We recently connected with Davis Kurepa-Peers and have shared our conversation below.

Davis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

With the current state of the job market, I was in a rare circumstance where following my passion was just as risky as having a corporate gig–so why not go for it?

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Fresh out of college, I worked my way up to be the Senior Manager of Marketing at a startup (contracted) and after one year, I received a full-time offer to help build a new branch of their business. It was a great opportunity, and I was in an environment where many of my peers were either facing layoffs or weren’t finding luck in the job application process (or both); yet I hesitated. The position excited the business-forward part of me interested in entrepreneurship, but depleted the creative part of me; I knew it was going to be more time crafting emails than videos and digital media. So, I took a chance on myself and decided to explore creative entrepreneurship.

As someone who’s been indecisive my entire life, this somehow felt like the easiest decision I ever made.

I was lucky to have a few clients already lined up from a variety of industries–including medical, home development, and film–who all needed help with their digital presence across websites, social media, and video. Fortunately for all of us, my startup experience gave me insights into all areas of marketing. Any skills I didn’t already have, I quickly taught myself on the job, building up both my marketing toolbox and my confidence.

I had the groundwork set, but I wasn’t oblivious to the implications of this decision: how would I sustain myself going forward? What if I don’t get clients? And how would I cover my own health insurance??

I was feeling the weight of the risk I took on myself, but what helped lighten the load was finding creative communities of others navigating a similar path. I attended a panel with successful creative freelancers (or “business owners” as they taught us to call ourselves) which gave me the advice I needed. When asked about navigating risk in our line of work, panelist Maddy Bruster responded that many of us confuse riskiness with ambiguity. Choosing to work for yourself may seem risky, but it is just uncertain, especially while starting out. So, you just need to make informed decisions backed by data, and trust your track record that you’ll keep making it work.

I’m happy to report that I have now navigated the uncertainty for over 8 months since I turned down my job offer, doing anything from new website builds for sustainable home builders, social media management for a podcast sharing stories of healing, and video editing for short films highlighting women throughout history. I have been able to move myself to New York and now am hiring additional help. This whole journey has been sprinkled with doubt about my decision, but looking at how far I’ve come, even if the future is ambiguous, I’m making an educated guess that it will continue to work out.

Davis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I help clients stand out in the digital landscape to make an impact in their field. I co-create their online presence through website development, video production, and social media management services, (plus a touch of graphic design for physical marketing materials) to make their marketing as unique as they are. I enjoy specifically working with organizations and individuals who are making a positive difference in the world, with most of my experience grounded in medicine, art, and sustainability efforts. Overall, I love to find creative ways to amplify my clients’ stories to an audience who could benefit.

This path began as a passion long before it became my profession. I was always the video kid. At 11 years old, I picked up a unique hobby: a YouTube channel. I sustained a presence for over two years posting tutorials and skits, all the while learning how to script, film, and edit to build a cohesive brand and gain a following. In school, there was nothing better than being assigned video projects; they allowed me to push my creative limits and produce parodies of anything from Survivor episodes to Olympics broadcasts. I created my own summer internships making a music therapy video feature at a local hospital, and another creating a voting PSA for social media. I began branching out to other mediums in the digital sphere–from websites to social media graphics–to advertise the clubs I was part of. Slowly I became aware of the variety of applications of video and design, appreciating their unique and engaging way of sharing messages to a wide audience.

Having worn many creative hats, I’m now able to confidently operate a one-stop solution for all digital marketing needs, particularly for smaller organizations that lack the resources for a large marketing agency. As someone who does a bit of everything, I can see the bigger picture and execute the initiatives that will best accomplish my clients’ goals. I take pride in truly understanding my clients–their mission, industry, audience, pain points–to make content that authentically aligns with their personality.

Everyday I wake up so grateful for what I do because I know I’m making my younger self proud. I think growing up is returning to what brought you joy as a kid; she always enjoyed creating and I’m happy to continue that practice while making a positive impact.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a creative is looking back at my old work and cringing. For me, it’s a sign of growth; it means I can easily point out ways I could’ve improved. At the same time, it makes me grateful to my past self for showing up and creating even if it wasn’t perfect. Having made creative work my career, it’s especially rewarding to see the progress in real time and know the hard work I’ve put in has been worth it.

If I were in a corporate environment, I don’t think l would be pushing myself the same to continuously learn and get better. As an entrepreneur, I need to always be sharpening my creative and business skills and evolving in order to continue getting clients (or in other words, in order to stay away from a 9-5). I’ve enjoyed creating my own curriculum of YouTube tutorials, podcasts, in-person events, and online courses.

At the core of it all, I’ve always loved problem-solving, and that’s where most of the growth happens. Every day brings new problems to figure out from troubleshooting a website bug to finally having an animation come to life exactly how I imagined after hours of refining. Luckily, enough word puzzles and Nancy Drew computer games taught me to enjoy the process of working through things until they finally click. And the result? Each project I take on builds a new skill that I can carry into both client work and my own creative projects.

What makes it all the more meaningful is knowing I play a part in sharing stories and experiences through art, a purely human way of connecting. As I hope to continue growing in my craft, it is nice to reflect on all the progress that has been made because I took a chance on myself and my art, and I can imagine the progress that can still be made moving forward.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

So many of us creatives were taught the Starving Artist trope as a cautionary tale growing up. Because of this, I didn’t believe you could make a living doing creative work, and I was effectively scared off from pursuing art as a career. I almost didn’t major in Film and Media Studies, even though it was something I had done for 10 years leading up to that point. I almost didn’t blend my entrepreneurial and creative skills into a career that I enjoy because I was worried about finances.

One TedTalk that resonated with me was from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, who talked about this unfair question posed to artists: “aren’t you afraid that you’re never going to have success?” She answers with: 1. Yes, but also 2. Why should people be afraid of the work that they believe they were put on Earth to do? And I agree; we as a society need to question the stigma around choosing a creative profession. Yes, creative work may be a more challenging path, but it doesn’t have to be; it’s only harder because it isn’t as clearly laid out as some other straight-cut professions.

I owe it to social media for exposing me to plenty of successful creatives. They showed me that it is possible to live off of your art, you just have to be as creative with your work as you are with your business model. This is why it’s so important to share our experiences as artists; when we learn from each other, we can only grow stronger.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://daviskpdigital.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davis-kurepa-peers/