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Tag Archive: freelancer
I know I haven’t blogged about my work in quite some time… it is one of those areas that I am really good at telling others how impactful it can be for their business but then when I turn and look at my business, I lack. Ugh. Then I just realized that the last time I posted was exactly 1 year ago today! Wow!
I can tell you that that might have happened due to a huge increase in my business but I still don’t think it is a good excuse! Last year was my biggest and busiest year yet and I certainly don’t have too much to complain about. Now I just need to get my site updated and show you some of those things I worked on. THAT is my goal for the next couple weeks! Someone please hold me accountable…
The sun is shining and the temps are slowly climbing here in Iowa – that is such a good thing. Isn’t it amazing how our environment affects our output!?!?
Cheers!
Jennifer
It is small business week and the blogs that I am reading this week are packed full of great useful tips for me and many of my clients. The one that is on my mind right now is regarding how to choose you business name.
When I look back at choosing my companies name, I can honestly say, I started with just my name being business name. Then, I moved on to my initials. Pretty common moves so far… Then, I added 26 (my anniversary date) to my initials. It was starting to feel better but we were still not there. Then, my husband called one day and said, “I got it, Design 26!” I loved it right away. It sounded catchy yet creative yet it was going to require someone to think “I wonder what the 26 stands for???” For me, I felt that would bring my customer closer to building a relationship with me. They would reach out and ask what the significance was of the 26.
My company name stayed that way until I re-organized my website. In that process, I was consulted to add the word “Graphic” to my name. Design is a very broad word and adding the word graphic to it would give my customers that much more knowledge in what I offer. It also would help Google find me when that customer searches for a graphic designer as opposed to just a designer.
So, my name has been changed now for a little over six months. My business cards haven’t changed yet. They will once this stack runs dry. I would love to hear your thoughts regarding my process. Recently I had someone ask me what a graphic designer even did. That made me think again about whether or not I had chosen the correct name…
I am first a mom and wife above all. I have two beautiful children and as husband who couldn’t be more supportive of my business if I wanted him to. I live in the heart of the great state of Iowa and was born and raised here. I have a creative jean that was handed down to me by my very inspiring Grandma Boyts. If I can live half the life she has, I will be one lucky girl!
About three years ago, I was in the right place at the right time. I met a mother who co-incidentally worked at an office that I always thought would be really enjoyable to work at. I had been home with the kids for the past six years and my youngest was going to be starting kindergarten soon. We were starting to think about me going back to work. But, instead, this new friend of mine did what many other “working” moms do, she told me to not go back to work if I could make it work differently. She was in that joint working parent world and it was a hard one to juggle with a young family. After discussing what I love to do and realizing that she was needing someone to help her in the graphic design area, the rest is history. I became a freelancer. Shortly after, Design 26 was born. Three years later I am finding myself wanting to grow my business and see where it can take me. I love what I do and have a lot of passion for it. I am trying to practice what I preach to my kids, do what you love and do it good! Good things are bound to follow.