Col Gray - Graphic design, content marketing and accountability

A graphic designer who runs Pixels Ink, helping brands find their identity and voice. He’s also built up a following through online design advice and tutorials on his youtube channel. Col started out doing an interior design course, then moved on to animation and ended up working in a series of smaller studios doing various different roles. He started to get itchy feet when the studio he was at began to grow and he lost the direct relationships with the clients. After finding himself in a pretty toxic environment he knew he had to get out and start his own business. Despite not having any real experience running a business and not having and clients! This was a massive leap and 1 thing that comes up time and again in the episode is confidence. It’s definitely something Col has struggled with and something I think we can all relate to. It was this statement that really stuck with me though: “I don’t think enough people invest in themselves… From my experience, when I’ve invested money in myself, it’s given me a boost of confidence… and it’s paid for itself every single time.” A real turning point in Col’s career was discovering Content Marketing. In simple terms, it’s being as helpful as you can, no sales pitch and essentially just giving away your knowledge. Which seems counter-intuitive at first but in actual fact it shows the design process and everything that is involved. So it actually unveils the complexities involved in graphic design and encourages people to actually commission work. Accountability groups are another amazing concept that came out in the podcast. Essentially a monthly meet up where you all hold each other accountable for progressing your own businesses. It’s a great support structure, especially if you are a freelancer or working on your own. Having people there to sense check with and bounce ideas off can be invaluable. “Have confidence in your imperfections” Col’s Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/pixelsink Col’s Website - https://pixelsink.com/ Col’s twitter - https://twitter.com/pixelsink