A couple weeks ago, I was talking to Terry Wirginis, the owner of the iconic river attraction here in Pittsburgh, the Gateway Clipper Fleet. We have a working history going back 30 years. His musings made me reflect on the 30 years of my working life.
Where it Began…
I was hired by the Clipper about a year out of college and I “learned on the fly”. I learned from my boss. I learned from my printers. I learned from my co-workers. Each taught me different lessons. I honed my talents. I learned how to get my designs onto presses. I learned how to manage projects and budgets. I learned how to work with different personalities.
About seven years into this experience, there was a tipping point. I was doing more marketing operations and less of my craft. It was still good information, because all information helps you grow. One thing I learned is that I loved graphic design and I needed more.
That’s when I looked around and found an opportunity at Dick’s Sporting Goods Corporate office. They were offering less money, but it would be a place to grow. As much as I loved the people at the Clipper, I had to take the risk. I had to gamble that the lessons I learned at the Clipper were enough for this new environment. Reminder: this was around 1992. Dick’s only had 80 stores on the east coast then.
Everyone is a Client….
When it came down to it, I realized that the way I had been operating from day one was that everyone I had provided a service to had been a client. I had clients within the walls of these employers. These clients had different needs. At the Gateway Clipper, food and beverage had different needs than the ticket office. Then there were the needs of the boats, and the events on the boats. That was all outside the ads, fliers, and mailers we did for marketing purposes.
And so, I moved on…. I just got new clients. This time they were the buyers. lodge, team sports, footwear, fitness equipment…. All with their own different needs. Mix in some private label credit cards and special events and put them all together in a cohesive weekly circular. I was there when e-commerce started, so that was a whole new dynamic. We added new stores and bought competitors and grew to over 400 stores stretching across the country. The skills I brought with me from the Gateway Clipper were implemented and expanded. Dick’s discovered that I was was as good a project manager and communicator as I was a designer. I could speak the languages of “buyer,” “designer,” and “printer” fluently and I was promoted into management. I was leading teams to design signs and deliver them to the right stores at the right time.
Another Tipping Point…
Anyone at the Corporate Office could ask for a sign for any reason, and no one was saying “no.” There were about 1,200 people in that building at the time. That’s a lot of clients. I won’t get into all the elements that came together to create burnout, but severe burnout came, but still I pushed through. I worked harder waiting for help that never came. I worked with everyone from Under Armour to peddlers of deer urine. I used to joke that I ever got a request for a deer pee sign, I would know that it was time to go. That sign came, literally. I still hung in there six more months before taking biggest gamble of my life and leaving the corporate world.
I had been immersed in the marketing department of a top retailer and learned from the best designers and marketers around. In the corporate environment, I had forgotten the most important lesson I had ever learned. I loved graphic design and I needed more. But this time, I would take ALL of these experiences, lessons, talents and skills, and offer them to clients I would find for myself.
Into the Unknown…
This was far outside of my comfort zone, but I knew this was something that could only be achieved by being uncomfortable. I was doing things like public speaking and walking into rooms of strangers to network. Those things have joined my corporate lessons and are now just part of the job. So, here I am 10 years later. I don’t have 1200 clients now, so things are much more manageable these days. One of those clients, 12 years after leaving them, is the Gateway Clipper Fleet.
Back to the Beginning….
Let’s return to the talk I was having with Terry. He was expressing his pride in the people who have made the Gateway Clipper what it is. 30 years after I started at the Clipper, I’m still working with many of the people I worked with back in my original seven years there. Terry is proud of that longevity. They love the their life there. But, I had to leave to find the life I loved. In doing that, I learned all the things I needed to learn to become the best designer, project manager, and communicator I could be. I became what they needed. Because by the time I had my business up and running, they were in need of a freelancer.
The way I came to the Gateway Clipper the first time was magical - and the way we came back together was even more so. Ask me about it sometime!
I will leave you with this…
Because of this freelance life, I’m still growing. I love that on top of 30 years of experience, that each day I’m learning something that can help my clients achieve their goals. My clients range from that iconic Pittsburgh attraction, to a major healthcare provider. From a candy maker in our nation’s capital, to book authors all over the country. I work with many small businesses, and I relate to them and help them grow as I am! I’m still learning from my vendors and other resources. I’m learning from each client, which makes what I can offer all of my other clients that much stronger. They have no idea that they are all helping each other, and they are all helping me live a life I love! I couldn’t be more grateful.
I wish you as much fulfillment and love for your chosen profession as I have found in mine.