We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexis Moulds a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexis, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

As strange as it may sound, it didn’t really sink in that I could have a creative career until a college rep from an art school visited my high school. Despite my parents always being very supportive of my artistic pursuits, I just thought you went to school then got a job. I knew as soon as I met the college rep that I wanted to pursue a creative career in any sense of the word. It was the one hobby that I stuck to. I had a hard time sticking to my activities as a kid: ballet, soccer, co-ed baseball, karate, horse riding, swimming, badminton, piano and other instruments… I jumped around from activity to activity, losing interest or drive in everything except art. I couldn’t seem to get enough of it. It’s been a winding journey ever since but I’ve always stuck to a creative path in one way or another.

Alexis, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I used to think that my inability to stay focused on one type of creative work was a bad thing but now I’ve embraced my wide range of creative outlets. It keeps things interesting and it opens more doors for creative work. I can switch between the rigid discipline of design principles to the fluidity that illustration can offer. This allows clients to contact me for different types of projects, allowing me to practice different things and improve across the board.

What sets me apart is my background in graphic design, my experience with office jobs and data sheets, but on the other end of the spectrum, my creativity with illustration and fine art. I like to be able to switch between something more regimented like excel sheets and filing information (which is something you have to do as a creative business owner) and something more fluid and chaotic like fine art.

I learned early on in my career to go with the flow and fake it ’til you make it in the sense of learning on the job. I studied illustration in art school, not graphic design. I learned all what I know about graphic design while on the job. I had no choice, I was put in a position and had to learn. There were times it was stressful but in the long run, it paid off.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I’ve never been “normal”; I didn’t do well in school, I was kind of a loner, I wasn’t popular, I didn’t have a ton of friends, I daydreamed a lot. I was usually a 1-on-1 kind of person, probably because this enabled me to be able to focus on one person at a time. My family moved around a lot when I was young due to my dad’s job and I was an only child up until 12 years old, so the one constant I could always count on to keep me company was my creativity. It was an endless opportunity to communicate my thoughts and feelings through worlds I created.

I knew I would never fit well in a “normal” career in a cubicle with a desk but it didn’t occur to me that I had the ability to actually avoid it so I spent years jumping from in-house graphic design job to graphic design job, making money but not really living up to my potential. I wasn’t thriving, I was just merely surviving and found myself envious of other creatives who spent all day doing what they actually loved. When I finally figured out I had the ability (and self confidence) to pursue a freelance creative career, I finally felt I was doing the right thing.

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is being able to live my truth every day. I can take on a wide range of projects from a wide range of clients and I enjoy every one. I can create my own schedule and I’m my own boss. It’s not without its challenges, of course. You have to be very self-disciplined and organized but it’s 100% worth it to feel like you’re finally doing what you’re meant to be doing and making a positive impact on the world.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

When I first graduated college in 2005, there were much less resources than there are now or they were more difficult to access. There were still magazines back then and that was one of the main resources but they were expensive, and only came out once a month or maybe even once every 3 months. You had to subscribe and wait for them to arrive, then they took up space on your bookshelf. Things have really changed. There are so many YouTube videos, social media reels, an endless source of information and education for creatives to soak in. There were podcasts back then but not like there are now. We are living in a great time for learning from others who decide to take the time to share their knowledge.

One particular podcast pulled me out of my “desk job funk”: The Creative Pep Talk Podcast by Andy J Miller. I was sitting at my desk at one of my desk jobs, completely depressed because I felt “stuck”, It was a very toxic work environment but I couldn’t seem to find another design job. After 2 years of trying, I was beginning to lose hope. I stumbled across Andy’s podcast one day. It was an episode about how very often, the more difficult something becomes, the more “booby traps” you come across, the closer you are to the treasure. It was eye-opening and gave me hope for the first time in years. The episode is appropriately titled “For When You Feel Like Giving Up”, which is exactly why it caught my eye. I did indeed feel like giving up and it completely turned my perspective around. It lit a fire underneath me and set me in motion to make my career what I wanted it to be. I felt in charge for the first time in years. That was about 3 years ago during the pandemic. I eventually left that position to pursue a freelance life and I haven’t looked back.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it has not been easy. There’s been a lot of stress and not a lot of sleep sometimes, working 7 days a week to establish myself as a freelancer but I know it’s exactly what’s right for me. But it has improved and it has gotten easier as I’ve navigated this career.

Contact Info:

• Website: alexismoulds.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alexismoulds
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexismoulds
• Other: Behance: www.behance.net/alexism

Image Credits
Wooden Hell photo: Flossmoor Brewing Co.