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

Alright, Ansley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

The biggest challenge I’ve faced as an entrepreneur is I’m my own worst enemy. Knowing what I know now, if I was starting my graphic design business today I would give myself more grace. From an outsiders point of view, working for yourself looks glamorous and at times it is, but there are so many bumps in the road that come with being your own boss. I wish I hadn’t been so hard on myself in the beginning. I truly believe that you receive the energy that you put out. A business with a positive leader will grow way faster than a business with a negative leader.

Ansley, 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! My name is Ansley Robinson and I am the founder of RooBee Creative Co. RooBee is a full service creative studio. I offer services such as, but not limited to, graphic design, web design and social media management.

As a young child I always knew I wanted to own my own business. I first experienced the rush of entrepreneurship in high school. I received an embroidery machine in the ninth grade for Christmas and began selling monogram t-shirts (which were all the rage at the time) to my peers. I loved everything about running a business – the late nights, keeping my finances organized, delivering the products, etc. I couldn’t get enough of entrepreneurship. It was also in high school that I took my first graphic design class. I often tell people this was the most useful class I’ve ever taken. I wasn’t much for academics… school didn’t interest me. I went on to take two more years of graphic design.

In 2020, post college graduation, I started posting my designs on Instagram and people began to reach out for graphic design work. I dreamt of the day that I could make freelance work my full time career. After a handful of jobs where I just never found my footing and a few clients later, I went full time with my freelance work in March of 2022. Since then, I’ve gained consistent clients and have been busy with short term projects such as branding and website design.

One of my proudest moments happened more recently. A couple of months ago I was hired by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to design a poster that would be displayed in Walgreens stores all around the Atlanta area for the month of October. It’s a poster that encourages customers to donate to Children’s Healthcare. I walked into Walgreens the other day and was overwhelmed with pride to see my work sitting by the cash register. It took a lot of hard work to get to that very moment. Not to mention, I was able to design something for such a great cause.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The best advice I can give to someone else trying to start a graphic design business is do not stop marketing yourself. Join as many facebook groups as you can, post on social media as much as you can, and always carry your business card. You never know who you’re going to meet. I’ve found most of my clientele through facebook groups. People are constantly looking for graphic designers. You have to be willing to put yourself out there.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is sharing my work with others. I love being able to express my thoughts and ideas in ways that many people can’t.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.roobeecreative.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/roobeecreativeco
• Other: etsy.com/shop/roobeecreativeco

Image Credits
Photographs were taken by Christine Quarte https://christinequartephotography.com/