We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily DiGrazio a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

Like you might have guessed, landing my first client as a new business owner was not easy! (Especially because I launched about two weeks before COVID hit – lucky me.) I actually spent most of my time in the beginning doing work pro bono – cold reaching out to local businesses and offering my services at no charge to help with their design needs through lockdown. Those opportunities led me to doing work for some of my favorite businesses in Austin (shouts out to Book People!) and allowed me to build a little bit of a portfolio along with some very kind testimonials. Shortly thereafter, and with a steady stream of leads trickling in, I landed my first real, paying client. It was a tiny project, and I definitely undercharged (hello, imposter syndrome!) but it allowed me to iron out the kinks in my process, better price out my projects, and learn how to really nurture my client relationships. I’m still connected with that first client to this day – and I’m immensely grateful that she’s been able to connect me with more opportunities (and higher paying work) through the years.

Emily, 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?

Yes! I own a branding and packaging design studio called Indiegogh (https://indiegogh.com/) whose mission is to empower women entrepreneurs with the tools and confidence they need to launch, grow, or pivot their brand with clarity and impact. We work with women-led service-based businesses and CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands in the health & wellness, food & beverage, and CBD & cannabis industries. We’re a bit different than other branding studios in that we focus first on strategy before diving into design, so it’s a real comprehensive, holistic approach to brand building. One of my favorite things we get to do are these half-day, collaborative brand building workshops where we take business owners through a complete audit of their company and work on honing in on their messaging and identity. There’s nothing I love more than watching my clients have that “a-ha” moment during a session – or when they see something they really love and it all just clicks!

I’m also excited to add that I’ve recently launched a second agency, SOCRATICA (https://socraticastudios.com/) which will cater more to national and disruptor/challenger brands.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Hands down the best source for new clients has been past clients! Referrals and word of mouth have been the backbone of my business and a great way to ensure I’m building a network of likeminded individuals who come highly recommended. It’s so important to maintain and nurture client relationships over time – not just because it’s the kind thing to do – but because you never know who may be advocating on your behalf.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

An important lesson I’ve had to unlearn is that you must know it all, have it all, or be it all. Running two businesses and figuring it all out for the first time has been such a journey of self discovery. I put a lot of pressure on myself to *be* everything and *know* everything – but I know that’s not possible. I’ve come to learn that I can be my biggest cheerleader or my biggest obstacle, and it’s much easier to be the cheerleader. The biggest advice I can give entrepreneurs who may be struggling with feeling they’re not good enough is to consider whether you’re standing in your own way – let go of some of that control, focus on doing your own thing, and dissolve those lofty expectations you’re putting on yourself. You might find that giving yourself space to learn and grow is all you needed to flourish where you are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://indiegogh.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/indiegogh
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilydigrazio/
• Other: https://socraticastudios.com/ https://www.instagram.com/socratica.agency/