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

Olivia, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

I worked full-time for six years before I started my studio and I learned so many valuable lessons. But I think when I look back what has stuck with me the most is that when you have colleagues, it is really easy for people to just constantly default to being negative. There are a lot of perpetually dissatisfied people. I sometimes say “the complainer role is already taken” – my goal was always to go against the grain, be positive, and get my job done. It is amazing how far that alone will get you!

Olivia, 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 grew up in a very creative household, my mom was in marketing/art directing/graphic design and my dad was an inventor. So I was just constantly surrounded by IDEAS. I ended up studying graphic design in college, worked for six years, and went out on my own. I worked for a commercial stationery company, a nonprofit, and an apparel start-up. So I got a bunch of really diverse experience and then worked really hard to lock in some ongoing freelance contracts and have been doing my own thing ever since! I specialize in visual identity work, packaging, print, and illustration. I serve clients in a wide variety of industries so no two days are ever the same. I pinch myself daily because I can hardly believe that I get to have such a fun job. It is not without challenges, but I do believe it is my calling.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

I think the biggest near death moment for my business was actually the birth of my first child. I had such a difficult time recovering from birth both physically and emotionally that I really did not see a light at the end of the tunnel. I was so certain that my business was over, that I would never have the mental capacity to focus on clients again, and that my creative light was officially burnt out. But eventually I worked up the courage and strength and started to find myself creatively again. After we finally secured childcare for our daughter I went back into the office and on my first day back I had an email in my inbox from a book publisher asking if I would ever be interested in working with them on a book. It felt like such a nudge from the universe, a little affirming moment to remind me that while I had undergone a dramatic transformation, that “old me” was still there.

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

I think the biggest thing that has helped me with social media is not using it as a lead generator. I have really never viewed it as a place where I go to find clients – I share my artwork, experiments, ideas I have there, and it is a very freeing place for me. It allows me to just share without fear of what people will “think” about it, because at the end of the day, I like it and that is all that matters. I think that when you start looking at social media as a place to generate leads, your strategy really changes. And maybe that works for you – which is amazing. But it was just too much for me emotionally, it made it all feel like an extremely stressful chore. I also have never had a business account so that I don’t have to see the post insights. Just too much information for me!

Contact Info:

• Website: oliviaherrickdesign.com
• Instagram: oliviaherrickdesign