Minisode #1: What I’ve Learned From Podcasting? Do You Need a Creative Community? How to go from Corporate to Freelance?

Episode Summary:

In this episode, I answer your calls! We've got such amazing questions for our first mini-episode, if you want to have your questions answered next — call (305) 985-3729.

• Question #1: What have you learned from interviewing so many artists?

• Question #2: What is the importance of having a creative community?

• Question #3: Do you have any advice for those who are in corporate positions?

• Question #4: How do you navigate the financial instability of being a freelance illustrator?

Episode Links

⚡️ Connect with the Community: Join the FREE Discord or Patreon

🍊 Host Links: Follow Fabiola on Instagram, Youtube, & TikTok

☎️ Caller Links: Danny Brito, Hallye Webb, & Nate G.

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  00:00:10:04 - 00:00:42:00

  Fabiola Lara

  Hello, friends. Welcome to the first [Draws in Spanish] Minisode. If you're new here, I'm your host, Fabiola Lara. I'm a Chilean American illustrator and podcaster based in Philadelphia. And this is the first mini episode for [Draws in Spanish]. Right at the end of last year, I decided to launch a hotline for the show. So here we are now with the voicemails that you guys left in the hotline, and I'm ready to answer them.

  00:00:42:12 - 00:01:05:21

  Fabiola Lara

  So before we get started, please remember that these are just my opinions. These are kind of my point of view on these questions, and they are subject to change. But yeah, anyway, just take my advice and, you know, apply it to your life if you want. But okay, let's get into our first mini. So I am so excited.

  00:01:06:12 - 00:01:10:07

  Fabiola Lara

  So our first call is I'm going to just go ahead and play it.

  00:01:10:11 - 00:01:34:10

  Danny Brito

  Hi, Fabiola, this is Danny Brito. And my question is, what do you think that you have learned from speaking to all these artists? Because I feel like I learned a lot when I'm surrounded by other artists. So what is like the top three things you've learned from speaking to so many artists with the podcast?

  00:01:35:01 - 00:02:02:08

  Fabiola Lara

  I thank you so much for calling in, Danny. You are amazing. In case you didn't realize this is Danny Brito calling in. He was also a guest on the show, so I'm so excited that he called in. I think Danny's episode was episode number 17. So if you want to go listen to Danny and learn more about his career, go ahead and watch that episode.

  00:02:02:08 - 00:02:25:06

  Fabiola Lara

  Or I mean, listen to that episode it's available to listen to on Spotify or whatever and all the apps. But thank you so much for calling in, Danny. I am. Yeah, This is a really amazing question. I have created about 25 episodes, I think maybe like one less than that, maybe 24, and that might not sound like a ton compared to other podcasts, right?

  00:02:25:14 - 00:02:50:22

  Fabiola Lara

  But that's like 2500 minutes of interview and recording time, which is crazy because I interview a lot of my guests for like an hour and a half, and then I cut it down to a good solid 60 minutes for you guys. So you have like a super hearty 60 minutes to listen to. But yeah, you know, your question was the top three things I learned from speaking to so many artists.

  00:02:50:22 - 00:03:12:15

  Fabiola Lara

  And I was thinking about I've learned a lot of different things and I'm a Gemini, so I love talking to people and stuff like that. So a lot of the interview is just like really fun for me and, and I just am always curious about people. So it's been just delightful to learn about everyone. But the top three things I learned.

  00:03:13:04 - 00:03:46:22

  Fabiola Lara

  The first thing I would say I learned is that every single artist has their own path, and almost none of them saw success coming their way. You know what I mean? Like, it was always very unexpected, always a trajectory that kind of wasn't super expected. Maybe the ones who like, if you can think of a handful that actually went to school for illustration, a lot of people went into it too graphic, into graphic design, and either did something really went into illustration or did their own, you know, freelance on their own.

  00:03:47:05 - 00:04:15:16

  Fabiola Lara

  Some people are working at like music agencies, not agencies, music groups, labels, and they never saw that coming for themselves. So that's like the main thing I realized is that so many people have their own way of navigating their creative career and there's no one single way to do it. So you can really do it your own way.

  00:04:16:00 - 00:04:33:14

  Fabiola Lara

  And I know that that can be kind of intimidating sounding to some people because you're like, Oh, how do I know if I'm on the right path or doing the right thing or making the right moves? But I would flip that and say, like, all of it is the right move if it's working for you, You know what I mean?

  00:04:33:14 - 00:04:50:00

  Fabiola Lara

  Like, that's the cool thing. You can really like kind of pursue a creative career in any way that you want. As long as you have that like hunger, I suppose. So that's like the number one thing I learned. Every single person has like their own way of getting to where they are and making a career out of it.

  00:04:50:00 - 00:05:26:23

  Fabiola Lara

  And I think that that's like encouraging, I would say be encouraged by that and not discouraged. The second thing I learned was that success and like or like, not success, finding your own style requires just putting in a lot of hours. That's what I hear a lot from the different people on the show is that they, like just kept at it and were persistent with their work and kind of like followed the thread that their work was showing them and their interest and followed the curiosity and followed the process that they were into.

  00:05:27:18 - 00:05:51:18

  Fabiola Lara

  And that's kind of how they got to build a big catalog of work. So I think that's like the number two thing. I think because a lot of people, including myself, I'm always like kind of critical of my quote, art style and like wondering if it's the right one for me and stuff like that. And a lot of that is just producing more work.

  00:05:51:22 - 00:06:10:20

  Fabiola Lara

  Every artist says that, including myself, and then I question it and they know I have to put in more hours. And so like, that's kind of like the unifying thing is like the more that you make art, the more that your art style comes through. Because I wouldn't say that you're finding it. You're just uncovering what's already there.

  00:06:11:20 - 00:06:50:08

  Fabiola Lara

  And then the third thing that I learned from speaking to everyone is that you can be Latin, Latin in your own way, and every single different way is valid. And that's something that I've learned from speaking to people on the show is like some people are very in touch with their Latin American roots and some people aren't. And no matter where you lie in that spectrum, like it's accurate and you and you are Latino or Latina, I mean, you know, even if it's just a little bit even if you only feel a little bit Latin there, that is enough.

  00:06:50:08 - 00:07:18:18

  Fabiola Lara

  And that is like, fine. And you don't have to feel insecure about that. And if you are all the way on the spectrum where you're like super immersed in your Latin American culture, great, that also works amazing. So that's like something that I've learned. For me, like personally, for me, I'm like very assimilated into my American culture, even though I am, you know, Chilean American and I am a super Americanized white Latina.

  00:07:18:18 - 00:07:54:00

  Fabiola Lara

  That's so okay. Like that is totally fine. And I can still call myself Chilean even though I am super Americanized. Both things are true. Do you know what I mean? And that's something that I think for a long time I just kind of was like, I'm not Chilean enough, so I'm not going to like, rep it. And now I realize like, Oh, I can wrap it even in the super Americanized way, even in the sense that like, I don't have a lot of Latin American friends, even though like, you know, even though I've never gone back to Chile since I was born there, I am still Chilean American and I'm still chilena in my own

  00:07:54:00 - 00:08:17:20

  Fabiola Lara

  way. And that's totally, totally fine and good. And like, that's one of the reasons I made the show was because I wanted to show like the, the how, how you can be like, I guess, different. Yeah. Just like you can be embodying it in any way that you want and that, you know, that could do it however you want.

  00:08:17:20 - 00:08:40:14

  Fabiola Lara

  You don't have to like subscribe to any stereotype to call yourself Latina. And I think that that's cool. So me and my Americanized sense sensibilities are Latina. Even if it seems American, it's both. You know, it's just because it's who I am. So that's like one of the other things I learned and I that was a bit of a tangent, but I hope I made sense.

  00:08:40:14 - 00:09:09:07

  Fabiola Lara

  I'm just trying to say that no matter how Latina you feel or you embrace like that is valid for you and your experiences and where you are and you can still be proud of your culture. Okay, so those are the top three things I learned. Everyone has their own path. Style requires hours, and being a Latina is a spectrum and you are valid no matter where you fall in that.

  00:09:09:18 - 00:09:30:23

  Fabiola Lara

  So thank you so much for your amazing question, Danny. Once again, if you haven't already, go check out Danny's episode, episode number 17, and also check out his amazing Patreon. Just search for Danny Brito in your Instagram app and everything will pop up. I'll even the show notes, that kind of thing. So thank you so much, Danny, for your call.

  00:09:31:14 - 00:09:39:06

  Fabiola Lara

  Okay, So let's move on to our next caller. I am so excited. Okay. I love this. Let's play the next call.

  00:09:39:23 - 00:09:55:00

  Hallye Webb

  Hi, Fabiola. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about your thoughts on the importance of having an artistic community and if you have any advice or steps to take for someone looking to build that for themselves. Thank you. This is Hallye by the way.

  00:09:55:06 - 00:10:16:13

  Fabiola Lara

  Hi Hallye! Thanks so much for calling in. Hallye is a patron of mine and an amazing supporter of my work, so I really thank you for calling in and being a part of this first mini episode. You are amazing. Okay, So let's get back to your question here. You were wondering about the importance of having an artistic community.

  00:10:16:20 - 00:10:43:02

  Fabiola Lara

  And any advice for someone looking to build up for themselves? Okay. So yeah, obviously, I think having a creative community is like extremely important, like almost fundamentally like fundamental, like you need that or it's really unlikely that you will, like, thrive as an artist if you are just by yourself and lonely. I mean, some people I'm sure, can like extreme introverts, maybe they can, and that's amazing.

  00:10:43:08 - 00:11:06:13

  Fabiola Lara

  But I personally think having an artistic community can only enhance that experience of being an artist. So I think it's super valuable. I think one of the biggest things about being an artist is that it's like creating work is like very personal and very vulnerable, even though, like, it's not something you we don't usually make work, like you don't usually make work together, like in unison.

  00:11:06:13 - 00:11:31:22

  Fabiola Lara

  And, you know, maybe some people collaborate a lot, but mostly it's like as artists, you like, make the work kind of quietly on your own and then that's it. And so having an artistic community that you can share it with is like so essential to kind of checking in with your process, checking in with what you're doing and just feeling supported.

  00:11:32:05 - 00:12:01:01

  Fabiola Lara

  Because, you know, in an in a good in a in a healthy artistic community, these are the people who should be rallying around your work, encouraging you to create, maybe helping you when you're feeling like maybe a little down and out because it is such a vulnerable experience. So that's like kind of what I think makes an artist community so valuable that they can kind of help you through the ups and downs of being an artist.

  00:12:01:19 - 00:12:40:02

  Fabiola Lara

  And I thankfully, I have a lot of online friends who have become a creative community for me, especially after moving away from New York and obviously during the pandemic when everything was virtual and having these people that I could face time with have phone calls with, have Zoom chats with. Even though we're not like working together, Right? I'm not saying that we're like working at the same time, but just know like, like telling them like, I made this thing, showing them and then seeing like, wow, you know, sharing your feelings about the work and having them kind of tell you their opinion of what they see going on with your work is so valuable because

  00:12:40:02 - 00:12:58:15

  Fabiola Lara

  we're so in our heads that it's kind of nice again and a second opinion from an artist who kind of gets what's going on and just like help each other out. I really think it's like, you know, part of the process. Or it's not. It's not like you can't do it without it, but it's going to be nicer to do it with friends.

  00:13:00:12 - 00:13:24:14

  Fabiola Lara

  So so yeah, I think that that's like, so important. Plus, if you have an artistic community that you check in with regularly, like on a schedule, there's like this element of accountability, right? So like, if, if you are having a hard time creating work, but you know that you're going to have a check in with someone soon, you're more likely to make work and maybe, you know, work through some things that you are kind of making into a big deal.

  00:13:24:15 - 00:13:45:18

  Fabiola Lara

  And actually it was kind of easier than you saw it. So that's another reason why I think having a creative community is really important. Now, I don't have a huge creative community in Philadelphia like in person, but I do have a lot of friends from, you know, my time in New York and from just like my life that we help each other out and we listen to each other.

  00:13:45:18 - 00:14:10:05

  Fabiola Lara

  And that has really re-energized my art practice. And we meet regularly to talk about our work and where we're at and maybe kind of troubleshoot things that maybe someone has a lot of experience with. Gosh. And another person is just starting with glass. You can kind of give each other tips. So that kind of thing, that's like so nice to have someone to talk to about it instead of just going to like YouTube or like a random Reddit forum every single time.

  00:14:10:11 - 00:14:29:02

  Fabiola Lara

  Yeah, having a creative community is so, so key and advice for someone looking to build that for themselves. I have a lot of advice, so I recommend, like I said, organizing a monthly or even a quarterly call with some of your artistic friends where you guys can talk about your highs and your lows and help each other through it.

  00:14:29:09 - 00:14:52:02

  Fabiola Lara

  I really recommend, just like if you have friends, it's likely that you already have artsy friends if you're thinking about this. So why not put together like a Google invite and doing something more formal? Like even if it's just adding it to their calendar and reminding them to show up, like do something that feels a little bit more like concrete instead of like, Yeah, let's meet up for coffee sometime and talk about art.

  00:14:52:03 - 00:15:09:23

  Fabiola Lara

  Like, what are the odds that you guys are going to actually, like, follow through with that? So put it on the calendar, make it feel official, make it have notes for your meetings, have a theme for each call if you want. You know what I mean? And just like, make it happen. Organize something for yourself again. This doesn't mean you have to have like a 50 person meeting.

  00:15:09:23 - 00:15:29:00

  Fabiola Lara

  I actually maybe recommend just like five people, like invite five artsy friends together and chat. I'm sure you guys will get like a lot out of that. And then if you feel like you don't have any artsy friends that you can organize anything with, then I encourage you to join the draws in Spanish Discord. That's a plug. Yes.

  00:15:29:10 - 00:15:48:18

  Fabiola Lara

  Which is our digital community space where we can chat and help each other out. We have a discord and it's totally free to join. Just go to draws in Spanish dot com slash chat. That's c h a t and yeah you can join. And we have co-working sessions. We have different chat rooms where you can ask for feedback.

  00:15:48:18 - 00:16:10:21

  Fabiola Lara

  You can ask about free, you can ask your freelance questions, you can just share a recent sketch like really, I'm trying to build this creative community for all of us. So if you want to be a part of that, feel free to join. But also, you know, I do encourage you to make something with your artsy friends. Maybe even meet up in person if you can.

  00:16:10:22 - 00:16:34:21

  Fabiola Lara

  You know what I mean? Like, nothing can really replace that. So, yeah. Thank you, Hailey, for your amazing question. You are the best. Go check out how this work at Hailey web. That's h a l l y e W.E.B. So go check out our work now. Time for our last call. I want these episodes to be, like, under 30 minutes.

  00:16:34:21 - 00:16:39:12

  Fabiola Lara

  So that's what I'm doing here. So let's get into the last call.

  00:16:39:12 - 00:17:08:00

  Nate G

  Hey, it's Nate G. I first want to start off by. Thanks. Obviously, I love the podcast. It's literally one of my favorite podcast and I'm always looking forward to it every other week. My question is, I guess for you, I, I listen to the podcast a lot and there are times when listening to the podcast that it kind of makes me feel a bit unsuccessful, a little bit of my background.

  00:17:08:00 - 00:17:29:07

  Danny Brito

  I am a graphic designer, an illustrator, and I've been working in the industry for like the last ten years. I got my first freelance gig at 20 while I was in college, and then I've been working in the industry and I really struggle with putting myself out there online in a way that seems captivating and interesting to other people.

  00:17:29:15 - 00:18:01:01

  Danny Brito

  I don't know how you do it. I think you being able to, you know, really utilize and leverage social media is so amazing. And so I would love to hear your approach to making your content and also just any advice that you would give to someone who's always done the corporate route, how they can bring that off into doing more individual endeavors.

  00:18:02:19 - 00:18:26:01

  Danny Brito

  I've worked for a lot of different companies and I tried going full time freelance for an entire year and I was able to somewhat successfully do it. But after about a year and a half, I needed to find a full time job again to just help keep things afloat and help with my stress level. I found being a freelancer so stressful.

  00:18:26:01 - 00:18:41:16

  Danny Brito

  So I guess that's my second question. How do you navigate being a full time illustrator and not worrying so much about your finances? Hopefully you can answer this and that. This makes sense. Thank you. Bye bye.

  00:18:41:16 - 00:19:08:21

  Fabiola Lara

  Nate. First of all, thank you for calling in and being so open and vulnerable. I know it can be tough dealing with like that feeling of comparison and and feeling like you're, quote, behind. But like I said earlier in the episode, everyone has their own path, so please don't be so hard on yourself. But I also would like to completely understand your question because I think we all deal with this in a sense, like it's so easy to compare yourself to someone and feel like you are behind.

  00:19:09:07 - 00:19:39:20

  Fabiola Lara

  I feel like that's like human nature and very, very normal. I encourage you to take like the stories that you hear on the podcast instead of comparing yourself and feeling down about yourself, maybe just using them as ideas for things that you could possibly do with your career and taking some of the concepts and the strategies that some of the guests have done in the past and or are pursuing, and then kind of maybe pivot to some of those things.

  00:19:39:20 - 00:19:59:18

  Fabiola Lara

  But that's just like very baking conceptual. I want to actually get to the meat of your question. So there was a lot going on, like you said, in your in your voicemail, but here is what I think is like the first question I'm going to say that you had, which is how to do more freelance work even when you're more corporate.

  00:19:59:18 - 00:20:21:02

  Fabiola Lara

  So that's a really hard question because when you're part of a company, it's really hard to promote yourself as a freelancer because it's not. It's usually like it's kind of weird to do that because usually the company wants you to be like just working for the company. Like, a lot of companies don't want you to be freelancing while you work for them, or there's like a lot of red tape.

  00:20:21:02 - 00:20:40:17

  Fabiola Lara

  Like you have to get approvals before you can take on a freelance project because it could be a conflict of interest. You see where I'm going here, but some people like their work, their day job, their corporate day job is like this is an example. Let's say they they're in h.r. Then they could be freelancing, doing branding work and probably that's totally fine.

  00:20:40:17 - 00:21:09:12

  Fabiola Lara

  Their company won't care about that. So but that's like the tricky part of being full time at a company is that you're kind of navigating this gray area where you're like trying to promote your other services, not raising any flags at your current company. Right? So there are some options, though, Like there are some ways that you can try to work around this while you're there, especially if your goal is to eventually be a freelancer.

  00:21:09:12 - 00:21:39:08

  Fabiola Lara

  Right? Because if your goal is not to be a freelancer, that I would just just post about being a person who works at X Company and just like kind of become like this brand representative of that company, like, let's say you work at a really amazing place and you just want to like, get higher up there. Then you can just be posting about how you work there as long as it doesn't break any rules within that job, because a lot of companies now, bigger companies especially have like social media guidelines that they want you to abide by.

  00:21:39:08 - 00:22:12:07

  Fabiola Lara

  So refer back to that. That's what I would do. That's my advice. But if you're trying to if you have a full time role somewhere and you're trying to grow your freelance work outside of that, then this is like some of the things I would suggest that you do. So first of all, if you want to do separate things outside of your full time job, then you need to create those personal projects for yourself that you want to hopefully get as real client projects, right?

  00:22:12:07 - 00:22:31:16

  Fabiola Lara

  So like again, if you're like a full time graphic designer somewhere, but maybe you want to do book covers or you know what I mean, then maybe you should be doing a little side project where you're designing book covers and sharing that on social media and just being like, Hey, you know, my five, eight, nine because that's like a whole trend now.

  00:22:31:16 - 00:23:03:05

  Fabiola Lara

  Like, what do you do from 5 to 9 after work? I designed this book covers or whatever it may be, right? I think the key here when it comes to freelancing is that you really have to put yourself out there. So if if that's the kind of work if there's work that you want to get that you know you want to get, then you need to be making spec work, you know, like personal projects that represent that so that clients who are looking for the people who do that work can actually like, consider you and like know that you can follow through.

  00:23:04:04 - 00:23:20:19

  Fabiola Lara

  So I think like that's a big thing and you need to share that on social media if that's how you want to get your clients. Now, I find creating content with social media are really fun and I really like doing it. It's doesn't come easy to me. Like, I'm not going to say it's like the easiest thing for me to do.

  00:23:21:04 - 00:23:41:15

  Fabiola Lara

  But I enjoy the challenge of social media and content creation. But that's because I have a background in social media. So my brain really loves kind of like the challenge and finding new ways to connect with people through like blogs or tiktoks or reels or stories, you know what I mean? Like, and this podcast is also content in a way.

  00:23:41:15 - 00:24:15:17

  Fabiola Lara

  So to me it's something that I really like to do. So that's why this is kind of what I do to promote me and my work online because that's what I like. But if it's uncomfortable for you to share your work online, like if you don't like doing it, then maybe you should look at other things. You know, I'm not going to say that you should force yourself to be sharing online if it feels really awkward for you, because that means that like if you were to film a vlog, it's probably going to feel very awkward even for the viewer, right?

  00:24:15:17 - 00:24:37:15

  Fabiola Lara

  If you're like, if it's painful for you to talk to the camera, that is going to translate to the viewer, right? So I would recommend doing that. That seems like a potential waste of time for you, but maybe you could do photo dumps or maybe you're just posting on Behance. Maybe you're doing like time lapses of your process of your screen on your computer.

  00:24:37:16 - 00:25:02:03

  Fabiola Lara

  If you're a graphic designer, right. Maybe you're doing tutorials or like Pro Tips for a different software. And it's not like vlogs, you know what I mean? So I think like so I guess it's like two part and another part of this is like, find a way to show up on social media that you like. If you want to do that and share your work in a way that you like.

  00:25:02:11 - 00:25:18:18

  Fabiola Lara

  So don't just share your work in a way that's like they don't just do it because you think you need to do it. Do it because you found a way that you kind of like are vibing with. But the other part of that too, is like as you practice showing up online and sharing your work online, it will get easier.

  00:25:19:04 - 00:25:39:12

  Fabiola Lara

  So like if you start off making, I don't know, some type of post, it will get easier as you continue to do it, but you have to kind of go through that pain of like practicing in the same way that you do with your artwork. Great. Like the first thing the first like poster you probably designed was really hard and then it gets easier as you make more of them.

  00:25:39:18 - 00:26:01:21

  Fabiola Lara

  So it's the same with sewing, showing up online. So that's the thing. But if you as a whole hate showing up online, you hate posting on social media, then don't do that. Maybe focus on be hands on putting together a really awesome Behance, focus on sending really good emails called emails to people who hire Focus on working on your own portfolio.

  00:26:01:21 - 00:26:21:18

  Fabiola Lara

  Focus on a blog. Like there are other things. It doesn't always have to be social media, so don't feel like you have to do social media. If you hate it, it's going to come through. But maybe there's other ways. There's a way you can either do something outside of social media or you can find ways to show up on social media that kind of work for you and practice that.

  00:26:23:08 - 00:26:47:10

  Fabiola Lara

  So that's kind of my advice for for that. But that's how I would approach getting more freelance work if I was in a corporate position. I hope that answers your first question. And then the second question, which was how do I deal with the financial instability of freelancing? So this is a really simple question for me to answer, but you're not going to love the answer.

  00:26:48:00 - 00:27:09:02

  Fabiola Lara

  I literally just saved before I went freelance. So I work in the corporate world as a social media strategist for five years before going freelance full time, and I slowly took my few leads that I had when I left my full time job and kind of kept working them and getting more work from friends and referrals from the people that I was working with.

  00:27:09:10 - 00:27:30:23

  Fabiola Lara

  So that's kind of how I managed it. I did save before I left to go freelance because I knew that there wasn't stability. When it comes to freelancing, how much you want to save is up to you. I worked as a social media strategist at Tumblr and then I worked at POPSUGAR. And, you know, I loved doing social media.

  00:27:30:23 - 00:27:48:06

  Fabiola Lara

  I really did. I just wanted and I was freelancing. I was taking freelance projects while I was at those companies, but like, just here and there. And then once I left, I decided to, you know, really double down on illustration and stuff like that. So I will say that that's really the only way I can think of it.

  00:27:48:20 - 00:28:12:05

  Fabiola Lara

  You could maybe get a part time job if you wanted, like a low stakes part time job. Like you focus on your artwork for the most part, and you just kind of had that to, you know, pay the bills and help you get through slow seasons. But yeah, that's what I did. But again, I will say that you do have to advertise that you're available for work when you decide to go freelance so people can actually hire you.

  00:28:12:20 - 00:28:30:20

  Fabiola Lara

  But again, the way that I do that is through social media, sharing my work, showing what I want to work on, sharing what I'm up to so that I can kind of promote my skills and my services. I think that's like super important. You can go freelance and be like super quiet about it because then no one's going to hire you.

  00:28:30:22 - 00:28:52:04

  Fabiola Lara

  It's very simple. Like in some way or another, you have to let people know. Again, I'm not saying that means like posting tiktoks every day. It could be sending out postcards, sending out emails, putting a billboard somewhere. Like if that's up to you how you want to get the word out there. But you do have to do something right?

  00:28:52:04 - 00:29:15:05

  Fabiola Lara

  So like maybe you're just super active on LinkedIn and Behance now, like that's up to you how you want to show up and advertise your services, but you do need to put it out there and be constantly making work that represents the work that you want to get that is really there and then in terms of like in the low season, I rely on my savings in the high seasons, I save for the low seasons.

  00:29:15:12 - 00:29:40:06

  Fabiola Lara

  You know, that's kind of like really there's nothing else to it but that. And people think that they need a ton of followers to be successful. But it's more so about getting your work out there to people who are hiring and how you do that is up to you once again. So I've chosen social media and podcasting as my way to get the word out there about myself, my work, my background, who I am, why you hire me, but how you want to choose to do that is totally up to you.

  00:29:40:06 - 00:30:02:11

  Fabiola Lara

  So that's my recommendation and I hope I answered your questions. Nate. I answered, yeah. You had your question was mainly about how I approach my content, which I just mentioned, and then advice for someone who who's always done the corporate raw, I'm assuming, and wanting to do more freelance and then the last one was about finances. So I think I answered all your questions, Nate.

  00:30:02:11 - 00:30:26:03

  Fabiola Lara

  But again, I know there's a part too, to your question, Nate, but I'm going to save that for the next mini sound. And that's like a reminder for everyone listening that if you have a follow up question, other questions about freelancing, about having a creative career, about having an art practice, you know, go ahead and leave me a question over on the drawers and Spanish hotline.

  00:30:26:09 - 00:30:47:20

  Fabiola Lara

  So all you have to do is call 3059853729 and I will receive your question. You can leave me a voicemail and we'll play it here on the next mini. So by we I mean just me. Sometimes I say we and I'm like, It's just me, you guys. Like there is not a week. So yeah, but thank you so much to those who called.

  00:30:47:20 - 00:31:26:10

  Fabiola Lara

  If I didn't play your voicemail, it's only because I'm saving it for the next mini sold so I can keep these episodes short and sweet because that's the whole point. So thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed listening to these. I love hearing from you. So thank you so much. Remember to join the Free Discord and if you want, go ahead and join the Patriot for extended episodes of the interview episodes for more access to me for, you know, everything I actually share personal podcast episodes that are about 30 minutes long that I give you an update on my work, what I've been doing, what I am working on.

  00:31:26:10 - 00:31:57:18

  Fabiola Lara

  I share those monthly with my patrons. So if you want to listen to those, you know you can join at the dollar tier and you'll be able to hear them. But anyway, thank you so much for calling in, everyone. Keep the calls coming, You guys okay? Why not? That's a tall good. That's. Yes.