We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Chase. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole below.

Nicole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I’ve been full-time with my business for just over a year now, but it was a long journey to get to that point!

I’ve been crocheting for over 12 years, and in the beginning I earned a little bit of money from my crochet by selling finished pieces to friends and family. I started designing my own crochet patterns in 2016 for my own use. When I shared my projects online, people would ask me where to find the patterns, so I started selling PDFs of my designs. At the time, I thought that was the only way to make money from pattern designing.

I learned about blogging and ad income in 2019, and signed up to my first ad program. At first I made, quite literally, pennies. With only a few hundred pageviews per month, I never thought blogging would become full-time income; I just really liked to see other people using my patterns!

Fast forward a few years, and my designs started to gain popularity in the crochet community. My website traffic steadily started increasing. I learned that there were better ad networks out there, and that there was real earning potential. When I reached the required pageview thresholds, I started applying. At this point I was still working my full-time corporate job.

With slightly higher ad earnings, and a newfound motivation, I started learning about SEO. I didn’t know much, but I was able to start increasing my traffic. After matching my monthly salary with my blog earnings, I started thinking about leaving my job. I am not at all a risk taker, so I waited another year before finally taking the leap into full-time self-employment.

I left my corporate job in 2023, and it was the best decision I could have made! On top of raising a family and normal household responsibilities, I was essentially working 2 full-time jobs. Being my own boss, making my own schedule, and doing something creative everyday is an absolute dream. Not only that, but now I also have a work-life balance.

With my business now being my full-time focus, it continues to grow. Looking back, it is shocking to me that I was able to get as far as I did without learning a thing about SEO. If I had just a hint of knowledge about the blogging world, ad revenue, SEO, etc., I think that I could have done this years ago.

Nicole, 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 design crochet patterns, which are the instructions for other crocheters to create things. I primarily design amigurumi, which are stuffed animals and toys made of yarn. I also share crochet tips and tutorials on my blog, for those wanting to learn how to crochet.

My primary design focus is beginner-friendly amigurumi. I’m most known for my dinosaur patterns. I try to create all of my patterns with clarity in mind, so that no matter the skill level, any crocheter is able to follow my patterns. There is nothing better than hearing that a new crocheter learned the craft using one of my designs!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Seeing other people be inspired by my work. I’ve been told time and time again of people who learned how to crochet using one of my patterns or from my beginners course. I’ve even had people tell me that they decided to learn how to crochet after seeing my videos on social media. It makes me so happy to be a part of bringing people into the crochet community.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Early on in my designing career, I didn’t really have a clear focus. I designed whatever came to mind, just hoping that something would take off. I designed hats and other winter wear items because it seemed like that’s what people wanted, not because that’s what I really wanted to make.

When I found my place making amigurumi, I really leaned in. Now if I have a design idea that I’m not truly excited about, I just don’t do it! I create things that I enjoy, and I think that shows through in my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thenicolechase.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenicolechase/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/thenicolechase
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenicolechase