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

Alright, Jill thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar you earn in a new endeavor is always special. We’d love to hear about how you got your first client that wasn’t a friend or family.

My first real client came to me when I worked at Kinko’s (dating myself). The business wouldn’t accept his project because it was too risque, so I offered to do it on the side. Content, as long as it’s legal, has never offended me. He owned an adult toy store for people with kinks all along the spectrum. I was just a desktop publisher back then, and had to work in Quark, but fell in love with the process of creating a catalog. This was back in 2000, and I had just started going to University of Baltimore for graphic design, so it was a great side gig. He was such a great client, and I’m sure it didn’t help that I had no idea what those skills were worth, so I massively undercharged him. At the same time, I received quite an education in B2B customer service. He did offer me anything I wanted out of the catalog as a bonus, but I declined.

Jill , 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?

First and foremost, I love design. I don’t think you can not love it and survive in the field. Many folks I came up with have moved into different ventures that are more profitable, but I can’t think of anything I’d rather do. It’s my full-time job, my part-time job, and my gig work.

I stumbled backwards into graphic design, though I have been working in the field since I was 15. In high school I used to put together a newsletter using Print Shop Pro for a group I belonged to, designed t-shirts for us, and would make invitations and posters for people. I was an alternateen, so I also created zines, and dreamed of one day having my own print magazine like Sassy.

I didn’t know it was a career/profession, so I decided I wanted to get into filmmaking. I worked on shorts with my friends, and worked at a movie theater and two different video stores before I was approached by a customer. We would have lengthy talks about film, and he told me about the communications program he led at a local university. He felt I would be a great match for the program, and within the year I was enrolled.

There weren’t many film classes, but there was a course on designing for screens, and a mandatory course on design industry standard software. The professors for those courses sparked something in me, and I was sold. Designing had always been my avocation, but from that moment on I focused on it being my vocation. I started an accelerated masters program while I was still in undergrad, but as I worked full time, I took about 7 years to finish my undergrad and another 10 to finish all 48 credits for the M.F.A. (+60 credits of personal interest). I now am an adjunct at my alma mater, teaching the same class that really started me on this path.

I am wordy, but I’m fast. I work with my clients to create their vision, with guidance. I like to identify the real problem they are trying to solve, and I spend their budget as though it was mine. I believe in mentoring and and mentorship. My core belief in all things is that there is always more to learn.

Any advice for managing a team?

My best experience managing a team was when I had to suddenly manage a global team that I had been a peer-member of as we transitioned to working together on two high value brands. My advice would be to always have your team’s back, make sure EVERYONE gets credit for what they’ve done, never assume anything, and know that whatever happens, you are the one responsible for the final outcomes. Communicate clearly and frequently with your clients and your teams, and you earn the respect from both.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The customer is always right was driven into me during my years in retail. It took recognizing that a client was abusing my work, my time, and my health to fire them. This was in 2007, and I was creating a line of stationery for a remote customer. I would work at my job, go to school, and then work the rest of the evening on her products. I was averaging 2-3 hours of sleep per night. She started to ask me to copy designs, not even adapt them, just straight copy the work of other stationery companies. I refused, and she threatened to not pay me for the hours of work I had already completed. This is also when I learned about contracts and deposits, and “clients from hell.” I sent my invoice and waited to be paid before I would continue with original designs. I never received the money, so she never received the native files.
Clients can be wrong.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jillblum.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillblum/

Image Credits

Marlayna Demond
Choir Design