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

Kierra, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

First, I’ll say that I believe there is no universal definition of what success is. Success is measured on the individual’s goals and aspirations. What I do believe, is consistency is the key to being successful. It is often referred to as being disciplined, but becoming disciplined is the result of performing consistent behaviors over a course of time.

Kierra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Kierra Wilson and I am the owner of my Graphic Design Business, Kgraphixdesigns. I started my journey as a Social Media Manager post college and was also an online boutique owner. Those two positions were when I had to learn the fundamentals of graphic design quickly as well as how to establish a brand.

As my experience grew, I created Kgraphixdesigns with the purpose to elevate brands. To elevate a brand means to provide them with the understanding of what a brand is, why their brand is important and providing them with quality graphics. I have been able to help dozens of business owners who are now thriving on the internet and are bringing in their target market who are converting to sales.

I provide services such as logo designing, content creation, video editing, web design, and more. I also have teaching opportunities where business owners or up-and-coming designers can learn the art of graphic design through Canva as well as offering e-books on the dos and don’ts of branding.

Now don’t get me wrong, it has not always been smooth sailing, no business is, but lessons have been learned and I stay committed to sharing these experiences with my clients in hopes to guide them in a way they don’t run into the same issues I did in the past.

One thing I pride myself on that sets me apart from other Graphic Designers is that I am reachable. I love communicating with both potential and current clients to make them feel comfortable in a process that’s seen to be stressful. Starting a business is already a stressful journey in itself, why should I make it difficult?

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There are thousands of Graphic Designers, so starting out there’s this intimidation that your work won’t be seen. What I quickly realized was that I had to make myself be seen so that meant reaching out. I’ve placed postcards on cars, sent emails, and DMs. As I grew, I narrowed down my methods, but they weren’t specific enough. I was either getting ignored or wasn’t getting booked, because I didn’t have much experience.

In order to gain “experience”, I created fake content, meaning, I was creating flyers and business cards that no one booked, for companies that did not exist. Although work wasn’t coming in, I knew I needed to keep making content in order to build my portfolio. I revamped business logos, created social media content, YouTube intros for influencers, and more to practice and build my visibility online.

Fast forward to earlier this year, I was determined to expand my reach so I took it upon myself to create an event flyer for a comedian I bought tickets for and I sent it to their manager’s email. Not really expecting a response, about two days later I had a meeting and I was hired as Ms. Pat’s Graphic Designer. That has been the biggest achievement since starting my journey as a Graphic Designer and it showed that as long as you remain consistent you will find success.

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

A lesson I had to unlearn was to stop operating my business as a favor to others. Starting out I did not have a policy and I was not stern in the few that I did have. I also offered my services at low rates with the fear to charge my worth thinking I would drive away the clientele. As my experience grew, I learned that pricing my worth attracted the clients that I want and if clients want quality work, then they have to pay the price.

Contact Info:

• Website: kgraphixdesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kgraphixdesigns/?hl=en

Image Credits
Alisha Gantt