Taking Messy Action
In winter of 2021, I was sitting at my teal refurbished Goodwill desk that my husband and I had re-done months before as a project during quarantine. I had just started a new job, remotely, at a supply chain logistics company as a senior graphic designer. It was a big corporate job with all the bells and whistles – great pay, awesome benefits, cool perks and fancy equipment.
I was so excited and dove right in, going with the flow and designing what I was told to create in the design parameters I was given. I was excited to be able to sit back and just do my work, after being the sole member of marketing/communications/design team at a small nonprofit in the three years before. I was stoked about this corporate world, excitedly telling my husband about all the incentives and bonuses I could earn if our marketing team hit all of the goals and parameters set out by the higher ups. The corporate dream, right?
A few months in, I realized this was just not what I was created for. It was an awesome company and the best team. But I found myself clocking in each day at 8 a.m. sharp, only to spend the next nine hours glued to my email and my Teams messages, and quickly designing the next project that came into my Asana tasks. I sneakily tried to add color to my graphics, and always had to remove it once it was reviewed. After months of the same routine and little room for creativity, I started to really feel that nudge that I had to make a move or I’d get sucked into this routine and the incentives and the comfortability that came with it all.
“After months of the same routine and little room for creativity, I started to really feel that nudge that I had to make a move or I’d get sucked into this routine — and the incentives and the comfortability that came with it all. ”
But what the heck was I going to do? I was 26 – I’d never started a business before! I didn’t even have a computer of my own that wouldn’t crash every time I open Illustrator. I didn’t even know what to promote or sell–I had no potential clients or really anyone in my network who needed a graphic designer. But the longer I stayed and clocked in each morning from that teal desk, the more the unsettledness grew.
I knew that I was a good designer, and I had those years of experience building the marketing at the nonprofit, and now had a good six months from the corporate side learning the systems, how to design quickly and how to streamline processes.
So, after many conversations with my very patient husband, very little savings, no client base, no real direction or backup plan, I put in my two weeks. I finished my work with the company over the next two weeks and finished on a Friday in June and returned all my fancy equipment.
That following Monday, my mom left flowers on my front porch with a note saying “Congratulations on your first day of your new career! You will be awesome!” So I fired up my four-year old laptop, designed some business cards and a new website in Squarespace. I worked from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., eyes burning but heart racing at the end of the day from excitement. I put on my website that I was a logo designer and freelance graphic designer—I’d never designed a logo before, but I knew I could.
“So I fired up my four-year old laptop, designed some business cards and a new website in Squarespace. I worked from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., eyes burning but heart racing at the end of the day from excitement.”
I went to a networking group at 7 a.m. that next morning at our church. It was a group for women entrepreneurs—one of our friends told me about it when I told him I was thinking of starting my own business. I introduced myself and told the ten girls around me that I just quit my job and I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I was confident that this is where God was telling me to go.
In that group, there was a girl who was beginning to launch a financial firm with her husband, and they needed a logo and a brand. We scheduled a meeting a few weeks later. I spent hours putting together a simple project proposal and Googling “how much does a logo cost” to make sure I wasn’t charging them too much.
My hands were sweaty as we sat together over coffee, and I heard their vision for their firm. I was so excited for them and this dream that they’ve had in their hearts for this business. I was so honored to even get the opportunity to sit with them and for them to trust me with bringing that vision to life. It was then that I thought, “Ohhh, I can really do this...”
I nervously told them my price and the design process I’d take them through over the next few weeks. They signed the contract and paid the down payment right there. I instantly called my husband on my drive home and we decided we’d go to a cheap dinner that night to celebrate at the Mexican place down the road. Because who doesn’t celebrate with arroz con pollo and chips and queso?
From there, I wish I could tell you that business has snowballed, and I’ve got a waiting list of clients. That’s not the case yet, but I can tell you that this business has been the best decision I could have ever made. I’ve attended networking groups when I’ve been nervous to show up, I’ve refined my list of services and my prices over and over again, I’ve re-designed my own logo twice, and I’ve pitched project proposals that feel way over my head and over my abilities.
But God has shown up each and every day. He’s provided clients, new projects, new ways to showcase my skills, and mentors that are a few steps ahead of me to learn from. I don’t dread the clock in at 8 a.m. and don’t get discouraged every time an email comes across my inbox. I still sit at this teal desk every day, but it’s on my own schedule and it’s with that excited heart race that I experienced on my first day. I still think it’s just the coolest honor that I get to help bring people’s visions for their businesses to life and help them bring the vision out of their minds and into a real, tangible concept.
“I want this to be a place you can come and hear the real story, with the ups and downs and everything in between—and be inspired to take messy action right where you are with what you have.”
Over six months into this business and with more vision, I want this to be a space where new entrepreneurs, experienced business owners, or those dreaming of taking the leap can come for encouragement, inspiration, real, filter-free advice, along with branding tips and ways to make your business and your brand what you’ve always dreamed it could be. I never want to forget these beginning steps of starting my business and trying to navigate this new world. I rarely hear the stories of businesses in progress—we usually hear the success stories after they blow up. I want this to be a place you can come and hear the real story, with the ups and downs and everything in between—and be inspired to take messy action right where you are with what you have.
