8 min read

Getting to know - Elise Syme

Written by

Aiman Kabetenova

Published on

July 22, 2022

Tell us a bit about yourself, what's your background?

I studied Fine Arts back in 2009 but ended up moving into a completely different career in Education. I continued to dabble in all things creative in my spare time and found a love of graphic design and digital illustration. In 2020 I was made redundant due to the pandemic and took it as an opportunity to chase my passion for design. I took the plunge into full-time freelancing as a graphic designer at the end of 2020 and haven’t looked back since!

Tell us about your journey as a freelancer.

I’m probably unique in that I've started my career in design as a freelancer rather than working as an in-house designer or part of a studio to start with. I am passionate about design but it was also the lifestyle appeal that drew me into freelancing. I am lucky enough to have a very supportive husband so I didn’t feel pressured to build my income quickly which gave me the time and space to set up things well with my business. I prioritized learning and upskilling and spent a lot of time perfecting my portfolio and marketing myself to new clients. After 2 years I have regular clients and enough on-going work to confidently say I’ve made a career out of freelancing!

What is the personal or freelance project you are most proud of? Why?

It is very hard to prick just one! The projects I'm most proud of are the ones where the client comes back to me with great feedback. When I know I've managed to communicate the essence of their brand through design, that is a great feeling! A few that come to mind are logos I designed for startup businesses such as Proactive Chiropractic Care and Secret Fern.

What would you say is the most rewarding part of being a freelancer?

I love that work fits around life rather than the other way around. I work more than I ever have before but I get to fit it around the things that matter most to me. I spend a lot of time with my two year old daughter during daylight hours and typically choose to work evenings and weekends. My family is also preparing for long term travel since I can work from anywhere in the world! I’m living my best life all while I earn an income doing something I genuinely love to do!

What is the most challenging part of running a freelancing business?

Nothing is guaranteed! I definitely took for granted receiving a regular paycheck in my last job and knowing how much money I would make a month. With freelancing, it changes all the time and I always need to be prepared just in case I have a quieter month or if I have a few clients who are late with payments. It’s a very strong motivator though!

What has worked best for you when it comes to finding new clients?

Signing up to Unicorn Factory has been my best decision as a freelancer especially while I was starting out and still establishing myself. I focused on start-ups needing branding because I knew as my clients businesses grew that they would likely come back to me needing more design work. This strategy has definitely paid off! I treat my clients like gold and spend time getting to know them and learning about their businesses. I think building a strong connection with my clients has earned me a bit of loyalty not just from on-going work but recommendations as well - it's all about connections!

What advice would you give anyone wanting to start freelancing?

At first it's going to be a struggle to find new clients and build up your workload. Embrace this time as a gift and use it to prioritize working on your business and setting things up well such as your social media, business and accounting. Once your workload increases it is really hard to find the time to work on your business because you are always working for it! I would recommend setting some regular time aside where you work on things like upskilling and managing your social media and website.