Pivoting from freelancer to one-woman creative studio

Taaryn is a visual artist who helps to show brands playful sides. Whether through graphic design, illustration, art or a seamless mix of everything, she brings it all together with an authentic human touch.

As Taaryn’s freelance business grew, it became clear to her that there was a disconnect between her vision and what she was communicating. She knew she wanted to reposition to be recognised as a studio, rather than a freelancer, and knew she couldn’t do it alone.

“I felt that my offering and how I promoted myself was confusing and attracting the wrong kind of clients. I was so confused and had no idea where to start. I needed structure, guidance and accountability.”

Untangling the way forward

Taaryn’s goal was to take a step up and go from freelancer to creative studio owner.

We began by getting everything out of her head and discussing what she wanted her business to look like – and the type of work she really wanted to do. After spending time examining her business in detail and thinking about the right way forward, we then started connecting the dots so she felt confident to clearly talk about her business and put herself in front of her ideal customers.

“Fliss got to know the ins and outs of what I wanted my business to look like and she didn’t hold back with asking probing questions that really made me think.

Every week, I was amazed and overjoyed with what we’d uncovered. She was incredibly personable and down to earth which made me look forward to our sessions. I actually missed working with her after they were over!”

Bringing it to life with support and structure

Taaryn had funding from the Arts Council's Developing Your Creative Practice Grant to work with specialists on her repositioning. Once we started to piece together her brand Blueprint, we looked at the language she uses and started to craft her brand voice to make sure she comes across as authentically as possible. This helped her when she came to brief her copywriter, Ash Billinghay, to help her write her website copy.

The final piece of the puzzle was plotting out how she wanted to structure her new website. It wasn’t just about showing off her work: Taaryn wanted to make sure her personality came across, along with her way of working which we’d spent time defining and crafting how to articulate. Her site had to reflect her, and give her ideal customers a flavour of what it’s like to work with her.

“I’m so much clearer about what I do, who for and why, and I’m now attracting people that I really enjoy working with who are my ideal clients. I’m attracting clients who come to me for me, rather than looking for a designer who can do the work.

I loved having the time set aside to work on my business without distractions. Working with Fliss has been an absolute pleasure and she’s given me so much confidence and a brand strategy to refer to and keep me on track.”

Taaryn chose to do 1:1 brand coaching with me. Want to know more about it?

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