From freelance designer to designing my business around my life: saying no to the wrong work and taking August off
Lauren’s story
From the outside, Lauren’s business looked like it was working.
She had clients, projects coming in and a steady flow of work. But behind the scenes, it felt chaotic and reactive.
What changed wasn’t just her positioning or the type of work she does now as a Creative Director and Visual Brand Strategist. It was how she started making decisions in her business.
Here’s what changed, in her own words.
When the business looks fine but doesn’t feel it
From the outside, my business probably looked fine.
But day to day, it felt chaotic and like I was pretending to run a business. I genuinely felt like I was going to be found out as a fraud at some point. I was doing everything, even work I didn’t enjoy, because I felt like I had no choice. I saw myself as a freelance, fairly generic designer rather than someone running a business with a clear direction.
I wasn’t really making deliberate decisions about what I wanted the business to be. Any work that came in, I would say yes to, even if it didn’t feel like the right fit for me. That often left me feeling unsatisfied and sometimes frustrated, and meant I was working evenings and weekends without ever really feeling in control.
Knowing something wasn’t working but not knowing what to change
I had been working like that for a few years, and I did start to realise it wasn’t really working. But I didn’t know what the alternative was. It just felt like this was how it had to be if I wanted to keep my business going.
I was busy, I had work coming in, but I didn’t feel like I was building anything with direction. I wanted to feel more in control, but I didn’t know how to get there or what needed to change.
That’s what made me decide to get support.
I realised that if I was going to keep running my own business, I needed to take control of it properly. I wanted to feel like I was running something with a clear idea of what I wanted to do and who I wanted to work with, rather than just reacting to whatever came in.
Having the space to step back and actually think about my business made a big difference. I remembered that I am my own boss, and that I can shape my business in a way that works for me, rather than just following the 9 to 5 out of habit. Being asked the right questions by Fliss helped me to have those lightbulb moments, and having someone there to bring out my confidence made a big difference.
The moment things shifted
A big turning point came in one of our quarterly planning sessions. Fliss asked us how we wanted the next few months to look, and my immediate thought was that I wanted to work less during the school holidays.
When I looked at what might be stopping that, I wrote down “money”.
That was a really exciting moment, because it suddenly felt possible for my business to fit around my life, rather than the other way round. Fliss shared a financial tracker spreadsheet with me and it was a gamechanger. Understanding my finances properly made me realise that I could take time off during the school holidays and still make it work.
Now, I’ve been able to take August off and actually be present with my daughter, without worrying about making up the time later or working evenings to compensate.
Making decisions differently
Since then, the biggest change has been in how I make decisions. Before, I would say yes to everything because I didn’t feel like I had a choice. Now I know that I do because I’ve laid the foundations with my brand work.
I’m much clearer on the type of work I want to do and the clients I want to work with, and I don’t feel the need to take on work that isn’t the right fit anymore. That’s made a big difference to how my business feels day to day.
Realising what was already working with my marketing
I also used to think I wasn’t doing any marketing. I don’t use social media a lot and questioned whether I should be. But I realised that I’ve always stayed in touch with peers and ex colleagues, and that was actually bringing work in. That was my marketing. Doing the work on my brand helped me to understand all the ways I can promote my business and lean into ones that suit me.
Recognising that gave me more confidence to put a bit more of a system around what was already working, rather than feeling like I should be doing something else.
A business that feels calmer and more in control
Now, everything feels much calmer. I have a more balanced workload, with fewer clients that aren’t the right fit, and I spend more time working on my own business, which makes everything more streamlined and efficient. I even have a set time of the week carved out for working on my business now.
I’m much more confident in how I want to work and the type of clients I want to attract, and I’m paying more attention to what works for me rather than just doing what I think I should be doing.
The biggest change has been how my business fits into my life. It feels like I’m running my business in a way that works for me, rather than trying to fit my life around it.
Lauren’s story is a good example of what actually changes when you get clear on your brand. It’s not just about positioning or messaging. It’s about being able to make decisions differently.
She did this work inside the On Brand community, where she had the space to step back and figure out what she actually wanted from her business, and how to make it work around her life.
If you want that kind of space and support, that’s exactly what On Brand is designed to give you.