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Each of us have an origin story.
I don’t share mine very often.
But today’s email comes from an older blog I wrote that explains my origin story as a freelancer.
I think the lessons I learned are still relevant.
When I got my first freelance project, there was no way I could have foreseen that I was beginning a career in freelance design.
But that first project gave me a glimpse of the path I was about to embark upon.
It taught me some very valuable lessons for to my future in freelancing.
In high school, I was an art nerd – always doing artistic projects.
I loved it!
My mom fostered a love of art in me when I was a young child.
It was a love that continued to grow even as I was becoming a high school student.
But back then, I didn’t know there were careers in graphic design.
All I knew was I liked art.
As I thought ahead to my career, I was planning to go into broadcasting.
Maybe radio or TV.
And I hadn’t really thought about art too much.
Because honestly, I didn’t know that it would be a way to make money.
When I was a junior in high school I attended a conference at a college campus in Ohio with some church friends.
During this conference, one of my adult sponsors was having a conversation with the college’s director of alumni relations about an upcoming alumni publication.
They were looking for an illustrator who could provide an illustration for one of the articles.
My sponsor knew I loved art and that I had some skill in that area and he recommended me for the job.
By the end of the week, I had the specs from the administrator and was confident I could produce the type of work they were looking for.
I headed home from the conference and within a week or so I had produced the illustration for them.
Keep in mind, there were no digital input devices at the time.
No iPads, and I didn’t have a computer.
It was just me and a sketch pad.
I mailed the sketch to the administrator in Ohio, and a couple of weeks later received a check for $50.
I considered that a pretty decent payment, seeing as how I created the sketch in two hours, especially for a high school kid back in 1990.
What I didn’t know then was that this project was the first in a long freelance journey, one that has lasted 30 years and counting!
You can continue reading to discover the 5 lessons I learned from that first freelance project.
You’ve got this.
~ Mat
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