Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikita.
Nikita, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Being creative and trying new design tools was something I had always taken an interest in, learning how to create slight digital designs & posters using my pictures throughout my adolescent years. It wasn’t until I saw a gap in the community around me – my community, that I began to take on roles designing the things the business owners around me needed.. When Covid hit, more people launched their own online businesses and aspiring content creators began documenting on Youtube. I saw this as my opportunity to step out on faith using my God given talents and start my own business as well in 2020. There were a lot of infamous entrepreneurs everywhere, hair dressers, stylists, chefs, makeup artists, nail techs and even myself; the graphic designer. This is when I learned the basics of logo design and development and began practicing and pitching. Since Covid was relatively new and scary, my senior year in high-school was cut short moving us quickly to virtual learning, leaving me with ample time to work on my skills and grow as a designer. I started reaching out to classmates & local businesses offering my services and quickly getting hired for youtube intro and outro creations, logo designs & promotional flyers. I had more paid projects more often than not; still designing passion projects for myself as well. Word spread quickly that I was the go to person for creating graphic designs. Shortly after launching my online store & promoting on Instagram and Facebook, I made my first couple thousand dollars from my business. That was huge to me, being able to earn my own income off of my talents with no physical product whatsoever. I secured retainer clients who spent hundreds on single projects with no hesitation. This pushed my goal post and helped me realize my value as a graphic designer. By 2021 I reached way beyond my small town in Georgia and designed for people all over the United States. Reaching business owners in California, Philidelphia, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, Washington and more.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
When I first started out I could say it was a pretty smooth road and everything felt like a dream. I remained booked for weeks, clients were respectful of my policies, not too demanding, & were ready to work always. I had maybe three clients that gave me a hard time out of fifty, so that was a plus. I could remember the first time I had a misunderstanding with a client and looking back on it, I can confidently say that my customer service was still at a high level even in the face of difficulty. One of the main struggles I faced back in 2020 and still face presently is the ability to remain consistent and continue marketing for myself. Often I found myself sitting on unreleased projects & hoarding my skills, sometimes going days and weeks without nurturing my audience. It’s super easy to get caught in working on everyone else’s business that you begin to neglect yours in a sense. Reflecting back on how I ran my business then, I should have focused on automating my client onboarding, building my email subscribers list and attending networking events. These are things that we often overlook as business owners; focusing solely on getting customers instead of fully working and perfecting your customer experience. My first two years in business were extremely successful & it wasn’t until I stepped away from it when I had my first daughter. Doing so well in business and finally having an audience and community of people you built then suddenly ghosting your first walk of faith can cause a big hit in your presence and credibility and your eagerness to. be a business owner. Life may have had to pause for me but it remained moving for my community. This is where it gets tricky as an entrepreneur and should be your motivation to continue pursuing your dreams rather than succumbing to a temporary bump in the road. This is also when I learned how to pivot and revive a desert. Coming back into my passion and craft as a graphic designer 5 years later, fully rebranded, onboarding ready with two mini me’s as my cheerleaders has positioned me to be the success story and change I know I am.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a brand graphics designer, specializing in logo development and branding identities. When working with me, you should note that I don’t only design eye-catching visuals but I also align strategy with that creativity; with the goal of ensuring your graphics gain not only the exposure but the clients as well. I am known for my one and done brand bundles, curated specifically to help business owners market themselves effectively along every part of their journey with the right design services bundled together. Clients who invest in my curated brand bundles get access to a free brand strategy and discovery call that helps them hone in on what they want to convey and accomplish within their brand. This strategy coupled with the right graphics allows them to attract their ideal customers effortlessly all while saving time and frustration and fostering that necessary brand loyalty and trust because my designs were able to tell their businesses story effectively. This is what sets me apart from other designers, being a smaller designer allows me to exceed client expectations and curate a phenomenal client experience. I want to make sure that any of you who are interested in working with me and graphics design company, know that I have services tailored to meet you wherever you are at. I priced my services for the entrepreneur just starting out and for the CEO and mogul who has successfully launched 3 businesses and is ready to relax and let their branding work for them. It is my goal to meet them where they are and let my designs be the push that gets them where they want to be.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Start nurturing your audience now, whether its 2 people or 200 people. Build the connections, because word of mouth can take you further than you can imagine. You never know who knows who and who may need you and your business, unless you start networking. Invest in yourself and your skills early on to prevent as many mistakes and wasted time. I mentioned wishing that I built my email audience and developing my onboarding process earlier, things like this may seem trivial to you but those are things that help you land those thousand dollar customers, those invoice paid immediately clients. are waiting on you to start showing up as the professional you desire to be. The more you invest in your business or business knowledge, the more you are able to take on and accomplish. Be flexible and always have a plan B, C & D. This isn’t because you’re worried you won’t succeed (always speak highly of your business no matter where you’re starting from,) but because you know you will succeed and learned how to secure more than one avenue of generational wealth. This is why learning to pivot is essential. If you do need to take a breather from your biz, this is where the automations and outsourcing can be your best business friend. Automations can be as simple as having your promo flyers, photos & captions designed, scheduled & uploaded all week while you attend your kids’ events. Imagine making sales and landing new customers because you automated your responses with updated links & had a website that listed your prices, showed your products and answered your customers’ FAQs all while you were making dinner. These investments give you your time back while letting you still function and run your business the way you intended.
Pricing:
- Logo Design $95
- 3-5 Page Website Design $350
- Brand Identity Design & Strategy $200
- Flyer Design $45
- Elite Business Bundle $550
Contact Info:
- Website: www.luminousluxegrfx.myshopify.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/luminousluxegrfx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luminousluxegrfx/
Image Credits
Jay Kay, Nikita Reyanna
