Thoughts on freelancing and being a business owner

Small things in 2015

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It’s 2015! In the 90s, the idea of 2015 sounded so futuristic. But here we are, still driving cars, not flying spaceships, and living on Earth, not Mars.

As always, this time of year makes everyone both reflective on the past and eager to make resolutions for a better year to come. I’ve decided this year to not make too many big resolutions, but rather to make little ones. I found a Van Gogh quote that says “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together” and so that is my plan for 2015.

Feel free to download and use the following desktop wallpaper featuring that quote. And Happy 2015 to you!

Jan-wallpaper-01

One year ago

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It’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving week. One year ago today, I realized I was probably going to be leaving my full-time job.

I spent over 4 years at Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis. The organization has a great mission. I started out as the Marketing and Communications Associate (aka marketing department of one). After 2 years, I presented my boss with a proposal to promote me to a management role and let me hire someone underneath me. I shared some of the goals I thought we could achieve with a team of two. She agreed.

There were lots of changes in the next two years – a new boss, a new employee (twice), new goals and new challenges.

The Monday of the week before Thanksgiving, my boss asked me to meet with her and the CEO. In that meeting, I was told budgets had passed, but that (surprise!) my employee’s position was being eliminated and my current position no longer existed, either. Apparently this was something that had been planned for months and other staff knew, but they were just telling me now. I was handed a new job description with a new title and a plethora of new fundraising responsibilities. They told me to schedule a meeting for the next day to tell my employee, and that I would meet with them again on Wednesday to ask questions I have about the new role.

shocker

I was pretty shocked.

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How you doin’?

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So, I left my full time job about 4.5 months ago. And whenever I bump into an old co-worker or business associate, they always want to know how I’m doing.

The truth is, I’m doing pretty good. I feel more creatively challenged and excited about my work. Up until now, all my experiences had been working in house. While I enjoyed the process of focusing on one brand and really helping it grow and evolve, I’m finding that I am also enjoy working with a wide variety of different brands. I’ve been working with big B2B companies, small business owners and nonprofits. My design projects span from logos to direct mail to white papers to annual reports. I’ve also enjoyed doing some content creation. I’ve enjoyed learning about all of these businesses and appreciate the opportunity to help each of them reach their goals.

Yes, I’ve also had quite a few days where working from home has meant that I wore sweatpants all day and didn’t leave my house. Some days I miss having coworkers around to talk to when I take a break or walk down the hall. When I work from home, my only coworker has 4 legs and isn’t really the best at brainstorming. But he is cute!

Overall, I’m enjoying the freelance lifestyle. I’m open to a full-time role if it is the right fit, but I’m enjoying this, too!

I’m always interested in working with new businesses, so if you need some help with graphic design or marketing, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Who am I?

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I’m Anna!

I have a BFA in Visual Communications. I’ve designed marketing collateral, logos, emails and more, and art directed product, lifestyle and fashion photo shoots.

Until this past February I was the Marketing and Communications Manager and Graphic Designer for Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis. I spent 4 years leading all design and marketing efforts for the organization. I created the first ever brochures, wrote and designed the yearly annual report and created all event graphics. I was also responsible for brand management, strategic marketing planning, content creation, social media management, and email marketing. As organizational needs changed, the leadership wanted me to take on extensive fundraising responsibilities. While I appreciated their faith in me to succeed as a fundraiser, these new responsibilities simply aren’t aligned with my passions.

So what am I passionate about? I love graphic design and solving creative challenges. I love seeing the big picture and seeing how each aspect of marketing and design contribute to building a brand. I love designing – everything from brochures to publications to logos. I love social media, content creation and email marketing. I love data. I love seeing and measuring results.

I’ll be using this blog to share projects I’m working on, my thoughts on design and marketing, and the changes I experience while going from working full-time to being a freelancer who works on their own. Thanks for visiting!