We were lucky to catch up with Anna Bullock recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Anna, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

“Of all the virtues we can learn, no trait is more useful, more essential for survival, and more likely to improve the quality of life than the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge.” – Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi

Here’s the thing: Risks are always going to feel a little scary – no matter how big or small they might seem. I think it’s because there’s always some element of the unknown or wondering if we’re about to make a mistake we won’t be able to come back from. As dramatic as this is going to sound, throughout the history of time the people who make the biggest differences are the people who are resilient through hardship, value a calculated risk and are open-minded and have learned to trust their gut. My mantra for the past few years of creating an untraditional creative career for myself has been: If you never ask/try, the answer is always no. To me, the idea of “what if” is much scarier than risking a fall.

Freshman year of undergrad, I read a book called “Resilience” by Eric Greitens. (If you’ve not read it – 10/10 recommend). At the time, it didn’t mean that much. It was a first year required class reading – you know how that goes. However, I strangely find myself picking it back up every once in a while. Greitens talks a TON about resiliency and shares awesome insights on making a life for yourself that you love. He writes, “a great deal of our growth does come when we put our shoulder into what’s painful. We choose to, or have to, step beyond the margins of our past experience and do something hard and new.”

There have been quite a few moments and decisions over the past decade or so that have felt like a hard or new move; telling people in my small town I was going to art school, switching my degree halfway through my undergrad to a different creative field I knew nothing about, off the cuff pitching & booking my first client, quitting my secure agency job to do contract work, starting Anna Katherine Creative from the ground up, leaving the contract creative job to do my own thing full-time, and now adding teaching Art classes (sans teaching degree) a few days a week.

My parents instilled a lot of agency in me and my siblings growing up. They also taught us how to commit to hard things and seeing it through the finish line – especially if they were things that gave us invaluable skills, experience or got us closer to things we loved. Those experiences and practice has had a massive impact on my willingness and ability to take good risks and pivot when and if I need to.

I’m a firm believer we never have to settle for anyone’s idea of success but our own which is always evolving. The dreams and passions we have are for a purpose. We do everyone – and ourselves – a huge disfavor by avoiding the steps it takes to put us in the right direction. The more we try the more we learn what we actually want, and the closer we get to a joyful, meaningful life.

Anna, 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?

Hi! I’m Anna Bullock, founder and creative behind Anna Katherine Creative. AKC is a full-service creative studio offering branding, graphic design, web design, photography, brand strategy and implementation for industry shifters, non-conformist business owners and killer creatives. Most recently, we’ve added documentary elopement & wedding photography to our wide list of services. You need it – we got it.

I have always considered myself a creative from a very young age & always knew I’d end up in some kind of creative career. After working in a design agency for a few years I felt very stuck in the single lane projects and wanted a career that allowed me to do all of the things I’m passionate about. I didn’t just want to be a graphic designer. I wanted to be a graphic designer AND a website designer AND an artist AND a photographer AND a brand strategist AND I wanted to work with fellow creative and other business owners who feel like they have something very different to offer in their industry. I wanted to create a business that screams you can do a lot and do it well. You can have new ideas and people like them. You can dream big and we can practically make them happen.

I’m the most proud of my clients and the genuine community I’ve discovered through AKC. During brand strategy 1:1s – which I do with every brand project – one of the questions I ask is “what is one thing you want people to know about you, your craft and themselves.” I’ll answer that here for my business.

The most important thing I want clients to know about me is that I’m here for you. You are not a number. You are not a paycheck. When people hire me to create for their businesses, they’re trusting me with their baby. Whether it’s a dream they’ve nurtured for years, ready to launch, or are looking to explore a new direction, connection and trust are the first pieces of the puzzle. Connecting with clients is #1 because make my best work for clients I consider friends. I believe in you and my goal is to make sure you are seen, heard and valued. That means making time to do all of those things, because you deserve a creative that genuinely cares about you. 50% of what I do is about getting to know you: texting, calling, video chats, or meeting up in-person to talk about you, your dream and where you’re headed. We focus on creating together rather than just ‘getting the job done’.

The most important thing I want clients to know about my craft is that I won’t create “Anna’s Version” of your business. I’m going to create the best version of YOUR business with your unique flavor, perspective, tastes, clients and business direction at the helm. Nothing ready-made. Nothing copied and pasted from the internet or Pinterest. It’s the real good stuff, original 100% custom and purposefully creative work that will make you say ‘Oh my gosh, yes! This feels like me. This is me.’ We create together and that’s where the magic happens.

The most important thing I want clients to know about themselves is that they are worth the investment. Your ideas are good and need to be heard. You’re not alone. Your vision deserves the best possible creative with skills and experience that resonates with you. When it comes to hiring someone to create meaningful and impactful work for you, the better you vibe — the more aligned, stunning and successful the results are.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I get this question a ton because I run my socials with a slightly different philosophy than most businesses. I want the experience I’m creating on socials to be identical to the experience clients get with me in person. I do all of the client facing work in a very relational way. Clients see a lot of my face when they work with me so I want them to see a lot of my face before they even hire me. Successful social medias are run based off of the brand’s values. My brand values are relationship-first work, originality, process and creativity. On IG stories, I show up like I do when I’m chatting with my best friend. I ask my people questions and. get to know them genuinely and interact with my IG friends & followers as much as possible. I show off client work and share the thought process behind unique decisions. I post work and write about my clients, or the finer details of the process or the big picture effects.

My biggest advice for showing up on socials is to SHOW UP. and SHOW UP A TON. You will find your people a lot quicker if they know you, like you and trust you. Don’t let the fear of wanting every word or image to be perfection hold you back from sharing.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had connected with other creative business owners sooner. For the first two years, I built a lot of my business from the ground up, all by myself. Don’t do that. I mean, you can totally do it that way, but you’re going to get really tired and burnt out. Ask for help or advice way sooner than your pride will let you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.annakatherinecreative.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annakatherine.creative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annakatherinecreative
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-bullock-48b70317b/