When I finally summoned the courage to quit my job and become a full-time self-employed graphic designer, there was a tiny part of me worried one day I'd have to write the post about why it wasn't working out, letting everyone know I'd failed, and that I was going back to 'normal' life. You can call it self-doubt, or imposter syndrome, or whatever number of things I and most human beings succumb to – I've always liked to call it realism.
But this isn't that post. I haven't had to write that post. And I'm so excited.
There's good news and sad news though.
For those who are maybe not familiar – for the past 2 years I've worked two full-time jobs. One as the Creative Director and Owner of Hello Miss Potter, producing work for both local and international clients. And the other, as Chief Operating Officer of Leaping Tiger, a tech startup in the gaming industry, of which I am a co-founder. Both these endeavours have required so much energy and provided me with endless amounts of learning, but the time has come where I have to choose between my two passions.
The good news is Leaping Tiger has grown to a point where it's surpassed my graphic design work as the official 'job' in my life. (There's hopefully more I can say about this soon...) And I consider myself so unbelievably fortunate to continue waking up and doing something I am so passionate about, with an absolutely astounding team, every single day.
The 'sad' news is – I am no longer working as a freelance graphic designer. I'm so grateful for the continued support from my family and clients over the past 2 years. Thank you so much for believing in me, working with me, and constantly driving me to do and be better every day. Don't panic, though! I'm not leaving you in the dark. I have a certain number of weekend hours set aside for wrapping up and handing over projects as required.
"Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock-n-roll."
– Shigeru Miyamoto