Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ajax Kelly. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Ajax, really appreciate you joining us to talk about a really relevant, albeit unfortunate topic – layoffs and getting fired. Can you talk to us about your experience and how you overcame being let go?
I, like so many people, got laid off during the early days of Covid. I had recently started as a senior designer for an apparel company, but was starting to get restless in the structured “corporate” design world.
Thankfully, due to the pandemic being the cause of my layoff, I was able to get a severance package and collect unemployment. This ultimately became the springboard I needed to start freelancing full-time and begin laying the groundwork for Ajax Anvil Co.
Right before everything shut down due to Covid, the coffeeshop where I would often work at asked me to showcase a number of drawings I had been working on. This ended up being a pinnacle moment for me because I got connected with a man named Ben Lau.
Ben loved the work that I was doing, saw my potential, and ultimately took a chance on me by giving me a number of creative projects for various businesses he was a part of over the course of the first year of lockdown.
Thanks to Ben I was able to get my first two large-scale public murals – opening the door to a number of clients that have paved the way for where I am today.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Not going to lie – this past year has been relentlessly kicking my butt. Historically, I’ve been one to bite off way more than I can chew, and the universe decided it was time to slam on the breaks and reevaluate what was truly important.
I’ve spent the last 10 years deep in the “Grind Set & Hustle Culture” trying to lay the foundation for my creative career, and I’m happy to say that it paid off.
The goal now is to focus more on a healthy balanced life, spend more time having fun, and help other people define and reverse engineer their dreams.
That last part probably sounds a bit wild or crazy, but it is something that I am incredibly passionate about.
I believe a big part of my purpose (and guiding light for my business) is to help people mine those gems from deep inside themselves – their dreams, inspirations, passions, etc – and then help them forge their dreams into reality by helping them break their goals down into actionable steps, and help connect dots they may not have seen otherwise.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that I’ve found to be essential for anyone, but especially creatives, are Resilience, Patience, and Discipline.
Resilience is huge because that’s what gets you through the hard times – The times when you’ve been knocked down and you’re questioning why you even got into this in the first place.
I recently took a big fat L on the largest project of my career. This was by no means the first time I’ve made a mistake, but it was the first time in many years where I was starting to experience imposter syndrome again.
After I sat with it for a day or two, I was able to reframe the situation in a positive way.
It allowed me to shine a light and identify where the holes in my business were, how to speak-up for myself, my skills, and my business, and how to better articulate the value that I provide my clients.
Patience is another important one, especially in today’s world, because we are so used to getting everything we want exactly when we want it.
When I first graduated college, I was so fired up and ready to take on the world. I wanted to do and achieve everything RIGHT NOW. Often getting really down on myself because I felt like I was never doing enough.
I would take on far too many projects and spread myself too thin because I felt like if I said no to anything I would miss an opportunity or let someone down. Turns out that last part was a side-effect of being a notorious people-pleaser, but that’s a whole other conversation.
What took me far too long to learn was having trust and patience in the process, and that everything will happen when the timing is right.
Discipline is that last skill to hone to find success, and honestly one I still often struggle with. Part of that is definitely due to my ADHD and absolutely hating routines, but recognizing how crucial they are to maintain consistency over time.
Creativity is a lot like working out and going to the gym. You need to get up and exercise regularly in order for it to grow and flow optimally. Having the discipline to show up and create each day, even if it’s only 5 mins, keeps you in a state of continual growth and momentum.
Going beyond just honing your discipline for creative output, it’s also quintessential for running a successful business. You need to be able to show up and put in the work on those days where you really don’t want to.
That isn’t saying you have to give 100% every day and grind yourself into a pulp, but rather showing up and trying to give 1% more than you did the day before. At the end of the day, it’s all about progress over perfection.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go, we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I would love to start working with more food & drink businesses here in the Midwest. My goal with Ajax Anvil Co. is to partner with businesses to bring their imagination to life and elevate their brand in a way that truly showcases what makes them unique and exciting.
I’ve spent a lot of time this year thinking about how to transform spaces through art and design, as well as how to tap into our collective subconscious to create experiences through memories. Not only drawing upon shared memories as inspiration for experiences, but also creating memories through experiences.
That was basically a weird and heady way of saying that I would love to collaborate with other local creatives (chefs, musicians, visual artists) to create fun and exciting pop-up events here in Columbus.
I want to create these microcosm experiences that are like stepping into another reality or into a shared memory – Events that only happen for one night and if you missed it – better luck next time.
My ideal clients these days are people who are incredibly passionate and fired up about what it is they do. I want to work with people who just reverberate and ooze excitement and feel like no dream is too big. If that sounds like you, shoot me an email and let’s make your dreams a reality!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ajaxanvilcompany.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajaxkelly
