We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amanda Sewell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.
My first non-friend/family client was a local lifecoach. I was instantly drawn to her. I had never seen someone with so much passion and life experience related to the work she was doing.
She specialized in helping women take back control of their lives in the areas of finances and wellness. We started with a simple brand – a wordmark logo, 3 colors and a font suite. Then I guided her on website content/structure and built out a simple 5 page website with booking integrations so she could save herself time going back and forth via email.
I think I charged her $500 for all of it.
At the time, it felt like such a huge win. Someone valued my input and skills and was willing to pay me to do work I loved.
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Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I came from healthcare. 14 years as a Registered Massage Therapist, 4 years as a health coach and then 1 year as a Postnatal Fitness Specialist. Then I had my daughter. All the skills I had grown bootstrapping my business lead me to become a brand and website designer.
To this day, I continue to invest greatly in ongoing learning since tech and design never stops adapting to the market needs.
Officially in 2017, I got my first paying client. Since then, I’ve worked with primarily impact makers. The work I do is based in helping them see their own value and make more money doing what they love.
As of recently, I’ve moved in more of a Strategist role, guiding the design experience from first inquiry call straight through off-boarding. Being the one key contact to guide the client through presentations and feedback rounds. My focus is to ensure that what we create is effective and connects with both their business goals and target market.
In my experience, I’ve found that having the client invest in several different professionals and then having them come back to me was a choppy and confusing experience for them. Too many invoices and dates to remember. Not to mention the different systems that each professional uses.
The thing I am most proud of is that the clients that I get to work with often sign on to work with us on an ongoing basis. They become friends. And I value these relationships so much.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Treating our clients like humans. Showing them that we value their investment of time and energy. This leads to word of mouth referrals. We often send out a welcome card when they sign on. Then a small thank you gift once they’ve launched.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish I had gotten a contract so much earlier in my business. Thankfully, I found these resources in year 2.
A contract is key to ensure that the working relationship is clear. Also, to help protect yourself when things don’t go perfectly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stellartheory.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellartheory.co/