Creative Law Shop® Customer Highlights: Kadie Smith
Today we meet Kadie Smith, a successful branding entrepreneur who built her career with creativity and freedom in mind.
An art director, designer and brand strategist, Kadie Smith has been following her dream since the time she was sixteen, and has accrued a lot of helpful advice along the way! And with her business Drop Cap Design having just successfully launched a shop on Creative Market, Kadie has valuable insight about the world of online creative entrepreneurship.
Meet Kadie!
Name: Kadie Smith
Company Name: Drop Cap Design
Industry: Branding
Years in Industry: 6
Location: Livingston, Montana + Dallas, Texas
Website: www. dropcapdesign.com & www.creativemarket.com/dropcapdesign
Instagram: @dropcapdesign
How long have you been in the industry/practicing your craft?
I started freelancing six years ago as an independent graphic designer in a city I had just moved to. I didn’t know many people, and I certainly didn’t have any friends in the creative space, so I kind of stumbled into branding as a way to make friends and collaborate with artists and photographers working in my neighborhood. I fell in love with the process of telling their visual story and hearing their ideas and dreams for the future. It inspired me, and I knew it was helping them tremendously, so I’ve been doing it ever since. I’ve since moved to another state (Montana) and the same process has held true. I’ve made amazing friends through being able to offer design services and find interesting stories within the city to tell.
How did you get started in the industry?
When I was 15, I switched schools from a very small private school to a large public school. My mom had the genius idea to enroll me in an art class to help me process the transition and I became obsessed with art. One of my teachers noticed my perfectionist tendencies and suggested that I visit a local graphic design studio. Ironically it was a branding agency, but I spent one day in a meeting discussing the impact of a color palette and fell in love with design. I decided to become a graphic designer at 16 and never changed my mind. I went to Auburn University to study design with the intention of going into the publishing world, but then the economy crashed and print was said to be dying. I frantically took the first design job I could find, started freelancing on the side in the mornings and evenings, and then quit my job five months later to freelance full-time. I think my early days studying to be in publishing has given me a sensitivity to type and a love of stories that I bring into my work as a brand designer. I tend to gravitate toward design solutions that highlight interesting typography, and I always want to dig in to find the deeper story behind a business idea before I begin sketching.
What industry changes have you seen since you began? How have you adjusted to those changes along the way?
I’ve seen so many changes within the online space. Social media has been an incredible tool for empowering people to chase dreams that otherwise would have been unattainable. I don’t know how many late twenty-year-olds would think to write a book as a way to promote their business, or how many dormant creatives would decide to pursue an artistic dream professionally. Social media has given us a kind of permission to brand ourselves, curate our taste, and promote our work unapologetically. It means there are so many opportunities as a brand designer, but also a lot of saturation. There are a lot of people who are pursuing creative ventures but don’t have a clear purpose or story behind it, which makes it very difficult to brand. One of the big things I’ve done as a response to this influx of new businesses in the online creative space is actually begin to research and learn about psychology and personality. I’ve found that tools like astrology and the Enneagram are a great opening point to get clients to talk about themselves and their dreams on a deeper level as I try to find visual cues and meaning that could be used in the design. I think it will continue to be a challenge to find authentic stories and purpose in the online space as it grows, but I feel it’s my job as a designer to be intentional about the kind of visual content I’m helping to produce and inspire my clients to show up in a real way, even when there’s a screen between them and their audience.
“The most important thing you could do is get extremely familiar with your ideal customer or client.”
- Kadie Smith
Are there any mistakes you made early on in your business that you learned from/ what taught you the biggest lesson when you began your business?
Yes! So many mistakes. I thought I needed to charge based on my confidence level and experience, which meant I was struggling for months to make ends meet and barely booking anyone. I learned about the impact of perceived value, and how customers have a certain amount in their heads about how much something is worth. I became really clear on who I was wanting to work with on a shared values level, and then did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions to find out what they were expecting to pay for branding services. That was a big game-changer for my business. I also have many times in the past overcommitted myself for the sake of an idea that sounds interesting, but then wasn’t able to follow through. I’ve learned in most recent years the power of giving someone your word (even if it’s for a favor) and being a reliable source. It means I say no a lot more often these days, but when I do say yes I know I can confidently add so much value and give that person a positive experience.
What advice would you give to another entrepreneur in the creative industry?
Do your homework! Know the competitive landscape and where you fit within it. The most important thing you could do is get extremely familiar with your ideal customer or client. More than just a demographic, you want to get inside this person’s head on a daily basis. Write about them, dream about them, make a Pinterest board for them. Study their daily habits and unspoken fears, follow them on social media, and begin to see patterns in their needs and the way they speak about what’s going on in their lives. Join Facebook groups and courses they’re a part of, and you’ll find that you’re able to anticipate products and services they need before they know they need them. This is by far the most impactful thing you could do to build a successful brand and business. And then just start. You can change things as you go, but if you wait until everything is perfect before launching, you’ll never get your feet off the ground!
What was the biggest quantum leap you made in your business?
Bringing others onto my team. I would have stayed in such a small place if I hadn’t been willing to share with other creatives. I realized just how much I love working with others, sharing ideas, and rising together. It means I have to bring in more projects, be mindful of the impact decisions have on other people, and show up every day, but it’s made me and my business better.
