We were lucky to catch up with Janae Newman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Janae, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I felt imposter syndrome early in my career before I had the language to define it. In a subjective field like graphic design, it was easy to second-guess myself, especially if my work and success didn’t look identical to someone else’s. I would go off the deep end thinking, “What if I can’t deliver what the client wants and I’m exposed as a fraud, laughed out of my industry, never to work again!?”
The key to overcoming imposter syndrome, for me, was perseverance. I found success building on the skills and knowledge I had. When people told me they liked my work, I believed them. I put myself out there more and took risks. Often all we are risking is our own ego. If you want to win an award, you have to submit your work. If you want to sell your art, you have to put it out there. You have to be willing to risk failure in order to succeed. I put more stock in my wins than losses and that has helped me to overcome imposter syndrome.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
As my design career has progressed, I’ve found a niche in providing creative direction to tech and AI companies. So in my freelance life, I love partnering with small businesses. I find that process so rewarding, helping build something from the ground up. Starting a new business is overwhelming and hiring the right graphic designer can help relieve some of that stress. Recently I helped Adventure Board with their branding, marketing materials, videos and the actual design of their boards (adventure-board.com). Seeing my work come to life brings me a sense of purpose,
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Be resourceful. Things go wrong all the time and the day will come when someone asks you to do something and you have to find a way to make it happen. Learn to solve challenging problems. You won’t know everything all the time. Google is your friend.
2. Ask questions. Your client doesn’t know what you know. You will end up redoing your work if you don’t get all the information and the right information upfront.
3. Keep learning and stay up-to-date as technology changes. Keeping up with software updates will save you so much time (I love you, Adobe Photoshop Generative Expand). The more you learn, the better you’ll be at your craft.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
If I only had a decade left, I would cash out my 401k and start traveling with my friends and family. I’d make sure those most important to me know how wonderful they are. I would attend every concert, climb every mountain and swim in every ocean. There are an infinite number of adventures I’ve yet to experience. I try to live life to the fullest anyway, but if I knew my time was limited, I would want to soak up every drop of happiness.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.janaenewmandesign.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janaenewmandesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanaeNewmanDesign/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janaenewman/
