I woke up yesterday and realized it’s been 5 years to the day since I quit my full time job and became a full time business owner. Here’s a reflection on five things I’ve learned in the last five years.
There can be a lot of fear wrapped up with starting and building your own business — I’m not good enough, someone else is already doing it better, people won’t like my work, I can’t find clients, people will judge me, I won’t be able to support myself, etc, etc. I experience a lot of self doubt and uncertainty, but I’ve learned not to let those fears stop me from trying. Some of those fears may prove to be true in some cases, but if I let them get the last word and never put myself out there because of them, then I wouldn’t have a business. I’ve learned to just go for it! Someone else may tell me no — and many people do — but I’ve also received a lot of yes’s that I never could have if I had let fear get in the way before trying.
Early on in my freelance journey, I was very focused on landing “dream projects.” I felt like the indicator of success was having a list of dreamy, cool projects to work on, and I spent a lot of time hemming and hawing over how to get more of them. I do think it’s great to go after the type of work you want, and I have worked on some pretty dreamy projects that I loved, but I’ve learned that it’s just as important, if not more so, to work with kind people. I’ve been so fortunate to meet and collaborate with so many wonderful people over the years, and I’ve learned that projects that might initially seem less than exciting can actually be some of the most enjoyable if I’m working with great people.
There’s a lot of messaging in the entrepreneur world about the necessity to define a niche, cater to a specific target market, and hone one area of highly specialized expertise. But I’ve always been someone with a multitude of creative interests, and it’s incredibly inspiring and exciting to me to get to pursue all of them. The variety and diversity of who I work with and what projects I take on is one of the things I enjoy most about working for myself. I love that right now I’m working on a logo, a print magazine, surface pattern designs for an e-commerce shop, and a wedding stationery suite. I love that I’ve worked with large corporations, nonprofits, small businesses, side hustlers, and everything in between. I am definitely not a marketing expert, but I think variety is the spice of life, and I don’t feel the need to define a niche or narrow my scope of work. It’s more fun this way!
Social media has been really useful for me in many ways. I’ve found a lot of inspiration and support there, met clients through Instagram and Facebook, and found people that I’ve hired for certain projects and business needs. However, it’s an overwhelming landscape and I often just don’t feel like being there. And I’ve learned that that’s okay. I’ve gone months without posting anything, temporarily deleted the apps, and have still had plenty of work and creative inspiration in my life. I will never be someone with a content strategy or a pipeline or a funnel or whatever. For me, social media is just one tool of many for connecting, sharing and being inspired, and it’s optional!
There are inevitable ups and downs of workload, revenue, energy, and creativity while running your own business. I’ve learned to embrace the roller coaster, and to trust that slow seasons are temporary. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without faith, and I’ve learned to lean on it in all seasons of business.
Looking back over the last five years, I feel so much gratitude. I am so grateful I get to design and create art for a living. I love serving others with my creative talents, and it makes me so happy to see my work bringing joy to people and helping businesses succeed. If you’re reading this, I am grateful for you because you’ve supported me in some way over the years, and that means so much to me. Thank you for being here!
