We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Samantha Atwater. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Samantha below.
Hi Samantha, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
Easily my grandfather! I would spend the summers with my grandparents. Once I started school, I began to struggle with math during my first-grade year. Between that and being a year younger than my classmates, there was a debate about having me stay behind to catch up. Instead, my grandfather suggested I do daily tutoring in the summer with his help. He was a studious person throughout his life working as a veterinarian and college professor focusing on areas of nutritional science. He was an amazing teacher, so he quickly got my math skills up.
Going forward in future summers, we continued to study together. Sometimes I got to pick a subject I wanted to explore. Other times it was when I was struggling in an area during the school year. Needless to say, sometimes I hated this tutoring. And sometimes, it was a lot of fun! Ultimately, looking back as an adult, I’m grateful. This is where my work ethic blossomed. I very much believe I wouldn’t be where I am without his guidance which taught me a little hard work can help you to achieve any goal.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Today, I’m self-employed as a graphic designer and printer. It started at a young age for me. I loved visual art— mostly painting. Once in high school, I still painted, but I viewed it only as a hobby. Then, my art teacher suggested graphic design as a possible career focus. After that suggestion, I joined my yearbook staff and fell head over heels. It was a beautiful fit for me. I went on to graduate cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Communications from Clemson University. That program couldn’t have been a better fit. Clemson’s Graphics program gave me a broad base with a heavy focus on Business courses. Later, that gave me the footing to help me venture into freelancing. The program went beyond traditional graphic design. It taught me the intricacies and relationships of ink, paper, the mechanics of printers, and more. A big rule we were always taught is a good design is only as good as the final product. Understanding the full picture from start to finish can make all the difference.
So even though I loved the program, after college, I couldn’t find my happy place. I noticed the pattern and issue was that I wanted to go above and beyond for my clients. I really did love my work, but I couldn’t do as much as I wanted to working for bigger companies with all of my other tasks. I began freelancing on the side with a focus on working with small businesses. Eventually, I made the leap to go full-time. Shortly after, I got married. I was utterly shocked at the cost of simple wedding invitations! I was jumping through hoops to have my pre-designed invitations printed on simple white paper finished locally vs. through a big box company.
Around that time, I began focusing more of my design work in the area of budget-friendly wedding invitations. It is the absolute most fun thing ever! I mean, there’s velvet and cotton paper, acrylic, wood, and metal— so many material choices. And while over-the-top luxurious paper and printing aren’t necessarily budget-friendly, I love the challenge of finding a balance between needs and wants for a project. Plus, it’s rewarding to get to work with people who are as excited about the project as I am! Seeing and hearing about someone’s excitement from a project like their wedding invitations feels like opening a big gift with a bow on top.
While I still love working on weddings, recently I’ve been getting back to working with other small businesses in my community to keep things feeling fresh!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
It’s hard to think of only three! If I’m thinking of someone that wants to begin freelancing or become self-employed, I’d say the most impactful points of advice would be: make sure you have the passion, be organized, and find role models to learn from.
Having a passion for the project is imperative. It is not for the faint of heart to quit your day job and rely solely on yourself. In the early days, there are a lot of sacrifices including time away from friends and family, or missing out on a fun trip because you’re saving money. There are also plenty of intimidating moments that can make it easy to give up. When those days happen, it’s easier to push through if you genuinely love and believe in what you’re working towards.
That brings me to the second area of advice. You’ll have fewer of those frustrating days when you have an organized plan in place. I think it’s often overlooked by solopreneurs, especially if you don’t need a lot of seed money. Definitely, take the time to get organized and make a plan. Build your budget, create a work schedule and a dedicated work area, set benchmark goals, list what professionals you’ll need help from such as accountants, start dipping your feet into marketing yourself by doing things like going to networking events, and no matter how small the amount— get funding in place. Then, don’t be afraid to use it. It’s tough watching money go out the door, but maybe not much or any money is coming in. Yet, not using your budget can make an already difficult process even more taxing. Ask yourself what tools you need. Maybe it’s a brush up course at your community college, a new computer, or leasing out commercial space. It’s okay to make that investment towards your future.
And finally, find people who inspire you to succeed. Ask them to go to coffee. Listen to their advice and their story of how they got where they are today. As I began to realize I wanted to start freelancing full-time, I reached out to all kinds of people to hear their stories. I wanted to know how they made the leap, what skills I needed to work on, what mistakes they made that I could avoid, and so on. The first year or two before I went out on my own, I probably chatted with over a dozen freelance designers and design agency owners. It helped me fully understand what I was getting myself into in order to be successful.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I love working on creative ventures with other people! Being self-employed has its downfalls. I’m alone. A lot! My cats and plants know me well!! I also drive my spouse crazy sometimes when I get cabin fever. So, I’m always open when it comes to collaborating with others.
I do work with some other graphic designers, printers, and photographers. For example, sometimes a graphic designer will send me new brand specifications for their client. Then, I’ll design their business cards or package from the new brand and hand it back over to the other designer. For printers, often that’s hands-on. I do enjoy getting back onto a print floor from time to time though. And working with photographers is a new one. I’ve been putting some extra attention into photo touch-ups. Let’s say you get family portraits done, but that one person is looking off to the left, I can fix that!
I suppose I’d say I’m open to collaborating with anyone, but mostly other graphic designers and photographers needing an extra hand when things are too busy. I also love a good-styled marketing shoot! I haven’t had much time for one this year. If someone wants to collaborate, they can reach me best via email, text, or on my website.
samantha@atwatergraphics.com
843-212-6870
atwatergraphics.com/contact
Contact Info:
- Website: www.atwatergraphics.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/atwatergraphics
- Other: www.pinterest.com/atwatergraphics
Image Credits
N. Mickle Photography – Black/dark welcome sign
Candi Leonard Photography – Menu with gold acrylic place card; Colorful Poe quote sign
Atwater Graphics Studio – Gold leaf letterpress invitation; Dusty rose menu
Southern Vintage Photography – Light peach invitation suite
Leigh Hayward Photography – Pink marble watercolor invitation suite; Burgundy and gold invitation
