We were lucky to catch up with Lou Dahl recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lou, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.
First off, thanks for having me! Deciding to turn my business into a full-time job was a hard decision. I went to school for illustration and animation, but following different paths of opportunity had led me to work as a project manager in the tech sector for nearly 17 years. During that time, I tried to balance my creative work on the side, hoping to eventually leave the corporate world. I continued seeking education in areas like photography and UX design in order to expand my expertise, and keep that part of my skill set alive.
I’m fortunate that my husband had always been a champion for me to leave my well-paid job and effectively start my business from scratch. I had the work ethic and client & time-management skills, but I’ve always seen his support as a vital piece in allowing me to eventually make the leap from employee to full-time business owner.
Since I had a number of areas I could explore rather than one clear path (i.e.: illustration, design & photography – which one!?), I spent a lot of time thinking about what I really wanted to do. My first day as a self-employed business owner, I decided to put my project management skills to work. I drew up a number of large sheets and started by writing out four things: 1) What am I good at? 2) What am I not good at? 3) What do I want to do? 4) What do I not want to do? That helped me organize myself in a way that I found useful for making decisions.
As part of his encouragement to leave my job, my husband had gifted me a book by Grace Bonney, titled “In the Company Of Women – Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs’. On that first day, alone in my house, thinking about my future and the way forward, I pulled this book off the shelf looking for wisdom. I found it to be a vast resource of collected advice and I read through it, keeping notes on the things I felt applied to me. (I still pull them out once a year to check and re-evaluate.)
After that, I started developing a fresh portfolio of work and doing small projects for people I knew. In tandem, I reached out to companies I thought I could partner with, and accessed online communities that connect and support people in my areas of work. A number of projects have come through those connections, and feel overwhelmingly fortunate for that. Providing clients what they need is something I can be genuinely passionate about, and have always relished the satisfaction that accompanies the delivery of a finished project.
I enjoy the variety of work I do – the illustration and design of books and print articles, writing and creative direction, product photography, UX & branding design – I appreciate it all. I love helping both companies and individuals see a dream become a reality, and create ideas and content that help them access the ‘next level’ in their world or clarify their message, whatever it might be.
Over the last number of years I’ve been fortunate that my clients like what I do and share it with others. Word of mouth has been my greatest reward for the hard work, and I feel this is what allows my studio to keep growing.
Lou, 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?
I am a creative who works with businesses and individuals to help tell their stories for marketing and custom-project purposes. I use illustration, photography, graphic & UX design, as well as a sprinkling of copywriting and brand-story development to round out my offerings. What do you (as an individual or business) want to show and share with the world? I can help you create and organize that visual messaging.
I often describe myself as a bit of a unicorn because I provide a wide variety of services. The project determines the approach and mediums used. I spent many years in the business world as a project manager, so I understand the needs of my clients in relation to timelines and communication, but I’m also a creative whose job it is to help bring their visual story to life. That story could be for authors who have a manuscript needing illustrations & book layout design, agencies who want illustrations or photos for client projects, or businesses & individuals that require branding and development for marketing (i.e.: copy for websites and blogs, UX layout for apps, product photography, branding guidelines, etc.).
I am most proud of the fact that I can provide a wide range of skills and advice, and that when I say to clients “my goal is that you love the end product”, and they do, that I’ve helped them achieve their goals as well.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Don’t inquire if you don’t understand.
This might be counterintuitive to society’s natural tendency, but if you don’t understand why someone has chosen a creative field, the best way to support them is to stay out of their way. Often inquiring minds do more damage to a dream than help build a bridge to the promised land. So, unless you’re able to pick up those bricks and genuinely assist (hire them, introduce them, share their work genuinely), don’t make them help you understand.
Two people in my life supported my decision to leave my corporate job: my husband and one of my closest friends. Everyone else seemed to silently (and not-so-silently) judge me for wanting something different than my ‘box’ job. Of course, everyone will have a reason for this, but I think we can all agree that having to withstand other people’s fear for your life decisions is a weight most folks don’t want to carry. As adults we make changes in all facets of our life, don’t we? The friends we have, where we live, whether to have kids or not – it’s all individual choices stacked on each other. Whatever path your creative friends and family take, deflecting negative energy takes a toll and is unnecessary. We will fail if we are meant to fail and we will succeed if we are meant to succeed. Let’s all aim for the latter!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
My biggest learning (or unlearning) isn’t a specific story per se, but rather the adoption of a mindset for not only my work, but life, and that is:
“I am not for everyone”
I have a wide variety of things that I do and create. My photographic work (outside of the product photography) is a documentary and journalistic style of storytelling and sits in a very different world than the picture books I illustrate. However, while I work in a broad range of styles and mediums, the reality is that my creative expression might not resonate with someone on any point of their visual spectrum and that’s OK because “I am not for everyone.” I love my clients and they love the work we create together. Similar people will find similar people.
I believe in being on a continual path to change and betterment, and try to do that with each project and client. Growth can only happen if you let go!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.loudahl.com
- Instagram: @loudahlillustration, @loudahlstudio, @loudahlphotography
Image Credits
Lou Dahl