We do graphic design and printing of marketing pieces for businesses.

EDUCATION | Associate's Degree in graphic design from the Otis College of Art & Design

HOW TO GET STARTED | Be smart in terms of how you go about it. This is not a "make money overnight" kind of job, unless you’re really good and get a job with a company as a graphic designer. It takes time to create a client base. There has to be something that sets you apart from other designers. A lot of people come out of school and think they're going to get a job earning /hr. The truth is, they might get a job at /hr until they have experience and work their way up. Eventually some may make -/hr - it could happen. Work on getting good. Look at high end graphics and try to strive to achieve a very high end look, and then you can start demanding more money.

MUST HAVE TRAITS | Talented, flexible, personable, punctual

how I got started | While working in advertising in an administrative position, I was exposed to the advertising materials that the art directors were putting out. I was very interested in what they were doing and thought it would be really fun. I was already artistic so I was drawn to it. I decided, and was encouraged by my boss to take some classes and get into that field. After completing the classes, I went to work for various companies, eventually landing at a printing company. It was a huge commercial printer and after 9/11 I was laid off, which was kind of a relief. I loved my job but wasn't happy at the company. When I was laid off I decided to do graphic design on my own. I started by working from home, picking up a few customer accounts and then it grew from there. I really didn't know that it was going to end up the way it is now.

why this job?| Because it's creative; I love creating artwork.

why I love this job!| I love designing. I love my freedom. As a mom, my job enables me to come and go and pick up my kids when I need to, run personal errands, etc. I really like the people I work with and working with my customers.

my typical day| I spend 45 minutes going through and responding to emails in the morning. In general, I feel like I have a revolving door in my office. There are always customers coming in who want to sit down and meet with me about a project. There are also vendors coming in and making deliveries. There's always a lot of activity. I also try to squeeze in about an hour of design. At this stage, as the owner, I don't have a lot of time to design. I have to delegate to my designers. But because I love to design so much I try to do a little and save some pieces for myself.

what they are | Getting yourself known and your name out there is a challenge. Also customers can be difficult sometimes. How you get paid can be difficult; for example, having to call people to get your money. You really need to be accurate because your work will be printed and you don't want to get through a print job where you made a mistake and you don't see it until after it's printed.

all about growth | It's kind of a tough market now, and one that is saturated with graphic designers. A lot of schools are turning out graphic designers by the hundreds. The market is saturated and because of that, salaries have really come down from where they were 15 years ago. Another difficulty is that a lot of people have home computers and think they can do this work themselves so that takes away from work. I get people emailing me, wanting jobs. There are people who study graphic design, graduate, and then change their mind when they can't get a job. If you're artistic and have an eye for design, that's going to give you an edge.

my website| www.art2ink.com