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

Noelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Achieving success requires hard work, dedication, and patience.

I worked for a company for 23 years, and towards the end, became unhappy and found it unfulfilling. While it was a luxury having a steady income to rely on, I realized my happiness and mental well-being were more important. So I decided to start my own business (as a freelance graphic designer).

In order to achieve this, I began taking countless online courses to sharpen my skills, over the course of 2 years (while maintaining my steady job). It took a lot of dedication and drive, as I would work 8+ hours a day, then come home and plug away at my classes for another 4+ hours a day. It was a lot of work!

I also had to ensure I could afford to leave my steady job, before taking the leap into freelancing – which took a lot of patience! I saved what I could over a couple of years, to ensure I had a financial safety net (knowing it might take some time for my business to get off the ground (and I was right – it’s not easy starting a business; it does take time)!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into graphic design over 20 years ago – and have always loved it! I enjoy taking a client’s vision and bringing it to life – and/or creating the vision myself. I started out in photo editing and catalog design/layout, then over the years expanded into logo design, marketing materials, book layout and cover design, etc.

One of the things I enjoy most about my work is building relationships with my clients. Most of my current clients have been long-term clients (I am their official “go-to” for any and all design needs, which I love)!

What I am most proud of, in terms of projects, would probably be my full branding projects (custom logo design with company color palette, typography, etc.), which gives small businesses an “official” brand image that sets them apart. I am also very proud of my book cover designs – I love setting the feel/tone of the cover, to convey the feel of the story.

What sets me apart is that I dive deep into my projects – learning everything about my clients’ business, getting to know and understand what they’re looking for, and maintaining solid relationships.

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

When I was working at my previous [steady] job, and grew bored with it, I decided to expand my graphic design skills by taking online courses (after work and on weekends), in the hopes of eventually starting a freelance business. During this time, I stumbled upon a post (on the Nextdoor app) of someone in need of a custom logo design.

At this point I was fully confident in my skills, and reached out to the poster. She hired me for the logo design, then eventually for full branding (brand image), website design, business cards, merch, etc. She has now been a client for over 3 years – we continue to work together today (I create graphics for her social media posts).

Not only was she my first “official” client – she continues to recommend me to anyone in need of design work. Thanks to her referrals, I eventually picked up several more clients (even before I started my freelance business).

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Word of mouth! Thanks to several of my happy clients who continue to refer me to others, I have gained a steady stream of clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abbeodesign.com