We recently connected with Rachel Sheffield and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Absolutely, yes, I am ecstatic as a business owner. Occasionally, I do think about how life used to be when I just had a regular job. In July 2021 was the last time I had that thought because the industry I am in has its ups and downs. Meaning one month various clients need graphic design services and customers are requesting for custom orders then the next month I can have zero clients and customers. When it is slow, I start stressing and wondering how I am going to keep the business afloat as well as my personal livelihood. Hardship knocked on the door and I was not prepared for it. Dwelling on the downfall of the business was draining. I found myself shut off from the world and just sitting on the sofa pondering how life would be so simple without the burden of being a business owner. However, I revisited my purpose of wanting to be an entrepreneur. In conclusion, I am often reminded of a scripture that states, “faith without works is dead!” So, instead of sitting around stressing I started working some side hustle jobs to bring in revenue to assist with generating revenue for my business and personal life.

Rachel, 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 am a fashionable graphic designer from Eutaw, Alabama. Moving away from home at the age of 21 to finish my GED was the best decision I ever made. Once I earned my diploma, I took a year off before attending Washtenaw Community College (WCC) graphic design program in Ann Arbor, MI. My second semester was super challenging because I was used to drawing in sketchbooks rather than digital drawing. Nevertheless, I conquered the adversity. Once I earned enough credit to transfer, I decided I wanted to move back down south where it’s warm and close to family.

In December 2015 I moved to Houston, Texas with my oldest sister, Evelyn and boyfriend Matt. Lone Star College—CyFair accepted me into their graphic design program but not all of my credits I earned at WCC. That was enough to drop out of college. Experiencing that caused a delay in graduation. The advisor helped me get back on track for graduation though.

Throughout my college years at Lone Star College-CyFair I learned a lot of valuable lessons and information. Not to mention my last semester of college was so challenging due to the pandemic. We had to adjust without no warning. Keeping my head in the game regardless of the circumstances helped me earn my Associate of Applied Science (AAS): Visual Communication of Graphic Design and Certificate.

On May 15th, 2020 I shared my portfolio with family and friends on social media. By doing that I landed my first client unexpectedly. Very nervous was not even the word because I was not prepared to take clients just yet. However, I had to make a decision if I was going to make lemonade out of lemons regardless of not being prepared. Needless to say my first client was super happy and pleased with her birthday banner and invitations. This is the day Rachel Designs was established during a pandemic without managerial skills and a marketing background.

Rachel Designs is a highly creative and multitalented Graphic Design company with extensive experience in different designs such as visual identity, web page design, publications design, packaging, design, art and illustration design, and environmental design.

We specializes in designing custom logos for small businesses, branding small businesses, and going above and beyond to make sure the clients experience great customer service.

What sets our business apart from others is INTEGRITY! Rachel Designs is accessible, affordable, and trustworthy! We solve clients problems by offering face-to-face or zoom consultations to give clients options to communicate their ideas in a way they feel comfortable. Also, during the consultation, we give a presentation that consists of 7 steps to branding for their small business.

I am most proud that I never gave up on my dreams of being a business owner. It does my heart well to turn clients vision into a reality.

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

I always was a sociable person who did not mind sharing content on social media. So, it was easier for me to show up daily and invite my family and friends from my personal page to my business page. What I did not realize that I had to find a way to build an audience outside of that. I begin to take master-classes during the pandemic to understand the algorithm and how to reach followers within my niche. Also, take note that building your audience organically was the best way to go. Although I took note I still paid for followers because I really wanted so many followers. I learned the hard way by seeing that paid followers is consist of so many bots. Eventually I had to filter through my following list and remove them because those accounts are basically a placeholder and will never turn into a client. After completing the master-classes I applied the valuable information in my content creation. Creating a social media calendar gave me structure. This calendar trained my audience eyes on what to expect on a daily basis.

My advice to any future small business startup who is trying to build their social media presence is to STAY CONSISTENT! The algorithm will change frequently but the magic is in your presence on social media. Do not get discouraged when your followers do not grow as fast as you want it to. Just continue to post your content because people are watching you regardless.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

It all started when I rebranded my business in November 2020. A month prior to rebranding my personal assistant, Donaka and I did some intensive research. We began to call various wholesalers locally to see how much products would cost before printing. Prices for products and printing were not in our budget at the time. So, the research continued until I decided to reach out to one of my college friends, Ariel. At the time she was selling her products on Redbubble. The information she shared sounded more convenient and feasible rather than having to purchase products, send them to production for printing then ship them to a customer during a pandemic. Especially since I did not know how to manufacture the product myself.

“Redbubble is a global online marketplace for print-on-demand products based on user-submitted artwork. The company was founded in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia, and also maintains offices in San Francisco and Berlin.” Over 700,000 creatives worldwide making things like shirts, stickers, accessories, home decor, etc. I am ecstatic to be among the 700000 creating amazing artwork for my audience. After learning that Redbubble is a great manufacturer I have been using them to outsource everything for Rachel Designs until I open up my own graphic design studio in Katy, Texas.

I have learned a lot of lessons along the way about manufacturing a product after working at a local print shop in Katy, Texas. Seeing the production side of printing has opened up my understanding tremendously. Each material requires a certain type of ink. As a graphic designer I fully understand that it is more to design on a screen. Also, I have learned that you have to calculate everything it takes to produce a product you are trying to sell to a customer in order to make a profit.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.racheldesigns.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_racheldesigns_/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/designsbyrachels/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelsheffielddesigns/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/_racheldesigns_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RachelDesignsvideos
• Other: Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/DesignsbyRayS/shop TikTok: https://www.redbubble.com/people/DesignsbyRayS/shop

Image Credits
Two3films Rachel Sheffield Kisha Thompson Cormier