Hi, I'm new and/or back from the dead

Hiya. I’m Erin and I’ve been a member of the GDF for quite a few years off and on (but mostly mid 00’s beige & green GDF—the new format is terrific, btw). I have a BA in Graphic Design from [insert private Kansas liberal arts university no one’s heard of here], and I’ve been a full time in-house/evening freelance graphic designer for about 11 years, doing illustration, basic print design and front-end web, with a focus on edu and small midwest non-profits.

Long story short, it was well-meaning work and paid the bills, but nothing that truly pushed me as a designer, so I took a dive and quit my full time gig in January of this year so I could focus on growing myself and my one-woman design business. I’ve been so impressed with the response I’ve had so far, and I look forward to answering questions if I can. Thanks again for your vast knowledge and patience, GDFolks!

Hi, Erin. Welcome back!

It’s been awhile since the old green forum was traded in for something else. :grinning:

I’m eager to hear in your future forum posts how your whole quitting work and going solo has worked out and how you’ve managed to do it. It’s a pretty gutsy thing to do and must have been a carefully considered decision.

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Welcome Back Erin!! :slight_smile:

So nice to hear your new journey is going so well. That’s really awesome! :slight_smile:

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It’s not the first time I’ve jumped ship, but it is going significantly better than my initial parachute-free plunge back in 2011. While I didn’t exactly plan on leaving in advance, I knew I had a handful of clients and two relatively steady long-term contract gigs as a cushion, and it’s kept me busy and out of the poor house.

And yeah, life is feast or famine 99.9% of the time because I’m an antisocial art major with ADD running on stubbornness and BS rather than business and financial training. But cheap midwestern living, private insurance, no kids, no vacation, little social life, rx adderall, my husband’s tiny part-time paycheck, a buttload of luck and varying degrees of hard work is how we survive. And when I get sick of living in this tempest teapot, I’ll try to find a job like a normal person. But for now, it’s all pretty exciting.

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Howdy!