Why I'm Retiring from Client Design Work

As many of you know, my freelance business thus far has consisted of client graphic design work, illustration projects, and running my print shop. Well, this past weekend, I made a huge decision. I’m quitting client graphic design work for good.

Over my past 7 years of freelancing, client design work has made up a huge chunk of my income. I’ve made more money than I ever thought possible from these types of projects. That’s why it’s taken me so long to make this call. It feels ungrateful to undo all the great client relationships I’ve cultivated over the years. So many people would kill to succeed as a freelance designer, right? Why would I just take this gift I’ve been given and throw it away? Am I asking too much?

On the other hand, illustration is my passion. It has been since I was young. While I’ve managed to make time for my art, it’s always taken a back seat to client design work. When you work with clients, you’re pretty much on their timeline. Yes, you can push back a little. However, if they really need something done, I’m probably going to say yes. It hasn’t felt good putting illustration in the corner all this time, but it’s been the practical move. Until recently.

Thankfully, my print shop has gained a lot of traction over the last two years. It’s become very difficult to get prints out the door while wrapping up design projects. The past few weeks have been especially tough, and I’ve made some stupid shipping mistakes trying to do all the things. Too add to the craziness, I’ve recently had some exciting illustration opportunities come my way. For instance, I just wrapped up a book illustration project, Wise Words by Bookish Women (coming out April 2022, so stay tuned). To say it’s been a lot is an understatement.

As I get closer to my shop busy season (November and December), I’ve been thinking, “something’s got to go.” My sales usually double or triple around the holidays - a thought that’s been scaring the living daylights out of me. I should be so excited about how well my shop is doing, right? Well, the more I thought about it, the decision was obvious. Client design work has to go. Come November, I won’t be able to keep this charade up. And the idea of taking a step back from what I truly love doesn’t sit well with me. Practically, the decision makes sense too. After years of hustling, I’m at a place in my career and life where time is the ultimate currency. While design work does pay well, I’m actually making more per hour from my shop. I can ship out thousands of dollars of prints in just a few hours. I can make money while hanging out with my loved ones. And when it comes to illustration projects, usually those have a long timeline, where I can work on my own schedule doing what I love. The clients are less hands on. It’s more of a “go do your thing and come back to us with sketches and art” mentality. I can schedule these types of projects perfectly around running my shop.

I decided to let my design clients know on Monday that I would be done November 1st. That would give us one month to wrap everything up. Just when I thought my decision was final, I started to get gold feet over the weekend. I kept wondering if I was being unreasonable. Then, on Sunday, I had my biggest day of print sales ever. Like HUGE. Double my previous record. That was the sign I needed, so Monday morning I gave my notice. After I let everyone know, it felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted. I knew I made the right choice. Like clockwork, I’ve had several more exciting illustration projects come my way this week. Only more reassurance that i made the right call.

So, why am I sharing this with you? Well, maybe my story will give you the courage to walk away from something that no longer suits you. That has been my theme in life lately - trimming the fat. Getting rid of what’s not working, so I can do more of what is. Is anyone else in that stage of life right now? Quitting Instagram (more on that here) stemmed from this same philosophy. I even could argue that my decision of quitting Instagram, and stepping back from scrolling, gave me the clarity I needed to make this decision. It’s weird how following your intuition has a domino effect.