing up or Sephora to go get cool makeup. You went to your local drug store haha.  Read more>>