We were lucky to catch up with Aaron Embrey recently and have shared our conversation below.

Aaron, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I take risks every day. They’re not always big, life-changing risks. Obviously taking risks is part of being in business. They’re also part of being an artist or creator, or just being visible in the world. Showing up, showing your work, and sharing your voice with the world is a risk. For me, it felt like a BIG risk when I made the decision to quit my full-time job and start my own business. It’s always a BIG risk, in my experience, to create or start something new. Because we have to be willing to leave our comfort zones. And we have to risk getting things wrong to get things right. There’s discomfort in not knowing if an idea will work. And when you’re in business, you’re trying new things. You’re adapting, risking failure, and trying something new. I’m still learning to risk and fail faster. I want to make choices and take action sooner and more often. I’m learning to see risks as experiments. AND to reframe my mistakes or missteps as opportunities to learn, grow, and get better. Because really, even when things don’t work out, I still learn something about what NOT to do. And hopefully, I adapt, make changes, and try something else. Having that sort of agility is a must when facing risks or creating changes. It’s definitely one of the reasons I’m still here as a self-employed artist and creator six years later. My business is still growing and changing because I’m learning to find comfort in the unknown. When I’m faced with taking a new risk or trying something new, I know there’s a possibility it won’t work out as planned. So, I’ll have to learn something and start again. I also know that I’ll never get anywhere new if I don’t take any risks or any steps in a new direction. If I never take a step outside of my comfort zone, things surely won’t work and I certainly won’t get anywhere new. And if I give up because something didn’t work out the first time, then what did I gain from that experience? What was it even for? The risks and results either move me closer to my goal, or they give me a new perspective. And that helps me find a solution that DOES work. I know that my biggest dreams live in the uncertainty of the unknown. And risk is a required step to getting there.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hi! I’m Aaron Embrey, and I’m a long-time creative human and creative pro’. I enjoyed a 20+ year corporate career as a creative professional. Now, I’m a seasoned creative expert. I live and love to help others build creative practices, develop creative projects, and support their creative paths. I work with a growing community of creative humans that are building businesses, brands, and missions. And I help create custom branded assets, platforms, and processes. I offer tools and resources that make sharing and selling their art/work, products, and messages as easy and efficient as possible for them. Some of my clients are looking for a creative partner to help upgrade their branding or create tools to help them better tell their story. Others just need a little support or help learning creative software or building their own creative practice. I currently offer 1 : 1 creative coaching, software lessons, and design education. I also offer (limited) done-for-you creative services.—like logo design, custom brand photography, and complete visual branding kits.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’m currently pivoting in my business right now. My work is changing because my clients and their needs are changing. I guess, the whole world is changing and I’m just adapting. So, I’m moving in this new direction while keeping one foot still, sort of, loosely planted in my old work. I spent the first two decades of my career focused on the service aspect of what I do. I put 100% of my time into being a creative partner and resource for helping others create new things. Now, I’m finally ready to share my own ideas, knowledge, experiences. And I’m excited to share some of the creative expertise I’ve gained over the years in accessible and sustainable ways. I still work one-on-one with a limited number of branding clients. And I’m really focusing right now on coaching others on their creative paths, nurturing the creative process, and offering small design and software classes. It feels like the perfect time to try something new (again).

Is there mission driving your creative journey?
It feels like my personal goal and the mission driving my creative journey is to spark the joy of creativity in other people. Maybe help others know that it’s possible to create change—even big changes that require the most patience, resilience, and risk. Sharing my willingness to step out of my comfort zone, try something new, not get things right, adapt, and take more risks and try more new things, anyway. I feel like sharing the process of creativity is my goal. Or maybe to share my process so others can create their own. To help people create their own ideas and changes and feel empowered by their own creative choices. So, I guess, maybe my mission is supporting the act of creativity in others; helping them navigate their own creative paths; igniting creative practices, projects and processes. I think that’s the mission at the the heart of my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aaronembrey.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theaaronembrey/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theaaronembrey
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aembrey/
• Other: https://designschoolforcreators.com/ https://wildcreating.com/

Image Credits
Aaron Embrey, Velda Embrey