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

Teresa, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My mission is to work with businesses who want to create a positive impact in the world. I believe in the power of creativity as a force for change and connecting people. And I hope to create a lovely community along the way.

The story behind my mission is simple – I want to create authentic brands that don’t add to the noise in the marketplace and that actually make a difference. I’ve been working with businesses of all sizes and the sectors range from sustainability to wellbeing.

Teresa, 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’ve been working as a graphic designer in the past 14 years. The last 7 years, I was working in the brand team at the Financial Times as a Head of Design, and this is where I honed my branding and storytelling skills.

In 2022, I decided to start my own brand consultancy and design studio, where I can offer my expertise in brand strategy, creative direction and design to other businesses and I went full-time freelance in May 2023 when I quit my role at the Financial Times.

I’m also the creator of a video series on Creative Confidence, where I chat to various people in the industry about their experiences and tips on overcoming imposter syndrome, burnout, amongst other things.

The services I provide in my brand consultancy range from branding projects (strategy/design), to delivery of branding workshops/webinars, and also hosting and being a guest in creative industry panel talks.

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

A really precious lesson that I’ve had to unlearn along the way has been to never quit. Don’t get me wrong, I would never consider myself a quitter, but I have learned to understand my boundaries, values and when to quit when these aren’t being respected or fullfilled.

I’ve had to change my mindset to become an abundance one, where I deeply believe that I don’t need to stick with something that isn’t bringing me any joy, just because it’s a steady income or an easy job to do.

One of the key things that moves me forward is learning and innovating, so if I’m not doing any of these I know that it’s time to call it a day and move on to another project.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

This is not a resource per se, but it’s the most important thing in my journey of turning my side hustle into a full time job and it has been the power of community.

When I started my side hustle, I decided that it was time to put myself out there more (on socials and in real life) and this has truly paid off in way more that I was expecting.

From attending events and various creative clubs, I have found my community and in them I have found enormous support and generosity and also my confidence in my skills and creativity. I have also turned some of these people into my friends and I feel so lucky about this.

I really recommend to all entrepreneurs to go and find your community. It takes time, but it’s really worth everything.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.teresaferreira.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teresaferreirastudio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ferreirateresa/