We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Arianna Horton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Arianna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I am grateful to say yes, and I know it will only get better! I started out creating brand identities for my own various businesses, including jewelry, my visual art, and the branding company itself (among some other unrevealed projects). I shot my own product photography, and merchandise photos for local musicians. I dabbled in web design, focusing on UX and conversion optimization, including copywriting. Over time people I knew were coming to me for graphic design work, photography services, and, much to my delight, branding. I helped many of my early supporters for free or for very little money, feeling that with limited experience I was not yet qualified to “make a living” off of these skills, even for the value that I was providing. Looking back, getting paid is a skill in itself that I have had to develop. Even as my technical skills continued to improve, I would feel total fear just thinking about charging for my work. I stuck with regular jobs longer than I truthfully needed to. I just could not gather the self-worth necessary to launch into business, because it would require putting a price on my work.
That changed when I met one of my most trusting clients and best friends to this day, Akala Lemus, owner and curator of positivity at Positive Packages. She stressed the importance of valuing my work and told me to charge her what I wanted to charge. It was the first time I felt that someone saw the true value I could add to their business with my skill set, and it made me realize that working with the right client is entirely the solution to being valued for what you have to offer!
The important factor that has made my work with Positive Packages so fulfilling, is that Akala has trusted my consultative input and my creative decisions. This has resulted in a complete identity face-lift for Positive Packages, including an identity revamp (logo, wordmark, typography, color palette), updated packaging, editorial and ecommerce product photography, and some UX consultation for how to improve her existing webstore copy and layout. She has received many compliments on her brand, and says that she is so proud to see her brand come to life in this way, which makes me feel that I have accomplished what I promised to deliver.
The work I did for Positive Packages gave the the fuel I needed to create and launch the website for Source Visionary Media, my media design and branding company. I had the focus and clarity I needed to develop Source as a brand in itself, because I knew who I was talking to with the visual language and copy. I knew that the person I was addressing, was someone who believes in the purpose of their work, and wants to communicate that seamlessly across their visual identity. This person wants to make the greatest impact possible for the people who resonate with their work. This person has deep trust in their own evolution, and invests accordingly.
This was an immense leap forward for myself as an independent creative; having a portfolio that can speak for itself, while supported by the pensive and understated visual language of Source [the brand]. I wanted to appeal to people like myself who are fueled by meaning, because those are the people I enjoy working with the most. What I strive to communicate is, meaning is the basis for effective design. A brand is the impression that remains subconsciously, and if communicated consistently, garners both awareness and recognition among a growing community. When clients understand this, they are able to have greater clarity for how they would like their brand to be perceived, and establish longevity for the brand they will become in the far future.
Charging accordingly for this level of work is what allows me to sustain the effort necessary to deliver. I only take on those projects that truly inspire me and I can give my best to. I have set up my brand to speak to others who resonate with what I offer. This way of approaching business, especially for being new, means that sometimes I do other work to support myself, and I have become okay with that.
In fact, I have found joy and success in real estate photography, and get compensated well for that! I occasionally take on smaller design or photography work for clients where I can be of service. I also utilize a staffing app for income in between everything else, and have learned to appreciate the journey of growing my business and maintaining my independence from typical employment. What remains the same across all my income sources is that my availability is my own, so that I am free to take on client work for Source at any time. So far, it has been working out, and being able to use my skills in these various ways means I have freedom over my time and my life, which I will continue to master and refine as I learn more about what I want for myself.
The real key I have learned is to have more appreciation for myself, and see the momentum I have been building so far towards the “ideal” future (an ideal which changes constantly). I left my last job in 2020, and I am still alive. I have cultivated the self-worth to know that I create value! It has taken countless days of shadow work and positive affirmation to get to where I am now. I know that all I have to do is be persistent, and trust in my ability to learn and grow.
The next frontier for me is passive income. As I acquire more knowledge and become better at articulating what I know, I have the intention to create course material and publish media. I will be able to help a greater number of people in this way than delivering services one by one. I have seen how the power of passive income can be truly freeing. I will also invest in real estate. Really, anything you do can be an asset or an income stream if you are aware of the value it can bring to others.
My advice to people starting on the journey to financial independence, especially creatives, is to recognize the value of what you have to offer and not comprise on using your skills for that which does not excite you. The most valuable assets we have are our time and energy. If you are not free to pursue the opportunities you want as they arise, you will be perpetuating a cycle of expending more energy to do things which do not return energy back. People tend to worry that without a job or their usual way of doing things that they will lack stability, but there are in fact ways to ensure the stability that you feel comfortable with while also maintaining your independence. Your freedom to pursue inspired opportunity is what will provide all the stability you need, and much more!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
When asked to describe myself, I never know where to begin. I consider myself to be an infinite creator, because any other label is too limiting for me to adhere to. I paint, wire wrap, sew, produce music, photograph, design, speak, write, 3d model, develop brand concepts, and whatever else interests me at the time. Some skills I am highly proficient in while others are new to me, and I find that progress in one skill often translates to progress in another, allowing me to take newly informed approaches to familiar media. I don’t subscribe to the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none,” I have instead chosen to embrace my range of interests as a cumulative resource of creative solutions.
My core offerings at this time are brand identity design and brand asset generation through Source Visionary Media. I enjoy working with creative entrepreneurs who have a vision for how they would like to evolve, and translating this into a visual language that speaks to their ideal client. That might mean design, but it can certainly include photo and video for more immersive story telling. Editorial shoots convey moods and concepts through textures, composition, color, and lighting. Having custom media for your website and socials unifies nicely with design elements and takes your presentation to the next level.
Before design, comes strategy, and before strategy, comes alignment. I spend a great deal of time with the individuals I work with to establish the source of inspiration for what they do. The core value of their brand is nestled within who they are and their self-identified purpose. It requires honesty towards oneself and vulnerability to be able to share. I ask probing questions about what matters to them, including personality descriptions of the people they wish to attract to their business. Clients have told me this in itself is a very insightful experience, as it ought to be! From here, we can assign words to describe the brand, and from words begin piecing together visual references. I meet back with my clients to see which references are headed in the right direction, and what we may need more of. It has been helpful in cases where I may have had a different idea about what a certain descriptor meant than my client did, as we are ultimately dealing with visual concepts.
These early dialogues give the client a chance to articulate their more abstract thoughts about their business and their purpose, to gain more clarity for themselves and to more actively participate in the design process. I am proud to say that I will not work any other way, because to offer any less to people looking to expand into who they truly wish to be, would be a missed opportunity for us both.
Just as with Source, all of my business endeavors are united by the purpose of inspiring greater self-awareness. I have more visual art in the works as well, with merchandise coming soon. Additional projects will be announced on my personal page as they are ready to go live.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I absolutely love Brian Tracy. For those who do not know him, he has spoken in countries all over the world and published many books on the topics of self-mastery, time management, business, sales, motivation, etc. I disovered Brian Tracy’s video seminars from the 80’s on YouTube over 8 years ago when I was going through a difficult time in my life. He taught that time management is a skill, like any other, and it can be learned just as such. In his seminar, The Psychology of Time Managment, he said, “Time managment is life management… Time is the fundamental resource of life.” “Everything that you ever will be, is determined by how you use your time.”
Brian Tracy emphasizes the importance of self-esteem. Everything else you do in life is affected by how you view yourself, including how you interact with others and the results you get from those interactions. A person who likes themselves has high energy and a positive mental attitude, they produce more and create more value for everyone else around them because they are at peak mental capacity. “You feel positive about yourself to the degree to which you feel you are in control of your own life.” – Brian Tracy
Regardless of what industry you are in, his seminars and books have solid advice for anyone seeking mastery of their own life. If you know about Napoleon Hill, Brian Tracy cites him as an influence as well. If you are in sales, Brian Tracy is a MUST!
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
The simplest thing folks can do is shop small. Decorate your home with art from artists you know, rather than mass produced “artwork” from major retailers. Buy soap from a local soapmaker. Look for handmade gifts for friends and family during holidays. Show up to your local shows and art events! The difference may be a few extra dollars for the hard work and time put in by these artisans, but you are supporting someone’s livelihood when you make even the smallest purchase. Better yet, tell all your friends about it too. If we all support each other, there is more to go around!
I would also say, that we always need more people to come out of the woodwork and share their creations. There are so many talented creatives in the world who might be holding themselves back from sharing what they have made. There can never be enough art, music, food, healing, clothes, movement, teaching, events, etc., because variety is the spice of life. Your creation might be the one that inspires someone else to create, you can never truly know. Art inspires exponentially.
Contact Info:
- Website: sourcevisionarymedia.com
- Instagram: @arianna_horton @source.vm
Image Credits
Preston Fodor (first image), Arianna Horton (all others)