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

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

Throughout my life (work and not) I think this question of reaching successfulness, or how success should feel has taken up a lot of space in my mind and life. I’m a grade A people pleaser in a sort of recovery, one could say. Being successful always meant doing the most for the most people and being in those people’s good graces – which has been a huge mountain to climb within my work practice. Saying ‘yes’ too everyone and hustling as hard as I can to make others happy has always made me feel successful, up until recently, as that is just not realistic and unsustainable – even if I wish it was! Creating work that makes client’s lives better whether that’s creatively or ease in their business will always make me feel successful, but I’ve learned if I am depleted from the hustle of it all and pouring from an empty cup, it’s impossible to feel true success. Maybe even more importantly, it’s so much more difficult to be proud of the work you’ve created, as taking on too many clients leads to less intentionality and quality time spent with each project. I’ve been really pushing myself to find success in a way that gives me structure to create the best work I can for my clients, even if that means saying ‘no’ sometimes (which as a people pleaser, that’s a massive success!) In an ideal world – I’d be able to take on everything that comes my way. But in our world, especially now, finding balance and dedicating time to projects that fill my cup (and saying no) makes me feel successful, and strong.

Samantha, 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?

Well first off, my name is Samantha Hensel! I’m from a teeny-tiny town of 1,000 in New Hampshire. I’ve always been a creative growing up, eager to get my hands on any kind of project or craft that comes my way. I took my passion for the arts to undergraduate school and got my BFA in Studio Arts (and filled my plate with 2 minors), and followed that degree up with an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. After graduating, the inevitable happened where I needed to try to find an outlet to use my creativity (and financial burden of degrees) to my advantage in our capitalistic world. However, as we may all know, finding creative jobs that value your time monetarily are extremely rare. So – when I moved to Portland, Oregon I found myself in retail and event work, continuously juggling multiple jobs at once, but always having a creative role in whatever job I committed myself too.

Many of these jobs I was working involved marketing and digital design – from social media, to web-design, e-commerce, photography, etc. I realized almost without really knowing that I was intuitively leaning into quite a bit of Graphic Design work – and found curiosity and joy out of growing my Graphic Design practice. As someone with ADHD who finds having too many irons in the fire comforting, I couldn’t tell right away if Graphic Design was something that was a passing hobby of mine, or something that would stick around – and now I just can’t see my life without it. I started dabbling with freelancing at really low rates, just to see how it would feel to work with clients, and start to build out some sort of structure before taking any further steps. Here is where I found a huge love for working with fellow small business owners, as this kind of creative help can be a massive game changer for any business, but especially those with a small footprint. I here, working part-time and freelancing part time, found my niche in brand design, illustration, layout design, web-design…you name it! It wasn’t always pretty, and I faced many challenges and had to change and pivot along the way (still am!), but I found the confidence to take it full-time and haven’t looked back.

In terms of what I’m proud of, I’m definitely proud of myself for being able to make my own money for multiple years now in a political and financial climate that is FAR from ideal, and being able to freelance solo – which means wearing a multitude of different hats behind the scenes that not everyone sees. It’s so, so much work! I’m proud of myself for being able to take on the work loads I have, being able to create work that I can see my own growth in, and client relationships that I cherish and am so thankful for.

I hope and strive to use my creative eye in all ways for my clients, which I think my background in Fine Arts really can set me apart. Although I don’t like talking about myself, I do think I have really keen senses for what works and what doesn’t, and a really gentle and kind leadership to guide clients towards making decisions that will work best long-term. I want working with me as your designer to feel comfortable, clear, and guided – as I know design and the design process is not intuitive for all people, and it can feel intimidating to hire a designer. I love what I do, and hope to work together!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

That you NEED contracts. Every. Single. Time.
This was a concept to me that I was familiar with, and was practicing ever-so-slightly in the early days of freelancing, but something I wasn’t taking serious enough at first. Time and time again, for better or for worse, working with clients has just proved that you need an iron-clad and versatile contract ready to go.

Something that really came in handy for my first year taking on clients was to ASK. Ask friends, colleagues, even some artists you might be scared to ask questions about terms and policies that they have learned through experience (but don’t worry, you’ll also learn from experience!) Most people are more than happy to tell you experiences they have been through, and how they’ve helped themselves to not go through that again. Having outlets and people in your life to ask questions around this topic is so important and supportive – especially when freelancing on your own.

I’d also like to reiterate that sending a contract, even if it’s just for a friend or for trade, is always worth it – and not something to be ashamed of. If there is the potential for anything uncomfortable to happen around the work you’ve made, your people and clients should make sure your work is respected in the way you want it to be. Plus, sending contracts every time just gets you into a routine, which is great for your business in general!

I still have some yucky feelings around contracts that I myself have to work through, but I’ve found through time that if you’re creating a trustworthy client relationship from the start, your clients will likely not feel offended by your terms and if anything – they’ll ask questions. Which is more than welcome!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Gosh, I wish I truly knew from a client point of view! If I am assuming that I have a good reputation in the Portland design world – I would have to say it’s from being kind and welcoming of all people and levels of knowledge within design. I put a lot of energy into making sure that the entire experience with me feels personalized, knowledgeable, and FUN. I’ve been so lucky to say that the majority of my clients are from word of mouth, which makes me so happy. To know that people are excited to work with me is the highest compliment, and I hope that stems from past clients enjoying the process with me (and of course, the design work we make together!)
I would encourage those who are in the beginning stages of freelance to dedicate time to your communications and process of working together with clients. Yes, the client’s will have the design work you made in the end, but they’ll definitely also have the memory of experience you shared together – which to me, feels so incredibly crucial.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.henselstudio.com
• Instagram: @hensel___studio

Image Credits

Yeticorn (Gracie Ryan)
Gay Awakening Coffee
Dear Sandy (Kristin Ellis Background Image)
Three Piece Candle Co.
Samantha Griggs Photography (Portraits)
Apt Herbals