Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Zeitler.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kate. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve been doing some form of design for as long as I can remember; selling handmade jewelry in art fairs, creating logos for friends, designing marketing materials for local businesses in college… It was only a matter of time before I would pursue a full-fledged career in the field.
After seven years in retail merchandising and taking night courses at Massachusetts College of Art & Design, I began working with Hotdrop Apparel, a start-up yoga clothing company in Boston. There were only a handful of employees, so I handled everything from photo-editing to updating the website to creating all the marketing materials. A lot of other small businesses in the local health and wellness arena started inquiring about who was behind the Hotdrop marketing and my freelance business was born.
When Hotdrop closed their doors, I was faced two options: either go work for an agency or try to start my own business. With the support of my husband, friends and network of existing freelance clients, I started Anchored Canvas.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest struggle with starting my own business has been getting over my fear of failure. Especially in the first year, I was very tough on myself if I had a slower week or didn’t get as many clients from a marketing push as I had hoped. It’s easy to get discouraged. I’d have a few weeks with less work and think to myself, “It’s over, I should probably start applying for jobs.” And of course, a few days later a new client would call with a great project. Now that I can look back at year to year trends, I know that some of my business is cyclical and I can plan for that.
The other challenge of being your own boss is that you lack the structured development conversations and programs that larger companies put in place for their team. That said, I’ve developed my own toolbox of things that motivate me and help me to continually improve. Whether it’s a night course at General Assembly, lunch with a fellow freelancer or simply pursuing a passion project, it’s essential to keep yourself feeling inspired. Equally essential is finding balance. To counter the hours at a desk, I teach indoor cycling classes at Recycle Studio. I do my best design work when I’ve carved out some me time to sweat and unplug.
Please tell us about Anchored Canvas.
Anchored Canvas is a full service graphic design and marketing company in the South End. Our goal is to make high-end design accessible to all companies, young and old, large and small. We run the gamut from logo & web design to photo editing & print marketing designs.
Our specialty is in digital & print marketing materials. We deliver consistent, informative and engaging email campaigns with fresh content for your customers as well as newsletter design & content creation to keep your customers informed on industry trends, events & benefits of using your business. We also create engaging print materials for recruitment events, trade shows & direct mail.
I’m so proud of our client base. We have the pleasure of working with some truly inspirational individuals. They’re the reason we work so hard and there is nothing more rewarding than helping them grow their businesses.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have started this business sooner! But actually, I don’t think I would change a thing. Every little pitfall and mistake makes you a smarter and better business owner down the road.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.anchoredcanvas.com
- Email: kate@anchoredcanvas.com
- Instagram: @anchoredcanvas @katezeitler
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