We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Teshia Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Teshia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I have been earning a full-time living from graphic design and creative work since 2017.

It definitely did not start that way; it took a couple of years and a safety cushion to be able to feel comfortable enough to quit a regular gig and jump full-time into my business.

From 2015-2017 I was working as an HR manager and doing graphic design on the side. Even though business was always booming, my work was fairly cheap, so I needed that main job to be able to support myself financially until I figured out how branding could replace the 9-5.

To start, I wrote up a business plan that detailed how I planned on making the same amount of money in graphics as my full-time job gave me.

I pretty much calculated how much I needed to make per hour and figured out how to translate that into design work. At the time it was $20/hour that would allow me to replace my job. So I configured how many projects I would need to complete each day and each week to conclude to $20 an hour. It became a LOT. I was working upward 60 hours a week.

This had me overworking and unhappy, so as time went on, I decided to niche down. I pivoted from many small services, to fewer large scale services in the forms of packages and retainers. This gave me the ability to put the care and attention that was needed into each brand and raising prices to reflect that.

Niching down and pivoting was the main factor in growing my business to what it is now. I focused on my audience and found clientele that was just as serious as I was about growing their business instead of just making designs. They appreciate the extra effort (and sometimes extra time) that Artish Design puts into their brand development.

Teshia, 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 got into my field by starting out as an artist. Art was my ministry since childhood, so I knew by 10th grade that I had to turn that into a career. In high school, I attended Genesee Area Skill Center to get certified in Visual Communications. There, they taught us photography, videography, graphic design and drawing. Graphic design was my favorite, so I stuck with that and continued to pursue it in college.

I gained career training, practice and clientele during college and created Artish Design in 2015. Graduating with my Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in 2017, I was ready to utilize all that I was taught to make a creative and lucrative business. I started out doing graphics, art and printing of all sorts but I grew weary of doing so much and eventually niched down.

Niching down to focus on brand identity helped me focus on developing brands that meet their goals, versus taking on a bunch of clients who just “want a logo”. I take pride in the fact that we educate our clients and make sure they are walking away knowing what to do with their branding instead of just having designs to post.

Since 2015, I have serviced over 500 businesses, with designs and direction that leads their brands into expansion. Today, my business is known for creating professional and eye catching brand identity for small and big businesses and persons. Artish Design focuses on growth that relays well with the target audience, goals and practicalities in their field. I use all of the art elements and forms that I learned in school, to be intentional in creating branding for my client’s businesses.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

My best sources of gaining new clients is word of mouth and Social Media Marketing.

Word of mouth is what gains the majority of my clientele. When you do a few awesome projects and that client leaves happy, they will always spread the word. This is why I focus on my customer’s experience sooo much and make sure to educate them, share the knowledge and overall end our projects with them knowing they’re a lifelong client and will always be able to use me as a means of networking. Treat every client like they’re Beyonce, and never get comfortable or lazy – because that customer could be the one who turns your business around.

Social Media marketing is the 2nd biggest source of referrals for me. I make sure to study and research hashtags. Which ones are ‘in’ for my field and which ones are at the top of the explore page. Checking insights and posting during peak times is also important. I also engage with others, and join design groups that help gain engagement, followers and overall traffic. Design groups on Facebook have been a huge help!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspects of being an artist is seeing the work not only finished, but being used effectively in branding. Outside of branding, I love how my art has started conversations, turned heads and been able to tell a story rather than just being a pretty picture. This translates into my business, because I focus on designing for a purpose. So whether for branding or other art forms (Painting, multimedia, etc.), the best part of creativity is how it impacts others.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artishdesign.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/artishdesign
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/artishdesign
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/tishtravels
• Other: www.etsy.com/shop/artishdesignpremades

Image Credits
www.instagram.com/mianicolemedia