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

Alright, Emily thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

I really take the time to get to know my clients, and I don’t stick with one design style. A lot of small brand and website design studios tend to want to stick within one style and work with clients who are looking specifically for that style. I really prefer to start with brand strategy and get to know my client’s business and personality, then decide which style we’re going to work within related to that. A lot of design coaches teach to develop and use a design style, but I don’t agree that it’s the best way to serve my clients well.

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?

I’m a brand and website designer based in Portland, Oregon. I have 7 years of branding and website design experience and actually first got started by majoring in advertising with a focus in design, then working in agencies as a designer and art director. I was able to work on a lot of different projects, from print to digital design, and got to be a part of a lot of brainstorms. That stage of my career really helped me to learn how to think big on projects, and helped me to get experience working on a lot of different projects so that I formed somewhat of an entrepreneurial mindset (the mindset where you get used to working on all kinds of different things).

I was actually laid off from my last agency job in 2021 because of COVID and decided to focus full-time on growing my branding and web design business. I realized that I loved working with small business owners more than large companies, because it feels like my design work makes more of a direct impact in their lives.

On a career level, I’m most proud of the fact that my clients feel really listened to throughout the design process. I see a lot of business owners coming in to the process feeling nervous because they’re not sure what to expect. It makes me feel really good knowing that they end a project feeling really confident and like they got to be a big part of the design process – because they should! I always want my clients to be a big part of the process, even if they aren’t the actual brand or website designer. I also really love getting to bring brands to life that showcase the business’s personality in a unique and fun way.

On a personal level but related to my business, I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve been able to grow my business without debt, and that I’ve been able to balance working with travel. I got to go to Thailand for a couple weeks with my husband for our honeymoon in February, and it felt really good to be able to do that together. I’m looking forward to more life experiences like that, because it’s one of the things that makes this work so fulfilling.

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

I had to unlearn some of the “corporate” or “9-5” mindset with becoming a business owner. I’m still struggling with it a little bit, but I’ve definitely come a long way in the last two years. I’ve had to learn that it’s truly okay for me to work when I want to work, and that I don’t always have to work super long hours to be successful. I’ve struggled with overworking because that’s kind of the mentality of the agency world, so it’s something I’ve had to unlearn.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I don’t have the biggest audience by any means, but a lot of the connections I’ve made on social media are thanks to simply showing up as a human on the platforms, especially Instagram. I try to balance showing my work with giving free advice and showing my face and real life. I also do my best to connect with people in a way that feels more conversational. I also never ever do cold sales.

Consistency is also key, even though we hear it all the time. But really, I try to post at least once a day every weekday and then engage with people on Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Website: emilyfostercreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyfostercreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilyfostercreative
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilymaefoster/

Image Credits
Macy Mulholland from Enliven Photography Kayla Little from Moon & Honey Photography