In 2020 I was three years deep working for the Post Office and going out of my mind. I didn’t want to be a career employee, my job didn’t bring me happiness (besides the decent paychecks), and I knew there was something more for me out there.
But quitting wasn’t even a thought in my mind when I started offering my graphic design and Photoshop services to my local community.
In all fairness, I was only trying to pay for my recently blown Cummins engine. (Don’t even get me started about how much money I put into that thing - including a brand new built transmission - before my sweet baby girl did the impossible and destroyed her Cummins motor…) I was advertising my services repairing old photographs (digitally) making $10 a pop per image. This included fixing all sort of things - sun fading, tears, water damage, etc.
But it was boring.
So when a friend of my husband’s asked me to try my hand creating her new Western Mobile Boutique’s logo, I jumped. And it was straight up GORGEOUS.
No lie. Here she is:
Around the same time, my husband quit his fence contracting business and moved to Nevada to start following his dreams - the only thing he wanted to do - return to cowboying. I put in a transfer immediately, but that nasty little virus (COVID) had other plans for me.
Due to the pandemic, the Post Office was milking out a hiring freeze and blocking all transfer requests. After 4 months of trying to make a long distance relationship work, I was stretched thin. My transfer wasn’t going to pan out and I was over it.
So I quit.
As I found myself in Nevada, an hour and a half away from the nearest gas station, I realized that I needed to find a way to work from home. I drove a 1999 Cummins after all, and fuel wasn’t cheap. I would spend more than half my paycheck just trying to get to town. So, my Graphic Design business went into full swing.
I was in business.
In 2022, I made a huge shift to my graphic design company. I stopped offering custom, full scale logos and switched my focus to Livestock Brands. I had finally found my passion. Throughout my first year of business, I had suffered through unimaginable burnout. But with Livestock and Cattle Brands - my burnout was gone. I loved what I was doing. I loved my clients. I loved the simplicity of the designs. I loved that I was embracing my Western culture.
It’s been a whole year since, and I still haven’t experienced an ounce of regret with my new business model. It’s true what they say - if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.