Interview - Kylie Stewart
After being made redundant twice in 3 months, Kylie knew it was time to carve her own path. We chat about how she got started so quickly after this nudge from the universe, and hear her advice for other freelancers just starting out.
Tell us how you ended up here as a freelancer? Where did it all begin?
I started freelancing while I was still at uni, a friend of a friend needed a logo for their baby shoes business which they still use today—15 years on. I continued to freelance on the side throughout my career. It wasn’t until I got made redundant (twice in 3 months) that I began freelancing full time. I first started freelancing for APN Outdoors and Sunshine Coast Lightning for the first year while starting to establish Say-So and bring on my own clients. Today Say-So still ‘freelances’ from time to time but we mostly focus on working with our own clients and utilising our freelancer connections to build a full-service offering.
How did you prepare to start working for yourself?
I didn’t! The day I got made redundant, and after a lot of encouragement from family and friends and a bottle of red wine, I decided to go out on my own. I think it was the universe pushing me to take the leap to start my own gig. I had a sound idea of how business worked from running two other businesses (a Fiji wedding blog and screen printing business) and I used my learnings from my 10-year career working different sized studios and agencies. That night I came up with a business name, bought the URL, registered the business name and built a landing page.
I knew I had to find work fast. So I made contact with everyone I knew in my 10-year career to see if that had any work or if we could work in partnership. I also put a post up on Facebook to announce I was starting out on my own where friends and family referred me.
What was your biggest fear before you started freelancing? Any tips to overcome these fears?
JUST DO IT! You don’t know until you try.
Walk us through a typical work day?
AM
Drop #minisayso at Daycare. Grab a Coffee Half an hour to an hour of admin Jump into client work, client calls, proposals/ quotes or a course. Grab another Coffee
PM
Continue the above until I need to pickup #minisayso Or jump on a Cool Wow Collective co-working session.
Evening:
#mumlife then continue to work on the couch while watching Master Chef or jump back in the studio. #alwaysworking
Name three qualities you need to succeed as a freelancer?
Resilience
Patience
A love for coffee!
Best thing about freelancing?
The flexibility, the freedom, the ability to work on a variety of projects and connect with other creatives in the process. Also being exposed to a wide scope of work.
Suckiest thing about freelancing?
The sucky parts!
What advice would you give to someone just starting out on their freelancer journey?
Be prepared for the rollercoaster of ups and downs. While freelancing can be super rewarding, it also has it’s hard times. Learn to troubleshoot any problems fast; project management, internal processes, client experiences, the way you present work to clients etc. Reflect and look back on those mistakes and see what you can learn from them and how you can implement a solution.
What’s next for you in business?
Say-So is currently building a creative of like-minded freelancers in all areas to help cater for the demand and allow us to become a full-service studio. I’ll be launching Ready. Set. Say So in July which will be an Instagram marketplace for visual brands. And hopefully launching the So You Say Podcast for my 4th Birthday in October.
This or that
Tea or coffee?
Introvert or extrovert?
Earlybird or night owl? Neither
Home office or coworking space? Both
Emails or calls? Both have their place
Paper or digital to-do list? GirlFriday Planner!
Books or podcasts?