SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- San Diego is home to talented and creative content creators who make a living on TikTok. While many are able to make a full-time income on the app, some are also helping small businesses in return, who say the app has inadvertently helped them tremendously. But TikTok, owned by Chinese company Bytedance, is set to no longer operate in the United States on Sunday unless the company sells it. “My first couple of videos were very much an accident," Koy Sun, an artist and content creator said. He started posting his art on TikTok, under the handle @koysun. “I would say 100 percent that TikTok has changed my life," Sun said. And it's changed his family's too. He posted a video creating a sign for his family's restaurant, Thai Test Kitchen, and the video blew up gaining millions of views. As a result, their business was packed. “They completely got swamped, it's one thing to see a video get like one million views or something, but it's different to actually see physical, real-life interactions from videos," Sun said. “People from out of the country come into San Diego, and instead of looking at beaches, they drive to Sorrento Valley and look at a small office restaurant because of a video." These new shops are coming to Westfield UTC And posting his art at other San Diego and L.A. businesses has helped them too. “I've kind of seen how just doing a shoutout can completely change the trajectory of a business," Sun added. Because of his success on TikTok, his family is opening a second restaurant in the College Area, and he has his own art studio. He's not alone. There are success stories across America's Finest City, highlighting how TikTok and content creation has become a full-time job for San Diegans. Sierra Georgitisis also got her start on TikTok as @spoonfulofsi. She was in the hospitality business, and during COVID, she turned her passion of cooking into creating recipes on social media, and has also highlighted San Diego restaurants. Like most content creators, she gets paid from Tik Tok's creator fund for views, but a majority of her income comes from brand deals. But with TikTok on the chopping block, there's been some hesitation from brands. "Come into the New Year, I've already had deals on TikTok put on pause," Georgitisis said. She said she diversified her content, making it relevant on other platforms too. Whether it's content geared to locals, or bringing in visitors, TikTok has been a place San Diegans turn to. The San Diego Tourism Authority said TikTok has even had an impact on San Diego's economy. "Younger travelers really use platforms like TikTok to essentially plan their entire travel, so they are going on there, using it as a search engine and looking for content to help them plan an entire trip to San Diego," said Brent Bernasconi with the San Diego Tourism Authority. Until Sunday's deadline, creators are waiting to see where they can go next. Georgitisis believes the advertising dollars will still be there for companies to spend for content creators to post, but the platform will be changing. “I know I will make do and I'll come back from this, but it's more that TikTok is so unique and its platform, the way it connects everybody on a human level, it's totally different than any other app out there," Georgitisis said.