As creative business owners it can be challenging to balance business with creativity, but by structuring your business in a way that allows you to do meaningful work based on your values, it's easier to navigate that duality and build a sustainable practice.

Who is this workshop for?
Freelancers and small studio owners who want to find clarity of purpose, nurture their creativity, attract the right clients, and more importantly, retain them.

Learn how to:
— Find and define your values
— Attract the work you want to do and the clients you want to work with
— Generate new business and promote yourself based on those values
— Create streamlined onboarding and offboarding processes for client satisfaction and retention
— Nurture your design side

What to bring:
— A laptop, tablet, or pen and paper to write down your ideas
— Business cards to share with the group
— An open mind
— Your best self

About the facilitator:
Mirella Arapian is an Armenian-Australian designer. She’s the founder and creative director of Vertigo, an award winning brand design studio, founder and director of Womentor, a global mentorship program for women in graphic design, and co-host of Australian Design Radio, a podcast providing the creative community with conversations and commentary on Australian design.

Mirella has worked across Australia and North America with leading brands including ANZ, The Age, Audi, Hieroglyphics Records, Sea Shepherd, Volvo, and WWF. She has spoken at design festivals, industry events, and educational institutions around Australia; her work has won awards, been published in international books and magazines, and exhibited in the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest, Romania. As a woman in design leadership and a child of immigrants, she’s an advocate for equality, diversity, and inclusion in creative industries. She believes in why before how and is passionate about social and environmental responsibility in design.

Web: studiovertigo.com.au
Instagram: @studiovertigo @womentor_
Twitter: @mirellaarapian