We recently connected with Alicia DeMott and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alicia, thanks for joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

I had just started freelancing and was searching for a client to work with for my senior thesis (I was in my senior year of college). Living in South Carolina at the time, Greenville would host a small business market called “The Indie Craft Festival” a few times a year. Quickly attracted to one booth in particular, I let Linnea know how much I liked her products. Linnea sold self-care and home-care products including candles, lip balm, cleaning products, etc. I told her I liked her style, and as a graphic designer, I appreciated her eye for color. Immediately, she asked if I had an Instagram account or portfolio because she was seeking design help. We hit it off–she loved my work, and I designed packaging and alternative branding for her.

Alicia, 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’m a freelance graphic designer from Virginia. I have always loved art and photography and discovered my love of graphic design throughout my college career as a graphic design major.

Over the years, I discovered my desire to freelance, having previously worked corporately. I love how personal I can be with my clients and get to know the individuals, not from a brief from my supervisor. I worked as a design editor for my school’s award-winning newspaper, won multiple illustration awards, and was the design lead for an orginization dedicated international students. My mom is from Argentina, which led me to want to design for minorities and work in the most diverse environments.

I am grateful for the clients who have supported me and am most proud of the illustration work I did for a science teacher that won me multiple silver ADDYs (from the American Advertising Association).

I strive to make all my designs meet each client’s needs with my personal touch in the mix. I am obsessed with photography, skincare, haircare, and yoga. My dream is to design for a skincare company.

If you are a small business seeking branding, packaging, social media, or any creative help, I would love to work with you and help elevate your brand!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The university I attended had high expectations both socially and academically. Throughout my years there, I consistently compared myself to others and struggled with one teacher who seemed to enjoy causing us distress.

If I could go back, I would tell myself, I am enough regardless of grades, extracurriculars, and how many friends I have. I did well, but my mental health suffered, including my creativity. Burnt out every time a project was due, I thought that I could never accomplish what others in my class could. I was obsessed with looking like I had it all together, and my mental health took a toll.

Now that I’m graduated, I see how silly it was to train myself to believe my worth depended on what other people thought of me. I had to unlearn the idea that “doing more” trumps my personal health and relationship with others. Now that I’m dealing with far less burn out, it’s actually easier to design, and my work has far exceeded what I’ve done in school.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for client growth has been networking amongst friends and going to multiple small businesses directly. Many of my friends from school are now running independent businesses, and I’ve been able to help them as I’ve kept in touch. For even bigger clients, I have met them through reaching out directly either via Instagram or in person. I highly suggest connecting with your creative community if you want to design for small businesses.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aliciajoydesign.com/about
• Instagram: @aliciajoydesign
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicia.demott.18/about
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-demott-99990322b/

Image Credits
1. Brand photo (first photo of me) Katie Rose Photography: https://katierosephotography.pic-time.com/portfolio 2. All other photos were by myself, Alicia DeMott