Are you looking to make money online as a graphic designer? If you're looking to get paid doing graphic design and make money from home, then this interview is for you!
In our forth interview within the “Real Ways To Make Money Online” series, we will be looking at how Kimi Kinsey from kimikinsey.com makes money online teaching bloggers and business owners how to improve on their graphic design skills.
I hope they will give you an insight into the endless possibilities of building a successful home-based business through side hustling.
This post may contain affiliate links. It means that at no additional cost to you, I might make a commission from your purchase. I only recommend products and services I personally love and trust.
What does a graphic designer do online?
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Well-designed graphics are crucial to the success of various businesses, as they are part and parcel to a strong marketing strategy.
Think about it!
You see graphics everyday on social media, video ads, Google, Youtube, and literally everywhere you go. With more and more businesses moving online and operating digitally, social media graphic designers are in high demand.
Plenty of online entrepreneur and business owners market their products and services via social media channels. As a Pinterest virtual assistant, I also design graphics or “pins” for my clients.
How much can you earn as a graphic designer?
As opposed to how much you can earn per hour, a graphic designer can make up to $5 per graphic.
A better way of making money online as a graphic designer is to create packages. You can make up to $300 for 60 graphics, or even $500 if you make more or charge more per graphic.
How do graphic designers make money online?
There are certainly many ways to earn a good living online as a graphic designer.
In order to make substantial income, you will definitely need top notch graphic design skills to stand out from the crowd! That means lots of practice and education to acquire specialized skills that will be highly sought after.
You can get started with Kimi's Graphic Design For Beginners course to hone your designing skills.
If you need some help with typography and choosing the right fonts for your designs, then Designing Your Typography is the right choice for you.
Not sure what you want yet? Make sure to grab Kimi's FREE Graphic Design For Beginners and Get Pinned On Pinterest course to get started!
Interview #4: Graphic Designer and Course Creator-Kimi Kinsey
In 3 short sentences, tell me briefly about how you make money from home.
Hi! My name is Kimi Kinsey. I teach graphic design betterment to bloggers and online business owners through the use of blog content, free and premium courses, my Facebook communities, and email list.
Name all the ways you make money online with your graphic designing skills.
I have several streams of revenue including premium courses, digital files (such as social media templates, media kits, etc.), affiliate marketing earnings, and participation in relevant bundled goods that are widely marketed.
Editor's Note: Making money online is not only a great way to control how much you earn and the projects you undertake, it's also one of the best ways to create multiple streams of income. I'm slowly building more than two streams of online income, and sometimes I literally make money in my sleep!
Please describe your journey towards working at home and making money from home. For example, how did you find out about this opportunity to make money at home?
I've been an online entrepreneur for over a decade. I stumbled into it in the days of MySpace when I saw that early adopters were making money creating graphics and full profile themes. It sparked a fire in me for graphic design and I've been honing my craft ever since.
I've bounced from idea to idea and it's given me diverse experiences in online marketing.
Beyond the traditional blogging, I've created 2D and 3D content for virtual worlds like IMVU and Second Life – marketing and selling my creations globally.
Despite all that, I took a break from being an entrepreneur for a couple of years in order to pursue a traditional job setting. I was burnt out on the hustle, and wanted a steady income for a while.
But the online world kept calling me, and I started a lifestyle blog as a sort of side-hustle. In the last few years, I've worked to make myself an authority in growing a business, marketing, and especially in graphic design.
I accidentally started a wildly successful client-based graphic design business which I maintained for a year, before pivoting away from it to follow my heart to teach design.
Editor's Note: It's important to note that often successful online entrepreneurs have tried many different ways to make money online, failed and kept trying. Most of us tend to pivot from one thing to the next for a few years, before finally finding something we love. I believe that perseverance and patience is crucial when it comes to being a digital entrepreneur.
How much do you make from your online job/business per week?
I now make about $600 a week from my various sources of income online, it's just an estimate amount.
How long did it take for you to make this amount?
That's not an easy answer honestly.
I've earned money from such a wide range of project types. I think it's fair to say that at least where I am in what I am doing now, it took me about a year.
Please provide the names of any online course, resources, ebooks or training you did to make money online.
It always surprises people to know that I'm not really a course buyer.
Most of what I have learned was either from trial and error over so many years, or a result of reading content that's totally free all over the internet these days.
Editor's Note: How did I find out about making money through blogging and Pinterest virtual assisting? I totally did not sleep for many nights just looking for articles on Pinterest. True story.
Why did you want to make money online and work at home doing what you do now?
A few years ago, I was working a full time job where I was sick more often than I was well – literally.
I loved the work I was doing, but I was miserable otherwise and hated that I was not being utilized to the best of my capabilities. In fact, I was working to buy money into someone else's pocket instead of my own – and worse, they would not take my advice or use my talents to bring in more business!
Eventually, I got tired of going home crying. I didn't feel appreciated at my job and a sense of purpose, and it was ultimately made clear to me that there was nowhere within the company for me to advance to.
So I quit.
I wanted a flexible lifestyle so that I could build whatever I wanted, when I wanted to. For instance, if I'm sick, I take a day off. If I ever need a mental health day, I have one.
The best part is, I do not have to ask permission to not work, or to try to trade off work days if there was an emergency.
I wanted the freedom that comes with being in business for yourself.
For someone who wants to work at home and make money online just like you, what advice would you give them?
I've noticed that most people don't know where to start and they get overwhelmed. Moreover, they hesitate because they think that there's no room for them in whatever niche they have an interest in. So they don't act… some never will.
These people say “there's already a lot of this on the market“, without considering the fact that they might have their own unique perspective to share. So my advice is to not hesitate and to not be afraid to get started.
Editor's Note: There are already plenty of bloggers and Pinterest virtual assistants like me. However, I have equipped myself with various skills and ideas that have made a huge difference to my clients. As long as you believe in your abilities and work hard to learn new things, you'll more than thrive online!
What are the top 3 factors that help you succeed in making money online? And what is the main reason people hold back instead of taking that first step towards a work-at-home career?
I diversify my streams of income in ways that all make sense, but appeal to different sectors of my audience. It's made it so that I always have something to sell. They don't know where to start. And they allow this fear to take over them instead of venturing out and taking that very first step.
What was your biggest obstacle when it comes to landing your first client(if applicable)?
The only difficulty I faced was that I stumbled through on-boarding – at first I didn't know what to do with a client once they agreed to work with me.
How did you find clients and make a good living doing graphic design online?
Generally through word of mouth, social media marketing, generating leads through my website, but excluding ads.
I have never run ads for a client based business and do not run ads for my current business structure.
What are your favorite things about making money online or working from home?
I love the freedom that it provides me.
If you could do this all over again, what things would you do differently?
I'm a serial entrepreneur. It's been nice in some ways, but really bad in others because I have the tendency to try to make money off of everything I can do… and then try to do it all myself instead of hiring someone to help me in fear that I'm wasting money.
If I were going to start fresh, I'd hire people to handle the parts of my business I'm not familiar with or interested in from the beginning instead of wasting time on projects I had no business spending time on.
Editor's Note: Most entrepreneurs struggle with this! I myself included. It's very important to focus on your zone of genius and outsource tasks you're not good at or just don't fulfil you. A sustainable business is one that provides for your both financially and spiritually. It has to give you a purpose, not drive you to the point of burnout.
Where to find Kimi+ free resources
Love this interview?
If you would like to know more about what Kimi does online, feel free to visit her AWESOME website to learn more about what she offers.
Kimi has a FREE Graphic Design for Beginners course you can sign up for right here. Otherwise, you can visit her online store to check out her courses and see which ones will be great for you.
Seriously, Kimi's story is incredible and her business is amazing. Thank you Kimi for sharing your personal story with us 😉
I hope this inspires you, my dear reader, to use your talents and start a side hustle(or two) and eventually build an online empire that is 100% yours.
>>Thank you Kimi for sharing your story and insight into your work at home success. <<
Books About Work at Home I Highly Recommend
Are you ready to take a leap of faith and start a work at home career? Here are some books that I highly recommend:
- Work At Home: The No-Nonsense Guide to Avoiding Scams and Generating Real Income from Anywhere by Caitlin Pyle: Written by Proofread Anywhere‘s Caitlin Pyle, who has since created a multi-million online empire by teaching others how to make money online, work at home and achieve financial freedom. Offers real insight into how you can acquire skills to make money, avoid scams and achieve your income goals.
- Side Hustle : Build a Side Business and Make Extra Money – Without Quitting Your Day Job: A step-by-step guide from idea to income in 27 days. A great resource and wonderful read.
- The $100 Startup : Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future: who says you need tons of money to start an online business??
- What if it does work out? How A Side Hustle Can Change Your Life by Susie Moore: Susie Moore shows you how you can turn your hobby and passion from a side hustle into a thriving business and change your life!
- Go Solo : How to Quit the Job You Hate and Start a Small Business You Love!: You Can Break Free from Your Day Job, Start Your Side Hustle from Home, and Achieve Success as a Solopreneur! Read this book if you're hesitant about starting that online business you've been dreaming about.
Want to know more about work at home businesses you can start?
Comment below to ask me any questions, or give me suggestions on who I should interview next!