We were lucky to catch up with Lindsey Gale recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lindsey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

Tattooing is a booming business and there are more artists out there than I can possibly help. My future hope for the business is to be able to teach others to do what I do. One of the many things that the pandemic showed me was that so many people did not have the privilege and capacity to work from home that I did. I feel that being a virtual assistant has the ability to help not only the artists, but those in marginalized communities, single parents, those with disabilities, or anyone needing other options to provide for themselves outside of the traditional job market.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I received a degree in accounting/finance and have been in the field for over ten years, but it was never my passion or what I wanted to be when I grew up. Tattooing has always been an industry that I loved and never thought my being predominately left-brain would make it possible for me to take part in a creative field. While in the middle of a tattoo session I was speaking with my artist and he mentioned needing an assistant. He decided to take a chance on me and my little virtual assistant business for tattoo artists started to become a reality, even though I didn’t know it at the time.

My company, Ink Assist, provides virtual assistant services for tattoo artists. I handle all of the emails, scheduling and any miscellaneous needs that the artist may have. I started working with local artists in Austin, but because I work remotely I am able to work with clients from all over the US.

I am a highly organized person and I work in the creative field where a majority of my clients may not have the time to organize like they would like to. What sets me apart is that I have spent many hours learning about the tattoo industry, tattoo styles and getting tattooed myself. Being on the tattoo table has helped me understand what an artist needs, what works best for them and what their clients need in a way that I would not have learned any other way. I have the compassion and knowledge to help the client who is getting their first tattoo or a client coming in for one of many. Tattooing can be such a vulnerable process and being able to help clients feel comfortable before they even walk into the studio makes for a better experience for the artist and the client.

The thing I am most proud of is how much my work has changed my artists’ lives. I work with the kindest, most generous people, and knowing that I have given them the time back to grow their own business, have some personal time, and ease the stress so they can take care of their mental health will always be the best part of what I do.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I originally started doing this part time in 2017 to get extra cash to save up to buy a home in Austin. I enjoyed the extra money and didn’t really think this would turn into anything more than a side-hustle. Over the last four years, I started working with more and more artists and realized I could actually turn this into a career. It has been almost a year since I turned my side hustle into my full time business/career and there are times I have to pinch myself!

Once I hit more artists than I could really handle while working my day job I knew that something had to change. I decided to start working towards building my business when the pandemic hit and tattoo shops closed. Due to all the uncertainty I had to put on the breaks brakes. When shops started opening back up and getting busier again I started to dip my toe back in, but was still hesitant to take the leap. I was hanging out with one of my amazing artists and we were talking about it and as I was making all the excuses in the world to keep waiting he said, “Maybe you need to be hungry”. That is when I knew it was time to just go for it. I quit my day job weeks later and moved full steam ahead!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth! I would not be here if it wasn’t for the support of my amazing artists! One of my artists says that they are my “baby birds” and I am the “momma bird” and I am always taking care of them, but they have advertised for me, let me bounce things off of them, built my website, pushed me, complimented me and have been my advocate since day one.

Their trust in me and their willingness to tell everyone about my services have been the key factor in my quickly growing client list and my confidence in the future of Ink Assist!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ink-assist.com/
• Instagram: ink.assist

Image Credits
Becca Lerner, Christopher Cook, Dahlia Reising, Lauren Bartram, Nika Urban, Robert Lucky, Sam Compasso Ford, Zoe Bean