We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angela Freeman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angela below.

Angela, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I think I started my business at exactly the right time in my life for me. I’m originally from Scotland, where I worked as a graphic designer/printer for 25 years in the local library service. I loved my job there, but because it WAS a library and my bosses were librarians, I basically had free reign over the Reprographics Department. This taught me how to work on my own, scheduling jobs and being able to follow a job through from the initial idea to completion.
We moved with my family to the USA from Scotland, UK in July 2010 and after a very short stint at a local newspaper, which showed me I wasn’t cut out for the advertising industry, I decided to enroll in a local college to learn website design. After that I decided to see what would happen if I went freelance.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

The majority of my work is now website design, which I LOVE doing, but I still occasionally get asked to do a wee graphic design job or a photoshoot. I can design in any Content Management System for websites, but prefer to use WordPress – there’s a reason it’s the #1 website builder in the world! For graphic design I use the standard Adobe programs – Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign.
I always enjoy meeting my local clients, but as all my work is done online, I can work with clients from all over the country… all over the world actually. The variety of clients and jobs I get is a lot of fun. From local history websites, to wineries and distilleries, there’s always something I learn with each new job, and I really enjoy figuring out new and creative ways to solve my clients wishes. Sometimes they come to me not really knowing what they want, so part of my job is to work out what they need and come up with suggestions for them through research and talking to them about their businesses.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me has been word of mouth.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’d always enjoyed photography, so when I moved to the USA I thought I’d like to try and become a photographer. I did a few college courses and invested in a new camera and lenses. But the photography business is very hard to get into as there’s so much competition out there. Plus it came to a point when I was no longer enjoying it. So that was when I decided to backtrack and go back to designing. Now photography is back to being a hobby and once again I’m enjoying shooting for fun.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://angelafreemandesign.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelafreemandesign/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-freeman-39133560/