First off, I want to say thank you to everyone who has been a guest on the podcast and to everyone who listens or reads the show notes. I am shocked that we have 150 episodes. I started this podcast because I felt like I didn’t have a voice as a designer and wanted to share other’s stories and experiences, no matter their expertise. And we do just that! But I wouldn’t be here without you, so thank you.
For this episode I decided to bring in my close friend, Jordan Gill to chat with me about 5 things I’ve learned in the design world since starting my podcast.
Here’s what we covered on the episode:
1. You Bring Something to the Table That No One Else Does
- How Jordan and I met through working on a launch for an affiliate program together, ran in the same online space and ended up bonding over a not so good client experience
- Jordan’s take on me as a designer and what I bring to the table that is different from other designers
- Lesson number 1 that I’ve learned and want to share about the design world is that you are different and bring something to the table that someone else doesn’t bring
- The key to your identity is understanding who you are, what you want out of a job or business and understanding that you are different
- How I’ve never thought of myself as good when it comes to branding but that’s not true, and how I am good when it comes to branding digital offers — you might have a skill that you don’t consider your best, but that doesn’t mean you’re bad at it
- I touch on the branding work I’m doing for the podcast and how I think it’s important to try different things before solidifying your brand
- The story of my client, Edie, who came to me wanting to do VIP Days and how I told her to go test it out first instead of building a whole brand around it because she might decide she didn’t like it or it didn’t work for her
2. Connecting with others in Your Industry Will Help You Go Far
- Thing number 2 I’ve learned about the design world is to always be connecting with others because you don’t know where a connection could
- At the beginning of each episode, I share how I connected with each of my guests to reiterate how important building relationships are in your industry, especially with people who have complimentary skills to your own
- My favorite story to tell is how I got my first sales page project by investing in online courses and connecting on Facebook with someone I didn’t even know who posted about needing a graphic designer
- How reaching out and raising my hand helped me get my first sales page project, and led me to getting referrals to all the all-stars in the online space back in 2013/2014
- We discuss how people underutilize the relationships they have because they don’t want to bother people or seem like they’re needing too much, when in reality you should utilize the relationships you’ve built
- When you start connecting with people, you have to go in knowing that it could lead to a great relationship, or it could lead to sales — don’t go into it with expectations of it going a certain way, because it might not
3. You ARE Good Enough
- The third thing I’ve learned in the design world is that most of us, especially in the beginning or when we’re going through a transition, think that we’re not good enough which is not true at all
- We think we aren’t good enough because somewhere along the way we were told to look at everyone from the competition and there wasn’t/isn’t enough Design Industry 101 training that teaches you about the different rules, the different projects, how marketing goes with design, etc.
- I share that I recorded my first episode for the podcast in April 2019 but didn’t post it until October 2019 because I was scared and didn’t think I was good enough
- If you don’t think you’re good enough, go out and get projects
4. Your Work Creates a Bigger Impact Than You Think it Does
- The fourth thing I’ve learned in the design world is that you don’t realize how big of an impact your work actually has when your head is down and you’re doing the work
- I share one example of how I got to see the impact of my work after creating a sales page for Kimra Luna which helped increased her sales, connected me with another client and how I heard from multiple people at events that they bought Kimra’s program because of my sales page design
- How you should update your portfolio with 3 or 4 projects you can tell stories about and include projects that feature the kind of work you want to get
- I want to take my conversion design skills to the beauty and skin care industry, so if you live it that world, send me a DM
5. It’s Okay to Love What You Do and Get Super Rich Doing It (And Don’t Give Up!)
- The fifth thing I’ve learned and want you all to know is that it’s okay to love what you do, and get super rich doing it and that you should never give up
- You are talented and the talent you have in the world matters, no matter what your experience is and if you don’t have the experience you want, go get it
- We recap my 5 main points during this episode which were to truly understand yourself and not be afraid to test things, always be connecting with those in your life and industry, know that you are good enough, realize that the work you do has an impact and know that it’s okay to love what you do and get rich doing it
- Even if you are in a season of life that is difficult or changing, just keep going — working a little bit each day is better than giving up on the impact that you could be giving people
- It’s important to acknowledge that I haven’t been feeling like myself for a while so I can remember to be patient with myself instead of feeling sorry for myself — it’s okay not to feel okay sometimes
- I talk about how I’ve kept the podcast going this long and through my recent life events because I want to practice what I preach and I understand that sharing the message and stories of other creators is important and has a bigger impact
- If you have any questions, comments or feedback, I love DMs on Instagram so send me a message — share this episode on your story and tag me or Jordan’s Instagram so we know you listened to this episode or read the show notes
Links mentioned:
The Design Business Show – Episode 61
The Design Business Show – Episode 131
Connect with Jordan on Instagram
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