• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
SayoStudio

SayoStudio

Seeking: Scientific dreamers in need of a partner to visualize their discoveries & technology.

  • Case Studies
  • Services
    • Animations
    • Illustration
    • Design
  • Our Process
  • About Us
    • FAQs
  • Get In Touch
  • Gallery
  • Blog

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Creative Business Burnout and Rekindling the Fire

January 25, 2020 by Nicolle Fuller Leave a Comment

Creative business burnout and how to rekindle the fire.
An early mammal looks on while a herd of edmontosaurs looks up to see the fateful asteroid hurtling toward space, far to the south.

Freelance Illustration Burn-Out

After 15 years of a  successful illustration career, I’d hit the burn-out zone. My youthful enthusiasm that had carried me was finally waning. I realized that I needed to evolve my business to stay engaged in a way that both benefited myself and my clients.

I’m fortunate to have a loyal client base, many of whom have grown with me since I first started working with them a decade ago. They’ve helped me expand by recommending me to their friends and peers. My client list and revenue has comfortably grown with my children. As the kids have become more independent we’ve been able to afford after-school care, and thus I’ve been able to work during standards business hours.

The problem is, rather than transitioning to a healthier schedule, I found myself working 9am to 5pm, AND I continued to work late into the night after the kids went to bed. I was miserable, but it had become my normal. I didn’t really realize how out of whack my life had become, until my 8 year old daughter started asking me, “Mommy, were you up late working again?”, after I’d exhibited another bout of impatience. I was grumpy all the time, not exercising nor eating well, and generally not taking care of myself. It wasn’t until those behaviors impacted my kids, that I admitted things were amiss.

How to Change my Unhealthy Self-Employment Habits?

I knew something had to change, but I didn’t know where to start. It felt like I was always busy, but where did that leave me? Did it mean it was time to hire another illustrator? But I have such a distinct niche, I couldn’t imagine finding someone that could work seemlessly on my projects… Should I expand my business in other ways, by seeking more animation work? Branch out into design? Hire an assistant?

In the end, the answer was both simpler, and more profound than my initial ideas. Rather than changing my business structure, I needed to change my approach, and focus on setting boundaries so I could take back control of my schedule and be less reactive. I started working with a business coach who led me to realize that I needed to:

  • Determine my Work-Life Boundaries, and clarify then with clients.
    • Set expectations for project scheduling—i.e schedule projects ahead of time
    • Change my own expectations for working hours—stop working late. If someone isn’t paying rush fees (that I set!), it can wait.
    • Clarify my process, so I can communicate that with clients and set expectations for feedback and thus turn-around times/ deadlines.
  • Increase my rates. I’d always assumed that editorial rates (magazines) were the peak, but she explained that this should be the low-end of my rates.
  • Stop paying for shotgun marketing.
  • Free up time by being more selective about my projects
  • Change marketing philosophy to one of engagement.

 

Finding and Committing to a Business Code

Like many good things in my life, I stumbled on business coach Justine Clay somewhat accidentally. An article she wrote on Freelancers.com resonated with me. And although I didn’t understand it yet, it was a great example of how-to provide valued content as a means to marketing. Chatting with her in the initial interview confirmed that we were a good fit, and that she could help someone like me who had a lot of successful industry experience, but not necessarily business understanding. As I started to work with her, I found a coach who felt like a friend, but who pushed me to self-discover where I needed to grow. There were times I felt like, “just tell me what I need to do!”, but I repeatedly realized that she was pushing me to figure it out myself, so that I’d REALLY get it.

And that’s what Justine gave me: the guidance, tools and deeper understanding to create a roadmap for myself.

Illustration is an odd business. Whenever I sent out invoices to my clients, I’ve never understood if I should mark, “product” or “service”. I finally understand that as much or more than my hands-on-skills to create artwork (a product), is my knowledge, experience, and. Ability to listen and visualize verbal/written concepts (a service)

I and my business are still a work in process; but now, thanks to my 6-months working with Justine, I know what I need to do. Some of it feels scary and pushes me out of my comfort zone, but as Justine reminded me, that’s OK and is how we grow. Thank you Justine for helping me find the yellow-brick road, and the courage to follow it!

 

If you feel inspired and would like to join the science art conversation, please sign up for my newsletters!

Get Inspired!

...with new science art and sci-communication tips. Join the SayoStudio conversation to receive newsletters, special offers and more.

Related posts:

  1. Small Kids, Small Business, and Holding it All Together
  2. Redesigning My Science Illustration Business
  3. Freelancing with Kids Under Five
  4. Freelancing Maternity Leave

Business,  Work-Life-Balance burnout,  business,  creative business,  inspiration,  SayoStudio,  small business

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Categories

  • Animation (9)
  • Art Process (11)
  • Business (6)
  • ecology (7)
  • health (5)
  • Inspiration (8)
  • nano (5)
  • Science (26)
  • Science Communication FAQ (5)
  • Science Illustration (31)
  • Scientist Feature (15)
  • Work-Life-Balance (6)

Recent Posts

  • Zombie Ant Fungus
  • Science Graphics for Cancer Therapy
  • Best Science Images 2022
  • Cell Science Art
  • Chemical Engineering Journal Art
Ready to get started?

We are excited to learn more about your work to help visualize your story.



Footer

Navigation

  • Case Studies
  • Services
    • Animations
    • Illustration
    • Design
  • Our Process
  • About Us
    • FAQs
  • Get In Touch
  • Gallery
  • Blog

RSS Recent Posts

  • Zombie Ant Fungus
  • Science Graphics for Cancer Therapy
  • Best Science Images 2022
  • Cell Science Art
  • Chemical Engineering Journal Art

Categories

  • Animation
  • Art Process
  • Business
  • ecology
  • health
  • Inspiration
  • nano
  • Science
  • Science Communication FAQ
  • Science Illustration
  • Scientist Feature
  • Work-Life-Balance

Contact

(703) 594-6755

info@sayostudio.com

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Resources

  • Science Image Pricing & Licensing Rights

Newsletter

Recent Blog Posts

  • Zombie Ant Fungus
  • Science Graphics for Cancer Therapy
  • Best Science Images 2022
  • Cell Science Art
  • Chemical Engineering Journal Art

sayostudioscience

#sciart—microbes 🔬to galaxies 🔭—Nicolle Fuller leads SayoStudio creating art & animation of science wonders. #scienceillustration

SayoStudio
Did you know you can make a free, DIY water filter Did you know you can make a free, DIY water filter out of wood?! 

Trees naturally have xylem -- a straw like tubing -- to transport water and nutrients into the tree. The pores inside these xylem tubes are very complex on a nanoscale. Water molecules can flow freely through the tubing, but larger bacterial cells get trapped inside the xylem structures.
Because this filtration system removes rotavirus and E. coli, these filters meet the standards set by @WHO for clean, drinkable water. 

Learn more about nanoscientist Krithika Ramchander and Dr. Rohit Karnik's (@mit_engineering) research and see an animation of the xylem catching bacteria on our blog: https://sayostudio.com/science-diy-water-filter-animation

Art and animation created by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio
.
.
.
#waterfilter #diywaterfilter #xylemwaterfilter #treefilter #tree #xylem #mit #engineeringweek #engineering #mitengineering #nanoscience #scicomm #sciart #scienceillustration #scientificillustration #sayostudio #animation
Is #ScienceFriday a thing on social media..? It is Is #ScienceFriday a thing on social media..? It is? Then allow us to introduce you to the basics of #StringTheory! ⠀
⠀
String theory is a Theory of Everything (Grand Unification Theory) that seeks to unite the gravitational force with the other fundamental forces (electromagnetism and nuclear forces) that are already described by quantum mechanics at the atomic level. ⠀
⠀
Gaining a foothold in the theoretical physics community during the 1970's, string theory states that fundamental particles such as quarks + electrons are not points of energy or matter, but result instead from the vibrations of one-dimensional ‘string-like’ entities on a far smaller scale. ⠀
⠀
Although string theory is highly debated and very complex, it poses very interesting solutions to why our observed universe acts the way it does. ⠀
What's your take on string theory? ⠀
⠀
Artwork by Nicolle R Fuller, SayoStudio ⠀
. ⠀
. ⠀
. ⠀
#stringtheory #granreunificationtheory #theoryofeverything #physics #quantummechanics #nuclear #multidimensions #dimensions #sciart #scienceillustration #scicomm #electromagnetism #energy #matter ⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
Could neurodegenerative diseases really be caused Could neurodegenerative diseases really be caused by ancient viral infections? ⠀
⠀
The recent discovery of viral proteins in the brains of MS/ALS patients created a mysterious link between human genes and neurodegenerative disease. ⠀
⠀
Researchers are just now beginning to understand how ancient human endogenous retroviruses (or HERVs) affect our immune responses today. HERV proteins cause disruptions of nuclei in cells; triggering the cells to mount an immune response in the central nervous system. This disruption spreads from cell to cell progressively; and is shown to cause significant motor neuron deterioration. ⠀
⠀
You can read more about this research here: https://loom.ly/_uTOBvc ⠀
⠀
Artwork by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio for @the_scientist_magazine. ⠀
. ⠀
. ⠀
. ⠀
#msawarenessweek #multiplesclerosis #neurodegenerative #neurodisease #als #ms #medicalillustration #cell #sciart #scicomm #scienceillustration #medart #stem #sayostudio ⠀
Having your heart flutter on Valentine's Day might Having your heart flutter on Valentine's Day might seem normal...but for some, it's a common symptom of atrial fibrillation. 💓

Afib is a heart arrhythmia characterized by irregular or fast beating. Electrical signals in the heart dictate how often your heart pumps-- and for some this can get out of whack, causing palpitations and dizziness. 

Luckily  treatment exists to manage Afib. To learn more, visit the American Heart Association or click the link below: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/atrial-fibrillation

Artwork by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio for @popularmechanics
.
.
.
#AmericanHeartMonth #NationalHeartMonth #Scienceillustration #sciart #hearthealth #americanheartassociation #afib #atrialfibrillation #arrhythmia #valentinesheart #heartart #medicalart #medicalillustration
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 SayoStudio · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
  • Login
  • Sign Up
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.