In the past year I have learnt so much, not only about how to run my little biz but I have also learnt so much about myself as a person and as a designer.
One of the biggest hurdles I feel like I had to overcome was fear and self-doubt. Over the past 10+ years, countless people have made the comment to me ‘You should just go out on your own and start your own business’. Looking back, I would always just laugh it off and say ‘Nah… I like having the security of a permanent job and then just have Freelance on the side’. Admittingly, this did work well for me prior to having my two boys… but as life got busier, there was less and less time for my Freelance and in turn… myself.
Honestly… taking the plunge to jump headfirst into Lime Pixel has been hands down the best decision for myself and my family.
Over the past 12+ months I have done these following things and I am so grateful I did!
Invest in number 1… YOURS TRULY!
I invested time and $$ into upskilling myself. Let’s face it, yes I have been in the industry for over 15 years – great, but with that comes the changes in the industry, not only in the way to design, the programs, the platforms, digital v print… I could go on and on.
The changes within the industry used to scare the hell out of me and the fact that that I never had time to learn and keep up to date while I was working full time + freelancing was even worse. But once I had my second bub I decided to stop making excuses and start studying, learning and connecting again… SERIOUSLY THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE.
I took on Anna Dower’s Design Bootcamp
I am going to admit, I wasn’t in the greatest head space when I signed on for this bootcamp. I had a little baby (that wasn’t sleeping properly), I had a 3 year old to consider and look after too and I was still working on client work. Sure, why not chuck something else into that mix. I started the course and it was great, but my self-doubt crept in pretty quickly and I decided to instead of throwing it all away, just do it at my own pace. I am so glad I did. Anna’s bootcamp inspired me to rebrand my Freelance business, I was forever working on clients brands but not my own… I NOW LOVE LIME PIXEL’S BRAND and I love showing her off. It not only represents my design style, but it is ME, NIC!
Next, I did Sarah Linklater aka Slinky’s aka Designer Admin’s Declutter Your Design Biz Challenge
A 5-day challenge where Sarah shared snippets of her systems and processes on how to get your design biz working seamlessly… She knows her S&*T. I loved this challenge so much that at the end of that week I didn’t hesitate to sign up to her Sort ya Systems and Processes course. There were so many wins to taking on this course. I sorted all my systems and processes that I use with clients, I changed my accounting software to a platform that works so much better for me and my biz and not only all of this, I met the best group of ladies ever that I have now made lifelong friends and amazing contacts within the industry.
Then I took on Emma Kate’s ‘Be the Boss of WordPress’ Course
I am first to admit… web design is not my jam… AT ALL… but I was so determined to build and design my own website, giving me the flexibility to change, update and improve it over time. This course was AMAZING! And I am proud to say this website is built and designed by yours truly. So, when clients say, do you do websites? I say NO.. lol. Another thing I have learnt is to play to your strengths, web is not mine, but I now have so many amazing industry connections that I can put my clients in contact with.
CTTG small business workshops
I am lucky enough that my local council, the City of Tea Tree Gully runs small business workshops. I have done 3 including Business start-ups, Finance & Crack the SEO google code. All of these have been great, not only to reinforce in my own head that I am doing the right things but also giving me new tools and information on how I can improve on what I am currently doing.
Tech + AI… I don’t fear it, I embrace it
Plain and simple embrace it, don’t fear it. Let’s face it, it isn’t going anywhere so we may as well use it to strengthen our offerings to our client’s. I pride myself on being approachable, easy to understand and personable… PERSONABLE people. Yes AI is amazing but if you mix the skills and knowledge of a human = the dream team.
I joined a community & network of creatives to strengthen myself & my biz
Facebook creative groups.. some are amazing… some are absolute crap.. *excuse my language*. I am in a few that I constantly ask questions, get different opinions and recommendations. I have made some great connections and I have even started collaborating with some of them on design projects and I fricken love it! One project I was lucky enough to work with a client in the Blue Mountains, their photographer was also from the Blue Mountains, their copy writer was in Queensland and their web developer was in Canberra. How cool is that!?
Groups I am in and I LOVE
- Sort ya Systems Hub
- Designer Boss-Ladies
- Daniel Readings Fitness – the best Boxing Sessions ever.. helps me switch off from everything in life and just sweat it out – awesome for creativity!
I have made sure I have all tools that make my biz run seamlessly
It’s funny when I look at all my bookmarks that I have in Chrome and apps on my Mac.. I often think.. gosh Nic do you really need all of these apps/tools-the answer, YES I DO.
My Tools I can’t live without
- My Macbook Pro + Apple Studio display – powerful and SEXY AS HELL
- Adobe Suite (Fave’s though Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign, Lightroom)
- Rounded – best accounting software ever for a Freelance Designer
- Canva – YES Canva – I can create on brand templates + brand kits for my clients to be able to use within their business to insure they stay on brand
- Microsoft Suite… I dislike Word, Excel and Powerpoint, but hey 99.9% of my clients use it so I have to embrace it and create what my clients need
- Slack – collaborating with other creatives on projects – this platform allows us to chat effortlessly without a million emails.
- Google meet – move over Zoom + Teams.
- Calendly – clients can book in video calls straight into my free time in my calendar.
- Mailer lite – Such an easy eDM/CRM platform to use for communication with my clients.
- Heyzine – the BEST digital ebook platform – seriously check it out!
- Pallyy – my Social Media Manger uses this platform – love how easy it is for me to view, comment, approve social content that she has uploaded before it goes live.
- Trello – Keeps me keep on top of all projects that I have on the go.
- Dropbox – I share all my clients files with Dropbox, love it.
Writing this blog definitely made me realise how far I have come within Lime Pixel. I am going to admit… the daily grind of designing for my 9-5 jobs was not helping me truly love what I was doing or creating. But now I am happy and proud to say.
Finally… I have learnt to have fun and not take myself too seriously.
I always take pride in what I do for my business and for my clients but I have found if I can make the experience more fun for my clients, in turn I have a whole lot more fun creating it for them.
I BLOODY LOVE MY JOB, I LOVE DESIGN AND I LOVE AND
AM PROUD OF MY BUSINESS.