At our Junior.Senior. breakfast event for July we headed to SheSaid design to hear from our wonderful Junior and Senior speakers. Kim Hetherington of Little Designs spoke to us about her journey opening her Etsy shop selling pins, prints and greeting cards, while Lisa Smyth and Christine McKee of SheSaid design (our Senior speakers) spoke about their transition into starting their own business after working freelance.
Kim Hetherington - Little Designs
- "Get involved with your local community"
Make the most of opportunities to attend events such as this one or going to local crafts fairs to sell your work or see what other people have created. - "Pick the best social media platform for your business"
For me instagram works best with it's large art and craft community, and my work is very visual so this is a necessary platform. - "Have confidence to promote your business to everyone."
Sometimes is can be difficult to do this among family and friends. I certainly struggled with that initally but often the power of work-of-mouth is underrated and it can be absolutely vital to small businesses and start-ups.
Lisa Smyth & Christine McKee - SheSaid Design
- "Network"
Networking is so important, especially when working freelance. We did this when we started and ended up working for many agencies through the word-of-mouth from friends and families. - "Find your balance"
Before we set up SheSaid we worked freelance. We needed the flexibility when we started our families that no contracted position would be able to offer. We worked together informally and then set up SheSaid last year. - "Make Connections"
We generated a lot of work through our connections which lead to collaborations and partnerships which we wouldn't have received otherwise.
You can find tickets for our August Junior.Senior event here!