In 2016, I started posting my design work on Instagram. For two whole years, I didn't make any money from it. I posted, nobody hired me, and the next week I posted again.
That wasn't my only failure, not even close. Around the same time, I was sending proposal after proposal on Freelancer.com, and not one of them worked. In the end, the site closed my account. Before that, a creative director had told me I couldn't be a designer, because I didn't go to design school. And years later, in 2023, I was let go from a job I loved, with no warning.
So when I talk about failure, I'm not talking about it from far away. I've lived most of the versions designers worry about.
Maybe you know some of them too. Maybe you lost a job, or someone told you that you can't be a designer without school. Maybe you sent out application after application and nobody called back. If that's you right now, I want you to hear one thing from me first. If you find success later, it doesn't mean you were a failure before. It means you kept going.
I wasn't always where I am now. I failed a lot. What changed wasn't that I stopped failing. It was how I looked at each failure. Slowly, I learned to see every one of them as a chance to grow, instead of proof that I wasn't good enough.
Those two years on Instagram are the best example. Nothing worked, again and again. But I had a plan, and I pushed through the hard months. I learned new skills, I kept sharing my work, and eventually I won my first client. In 2018, I made $28,000 from freelancing, more than my salary had ever given me. What mattered most wasn't the failing. It was what I did next.
Start with why
People often ask me, "How do I become a designer?" I get it, because I asked the same question for years. But before you look for the how, I think you need to be honest with yourself about the why.
Why do you want to be a designer? Is it because a friend is one? Did someone tell you that you're good at it? Or do you just feel it, the way I did, as an instinct you can't really explain?
There's no wrong answer. But your answer matters, because it's what keeps you going when nothing is working. So before anything else, take a moment with two questions. Why do you want to become a designer? And what is your goal? Maybe you want to be a UX or UI designer. If so, now is the time to choose that path and stick to it.
Share the work clients want to see
Have you ever noticed how some designers share everything except their actual work? They post quotes, tips and opinions, and then they wonder why no clients reach out. I did a version of this too, and it took me a while to see the problem.
When you post online, have a clear goal. If you want more clients, share the work clients want to see, the kind of projects they would hire you for, not just the posts that get the most likes. Likes feel good, but they don't pay rent. You get back what you put out.
Your work does the talking
As a designer, the most valuable thing you have is your work. People want to see what you can do, not just hear about it. Most clients find you because of your portfolio, and they only ask about your skills after they've seen your work.
When I was starting out, I shared almost everything I made online. It felt scary at first, but it helped me find clients much faster. I like to think of your work as a magnet. Every piece you share pulls in a few more people who might need you one day.
I won't pretend this works overnight. It didn't for me. Two years is a long time to post with nothing to show for it, and there were many weeks I wanted to stop. But every failure in that time taught me something I still use today.
So here's something small you can do tonight. Think about a time you failed recently. Then take five minutes and write down two things. What that failure taught you, and one small step you can take this week because of it.
Back in 2016, I was posting my work to an audience that didn't care yet, and I had no idea if it would ever pay off. It did, just much later than I wanted. From nothing to something is possible.
What's one failure that taught you the most?
See you in another one!
Let's grow together 🙌
P.S. If you're just starting out, I put the path I wish I'd had into a free guide, The Freelance Design Playbook.
