We recently connected with Kelsey Houston and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsey, thanks for joining 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.

I landed my first (real) client in 2017 by responding to a Facebook post in my subdivision community group. Tracy was the owner of a pet-sitting and dog-walking business that served my neighborhood and she’d asked for recommendations for a website designer. I responded that I was interested in speaking with her to see what she needed and if I could help her.

At that point, I had started my business less than a year prior, and I wouldn’t say I was desperate for clients– but I certainly was ready to work with a local business, (and, honestly–– to test my rationale that I COULD operate my own creative business). A bonus is that I’ve always had a love for animals, so designing for a pet-sitting business seemed like a perfect fit!

Tracy, her husband, and her daughter were this business. Being a family-owned and operated business, my goal was not only to provide them with a functional website but also an outsource for general and creative support. I’d step in to help whenever she did any local events and needed a hand. Tracy’s fantastic sense of humor and work ethic combined with my creative problem-solving helped expand their reach with elevated tools that were thoughtful and well-executed to amplify their brand.

Flash forward to 2020, when our local chamber awarded them “Best New Business of the Year,” they’ve greatly expanded their service area to several neighboring cities, and have a roster of five fantastic pet sitters, easing the minds of hundreds of local pet parents.

Working with Tracy was my first major “win,” (and continues to be) for me as a creative entrepreneur, but also as a person who fostered a friendship through faithful support and showing up. Helping her business grow and gain stronger overall brand awareness in the local community will forever be something I’m proud of!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Kelsey Houston (Logston) and I’m originally from Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. I currently work and reside in a suburb just west of St. Louis. I come to creative entrepreneurship from a diverse background of professional experiences and artistic influences. As a family, we were still very involved in the community arts even though my parents both worked. I started taking lessons in the arts at a young age, dancing, singing, playing piano, and some acting. My professional career is a vast Venn diagram that includes non-profits, local, state, and federal government, a law firm, a religious organization, an internet security company, and finally…small business ownership!

Coming from a generation of female creative entrepreneurs, I’ve watched my mom run a successful vocal studio for over thirty years. Her mother also painted and sold her artwork in galleries across Missouri, and my paternal grandmother–– a dedicated, talented quilter. So when I thought of a dream career, I naturally felt this was my calling. I’ve owned and operated my creative business since 2016, and I’ve also been fortunate enough to be a subcontracted lead designer for Posy Creative for the past five years. Being able to learn about the industry first-hand from my friend, Holly Hyde (while still operating my own business!) has been more of a blessing than I can really express. Other than my professors at Drury University and the Arts Institute of St. Louis (honorable mention to Edward Engel), she’s been incredibly instrumental in the amount that I’ve learned regarding print production and brand curation. She’s not only a wonderfully gifted creator and artist but a unique light in the world that I’m privileged to know.

I think what sets me apart from other graphic designers is that I’ll pick up wherever an individual is in their entrepreneurial journey. Do they have a logo they’ve established and love? Great! Let’s build from there. I’m not going to sell them a rebranding package just because I want to use a logo that I designed. Another thing that’s different about my business style is that I’m always going to be working for their businesses as if it’s my own. The leaders I was privileged to work for throughout my professional experiences affected me in a way that deepened my desire to nurture small businesses, which in turn will nurture their community.

I feel my creative challenge is to collaborate with individuals to incorporate their wants and needs into tools that work for their businesses. I want to help them build upon what they’ve worked so hard to establish. Surprise and delight with experiential design features they didn’t even know were possible; like soft-touch business cards with raised spot glass accents, raised gold foil, or custom embroidered wearables–– all from one place, delivered right to their door. These are features you usually only see on premium or luxury brands. There are so many ways to differentiate through experiential marketing, and that’s where the magic lies for me.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I first decided to quit my job to pursue my creative business, I did so because the manager of the gym where I was a member since had moved to the area expressed interest in hiring me as their graphic designer. He mentioned he was ready to essentially part ways with their current designer. My (now husband) had a long-standing working relationship with the manager, so I thought it was a great place to start. It felt like I even had a leg-up since I knew the clientele. After a few meetings/conversations and showing them my (student) portfolio, they were excited to get started with me on an initial design job.

The manager offered me an initial job to design what he presented as “window decals” that elaborated on their main logo but wanted “hybrid” to it somewhere (because they were offering new hybrid training). I took these parameters and ran with them. I not only designed various applications of the logo for window decals but since I noticed most of the member’s vehicles didn’t sport vinyl decals, (think Audi, Mercedes, etc) I went as far as to source and price custom removable chrome emblems that members could put on their car. At this time, I hadn’t even established my LLC yet, so a contract is not something I was even considering, and “why would I need one?” I was thinking, we had such a long-standing relationship with the gym.

I scheduled a meeting and presented the concepts to the manager and assistant manager they were ALL about it. They were so excited about one of the concepts they even said “Why didn’t we ever think to do that!” And I was thinking, “well… because this is what I do!” Their genuine reactions made me feel great. I couldn’t wait to get home and share the news.

Once the concept was finalized, I was asked to send the bill for my time on the project. I felt it fair that only charged for part of the time I put in because it was essentially my first paid design job. I drafted an invoice with line items (and the best descriptions I knew at the time for what I did with the time) – $145 was the grand total. I emailed the invoice to the gym manager and he called me almost immediately and said “Umm… yeah I wanted to talk about the little invoice you sent me, with your logo at the top. Well, I didn’t ask for any research, so we’re not going to pay for that.” My heart started racing… I felt sick to my stomach. After I got off the call I felt so insecure that I had done something wrong (even though I hadn’t). Against how and what I felt inside, I lowered my bill and resent it to him. They proceeded to put my design (which, remember, was presented to me as a car window decal) on jackets, hats, t-shirts, thermal cups, and hand towels, literally put the design on everything he could think of to make a profit.

This situation was a lot for me to overcome. Not just professionally, but mentally and personally, too, because this gym was somewhere I once had found solace. It made me fall into my more introverted side, so it took me a lot of time and work to rebuild my confidence and learn that not all people/clients were going to exploit me in this way.

It took me about a year to finally connect with a client with the longevity I was hoping for. The great news is that we still work together to this day. Tracy has become a treasured friend and true business support and confidant.

The gym closed less than 2 years after this incident. It’s changed names and has been under new ownership since.

I learned through this to trust my instincts, that the creativity I possess is worth something, and to always have a basic contract no matter how “small” the job may seem.

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

The best source of new clients for me has absolutely been word of mouth as I’ve not done a lot of paid marketing for my business just yet. I’ve held off on this because I was always trying to identify the niche or the angle from which to market. But it’s more important to just share the projects you’ve been working on, whether you feel you’re ready to or not. I wasted too much time not putting my work out there because I don’t feel like social media is a healthy tool for personal social networking. However, once I started getting more involved with it for my business, it’s been an amazing tool to create a community that supports my work and where I can support others. Even if you have less than 200 followers, it’s really quality over quantity.

I also think it’s an excellent idea to get involved in your community in some way. Whether that’s through the local chamber of commerce, volunteering, supporting a client with their event, etc. People will never forget that you helped them or were there for them in a time of need. It’s important as a business owner to realize you’re not always going to be able to do everything yourself, and by putting positive energy into others you will see it return to you when you least expect it.

Contact Info:

• Website: collabandcreate.co
• Instagram: collab&createco.

Image Credits
The main photo of me (black shirt) is by Amanda Musselman Photography Photo of myself and my client Tracy Keck, at the Western St. Charles County Chamber of Commerce gala. Awarded best new business of the year 2020 (my photo)