We recently connected with Joy Rubin and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Joy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

Social media is not the answer. When I participated it generate bad leads and unwelcome queries. I have stepped away and it not had a great effect on business. I am happy to not be part of the circus.

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.

After working a decade plus at a small graphic design firm, it was past time for a change. But getting a new job in a similar environment seemed unappealing to me. I was burnt out on design and felt hopeless. I wanted to try something totally new. After securing the support of family and friends I took the bold leap of quitting with no plans on where I would land. I had enough saved for a few months of soul searching but knew that I would need to augment with some freelance design until I could find my new path.

Week one was bliss. I finished languishing home projects, pondered life, enjoyed some self-care moments, and started to feel hopeful again. Then, one week in, my partner’s life fell apart. He grew up in an abusive family environment and this abuse finally resulted in the death of his mother. All hope was lost. I realized I would need to get an income stream quickly so I could support him during this time.

I threw together a quick website, organized my portfolio and headed out to the agencies in hope of finding flexible freelance work. To my surprise once I posted my intentions on LinkedIn some of the contacts made at my previous job recommended me to their friends and colleagues. I was touched. Within a few months I had clients and a steady stream of work.

I also had a new kind of client in the mix, non-profits. What they lacked in budgets they made up for in inspiration. Their tenacity, grit, kindness, and belief in their respective missions buoyed me at the time when I needed it most. I, in turn, helped them put a professional face on their goals and dream so they could grow their organization and expand their reach. Their successes served as the building blocks for my business and my emotional health.

Since that time life has thrown many other challenges my way. Through all of it my non-profit clients continue to be a source of inspiration and hope. This is why I now focus on freelance design for non-profit organizations.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

99.9% word-of-mouth recommendations

I have made some contacts through LinkedIn and similar sites, but none of those contacts have ever turned into a true client. In fact, my interactions with those that solicit freelance design from just social/job sites has been overwhelmingly negative. They tend to want a whole lot for nothing or are outright scams.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

At the tail end of 2019 my largest client was absorbed by a bigger company. A company that had its own in-house designers. As I waved goodbye to a large chunk on my income, I tried to make lemonade telling myself that this was a great time to leverage my experience to find new and interesting work. And then there was Covid. (So much for the lemonade.)

It felt like the end of times. Most of my clients put their projects on hold not knowing what tomorrow was going to look like for their organization. I was already trying to pivot from the first client loss, and now I had almost no work. But I did not want to shutter my business and return to a ‘real’ job.

I put to word out with my trusted clients that I was very available for new work. Slowly a trickle formed. And thanks to advice from my dad oh so long ago, I had saved for a rainy day. Between that trickle of work and my savings account I was able weather the pandemic and continue as a freelance designer.

Contact Info:

• Website: joyrubincreative.com