Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Schneider. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Michelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I believe success is quite simple. It all comes down to mindset. What stories are you telling yourself? What beliefs do you hold? What intentions are you setting? To be successful in an endeavor, it takes a complex combination of skills, knowledge, and determination. But the secret ingredient is a positive mindset. When I first contemplated starting my own business, I wasn’t scared about whether it would work. It was something I wanted to do so strongly that I would make it happen no matter what. People would ask me if I was scared, and I hated that question. Sure, it’s expected to be nervous because you can’t see how all the puzzle pieces will fall into place right away, but when you believe it will all work out, it likely will.

The other question to ask would be how to define success. That definition is going to be different for every person. Is it money? Is it freedom? That definition will evolve and grow over time. I’ve only been working for myself for a few short years now, and there is so much more that I want to do and achieve. So, my definition of success right now is having the freedom and time to explore the ideas I am passionate about, and as long as I can make enough to keep the lights on, I will call that a win.

Michelle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been doing marketing and design for over 17 years now. I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication–graphic design and landed in various industries. I worked in professional sports, private aviation, a global entertainment company, and various startups. The marketing teams were mostly in-house design teams and often small, which created a tendency to pick up a lot of different skill sets. A lot of my focus was designing and building websites, email marketing, and identity design. Though my jobs were interesting, I started recognizing a pattern that they didn’t feel fulfilling. It forced me to look at the bigger picture and try to figure out what I wanted out of a career because simply being someone’s employee didn’t feel right anymore. I decided to take a huge leap and started building a business to do design and marketing for clients of my own—even knowing at that point that my desire was to eventually get away from the one-on-one client work. Through my projects, I discovered that I enjoyed teaching others how to do simple technical skills related to marketing and design. I started a YouTube channel, which I have been growing for the past few years, and that has now turned into developing online courses I am creating. It has been an incredible journey in only a few short years, and I am so proud of myself for being brave enough to chase these passions. I am truly trying to design a life with the freedom to explore my creativity. My goal is to simply empower others to never stop learning. Making an investment in yourself is so important because you never know where a new skill or piece of knowledge will take you.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

This is one of the things that I am most proud of. Deciding that you will go out on your own and work for yourself is a huge decision—especially when you have no savings or capital to rely on. And that’s precisely where I was. Instead of borrowing money to get started, the whole process was very gradual for me. I will say that I made this decision right before the pandemic happened, so the timing wasn’t necessarily great. What I did was reduce my hours at my full-time job, allowing me the opportunity to start taking on clients and building up funds. Luckily, the only equipment you need for a designer is a computer, so I had that covered. I would reinvest small amounts that I had earned for different software, and the more that I got into doing videos, I bought different cameras and filming equipment. By the time I was ready to go full-time on my own, I had the right clients in place, and I felt confident that I would be able to support myself. I didn’t have the luxury of having an additional income to fall back on. It was just me, myself, and I deciding to take a huge risk. The reason I am proud of that is because I feel like I can be proof to others that even if you start from zero, you do not need to have a bunch of money to start your own business. In my case, it was just having a little bit of patience to start it slowly.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

For me, a majority of my clients came from referrals. From every job I’ve worked, I had connections to people who were familiar with what I did and how I worked. I’ve always tried to be respectful of others and go above and beyond in my work, and I think that left a lasting impression on a lot of people. The reputation I built for myself over all those years really paid off through the clients I got from referrals. While referrals were the majority of my clientele, I also utilized an organization called The Freelance Exchange. I was able to network with others and promote myself through their channels to get clients as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michellethecreator.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelschneider/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@michelle.the.creator
• Other: Podcast coming soon: https://www.youtube.com/@2womenentrepreneurs

Image Credits
Headshot by Niah Aldrich (Website: https://www.niahrosephoto.com/)