"Just ask, you never know what someone's going to say" with Helen Ridley
Do your thing · Season 2, episode 3 · Hosted by Fliss Lee
Building a creative business by trying things, getting comfortable with rejection and asking for opportunities
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Helen Ridley started her illustration business thinking she’d sell cards and gifts. Five years later, her business looks very different.
Helen is an illustrator who has built a brilliant business around live illustration, creative workshops and, more recently, bringing other creatives together through her own networking events.
She’s got there by trying things.
Live illustration came from giving something a go and seeing what happened. She’s challenged herself to collect 100 rejections. And along the way, she’s worked out what she’s good at, what makes money and what she needs to charge to create the space she wants in her business.
In this episode, we talk about building confidence, experimenting until you find what works for you, getting comfortable with rejection, pricing your creative work and why fewer, better-paying clients have given Helen more space.
We also talk about protecting your creativity when creativity is your job – including why Helen takes herself on regular creative dates to make sure she’s still creating just for the fun of it.
Because doing your thing isn’t just about doing whatever you fancy. It’s about figuring out how to build a business that works for you and gives you more of what you want from your work and life.
What you’ll learn in this episode
Why experimenting with different types of work can help you figure out what you actually want your business to look like
How getting more comfortable with rejection can make it easier to put yourself and your work out there
Why Helen takes herself on creative dates to protect the creativity she loves now that creativity is also her job
Listen to the episode
Find it on your chosen podcast player here.
About Helen Ridley
Helen Ridley is an illustrator and live illustrator whose work spans events, creative workshops and illustration.
Her business has evolved considerably since she first started out selling cards and gifts. Today, live illustration is a big part of her work, alongside running creative workshops and events that bring other creatives together.
Connect with, and follow Helen
Visit Helen Ridley Illustration
Follow Helen on Instagram
Connect with Helen on LinkedIn
Join Helen’s newsletter
Mentioned in this episode
The 100 rejections challenge
Helen set herself a challenge to collect 100 rejections by putting herself forward for opportunities, pitching and asking for things she might otherwise have talked herself out of.
The aim wasn't to get rejected 100 times. It was to make rejection something she was willing to risk rather than something that stopped her trying in the first place.
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
Helen talks about The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, which is where she discovered the idea of taking yourself on an ‘artist date’ – setting aside time to do something creative purely for yourself.
Helen has made creative dates part of the way she protects her own creativity now that being creative is also her job, giving herself space to explore and make things without them needing to become something she can sell.
You might also like
If Helen's thoughts on valuing your creative work and getting paid for the value you bring resonate, listen to my conversation with Gina Buckle about finding what you want to be known for and building a creative business around work you actually enjoy.
Support the podcast
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Want to be a guest?
Got a story or experience that could help other founders, freelancers or creative folk do things their own way? You can pitch to be a guest on Do your thing here.
Chapters
00:00:00 – Fliss Introduces Helen Ridley
00:01:30 – Helen Introduces Her Illustration Business and Services
00:03:04 – Helen's Career Journey: Fashion Design to Illustration
00:05:32 – Experimenting and Finding Success with Live Illustration
00:07:59 – Why Helen Started Creative Networking Events
00:10:09 – Building Confidence and Understanding the Broadness of Illustration
00:13:24 – How a Casual Arts Trail Led to Live Illustration Success
00:16:53 – Streamlining Focus for a Profitable Creative Business
00:18:43 – The 100 Rejections Challenge and Building Resilience
00:23:50 – Proactive Client Outreach and Learning Business Skills
00:30:12 – Personal Branding and Evolving Definitions of Success
00:33:24 – Prioritising Time Off and Managing a Flexible Schedule
00:37:49 – Simple Planning Systems and Prioritising Artist Dates
00:49:01 – Charging Your Worth and Attracting Ideal Clients
00:55:44 – Overcoming Barriers and the Importance of Community
00:58:34 – Where to Find Helen Ridley and Her Work
Episode transcript
Fliss Lee (00:00)
Hi Helen, I am so chuffed to be speaking to you today. For people who don't already know you, can you tell us who are and what you do?
Helen Ridley (00:09)
Hi Fliss, thanks so much for having me. So I'm Helen Ridley. My business is Helen Ridley Illustration. I'm an illustrator based in Reading down in Berkshire in the UK. And I've been running my illustration business for the last five to six years. I work as predominantly as a live illustrator. So I illustrate guests and people and pets at
weddings across the UK and also work on corporate events. collaborate with brands, particularly in London, for pop-up events, retail product launches, corporate Christmas parties, corporate events, et cetera. And I also teach watercolor and illustration workshops, either public or corporate workshops, encouraging people to connect with their creativity and...
I've also recently started hosting some creative networking events for creatives in my area in Reading.
Fliss Lee (01:05)
I mean, yeah, this is a bit of me, so I'm so excited to chat to you. I just love that you've created a whole job and I'm so excited to hear about this. But you, I'm going to guess you weren't a live illustrator from the very beginning of your career. So like, I'd love to hear about like how you got to where you are today. Like what's your story of...
getting to live illustration as the thing.
Helen Ridley (01:34)
So
my background, if you go right back to beginning, I did a degree
Fliss Lee (01:39)
Mm.
Helen Ridley (01:39)
in fashion design in the early noughties. And this was just before the internet was getting going. It was just before you could be online as easily as you can now.
Fliss Lee (01:50)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (01:51)
And as I think is the case with a lot of creative degrees, even now,
they just don't tell you how to like actually get work once you leave. So I thought I had to get a job as a designer in the fashion industry. That was obviously very competitive. And I actually just fell out of love with the fashion industry for a little while when I first graduated.
Fliss Lee (02:10)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (02:12)
So I did my degree, loved it, it was very creative and I always loved the illustration side of it. And it, but again, didn't understand how to become an illustrator. So.
What I sort of left university started in some temp jobs and ended up working as a product technologist for retail companies and actually more in the homeware side of the industry for 10 to
Fliss Lee (02:34)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (02:34)
15 years. I worked in lots of different retailers from the white company to Harrods to Ted Baker.
and Habitat over those years, which was an interesting job. It involved lots of travels. I got to travel to factories and auditing them. I was
testing
Fliss Lee (02:50)
Nice.
Helen Ridley (02:51)
products, working with buyers, developing products to up to market. But it wasn't anywhere near as creative as I felt
Fliss Lee (02:59)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (02:59)
as a person. And I was pretty frustrated by the end. So we got to 2020. I think with a lot of people, that was a chance to step back and
I felt like I'd been on a bit of a hamster wheel up to that point. I hadn't had a moment
Fliss Lee (03:12)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (03:12)
to think about what else I could do or how to do it.
But in 2020, I decided to take a redundancy at the end of that year. And that's when I decided this is the time to start my illustration business. In the year or two prior to that, and I think the year before COVID, I had done a short course in illustration on
Fliss Lee (03:31)
Mm.
Helen Ridley (03:32)
weekends and things over like a few months. And that had given me a little taster as to how it works being an illustrator, the fact you have to work freelance. It's not a job as much as a freelance opportunity.
So yeah, started in 2020, literally had so little confidence though, that all I could imagine doing was illustrating cards and gifts and selling them on Etsy basically and at some markets. And it took me a year or two to get build up a lot more confidence to start exploring live illustration. So I'd say the first couple of years were just me experimenting, me trying out the process of running a business, learning an awful lot, but not making a huge amount of money. And once I settled on live.
illustration which was something I'd seen people doing at weddings it wasn't as well known as it is now or as popular as it is now when I started but I had seen a few people doing it so I started going to wedding fairs telling people I could illustrate at weddings even though I hadn't actually done it it's one of those fake it till you make it.
Fliss Lee (04:31)
Yes.
Helen Ridley (04:35)
So I luckily had a lovely first client I think it was in 2023 as an illustration for her wedding.
and once you have that first client, once you've got some testimonials and pictures you can get going and so yeah year on year got better and better and I have, I've always done the teaching alongside the live illustration and I still do but I would say the live illustration is the bulk of my business now.
And it does pay well, that's because it's very highly skilled. You have to be able to draw really fast, be comfortable with people in really busy, high pressure environments with often demanding clients. so yeah, there's a reason it pays very well. It's also the reason I don't do more than three to four events per month of that kind,
Fliss Lee (05:24)
you
Helen Ridley (05:25)
because you kind of have to conserve your energy a bit when you are working in that way.
But yeah, that's basically the way I balance my business now is three to four live events a month, a couple of workshops or one or two workshops, a quarter I'd say.
And then recently tried out hosting networking events as well as I mentioned.
Fliss Lee (05:47)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (05:47)
My first one was literally last week. And it's just something I'd wanted to do ever since I've moved to Reading, which is over 10 years ago now. And ever since I started working as a creative, I felt there wasn't.
networking event of that type in the area, even though I know an awful lot of creative people who have all sorts of businesses and artists. And so the first event was amazing and it just showed that everyone had this need for an event like that and they were so glad it was finally happening. And so everyone just connected so easily, everyone was chatting away as soon as they arrived. And that was, yeah, that's really, I've been really enjoying doing that.
It's not sort of biggest, profitable
Fliss Lee (06:30)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (06:31)
part of the business, but it's a really lovely way to just meet people, hopefully find new opportunities, build my confidence. Like, as I said, that little version of me five years ago that couldn't imagine doing more than selling cards. The idea that I would go on to be hosting my own networking event is pretty mad, but I'm really excited that I started doing it.
Fliss Lee (06:52)
Yeah, I was going to ask what led you to wanting to do the networking events? Was it something from your experience and through your self-employed career that made you go, this is important?
Helen Ridley (07:05)
Yeah,
so networking is something I probably started a couple of years ago for the first time. I haven't been to loads, but there's only one or two events I've been to locally that...
felt like a good fit. One of them is the business nest, which is a brilliant community set up by Robin Curry, who's local to me near Reading. She collaborates with lots of other business owners locally, and she always puts on amazing events. So I've always felt those have been a very inclusive, welcoming space for networking. But
I just felt a lot of the other networking events either at very weird times, extremely early in the morning or like mid afternoon, which is odd. Like I'd rather just be able to go for a morning or an evening. and so I didn't find any that were the right fit or they required sort of membership signups or they just would, went quite close enough for me to be able to sort of do it and then go back to work for the days.
Fliss Lee (08:01)
you
Helen Ridley (08:02)
So yeah, I just felt there wasn't something like that. There wasn't something a bit more flexible.
bit more, a bit less corporate.
You go
Fliss Lee (08:10)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (08:11)
to some networking events and it's dry and like the speakers are not as inspiring perhaps. So again, I've now I'm building up a network of people I can ask to be a speaker who I find really inspiring and
Public speaking generally is something I haven't yet officially done, but it's on my list, so I figured this was an easy
Fliss Lee (08:35)
You
Helen Ridley (08:36)
way of getting started in that as well.
Fliss Lee (08:39)
You mentioned that a bit of that lack of confidence, it's a way of giving back. I'm really interested in that actually. You said when you started as an illustrator you had little confidence, so all you could imagine was selling cards and things.
What do you think led to that and why do you think it was, I'll sell cards and bits and bobs?
Helen Ridley (09:03)
I think it was the years and years of working in a completely different industry.
Fliss Lee (09:08)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (09:10)
I think maybe not having peers that were doing it that I could relate to. So when I first started out, most of my friends and family, with the exception of my sisters because they both do run their own businesses now. And it was my sister Fiona who was the one that got me started and gave me, she sort of helped me understand finances, how to do a tax return.
Fliss Lee (09:32)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (09:33)
like all the basics of getting set up. So she was amazing. She's
Fliss Lee (09:35)
and
Helen Ridley (09:35)
always been very entrepreneurial. She studied music and then worked as a music teacher. She then set up her own clothing company during COVID, which is mainly online. Even though I did the fashion degree, she did the clothing brand. But she's
Fliss Lee (09:49)
That's so funny.
Helen Ridley (09:52)
just someone that she can make stuff. We're a very creative family, me and my sisters and my parents. So yeah, she's always...
been someone that makes things. So she did inspire me and my other sister is an artist as well So.
They definitely were, even my friends I went to university with weren't working freelance. They were working in jobs or in academia perhaps. So it was hard to see other people doing exactly what I wanted to do. As I said, I didn't get guidance when I was, when I finished university on how it works being a freelance illustrator. But I was a member of the association of illustrators and
Fliss Lee (10:30)
Mm.
Helen Ridley (10:30)
I am actually working with, I've worked with them part-time.
for the last three years now. And they are amazing and do give illustrators a lot of confidence in how to get into the industry. But it is quite complex. It's very varied. Illustration can be so many different things.
When I started out, I thought it mainly meant I would be illustrating for magazines, newspapers and books. But I would now
Fliss Lee (10:52)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (10:53)
realise it's so broad. You could be painting murals, could be window painting, you could be painting live events like I do. You could be collaborating with brands for advertising campaigns. There's fashion illustration, obviously. So it's very broad indeed. And I didn't fully understand that when I started out.
Fliss Lee (11:12)
Mm.
Helen Ridley (11:13)
I also thought I needed to be a digital illustrator when I started, I think, and I didn't know how to do that when I first started out. I now have, I've sort of tried out digital illustration, but I've come full circle back to mainly being a watercolor and hand drawn illustrator, which I'm really, yeah, I'm really glad I am
Fliss Lee (11:29)
I love that.
Helen Ridley (11:32)
because in this age of AI, when there's so much rubbish being created.
connecting to real materials and real hand-painted, hand-drawn work is what people still crave, and particularly when it's happening
Fliss Lee (11:46)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (11:47)
live in front of them. So yeah, it's a combination of things I would say, but I'd say that's where it all came from.
Fliss Lee (11:56)
That's so interesting. What helped you kind of, I guess I've got two questions. What helped you kind of gain your confidence and find live illustration as the thing then?
Helen Ridley (12:11)
The very first time I tried it, I was at an arts trail in Reading. It's called the Cabersham
Fliss Lee (12:16)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (12:17)
Arts Trail. It's run by volunteers.
It's mainly people to open up their homes and artists, if they're an artist themselves, they exhibit or other artists exhibit in people's homes or spaces that are taken over for the arts trail. So I was involved with that for a couple of years and the first year I did it, I was able to exhibit this lady's lovely house with a beautiful garden. She had a studio
Fliss Lee (12:41)
Nice.
Helen Ridley (12:42)
in her back garden in which she opened up. then we also, the weather was lovely. So I set up a table and chair in the garden and I just put up a little sign and I set up
just going to give it a go doing live portraits of people visiting. So I just thought I'd give it a go. I'm not entirely sure why. I think I just had
Fliss Lee (12:54)
Wow, you just thought I'm gonna try it? Yeah, wow.
Helen Ridley (13:00)
been practicing a little bit and thought I'd give it a try.
Fliss Lee (13:03)
Mm.
Helen Ridley (13:04)
So yeah, it was mainly like head and shoulder portraits of people. Some people had dead dogs, people had kids. And I think at the time I was able to do it in about 15 minutes. But now I can do someone in five to 10 minutes.
Fliss Lee (13:17)
Wow, that's a skill. That's amazing.
Helen Ridley (13:20)
Yeah. Because the
key is to be able to do it pretty fast. That's
what
Fliss Lee (13:23)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (13:24)
people, clients are looking for. Within reason, I don't want to just do something quickly for the sake of it. I still want to take pride in the work as well.
Fliss Lee (13:33)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (13:34)
So yeah, but it was a very low risk place to try out, I guess, because there was no like,
Fliss Lee (13:38)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (13:39)
it was paid per portrait. People just paid me cash on the day. So it was very...
casual and relaxed and yeah, so I just did it as a trial and then I was like, actually this is really fun. So I started, I I started putting information about it on my website. I started getting some inquiries and then I booked in some wedding fairs that autumn because this was in the summer. And then, so yeah, off the back of then once the wedding fairs came around in the spring or the autumn, that's when I started.
properly talking about it and putting together some packages and booking some clients and then it went from there.
Fliss Lee (14:18)
Wow, so it sounds like you kind of just almost followed your curiosity of going, I'm going to try this. Seems like something that I might.
Helen Ridley (14:24)
Yeah, yeah,
I think I just let into the fact that I love drawing fast and not everyone does enjoy that.
Fliss Lee (14:33)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (14:34)
Some artists love to take a lot of time over their work. I just get bored easily and I want to do stuff quickly.
Fliss Lee (14:39)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (14:42)
I do struggle now to take time over drawing some paintings because I'm so used to drawing fast all the time.
But yeah, ultimately it's something I've always enjoyed and it's, yeah, I love the challenge of it. know, I do feel when you're doing it at a live event, I definitely work faster than I would without someone waiting on me doing a drawing. If it was just me
Fliss Lee (15:06)
Mm-hmm.
Helen Ridley (15:06)
in my studio, I'm always a lot slower. So that's the fun of it as well as the adrenaline and the challenge. Yeah, it's good.
Fliss Lee (15:15)
there's something that I'm hearing. haven't found it difficult to go, what do I enjoy and how do I enjoy working? Or did you find that hard? Felt like you should work in a certain way, or was it quite easy for you to go, I quite like this, how can I make this work for me?
Helen Ridley (15:31)
I would say,
I think it's pretty standard with most artists. I was having a conversation with another artist about this today, about the fact that
Fliss Lee (15:39)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (15:40)
you always feel compelled to share your art and as a result, you're sharing it online, usually on social media. As a
Fliss Lee (15:47)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (15:47)
result, you're seeing other artists a lot and you're comparing yourself to them. I, it really took me quite a while to, I think what I was...
challenged with at the beginning was I was trying so many different things. So I was interested
Fliss Lee (16:00)
Mm.
Helen Ridley (16:00)
in surface pattern design, so print and pattern design. I was interested in editorial. I was interested in publishing. And I was kind of designing product ranges to sell at markets, to sell online, which is a long lead time. But it was kind of what I was familiar with with the retail background I had. So I was like,
well, that's what I know.
Fliss Lee (16:18)
Higher,
Helen Ridley (16:20)
But once I was doing five, six different
streams of illustration. was like, hang on a second, I can't, I can't do absolutely everything. I need to pick two or three that I'm enjoying the most.
Fliss Lee (16:30)
Mm-hmm.
Helen Ridley (16:31)
And also that make the most money. That's what you have to take, bring it down to. Like you can't just, yes, you can do what you, you find you're passionate about, but if it isn't actually making you a proper income, then it's, it's going to stay a hobby really. and
Fliss Lee (16:44)
Yes.
Helen Ridley (16:45)
you can't rely on yourself. So that was the other thing I was like, well, this live illustration does pay very well.
So if I can lean into that, refine that, get as best, be as good as I can at that, that's the thing I want to focus on. And so once I made that decision to streamline, you know, a
Fliss Lee (17:08)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (17:08)
bit more laser focus, pick two or three things I love the most, that's when everything clicked into place, I would say. Yeah.
Fliss Lee (17:17)
love
that. And I think you mentioned there about paying well. do think that it's really hard, isn't it, when you do something creative because it's your passion. But I'm always talking to my clients about like, you've got to be commercial and you have to make decisions. Do you think your corporate background helped with that kind of lens?
Helen Ridley (17:37)
To a certain extent, yeah. I think again, it was a trial and error process to work with corporate clients. The first time I got properly booked by someone that wasn't friends or family or
Fliss Lee (17:46)
Mm... yeah.
Helen Ridley (17:49)
you know, or something even just beyond wedding clients, because wedding clients are still...
people you might meet day to day. But when you're working with a
Fliss Lee (17:58)
Mm.
Helen Ridley (17:58)
brand who obviously will want you to sign a big contract and will have deliverables and deadlines, et cetera, and you've got to be presentable if you're working at an event and communicative. The first time I was quoting for that type of job, was absolutely terrifying. I would not, I
Fliss Lee (18:15)
I bet.
Helen Ridley (18:16)
wouldn't say I was like, yeah, I can do that. Like even with the support of the association of illustrators.
And they do give advice on pricing. They do have a helpline you can call when you've got that slightly scary contracts in front of you or you're negotiating with a client.
Fliss Lee (18:29)
Hehehehe
Helen Ridley (18:30)
That is an amazing thing to have. And I still do use that support that they offer. Yeah, the first few times absolutely were terrifying, but once you've done two or three things like that and you're like, okay, now I've got a structure for how I price, how I quote, what services I offer. It gets easier the more you do it and bit by bit.
something I've mentioned before, but probably don't talk about enough is I do the 100 rejections challenge or I started doing it a couple of years ago. And that was off the back of a...
pretty nasty rejection from someone that I sent an email to, a few different editorial and publishing contacts I had that I was interested in working with. So this particular person ran a magazine that featured a lot of illustration.
So I sent them my portfolio and this was when I was doing more digital work predominantly.
Fliss Lee (19:25)
Mm.
Helen Ridley (19:26)
But his reply was basically that I wasn't very good at drawing and I needed to go back to art school. I needed to
learn like how to properly draw. Genuinely, he was, he had a very high opinion of himself. He was,
Fliss Lee (19:39)
I'm rude. Yeah.
Helen Ridley (19:41)
he was like, I'm an art director. I know what I'm talking about.
And wow, yeah, so at the time it did affect me a lot because I was very new. hadn't
Fliss Lee (19:49)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (19:49)
had much books commercial work at that time. But again, working at the AOI, I mentioned this person to my colleagues and they're like, oh yeah, we know him. He is, yeah, he's known for being like that. And they
Fliss Lee (20:03)
You
Helen Ridley (20:03)
were like...
Don't worry, you're okay. like, you know, so I think again having peers and colleagues who worked in the industry, who understood what I was trying to do. Because ultimately, art is subjective, like everyone has different tastes. have certain art and illustration I absolutely love, but then like my husband has very different taste in art to me.
So sometimes we go to completely different exhibitions because he loves sound and art installation, sort of, and graphic art, whereas I love impressionist art and organic shapes and florals and
Fliss Lee (20:38)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (20:40)
figurative work. You know, so I completely understand not everyone is going to love what you do and you shouldn't ever expect them to. And you don't need everyone to, you only need a certain number of people to like what you do.
You just,
Fliss Lee (20:56)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (20:56)
want a sort of core of people that are really excited about what you do. You don't want a mass of people that are kind of like, it's pretty nice. It's all right. So yeah, but that, that first rejection, that big rejection put me, set me back a little bit, but off the back of that, I was like, well, I'm kind of going to prove him wrong. Like I'm going to put myself out there again, but in lots of different ways. And I'm just going to keep trying. And so I came across the hundred rejections challenge around that time.
Fliss Lee (21:24)
And the idea
Helen Ridley (21:24)
And the idea
is that you gamify rejection. So you're like, you get a rejection. It's a tick on your list of a hundred rejections. get, you add one to the list. And if you get
Fliss Lee (21:31)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (21:34)
a yes, then great. You get the yes and you hopefully get projects.
And actually, and I think this has been the case with anyone I know that's done the challenge, you hardly ever get nos. You get so many yeses,
Fliss Lee (21:45)
wow.
Helen Ridley (21:46)
so many yeses, but not yet. And then they come back a year later, perhaps you put them on your mailing list, you check in again regularly and you get a client later on. It's very rarely horrible rejection. And even if it is, you just have, that's part of being a creative or even a business owner.
rejection happens, it's normal, it's not avoidable. You have to accept that it will happen and it will sting, particularly the first few times. But the more you do it, absolutely the easier it gets. And that is the thing that's built my confidence is because I'm continuing to put myself out there, I keep getting amazing yeses. Like to begin with, I
Fliss Lee (22:31)
Ehehe
Helen Ridley (22:32)
couldn't believe the people that were saying yes and still are.
And it just, yes, because, and now I've got this lovely list of clients that I've worked with, you know, on my website and that I can say I've worked with, but so many of those were just me reaching out and just saying, I really love your brand and I'd love to work with you. And then once you've got a few of them, you have other brands seeing what you do and checking and contacting you.
So I don't do outreach all the time. do it periodically a few times through the year. And I wouldn't say the outreach, the cold outreach to people that don't know me leads to work immediately. But I often get some nice warm replies from people who are interested but don't have work right now. I always say, can I put you on my mailing list? And I send out a
Fliss Lee (23:23)
you
Helen Ridley (23:24)
portfolio update once a quarter. So I'm not bombarding them.
And then with clients I've already worked with, all ones that are warm leads, I check in with them every few months and tell them what I'm up to and say, this is what I'm working on, or are you planning your spring campaigns? Are you planning your Christmas campaigns? You know, well in advance in a few months ahead. So you've just got to remind people you exist basically.
I think it was illustrator Katie Chappell describes it as putting yourself in front of them so they fall over you.
Fliss Lee (23:55)
I love that.
Helen Ridley (23:57)
So you just got to be annoying to a certain extent. But that's the other thing people
Fliss Lee (24:01)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (24:02)
get scared of is like, oh, if I email them too much, I'm annoying. And most of the time they're just excited to hear from someone that's doing something beautiful. They're like, wow, your work's brilliant, or that's really inspiring. Would you rather get
a cold email is just someone saying, I want to give me a job, or would you love to get something with like a portfolio attached with some lovely images? Or just examples of work that you've done that you're proud of, like a blog post you've written about a project you did.
Generally, I've just had lovely feedback when I send that sort of stuff out. And again, I don't get replies. When I say I don't get many no's, I get a lot of ghosting. I get a lot of just zero replies. But that's again, very normal and part of the process. no, it has to be like a flat no, like a not for us. Yeah.
Fliss Lee (24:48)
that down as a nail or do you just keep keep pushing? A flat nail, okay love that.
me it sounds like you've got a really good business head,
is that something that's come naturally to you just because that's the way you are or is that something you've learned over the years from being self-employed
or is that just kind of intuition do you think
Helen Ridley (25:16)
I think a bit of both. think I do, even though I'm a creative business owner, I get
Fliss Lee (25:21)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (25:21)
to a point sometimes where I'm like, haven't actually made some art for a while, like outside of
Fliss Lee (25:25)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (25:26)
the jobs I'm doing. But I think that's also quite common is, is having the
Fliss Lee (25:30)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (25:30)
motivation to make, make work that's not related to paid work.
so yeah, so being business minded, it's definitely something that's taken practice. I wouldn't say I was extremely business minded when I started out. Again, I had so little confidence. think having some people I knew that had.
An idea of where to get started really helped like to not even know where to start. So something I've always been an advocate for and has made a huge difference is just taking courses like courses in how to run a business. When I really, my very first year of starting, I took a free course that was run by my local council on how to get
Fliss Lee (26:12)
yeah, yeah.
Helen Ridley (26:13)
started in a business. There's a lot of free stuff out there that you can do just for like the beginners stuff.
Yeah, think there's, think my, I had a boss that once described me as very tenacious, not necessarily in a positive way at the time, but I think tenacity,
Fliss Lee (26:28)
Hehehehehe
Helen Ridley (26:32)
like just getting, just doing stuff without thinking about it too much. So just pitch, like one of my favorite things to do now is pitching to people for lots of things. I obviously I pitched to you to be on this podcast.
Fliss Lee (26:43)
Mm. Yes.
Helen Ridley (26:46)
I pitched for press when I have the time to work on it.
Or sometimes I pitch a press if there's like a short notice opportunity. So I've been on Radio 4 from an opportunity I saw to talk about pensions. because I'm a bit of a geek, I guess. Like I
did a job, I
Fliss Lee (27:03)
Hehehehe
Helen Ridley (27:04)
did a quite geeky job for like over 10 years in the retail industry. I got pretty good at spreadsheets. I'm quite comfortable with the spreadsheet these days.
And yeah, I kind of get quite geeky about the numbers in my business and get kick out of, of knowing how well I'm doing. I work with an accountant now who we sort of, she has, we have like a quarterly check-in on my numbers and how the business is performing. that keeps me thinking about it as well.
So yeah, it's, it's part, I think it's partly that I'm a geek and
and I get a bit geeky about the details and partly it's just been a process of learning bit by bit and the more I've learned, the more confidence I've built.
Fliss Lee (27:48)
Mmm. Mmm.
Helen Ridley (27:51)
But yeah, when I left my old job and started out, I think there was also, I thought I'd wasted all that time because I wasn't being creative. And now I've
Fliss Lee (28:01)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (28:02)
got a few years distance from it. I realized it was important I did those jobs.
Yeah, I learned a lot about how to work in a business from all the years of working in the corporate jobs I had and that has been useful for me as a self-employed person. I do think I would have struggled to have the confidence to do what I do now had I started in my early 20s.
as an illustrator.
Fliss Lee (28:31)
you
Helen Ridley (28:32)
sometimes pivoting your career in later life is important and useful and you build on all the knowledge you have up to that point.
Fliss Lee (28:42)
Definitely.
it can be quite hard when you're creative to detach yourself from your business kind of see them as separate entities. it sounds like with your kind of tenacity and that commercial lens that you've got, feels like that that wasn't.
difficult for you you mentioned like confidence early on, do you think that that was part of it? It's like you versus the business.
Helen Ridley (29:08)
Yeah, I think
sort of branding my business and branding myself was a bit of a strange concept at the beginning. It wasn't something I was familiar
Fliss Lee (29:16)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (29:17)
with. And again, it's been something I've built up over time. So yeah, but I would say particularly as a creative business owner, you are so tied, you and who you are is so tied to what you do.
That's part the reason I wanted to do those networking events was because I went to one networking event where one of the speakers was talking about how to scale and grow and sell your business.
Fliss Lee (29:41)
Yes.
Helen Ridley (29:42)
And I think for a lot of, you know, painters, potters, artists who like physically make their work and that's the core part of what they do. That just isn't something we would consider.
and I, I don't not want that for other business owners. think female business owners don't think that way very much. And so I'm, I'm all for that. if it's, if it makes sense for your type of business, but I do think it's, it's quite a unique thing when you're a creative and an artist to, to have something that's very much. Yeah. So my business name, actually thinking of it, my business name was one of the things that stopped me from starting for a long time.
Fliss Lee (30:26)
really?
Helen Ridley (30:27)
because I was like, need to think of a business name that's adaptable. That could mean lots of things. It doesn't just have to be me. And then once I started following a lot more illustrators, I realized most illustrators are just them, their name, like so-and-so illustrations. So I was like, I'm just going to call myself Helen Ridley illustration, stick to that. And it's very simple. Don't have to overthink it.
And so once I got past that barrier, it really helped. And
Fliss Lee (30:56)
you
Helen Ridley (30:57)
I guess I've become more more comfortable with sharing more of me in the business and who I am. So yeah, but it takes time to get to that mindset, I would say.
Fliss Lee (31:11)
This is a second conversation I've had on here about business name being tied to you, a conversation I've had with Rich. said he was really struggling with exactly the same thing. were talking about there about, know, this traditional way of running a business is build it and scale it and sell it.
And I do think particularly creative businesses because it's our passion. In fact, I don't know any creatives that it's not their passion. And that just feels so alien. We love to be able to explore and change what we do and things. Did you have to redefine your definition of success at any point?
Helen Ridley (31:54)
think I am continuously redefining it. I wouldn't say it's a static thing. Yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting when I started out, did some, I was part of some business communities, like small business communities, and they would talk, they'd often ask you to like define your brand, describe your perfect day and what your day would look like if you had your perfect business. And...
that has that keeps evolving. think depending on where you are in your life, it will depend what your priorities are and what you want to focus on. So I don't think that's a static thing either. But yeah, I do still have ambition for my business. I don't feel that I'm kind of at the pinnacle. I think I want to keep evolving it and growing it.
But yes, I still, but with the sort of mindset that it's not the expense of my, of the work-life balance that I have. I do currently try to keep a balance of space and time for myself. I don't work seven days a week. I work five days a week, but not in a Monday to Friday structure, nine to five. I do work.
weekends, but if I do like for a wedding, for example, or a corporate event or a workshop, but if I do, I'll be making sure I take time off in the week to balance that out. And it is also a juggle with the fact I work two days a week still at my part-time job. So fitting these events, you know, three, four events per month around.
two days a week, it leaves you with only one or sort of one, maybe two days a week to catch up on everything else. Do my
Fliss Lee (33:39)
you
Helen Ridley (33:40)
admin, my marketing, being on a podcast, et cetera. So yeah, so I have to be quite careful that I still look after my time and look after myself. And there definitely have been points where I haven't managed that. And I wouldn't say I'm always doing it perfectly. It's a juggle.
but it's something I've realized I just need to keep that mindfulness of looking after myself and stepping back and thinking, how am I balancing my week? But I am definitely one for booking and holidays, even though it might be inconvenient for the business. I love booking a holiday and I always booked them in advance.
So yeah, that's the other
Fliss Lee (34:26)
here.
Helen Ridley (34:27)
thing I'm keen to keep doing.
Fliss Lee (34:30)
And I guess that's part of your definition of success. I'm presuming here, like, you've got a business that can work for you. And part of that is being able to go on holiday. It's very easy to think, I don't know when the next bit of work's gonna come in. So holiday is kind of slipped down the list. But as you said, like looking after yourself is a priority. And also,
why you're in business in the first place. If you're in business to have that flexibility, enjoy time off, then that's your
Helen Ridley (35:02)
Yeah, and particularly in, I remember, because June last year, I think was the huge heatwave. And I was still trying to work through that heatwave and completely melting and going slightly insane at times. And, and so yeah, and also the summer, you know, if you've got kids, it's such a juggle to like balance working and, and having kids, you know, for six weeks straight. So it's
you know, different things you should make sure that you're looking after yourself and just allowing for the fact that life will be doing something different at different times of the year. So yeah, like around Christmas time is last year was one of my busiest festive seasons. I had lots of lovely Christmas parties I was illustrating at, et cetera. So it was a very busy time with everything else that happens around that time of year. But I also made sure I had about two weeks off around Christmas to see friends and family and
didn't have events booked through the new year and sort of had even January itself, I think I had one main event that in January, the rest of the time was for planning the rest of the year and regrouping after a very busy November, December. So I try and do that as well.
Fliss Lee (36:20)
So are there any like systems or structures that you have that you, that really help you to balance things and use your time effectively
Helen Ridley (36:30)
Yeah,
I would say I have tried so many different sort of bits of planning software
Fliss Lee (36:41)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (36:41)
that will supposedly make me more efficient, make me more productive, and they just don't work for me
Fliss Lee (36:47)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (36:47)
overall.
I love it. Just a classic list, like a to-do list for the week. which I do once like this is my first day in the office this week. So I was on holiday on Monday
Fliss Lee (36:57)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (36:58)
and I had my day job on Tuesday. So today I'm setting my to-do list for what I can get done in the week. What's the priority? and I use my inbox to kind of judge what's important as well. So I've got important emails on flag those that goes on the to-do list.
Um, but honestly, haven't yet managed to find a notion, an air table, a Trello that's worked for me yet. Maybe that time will come. I haven't found it, but I think it's, yeah, sort of some people I used to, I also love a physical notebook for making notes. I don't make all my notes digitally. I, when I take a course, for example, I just love, I physically write notes and that helps me absorb them so much more. Um, so.
Yeah. And my Google calendar, be fair, is, is like very key. look at that constantly throughout the week to like plan, see what events are coming up. what I need to plan for, you know, if I've got an event on the weekend, I need to pack all my kit earlier in the week. need to print, worksheets for a workshop. So I need to make sure I'm in my studio. So yeah, I wouldn't say it's anything elaborate or really snazzy. It's, it's fairly simple.
Fliss Lee (38:13)
So, mm.
Helen Ridley (38:17)
And yeah, so it's, and also my to-do list is only on my laptop. I can't access it on my phone because I have an Android phone and a MacBook laptop. So
Fliss Lee (38:30)
you
Helen Ridley (38:30)
my notes app on my MacBook is only on my laptop. So that's quite good, I think as well. That's a slight separation.
and I try to block social media apps throughout the week if I feel like I'm on them too much and then getting overly distracted. went to Paris at the weekend with some friends and I also met up with my sisters the weekend before and on both those things I managed to squeeze in exhibitions.
which is something I rarely make the time for on my own. And it's just reminded me how much
Fliss Lee (39:01)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (39:01)
it invigorates me going to see art and work being made. that it's something if you've heard of the artist's way, the book, so the
Fliss Lee (39:11)
Yes, yeah, morning pages, et cetera, yeah.
Helen Ridley (39:14)
morning pages, but the other thing is the artist's date every week. You take yourself
Fliss Lee (39:17)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (39:19)
on an artist's date and that can be going for a walk with a sketchbook or going to see a film.
or going to an exhibition, something that fills your cup or reading a book that you really love, you know, sitting down to take time to read it or connecting with someone that inspires you. But I, yeah, I always I need to come back to the fact that those types of things really do invigorate me and inspire me and remind me to make art for myself or just what I love about art.
So the week before I went to the Wes Anderson exhibition, the archives of his films at the Design Museum. I do love a Wes Anderson film. I am a pretty big fan already, but I just found it fascinating. I didn't realize how much illustration he has in his films.
Fliss Lee (40:11)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (40:12)
His brother's an illustrator and would capture details of the film sets.
He would commission artists and illustrators to paint paintings of the characters, so they'd have them on set, or to design book covers for fake books that are part of the storyline, or inspired by the characters. I think it's Moonrise Kingdom, the one that's mainly children as the main characters.
They went to schools and had children write notes, handwritten notes, and then they used those as part of the set, the props. So they found a particular girl that had handwriting that seemed to fit the character. They had another girl that do watercolour paintings that were the sketchbook of the main female character. Even the tent that they were camping in had hand-painted characters on it and illustrations.
So I just loved all those little details and I hadn't appreciated them because you don't because it's all so slick and when you see it on screen so like physically seeing
Fliss Lee (41:16)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (41:17)
those props and those things that had been made just yeah I got really excited about that.
Fliss Lee (41:25)
And I feel like
Helen Ridley (41:25)
Yeah.
Fliss Lee (41:26)
that could be something for your rejection challenge. Get on with Wes Anderson. How amazing.
Helen Ridley (41:31)
Well, you know what,
I had no idea it was a thing, but apparently most films have graphic props. So graphic designers work with films to make those graphic props. like if this is a letter, someone's reading a pamphlet, a book, a menu, an invitation, anything like that that needs to be printed or illustrated or hand drawn.
So I'd never even realized that was a part of the film industry. So that is definitely intriguing. I did a fashion degree, but I've always loved the film industry. And if I'd gone in a different direction, I wanted to be a costume designer. And I've worked in a prop making workshop for theater, and I've made costumes for carnivals and...
I'm currently working on some illustrations for some big flags for a parade that's happening in Reading. So yeah, I have always been super inspired by the film industry and costumes and props and things like that. So yeah.
Fliss Lee (42:35)
That just goes to show the importance
of prioritizing artist states for yourself when you're a creative. Because actually, it does really fill you up and make you feel creative. But at the same time, that's gone, ooh, that could lead me in that direction, which I absolutely love. And I wanted to ask you how you prioritize your own creativity, because you've mentioned that a couple of times.
Helen Ridley (43:04)
I think I've realised it doesn't have to just be sitting down and doing a painting or doing a drawing in
Fliss Lee (43:10)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (43:10)
my studio. I think I've realised I get more inspiration from things like I've just described, like being somewhere different, seeing someone make art in a way that you didn't expect.
So I also did a fashion illustration workshop with another illustrator that I really love. style, she's called Elise Blackshore. Her style of illustration is so colorful, so free, so mad and expressive and not sort of super refined and elegant. And that's not a negative thing at all. Like I love how free it is. Cause a lot of people imagine fashion illustration has to be very precise and elegant.
I want to lean into being looser and more colourful and experimental with my... I'd love to go more into fashion illustration. I went to Flanders Fashion Week in February, did sketching of street styles, people wearing cool outfits and outside the catwalk shows. I went with a friend of mine and we're doing that. And we're the only illustrators there. There are so many people taking photos, but we're the only two people drawing people.
And it was so much more exciting to draw someone than take a photo. So my plan is to go to like, invite myself to some shows in London Fashion Week in the autumn. Because I know another illustrator that's similar to me, hasn't been doing it very long. And she just sent some emails with examples of her work. And the smaller designers are like, absolutely. But she even got an invite to Burberry's show, I think.
Like just when asking, this is the thing, like the rejection thing is like, just ask, you never know what someone's going to say.
Fliss Lee (44:50)
Yeah, yeah.
Helen Ridley (44:52)
And what's the worst that can happen? You don't go, fine. Like if you do go, brilliant.
Fliss Lee (44:57)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (44:58)
So yeah, so this illustrator's workshop I did, I had been sketching in the daytime and then the evening I went to her workshop. And it was just the way she taught illustration was so different to how I would approach it.
And it felt like I described it as unlocking a new level of illustration with the way that I worked in that workshop and because it was so free
Fliss Lee (45:20)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (45:20)
and fun and colorful and messy. And it was in a wine bar, so we had a glass of wine, which is fab.
Fliss Lee (45:28)
Perfect.
Helen Ridley (45:31)
So, yes, I think going to being exposed to other people's work, exposed to how they work.
I love to take a sketchbook to an exhibition and draw the drawings or draw the paintings quickly, not in any great detail, but just to get the essence of what they're doing or the composition. That really, really helps as well, for sure.
Fliss Lee (45:56)
That's amazing. Is it something you schedule in like on a monthly basis or something? Or is it?
Helen Ridley (46:03)
It's a bit more fluid. It's something I keep meaning to and then life happens and everything's busy
Fliss Lee (46:06)
Yeah... yeah.
Helen Ridley (46:08)
and but yeah I've kind of got a list of exhibitions I want to go to at the moment.
My next one is the paint pattern print at the Fashion and Textile Museum, which is about the work of Sarah Campbell, who's a print designer, and her sister. Her sister passed away in 2011, but Sarah Campbell's still working. She's in her 70s or 80s now. I did a course with Sarah Campbell.
like host courses quite often and it was a fabric painting course, so you paint directly onto fabric with fabric paint, like a painting, like a canvas painting, but it's wearable or you can turn it into a tapestry or a cushion. That was so much fun. And I love doing that course.
it depends on what's happening. It depends on how busy I am, but I try and kind of keep things in mind and then just kind of put them in the diary. Because
Fliss Lee (47:01)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (47:02)
so long as you book a date to do something, then you'll do it. So that's the key.
Fliss Lee (47:07)
Yeah,
I think that's
like, really important and that's definitely something that I think needs to be a top priority for creatives. it's never going to be perfect, is it? You'll go some months without not doing it, but I think it's about...
putting it more to the top of the priority list when you're creative businesses and that's really important. There's one more thing I want to ask you about Helen, because
I'm
Helen Ridley (47:35)
Thank
Fliss Lee (47:35)
really interested in pricing. You've talked about how your live illustration pays well I love that you say that because I think it's...
can be really hard when you're creative and earning money is really important as a business and that is why we're in business. We want to earn money so we can enjoy our lives. But pricing can feel really kind of sticky for people. I mean, did you just think I want to more money? Tell me about how you
handle the whole pricing thing.
Helen Ridley (48:11)
So when I started with Live Illustration, I was not charging a huge amount, but obviously it was my first few jobs. So I just wanted to get my foot
Fliss Lee (48:17)
Hmm
Helen Ridley (48:19)
in the door, feet under the table or whatever the word is. Yeah, so
Fliss Lee (48:25)
Hehehe
Helen Ridley (48:26)
when I started, I wasn't charging a huge amount, but really after the first few jobs, was like, I need to start charging more because this is a very intense job and the pricing needs to reflect that. I also...
made sure that I did minimum four hour bookings for live illustration. A lot of clients and wedding clients in particular say, could we just have you for the drinks reception for two hours?
Fliss Lee (48:52)
you
Helen Ridley (48:53)
and it's just not enough time. I can do like 20 to 30 people in that time maybe. They're to get frustrated
Fliss Lee (48:59)
you
Helen Ridley (49:00)
that not everyone's got a portrait. It means that you have to have a lower starting price for your packages. And so I decided to remove the three hour option. So I started four hours for weddings particularly.
for corporate jobs, it really depends on the event and, and three hours might make more sense. But again, I sort of perhaps increase my pricing for corporate work and balance it differently for weddings. But once I removed the, the cheaper end of the, of the market, I guess, I, it changed the type of clients that approached me and the type of venues that I was working at.
Fliss Lee (49:36)
Interesting.
Helen Ridley (49:38)
and.
It made, you know, and a lot of times weddings can involve a lot of travel. So you might be needing to travel an hour and a half, two hours to each job. Then you're there for four
Fliss Lee (49:48)
Mmm.
Helen Ridley (49:49)
to six hours on average. So that's a huge day and an exhausting day. So you need to make sure it's worth your while traveling, doing that travel. And if I'm only wanting to do three to four of those events a month, that needs to balance out as well. So.
It was a case of, yeah, kind of thinking about how many events I wanted to do realistically. As a result, what did I need to charge per event to make that balance? I want, I think I've heard someone describe it as like, do you want to be the cheapest or do you want to be the best? And I always want to be the best
Fliss Lee (50:26)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (50:27)
at what I do. So I focus on refining my skills, refining my offer to be as.
great as like fantastic as it can be, giving my clients a fantastic experience, taking pride in the work I make rather than just doing it super fast for the sake of it. And so that's what I've always focused on is
aiming for a client that can afford to pay a little bit more or is willing to or understands the value of it. Because I also unfortunately feel that sometimes
Fliss Lee (51:01)
Yes, love that.
Helen Ridley (51:02)
if someone just wants a bargain, they don't really care about you or what you're offering or the value of your work. They just want to tick that box. I've got an illustrator.
And I, once I've
Fliss Lee (51:12)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (51:13)
made that shift, it has made a big difference to the fact I've been working with clients I love that really understand what I do, that I had much better experiences at the events I've worked at. And yeah, and it has meant I've had to walk away from some opportunities sometimes, because they're not even corporate clients that don't have the budget that I would like my dream clients sometimes they just don't have the budget. And it's.
it wouldn't be worth me doing it for. mean, sometimes I'll be offering them the absolute lowest I could and they'll still say that's not low enough. So you've got to go to the, you've got
Fliss Lee (51:47)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (51:47)
to have a cut off for when you're willing to walk away or have to walk away. And it does take strengths to do that and confidence. But
Fliss Lee (51:56)
Definitely.
Helen Ridley (51:57)
you have to be willing to do that as well.
And I get a lot of inquiries for weddings. So I have a very small conversion rate, I would say, but that's fine for what I need. I don't need, a year. And for me, that's the right balance. Because weddings also involve me doing a portrait of the bride and groom afterwards. So it's not just on the day, it's the aftercare as well.
And it's having time in my schedule to do that on top of the other work. So yeah, that's kind of how I look at it is aim to be the best aim for a client that can afford and, and values what you do. And that, and
Fliss Lee (52:42)
Yeah.
Helen Ridley (52:43)
it kind of balances out usually.
Fliss Lee (52:46)
I really love that. think it's having really strong boundaries and non-negotiables, isn't it? And I absolutely love that when you got rid of that cheaper pricing tier, your client type change, like that just goes to show that If you put out what you're wanting, it really does.
attract the right people and I'm really glad I asked you that question. Helen, I could talk to you for absolutely hours. We've covered so much amazing stuff today. I...
think the thing that I have really taken, which I'm trying to do, but it's very hard, is about the artist's date and kind of prioritising your own creativity because when it's your job, it's so important and I loved hearing how that's kind of led to new ideas in your business. It just goes to show that it's important for your own wellbeing but also...
like the growth and evolution of your business. So I'm gonna go away and I think plan some things in, like put the day in my diary, but it doesn't always happen, so it slips. But if I can plan actual things that I'm gonna do and make that into my like monthly planning, I feel like I've taken that from you. Amongst so much other stuff. So thank you so much for the conversation. I do have...
two questions that I like to ask everybody and I'm really excited to hear what your answers are to these questions actually. So in your experience, what do you think is the biggest barrier to somebody doing things their own way?
Helen Ridley (54:30)
I think it comes back to pricing actually. So,
Fliss Lee (54:34)
Ooh.
Helen Ridley (54:35)
because I think if you are not prioritizing you and your time and making time for yourself and creating space in your schedule, like I try to, the way I'm able to do that is because I'm aiming for fewer clients that pay more, lots and lots of clients that pay
Fliss Lee (54:55)
Hmm.
Helen Ridley (54:55)
a little bit.
And once I made that switch in the business, it created a lot more space in what I do. So people call it being a busy fool. Like if you're busy, you've got lots of stuff, but it's put lots of people paying lots of little bits and bobs. Or you're working with clients that are hard work because they're not valuing your work enough because they're not paying a huge amount for it.
So that's, think that's what, for me, that's helped me create space in my business is charging what I'm worth, charging what my work is worth, and prioritizing the type of clients I want to work with and working out how to attract them, or even just directly reaching out to them and saying they're my dream client. So yeah.
I think that's for me, that's what it comes down to is charging your worth gives you space in the business.
Fliss Lee (55:57)
I think that's a good advice. So what's one thing, if you can pick one thing that's helped you to do your thing?
Helen Ridley (56:08)
I think actually building a community has been a massive part.
Fliss Lee (56:11)
you
Helen Ridley (56:13)
Connecting with people that understand what I do, that think in the same way or understand the industry I'm in. And that we can give each other advice, we can support each other. Yeah, I've met a lot of fantastic business owners online particularly, but I'm starting to meet them in person more now that I'm hosting events like the one
I've started and the other networking events I go to, or I always met fantastic business owners at markets when I used to sell cards and gifts as well. I think, yeah, diversifying your community, trying to meet people outside of your bubble as well is important. But yeah, finding your people that get what you do really makes a huge difference, I think.
Fliss Lee (57:05)
Yes, I am a huge advocate for that.
Helen Ridley (57:08)
you
Fliss Lee (57:08)
Thank you so much, Helen. I thoroughly enjoyed our chat today and I've got so much from it and I know that everybody else listening is going to have done the same. If people want to find out about you, learn more about you, see what you do, where can they find you?
Helen Ridley (57:26)
So the simplest way is to go to HelenRidley.com. I always ask everyone to sign up to my newsletter. You can sign up on my website. And hopefully we'll drop a link below to my newsletter sign
Fliss Lee (57:42)
Yes.
Helen Ridley (57:42)
up as well. But.
Yeah, my website's where you can find out about me and what I do and the services I offer. So whether that's live illustration or if you want to come to a workshop, I'm also very active on Instagram at Helen Ridley illustration. And I'm on LinkedIn. I'm trying to be a bit more visible on there as well. So if that's your space, then
Fliss Lee (58:03)
You
Helen Ridley (58:04)
I'm on LinkedIn and you can follow me there and connect.
and you can send me emails via my website.
Fliss Lee (58:10)
Fabulous. Thank you so much for today, Helen.
Helen Ridley (58:13)
Thank you.
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