A lot of designers are hesitant to start proactively building their audience and career just because they feel that so many people are already ahead of them. And I get it, it’s a bit scary to start working on your following on Dribbble or Instagram where you come across so many amazing designers who have tens of thousands of followers. It might seem that you are late to the party and there is no point for you to jump in. But… Continue reading and it might change your perspective:
New York is 3 hours ahead of California,
but that does not make California slow.
Cameroon is six hours ahead of New York,
but it does not make New York slow.
Someone graduated from college at 22,
but waited five years before securing a job.
Someone became a CEO at 25,
but died at 50.
Someone became a CEO at 50,
but lived to 90 years.
Someone is still single,
While another is married with children.
Absolutely everyone in this world works based on their own time zone.
People around you might seem to be ahead of you.
That’s totally fine.
Some are behind you.
Everyone is running their own race in their own time zone.
Don’t envy or mock them.
They are in their own time zone and you are in yours.
Life is about waiting for the right moment to react.
So RELAX.
You’re not late.
You’re not early.
You’re very much on time.
Pretty powerful, right? I don’t know about you, but it resonated with me a lot.
You’re very much on time.
No matter at what stage of your career you’re in, whether you’re just finishing school or have already established a design career, whether you’ve been working in this craft for ages or have just switched from something completely different. You’re not too late. You’re very much on time. There is no reason for you not to start building your following and career right at this moment.
I’m sure you’ve heard this proverb millions of times before:
The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.
I’ve started building my audience a couple of years ago and I was feeling the same way. I was hesitant to start the same way as you’re today. And just like today, there were a lot of people who were ahead of me. But everyone is on their journey. Don’t let these doubts stop or slow you down. Start right now and once you start noticing results, nothing will look so doubting anymore.
Everyone started somewhere
We look at really successful designers, adore every work they publish and beat ourselves because we can’t produce such high-quality work. What we often forget is that others didn’t get to where they are overnight. It took them years and years of practicing. Don’t believe me? Do a really simple exercise. Think about a designer who you follow and whose work you adore. Now go to their social media profile – Dribbble, Behance or Instagram – and scroll to the very beginning. If you check their Instagram account, you will often see that he or she has posted hundreds of works up until this day. I’m pretty sure, it will take you some time to scroll through to the very first post. But once you do it, you will see what a long way they have come.
So don’t hesitate to start, keep on going in your own pace and don’t forget to help everyone who are just at the beginning of their path!
Need some actionable tips on how to get started?
Read a free chapter from my guide on building your Audience. It’s about curating your works – the most important thing you need to start doing now, if you want to build your audience. And if you decide to get the full guide, use the code “myaudddience“ to get a 15% discount!.
Want to start learning Icon Design? Check out my Free Icon Design Guide. It will teach you everything you need to know about icon design to get started.
