We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Molly Beaton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Molly below.
Hi Molly, thanks for sitting with us today to chat about topics that are relevant to so many. One of those topics is communication skills, because we live in an age where our ability to communicate effectively can be like a superpower. Can you share how you developed your ability to communicate well?
I credit my years spent working in the service industry as one of the biggest reasons why I can run a successful business now and communicate well with my clients. This is a crucial skill that I think a lot of people in “creative” fields are missing, and it’s certainly not taught in school – but so much of the success of a creative project boils down to effective communication. People want to be heard and understood, and you have to be able to take a step back from your own perception and see where the other person might be coming from. My years spent waiting tables and, later, running private events & weddings gave me lots of exposure to all kinds of different people and personalities. It allowed me to see that the way I process information isn’t necessarily the way that others do, and that you have to meet people where they’re at and find ways of both getting your point across and understanding theirs.
As a brand & web designer, having the skillset to both listen and communicate effectively is invaluable. It helps me process client feedback and also understand the story my clients are trying to tell through their branding. Design can be a tricky field because you’re dealing with a lot of subjectives. Having a good awareness of the fact that your work isn’t always going to be interpreted in the manner that you intended is crucial. If you can start thinking about how others will perceive what you’re trying to communicate early in your design process, you can give yourself a big head start on creating a successful design.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m the founder & creative director of Parson Lane, a boutique design firm that specializes in branding & web design for creative changemakers. We’re passionate about creating holistic, strategy-led brands for our clients. We primarily work with purpose-led small businesses and service providers to help our clients cut through the noise and effectively tell their stories.
We’re super excited to be expanding our services starting in early 2024 to include brand messaging and website copywriting! Great writing goes hand-in-hand with great design when it comes to the success of your brand, and we’re thrilled to be able to offer packages that include all the pieces our clients need to create a show-stopping brand and website.
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?
1. Get curious. Approaching any new creative endeavor, business venture, or really anything else in life with curiosity is key to finding what works for you. Don’t look for hard and fast answers – just maintain your sense of curiosity and willingness to explore, and the right answer *for you* will eventually unfold itself.
2. Trust your gut. It’s easy to get bogged down in “advice” from The Internet or from well-meaning family and friends. But, ultimately, YOU are the authority on what to do with your business and your life. Do your research, but don’t be afraid to break from commonly-held practices if you know deep down that’s what’s right for you.
3. Don’t take it personally. Especially in creative fields, you have to develop a layer of separation between yourself and your output. You are not your work, and if you try and fail at something new, it doesn’t mean that you are a failure. Separating your self-worth from your productivity is a non-negotiable when it comes to your mental health as a business owner.
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’m currently looking for copywriters, marketing strategists/brand messaging specialists, and web designers to partner with on Parson Lane projects! If you’re interested in working together on client projects on a per-project basis, shoot me an email at [email protected] – I’d love to hear from you 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: parsonlane.com
- Instagram: @parsonlane
- Linkedin: @mollybeaton
Image Credits
Light Creative Art & Studio Aray
