We were lucky to catch up with Courtlyn Jones recently and have shared our conversation below.

Courtlyn, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

My idea for The Design Database came to me out of the blue. It wasn’t a plan I had for years or even months before I started building it. I always thought I would grow up to be an artist or graphic designer so I studied and practiced art for most of my life; probably since I was about two years old. I started in Fine Arts, painting, and drawing during my childhood, then switched to graphic design in high school and majored in it at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Unfortunately, the creative industry is very toxic and competitive so I had a hard start breaking into graphic design full-time.

 Instead, I moonlighted as a freelance graphic designer, alongside my full-time jobs in Production & Marketing for over 12 years. I was working 3 jobs at a time because I wanted to get as much design experience as possible. When I had FINALLY landed my first full-time in corporate, I was ecstatic, but due to COVID, I was laid off after only one year. Luckily, I was able to land a job about two months later at my DREAM COMPANY and I was beyond thrilled. That, unfortunately was the biggest nightmare and I abruptly quit after only 5 months because of how toxic the work environment was there.

All of this had me shaken up and questioning my path: “Did I actually want to be a designer? Was this even my path? Why was this so hard for me?” The Design Database was born after realizing all of the hidden flaws within the creative industry (the low wages, how women are paid less than men, get less opportunities, and receive less exposure, etc.), but also how lonely being a Creative can be.

 When I decided to pursue freelance full-time, I noticed how the current freelance platforms, such as Fiverr and Upwork, take such HUGE commissions from us Creatives. I started thinking “Why are they stealing my hard-earned money?” It all felt like a scam and there was nothing I could do. I posted a rant on LinkedIn about all of the struggles and frustrations I was experiencing and in less than 24 hours, I had over 400 female Creatives emailing me to say how they feel the same way and wanted to be a part of whatever it was that I was building.

 The Design Database was born two months later and is now the leading, women-owned online community platform for female Creatives who need more exposure so they can have more opportunities and connect with our vetted community of higher-quality clients. We are more than a job site; we are a support system. Our membership-based community of female and non-binary Creatives is creating new friendships, more creative collaborations and inspiration, and guided mentorship.

Courtlyn, 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 am very proud of my work with The Design Database because it’s something that I wish I had when I was starting out as an artist. There are so many platforms out there today that prey on newbie artists and freelancers because we were never properly taught how to price our work correctly or know our worth. When I started out as a graphic designer working in the real-world, I quickly learned how unprepared I was because we weren’t taught in school anything about how to earn the right wages for our talent. We were taught mainly about how the creative industry is tough and we knew some of us would make it and most of us wouldn’t. I think it all falls under the “starving artist” narrative.

 Men are much better at knowing their worth and asking for it, while women are definitely more shy and we tend to settle for less than we deserve because we don’t want to come off as “too pushy” or “demanding,” while men don’t seem to have that problem as often. Women, especially in the creative industry, have proven to outperform men, but we’re paid less and often times it’s because we do it to ourselves. I’ve incorrectly priced my work for YEARS because I was too afraid to ask for more and I would take the lowest offer, thinking “Okay, this will be good for the experience at least.”

 That’s what happened at my “dream company.” I knew the salary was over $20K less than my old job, but I took it because I wanted the experience even though I knew there was no way I could survive living in New York City with this salary. The recruiter even asked me several times if I was okay with this salary and I should have taken that as the first red flag, but I wanted to work as a graphic designer there so badly. They later told me that the male candidates dropped out and at the last interview stage it was down to me and one other woman. Looking back on it now, I feel like she and I were both suckers.

The Design Database’s mission is to not only been a place for women in the arts to find more jobs and clients, but we provide the EDUCATION that these female Creatives need to DO BETTER! We have courses taught by more experienced artists and designers to guide the newbies to success. We have podcasts, blogs, virtual and in-person events, videos, and a community of fellow Creatives to be a support system for one another. No one should be set up for failure!

Creatives can also use our platform to promote their services and talent, teach a class if they want to help others with their experience, and share their story on our podcast, “Fearless Narratives,” which spotlights female Creatives and entrepreneurs that are changing the world today!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As an introvert with crippling anxiety, I had to unlearn basically everything I’ve ever learned in order to become an entrepreneur. I’ve always been afraid to speak up because I have a stutter that makes me very self-conscious, but as a founder, you really have to learn how to talk and how to talk WELL. I have always played it small, trying not to draw too much attention to myself as a child and teenager, but I’ve always managed to have the spotlight on me for some reason. Whenever I worked in groups, I always ended up having to be the leader or whenever we had a competition in school, I always won. I hated it and I just wanted to hide under my bed. I think that’s why it was easy for me to stay in corporate for as long as I did because I knew I was surrounded by people and I could hide at my desk, keep my head down, and that would be my life.

Now, I have to speak all the time. I have to pitch myself and The Design Database to investors and customers to gain brand awareness. I’ve had to unlearn all of my limiting beliefs and learn how to block out the outside noise, meaning the voice in my head that says “You can’t speak properly,” or “No one wants to hear you speak.” It’s so scary, especially now in the world of social media where trolls attack you for no reason.

I’ve had to unlearn that it’s not better to stay quiet and keep your head down. The world NEEDS all of our voices. It needs the voices of those who are trying to create positive change and build a better life for ourselves and others. So with that, I’ve had to learn how to speak up and that took me going to a speaking coach, trying different techniques to help “cure” my stutter, and me saying yes to as many speaking opportunities as possible even though I’m terrified.

Because I know that what I am doing is SO MUCH bigger than me, it’s worth it for me to put myself out there. Now, I’m speaking at conferences, doing more podcast interviews, and even launched my very own podcast out now called “Fearless Narratives,” where I am spotlighting female artists and entrepreneurs. What I love most about that is I’m not only using MY voice to make a difference, I’m giving more people an opportunity to use THEIR voices too.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My company was originally designed for ALL Creatives (designers, illustrators, photographers, writers, developers, content-creators, NFT artists, etc). It wasn’t until I realised that 92% of the artists that I was attracting to The Design Database are female that I made the pivot to be a platform for female and non-binary artists. Although it wasn’t an easy decision to make because I never like to be exclusive and I’m someone that hates cliques, but I know that female Creatives are the MOST underserved community within the creative industry and I really want to shine a light on that and give them more opportunities. Gender pay parity is a real issue and this felt like the best choice for right now.

 Will I open it up in the future? I’m not sure, but we will never turn anyone away who wants to be a part of our platform.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thedesigndatabase.net
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thedesigndatabase OR www.instagram.com/courtlyn.jones
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedesigndatabase
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/courtlynjones OR www.linkedin/company/the-design-database
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/thedsgndatabase
• Other: Fearless Narratives podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mf5tPThqKJOBFtoXxqMvp?si=ea463699ce274990