We recently connected with Robin Canfield and have shared our conversation below.

Robin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

Over the ten-odd years I have been working as a web and graphic designer I have had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of people over a wide variety of industries. As I honed my skills, I also honed my clientele to focus on those who I felt I was helping the most: women and minority-owned businesses whose principal focus was doing something for the greater good.

I don’t remember when I first I learned about the concept of noblesse oblige, but it is a principal that has stuck with me for most of my life. In short, noblesse oblige says that if you are given a certain privilege, station, or talent in life it is your duty to use it for those who are less fortunate. This principal guides me in my personal and professional life and is one of the foundations of Ramble Design. It also, although often as unnamed, is a foundation of my clients’ organizations. My clients are helping their community through services such as freediving, creative writing, colonoscopy screening, and even providing in-country adoption options for South Africans. I cannot work without passion, and I have found that it is the same for the clients I work best with.

Everyone has to make a living, but I did not start Ramble Design with the goal of making lots of money. The goal of Ramble Design is to provide a service for organizations who otherwise might not be able to afford high quality design solutions.

I feel extremely fulfilled when I can help a startup or a nonprofit create their brand and tell their story through logo design, illustrations, and interactive web design. In today’s digital world, these elements are essential for success. Unfortunately, also in todays world, there are many out there professing to provide high quality products (with a high price tag) only to under-deliver, leaving small businesses and startups with nowhere to turn and little money to reach their goals.

Ramble Design’s success speaks to the strength of its foundations: the majority of new clients come to me through word of mouth – friends, family, and associates who I have worked with. Many of my clients are return customers or have joined me on a retainer basis. My longest clients have been with me through thick and thin for the whole 10+ years! (I see you, Harlowe Group.)

The crux of it is that I find joy in helping those whose passion lies in helping others. And by focusing on women and minority-owned businesses, startups, and nonprofits, I know I am helping an underserved and under-represented community that is dear to my heart. I couldn’t ask for a better or more fulfilling job.

Robin, 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 got into design in a very roundabout fashion. I have been an artist and musician all my life (side note: check out CultureFires, my newest music project!) but got side tracked into international business and marketing for the first decade of career. I dabbled in public relations, advertising, tech, food and beverage. . . and then finally found that my passion lay in creating things and in telling stories.

I am a self-taught designer who has been working as a freelance graphic and web designer for over a decade now. I recently rebranded to Ramble Design and am proud to partner with local videographers, full-stack developers, and artists to provide clients a full range of services from web creation to logo design to illustration.

My clients all have one thing in common: their organizations, businesses, and nonprofits are doing something for the greater good. Some are more obvious than others, but all contribute to their community through positive, uplifting means that make a lasting impact on those around them. Their passion is contagious, and I wake up every morning excited to work with them.

Current clientele include nonprofits; freediving, spearfishing, and fitness businesses; travel organizations; leadership and mental health coaching; and local political campaigns.

I am overwhelmingly proud of my clients and the work that they do and am honored to help them achieve their goals and tell their incredible stories.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

It’s taken me almost 40 years to learn this one, but it’s a doozy. DON’T SHOULD ON YOURSELF.

What does this mean. . . ?

“Should” is a dangerous word. It implies guilt and lack and being not enough at specific point in time.
“Man, I should be making six figures by now!”
“I should have finished this project last week!”
“I should have gone to that networking event!!!”

In my early career I would beat myself up almost constantly over the things I thought I “should” have achieved by then. The things I “should” know or the people I “should” be networking with or the money I “should” be making.

It’s one of the most difficult things to let go, because “should” can disguise itself sneakily as motivation. But what I discovered once I put “should” down was that I was free to pursue anything and everything I ever dreamed of WITHOUT the guilt. There is no timeline. There is no checklist. Life does not begin or end at any time. A wise woman once said “comparison is the root of discontent.”

Sit with that for a while. It’s impossible to not compare yourself a little bit – and healthy comparison can be motivating. But for those of you still shoulding on yourself. . . . cut it out.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Oh man this is not a happy story. Part of the reason I got into freelancing was because I graduated with my MBA around 2009 in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns this country has ever seen. But something kept pushing me to go solo, and so I decided to make it happen. Here’s how I funded this journey, for better or worse. Please do NOT take this as sound advice! But do know that I have come out on the other side with the best work-life balance I have ever had, making more money than I ever expected, and living my dream life (most days. . . . ).

1. SIDE HUSTLES: No surprise here. . . . for the first 8 years of my freelancing career I hustled as a bartender, a server, a festival vendor, and even a boat dock manager!

2. PERSONAL LOANS: Don’t recommend. The APR will kill you. But I did what had to be done.

3. CREDIT CARDS: See #2. . . .

4. LOANS FROM FAMILY: I am very lucky that my dad was incredibly supportive of my efforts to go solo. 20 years ago he did the same, breaking off from corporate America to create his own small business that allowed him to travel the world and make a very comfortable living for his family of five.

5. DOING WHAT HAD TO BE DONE TO SURVIVE: This sounds awful, but here’s what I mean: Eat the ramen noodles if you have to, live in the crappy one bedroom apartment or have the not-so-perfect roommate. Don’t take that dream vacation this year. But know that your sacrifices will get you to the end goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rambledesign.biz
• Instagram: @ramble.on.forever
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robincanfield
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/culture-fires
• Other: Illustrations, murals, and other designs at www.rcanfield.com

Image Credits

All photo credits are Robin Canfield