Interview with Emmelie Coulson

Emmelie is a brand designer and illustrator, and owner of Emmelie Coulson Design. It is her mission to help female business owners grow their business, take up more space and show off how amazing they are through their visual branding! So they can- in their turn- empower, inspire and support more women in doing their incredible thing!

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What inspired you to start your own business, and what challenges did you face in the initial stages of entrepreneurship?

I’d been in my corporate job for a long time (almost 10 years with the same company) and always thought my job was to be more exciting, creative and challenging than what it was. I came back after maternity leave with my second and started looking for a better fitting job within the company.

As I wanted to work part time I found it very challenging to find a better, more challenging role (that wasn’t being a manager) within the company. Whenever I enquired if they’d consider part-time candidates or a job share I was met with “not this time” “well, we’d expect you to work full time during busy periods”.

That and some other issues drove me to find a solution outside of the company. I was chatting with one of my Instagram pals who was looking for a VA to help her during maternity leave - I thought I can do this - I’ve got 10+ years admin experience and am very organised.

So that’s how it started. I left my corporate job 4 months after starting as a VA and haven’t looked back!

The main challenge was feeling confident in being a business owner and bringing in more work. The fear that it wasn’t sustainable or that I wouldn’t pay the bills.

I hired a coach within the first month of starting my business which really helped me push through these unknowns and trust in myself and my abilities.

After a year or so I had been doing more and more creative jobs for my VA clients and I decided to pivot my business to bring in more of the work I’m so passionate about. So that’s when Emmelie Coulson Design started!

How do you maintain a work-life balance while running a successful business?

I feel I’ve got the work-mum life balance pretty spot on - mainly because my working hours are when the kids are at school/nursery. Once they need to be picked up I finish work for the day - I’m a morning person so hopping back on my laptop once they are asleep doesn’t happen very often. I take the evenings to chill and do things for me.

I’ve really had to learn (and still am at times) to accept that because I’m both a mum and a business owner I don’t have all the hours in the week to work on my business and that means my business might not grow as fast as I’d like.

Can you share a significant milestone or achievement that you are particularly proud of in your entrepreneurial journey?

I don’t think there’s one that stands out particularly. But the fact that I’m still running my own business after 3+ years, doing more of the work I love and am making more money than I thought possible is probably the biggest achievement.

Running your own business is hard so the tenacity and determination I found I have is something I’m very proud of.

Have you experienced any gender-related obstacles or biases since starting your own business?

I’ve not really experienced this - but I mainly work with women which probably helps. The only comment that comes to mind is one I got at a networking event. When I explained that I help female entrepreneurs with their branding and love to help them create a look they are proud of. The guy in question answered: “Why do you only work with women? Isn’t that a bit sexist?”

His answer kinda answers his own question.

How do you empower and support other women in business?

This is my passion! I love to create a bold and vibrant brand look for female owned businesses that gives them more courage to stand proud and show off what they do. How amazing they are and feel confident to share this with the world, instead of hiding or feeling too conscious about a logo or branding that doesn’t feel quite right.

My process is all about creating a look that is strategic, personal and fun. This helps business owners connect with their branding - to feel happy every time they talk about their business to others or share a post.

Another thing I do is that I run in-person networking events in Glasgow with two business pals, Small Biz Community. These networking events are for female entrepreneurs only and have a super laid back feel. It’s like meeting a friend for coffee and chatting about your business. Learning from others and building new friendships.

What role has mentorship played in your career, and how has it influenced your growth as a business owner?

Mentorship has played a massive role in my career. As I mentioned earlier - I hired a coach very early on in my business. It really helped me to trust myself more, to know that I didn’t need to know all the answers before starting something and it showed me that I can run a business.

About 1.5 years into my business I joined another mentorship program - this one was more design related. That one really showed me that it is possible to do what you love and make money without having to sacrifice every minute of my time.

Both of them also made me think about what success means to me. That the typical thought of success = hard work + making a lot of money isn’t necessarily what I define success to be. For me it’s being able to look after my kids when they are sick, to be at the school gates every day to pick them up and to do something I love.

How have you found marketing your business – has it been easy for you, or have you found it quite difficult?

When I started marketing was a bit of a vague term to me. I wasn’t sure what it meant - thought it was all about selling (which just gave me the ick). But over the years I’ve found ways to put my message across to find who my ideal clients are and how to reach them.

It’s always a learning curve, there’s always things I can do better or differently - but I’m enjoying that way of figuring out what works and what doesn't.

What are your main marketing activities, and what do you find works best for you?

Like I said earlier - always learning to figure out what works best for me. But currently my main marketing activities are social media, email marketing and blogging.

Then I also love speaking on podcasts, at events and of course going to networking events to make those new connections!

Can you discuss a time when you had to pivot or adapt your business strategy?

I started my business as a Virtual Assistant, that was something I was familiar with, something I felt confident in. But it wasn’t where my passion lies. Design is definitely my passion, my joy and the thing I’m good at. So after the whole ‘running your own business’ didn’t feel so scary anymore I pivoted to Brand Design and Illustrations.

Don’t get me wrong - it wasn’t a drop all my clients and income and only doing brand design from a certain point. This was a very gradual process - I stopped marketing myself as a VA, stopped taking on new clients and when the time was right slowly dropped the existing VA clients.

Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations for your business?

I’d love to take on more illustration work - I’ve recently had the opportunity to work on some amazing illustration projects that filled my heart with joy.

I’d like to have a better system to book my work in so it’s less feast and famine and more a steady, predictable workflow. Another goal is to up my prices so I can decrease my working days.

And of course create more bold and colourful brands to empower women to grow their business and feel confident to do so.