We were lucky to catch up with Mark Omlor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mark, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

My first logo project came back when I was in college. The client had a media agency he was rebranding and I was a capable designer. I had no concept of self-promotion at the time, so I was building off of word-of-mouth and reputation.

This rebrand project was more than about me making a logo. I was given the opportunity to really start building a legitimate creative process, from strategy to final logo. With no other projects to reference off of, I was basically putting this process together as I went. All that said, the final logo was very well-received.

Getting the check after completion was a pretty cool feeling. As a college kid, 3-figure projects felt like hitting the jackpot. Even though I wasn’t great at appraising myself or my work, that project was all the motivation I needed to better understand my worth and the value I provide as a creative.

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 back background and context?

I channeled my early childhood creativity into graphic design classes in high school. By sophomore year, I had the feeling that I could make a career out of it. I originally wanted to do t-shirt graphics, then poster and print design. By the time I graduated college, I was close to niching down to where I am today. If you’re fortunate enough to have a passion and a viable career path intersect, lean into it. I’m not saying you’ll “never work a day in your life,” but the daily grind will feel more purposeful. Not to mention these career paths are much easier to scale and nurture on a long-term basis.

Today, I’m here to help companies look the part so they can communicate effectively and sell with ease. Proper design work can do wonders for your perception, but it takes an expert analysis to know what to fix … and how to fix it.

The best way to set yourself in this industry is the overall service experience. The one thing my past clients loved more than my final logo designs? My process. Concise research followed by intentional designing have lead to a branding experience that makes big changes simple.

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

Even as a solo business owner, the journey to success is not done alone.

Whether it was bouncing ideas off people or investing in a coach, I didn’t make it to where I am without help.

The biggest steps in your professional journey come when you learn to get out of your own way. Swallow your pride, ask for help, make the uncomfortable decision – whatever it takes to get yourself in a better position. If you let the right choice stay in your head for too long, hesitation will talk you out of it. You can’t let time pass and rob you of the chance to get to your next goal. Speaking from experience, the hard choices are the ones we make the most if we want to grow.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I didn’t take content seriously until the pandemic started. Before then, I was posting portfolio work and bits of knowledge with no concise strategy or call to action.

Once lockdowns started, I saw the opportunity to build up my personal brand more online. Taking notes from successful creators on social media, I started compiling topics I could speak on. My early posts were short carousels, which expanded into longer carousels and static image posts. Once I fully incorporated my visual branding, my content became more memorable and momentum built from there.

The other half of my success so far is engagement. I learned that if I showed up and left meaningful comments on other people’s posts, the favor would end up being returned. This lead to more eyes on my content, and ultimately more followers.

So, growing on social is more than just posting for the sake of it. And it’s definitely more than commenting “Great post!” 50 times a day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.markomlor.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mark.omlor/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-omlor-7365ba22/