My main job is graphic design and developing communication strategies for businesses. I help businesses create their backstory and determine their brand. I make a visual representation of their business which helps them get the word out.

EDUCATION | Rhode Island College for theater; Katherine Gibbs for interactive web design.

HOW TO GET STARTED | Find the type of companies you love and make it part of your vision that these will be the focus of your business within five years. My passions are sustainability, food and entrepreneurship, so those are the types of clients I work with. If you're not working with clients that you like, clients who respect you, you're never going to be happy.

MUST HAVE TRAITS | You need to have a certain level of business and marketing savvy to make it as a solo. You have to have the drive to get up every day and know what you need to get done. You have to be good with people so you can help clients through the process. And, you have to be a little crazy!

how I got started | I was a theatre major in college. While going to school, I also worked fulltime at Kinko's. One day I got bored and asked the computer service guy to teach me how to use the scanner, which led to me getting into Photoshop. Before I knew it, I was calling myself a designer. I spent about five years preparing for this job, working fulltime at other jobs while I was building my business. It was actually easy to find clients in the beginning. It got harder when I realized I needed bigger clients, the kind where I helped them develop their brand from the ground up, because those are the projects I find most fulfilling.

why this job?| I've known for a long time that I need to be creative every day. While I love performing, it's very hard to earn a living wage in the theatre. When I discovered design, I realized the same principles were at work: design requires focus, concentration, and the same ability to tell a story.

why I love this job!| I love being paid to give people my opinion. I love seeing my clients happy to share their business cards and show their websites to people, to see they are proud of what I do. I love the fact that I can set my own hours. There's alot of freedom and control over your own happiness when you're working for yourself.

my typical day| I get up about 7:30, eat breakfast and go to the gym. I come home about 10 and start working on my to-do list. On average, I can be working on one to three projects throughout the day. Today, for example, I've just submitted a website concept to a client, I presented a logo concept to another client, and I'm also working on a website. I'm usually done about 6:00, and spend the evening reading, writing, making things pretty, cooking and/or going to networking events.

what they are | There is a constant cycle of new business development, so it can be hard to fit in marketing with doing my client work. Also, it's not unusual to work a 60-hour week.

all about growth | If you've got the passion, the intelligence and the drive to do this, you can be a designer.

my website| http://www.tzk-design.com/