Los Angeles, California is a city full of opportunity and creativity. For those looking to start their own business or pursue a career in a creative field, the options are endless. However, starting a business or pursuing a creative career can be expensive, especially in a city like Los Angeles. But fear not, there are many creative jobs that can be started for very little money. In this article, we’ll explore 10 creative jobs that you can start for little to no money if you move to Los Angeles.
Freelance Writing: If you have a passion for writing, you can start your own freelance writing business for very little money. You can write for blogs, magazines, and websites and work from anywhere. It’s all about volume. If you can produce copy for Facebook and Instagram ads as well as several blog posts a week, you can make more than enough money to sustain yourself in LA. One of our writers, Olivia Salinas found us online and contacted us about writing for us as a guest blogger. At the time, she worked at a ghost kitchen near Santa Monica, making $17 an hour. Now she guest posts for several blogs that allow her to backlink to her own blogs and advertisements. She now makes an extra $2,600 a month in her spare time by posting. She uses AI writing programs like AnyWord to crank out written copy from her ideas for blogs and ads. With that extra cash infusion, she put a down payment on her own apartment in Korea Town (previously living with 3 roommates), and she plans to expand her client list of blogs this year.
Photography: If you have a passion for photography, ignore what others are doing in the beginning and offer your work for free and through a membership. You can start your own photography business for very little money when you start an Unsplash and Patreon account. Use the Unsplash account to allow people to download and use your work for free. People who love your work on Unsplash will go to your connected Patreon page and join your membership plans to download even more beautiful pictures that in turn sustain your profession. It’s a better way to start your career than waiting to be “discovered.” You can also take video snippets and sell them on platforms that share revenue with you when someone buys the right to use your picture or video.
Graphic Design: The trick to being a busy graphic artist is to reach out to businesses that don’t even know they need you. Send them examples of beautiful logos and ad banners, establish yourself on social media and you can start your own graphic design business for very little money. You can even hire professionals online to do the work for you as a subcontractor for just a few dollars and sell the work for hundreds in LA.
Event Planning: Are you extremely organized and love putting together events? You can start your own event planning business for very little money. You can plan events such as weddings, parties, and corporate events. Surprisingly, there aren’t enough mid-level event planners in LA. It seems that entrepreneurs aim for high-end and low-end clients. Yet the client who wants to just hire a chef and a couple of waitstaff is stuck in the middle with no real help.
Music Production: Music is another reason why people move to LA. You can start your own music production business for very little money. You can produce music for artists, TV shows, and movies. Again, you do not need to be a musician or work out of a music studio. You can subcontract music production and make a living selling the work. Many music platforms are looking for someone to create music or beats for other artists to use in their projects and productions in and around Los Angeles. Use your social media to send people directly to your automated website, where they can download free beats or music. This will get them interested in buying your more intricate work.
Fashion Design: Fashion is the key to Los Angeles. You can design clothing and accessories and sell them online or at local markets. Better yet, rent clothes for special events. You don’t even need to have your own clothes to rent. Friends and family have wonderful items in their closets. Everything from wedding dresses to designer purses. Take photos and post them on social media and eventually, your own automated website. Make a rental agreement using ChatGPT beforehand that covers both you and the person allowing you to use their clothes and other items.
Filmmaking: If you are passionate about filmmaking, you can start your own filmmaking business for very little money. You can make short films and sell them online or on streaming platforms. Special effects as well as movie, and video editing can be subcontracted out without having any skills of your own in those endeavors. In fact, a high-end film can be shot using today’s mobile phones and post-lighting magic for a few hundred bucks and sold to streaming platforms like Netflix or uploaded to YouTube.
Voiceover: If you have a good voice, you can start your own voiceover business for very little money. You can do voiceovers for commercials, video games, and animation. Also, there are mobile apps that can enhance your voice’s treble and bass while eliminating background noise. The opportunities are limitless if you expand your reach using work platforms like Fiverr or create an automated website with your examples and offer your work per word or paragraph. There are Fiverr offerings that offer $15 for 100 words. That may not sound like much until you realize they get several requests per week, and some are for 1,000 words or more. Do the math, and you’ll see that some are making several thousand per month.
Makeup Artistry: Are you really into makeup? You can start your own makeup artistry business for very little money. You can do makeup for events, photoshoots, and even movies. Get in touch with students or new photographers and film producers and offer your skills for free in exchange for credits. Use those credits and examples to build a reputation through social media. Build a website with price options and start a makeup line you can sell to artists you work with.
Acting: If you have a passion for acting, you can start your own acting career for very little money. You can audition for roles in TV shows, movies, and commercials or start your own production house that provides opportunities for actors to shine and build a portfolio through YouTube or other streaming platforms. Offer your services to student film producers to build a resume and to bring aboard other actors who will pay to build their resumes as well.
Los Angeles is a city full of opportunity and creativity. With a little bit of hard work, passion, and creativity, you can start your own business or pursue a career in a creative field for very little money. Remember, the key to success is to follow your passion and never give up on your dreams.
Los Angeles is a great place to start a creative career, and the cost of living is not as high as you might think. With a little bit of hard work, passion and creativity, you can start your own business or pursue a career in a creative field for very little money. So, go out and make your dreams come true!
