Brittany Pierre, 36, had a precarious financial situation prior to hitting six figures in earnings. She got depressed living paycheck to paycheck. At a point, she was even struggling to pay her Chicago apartment rent, afford groceries and bus fare.
However, her financial situation changed when she got introduced to nonfungible tokens (NFTs) by her friend and fellow artist Elise Swopes who sold an NFT of her work for over $17,600. Not only did Pierre ask Swopes for guidance, but she also took to YouTube and Google for a deeper understanding of how NFTs work, according to CNBC Make It.
A month later, Pierre was confident enough to sell her first NFTs. According to her, the first couple of $200 ad $300 she made went into settling her rents. Her first sale occurred after a notable NFT collector known as Weesh saw her art on Twitter. “After that, I went all in,” she said. Although Pierre later found another day job, she decided to quit and pursue NFTs full-time.
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She recalled that other artists helped her know more about NFTs when she started the process. At the time, she had about 10 bucks in her bank account, she said. Over time, as she made more money, she was able to pay for other bills and live more comfortably. But Pierre is not spending her money alone; she donates to organizations and invests in other artists’ NFTs, some of which she’s flipped for a return.
“At first, it started with me paying rent on time and in full without having to make payments. Then, I was able to get groceries — I was living on ramen, ground beef, tuna cans and water for a very long time. I was able to fill my fridge, which I’ve never been able to do on my own,” she said.
She continued: “Last year has been the first year that I could live completely abundantly, more with my heart than I ever have been able to. I’ve never had a job over $15 an hour.”
Last year, Pierre was able to make a little over $109,000 selling NFTs and flipping other NFTs she bought for a profit, according to CNBC Make It.
Building generational wealth has been a topic among Black families in recent years. Pierre sees cryptocurrency and NFTs as a way to build generational wealth since they allow her to invest and earn money without dealing with traditional financial systems.
“I definitely think that not only NFTs, but crypto in general, can help marginalized people, especially the Black community,” she said.
