I Used To Live on Food Stamps, But Now I Am Financially Successful — Here’s How I Did It

Two young shop owners using a laptop in their store

Andrea, also known as itsdreak on YouTube, and her husband Feliks went from barely surviving on food stamps to having a successful online art business. According to Andrea, building an online art business is more possible today than ever.

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After marrying her husband in 2015, 21-year-old Andrea and her 25-year-old husband were broke. Andrea enrolled in medical school while she and Feliks worked to make ends meet.

“We were barely surviving. Could barely even buy our own groceries,” Andrea explained in a YouTube video. “We had to get government help on food stamps to pay for groceries.”

Andrea wasn’t happy with the traditional path to retirement. The idea of going to school, accumulating debt, hoping for a job in her field and spending the rest of her life paying off that debt, didn’t sit well with her. “It seemed like there had to be more to life than being in debt and struggling every single day.”

Andrea and her husband aren’t the only young couple struggling financially in the U.S. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, more than 41 million Americans participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) per month in 2022. That’s about one in eight Americans.

At that time, Andrea also noticed people making money through social media, specifically those in the art niche. Andrea suggested to her husband that he start filming videos about his artwork, which he did on social media. The couple noticed some traction from these videos and the channel reached 100,000 followers quickly. Andrea noted that at one point, the channel was growing by 50,000 to 100,000 followers per month.

Andrea and Feliks were still struggling at this time, but Andrea decided to stop going to school and help her husband grow the business. The couple then started the ColorbyFeliks YouTube channel and posted weekly art lessons. After six months, the couple earned around $1,000 monthly through the YouTube channel. They also expanded the business and began selling blending brushes.

“It clicked in my head that you don’t have to be in a certain location to make money. You don’t have to work a nine-to-five to make money. There’s another option,” Andrea said.

Instead of spending her money on college and going into debt, Andrea took a risk. She invested in her education and online courses to learn directly from people who achieved the same level of success that she wanted in her own life.

Andrea was able to help grow her husband’s social media platforms to millions of followers across multiple platforms and build the business to multiple six figures.

Her biggest tips for growing an online business? Don’t be afraid to take risks. Go on YouTube and spend time learning for free from people who have done what you want to do. If you want to go deeper, Andrea recommends investing in courses and building new skills that can earn you money online.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I Used To Live on Food Stamps, But Now I Am Financially Successful — Here’s How I Did It