Creative Director & Designer Raydene Hansen
About this episode…
CREATIVE DIRECTOR & WEB DESIGNER RAYDENE HANSEN
After years of working her freelance life from 6pm-1am alongside other jobs, Raydene’s now gone full-time freelance. Working for herself. But not by herself.
She’s set up a collective of freelancers to collaborate on projects. Sharing the work but importantly, sharing values.
Far too many toxic jobs made her discover what matters. Kindness. Inclusivity. Philanthropy.
She’s realised a business can be built whilst being true to yourself. Supported by those who get it too.
Read the highlights in the next tab.
TRUE TO YOUR VALUES
After working in toxic environments, Raydene realised how important kindness and inclusivity were to her. She could expect it in a job. She could build a business around it…
“You will be able to build the big life that you want and do it in a way that is true to your values. There doesn't have to be a big amount of compromise to make it happen.
I also wanna be able to give back. Philanthropy in all of the definitions of it is really important to me. I wanna make sure I'm either giving my time, my skills or my money, to organizations or charities that I believe in.”
COLLABORATION
A key theme to Raydene’s life is collaboration with others. So much so that she’s set up her business as ‘RSH Collective’. Collaborating with like minded creatives.
“The joy that I get in hearing other people's ideas, things that I would never have thought of, just feel very exciting to me. It just gives me an energy that working by myself doesn't always offer..”
SWITCHING FROM PART-TIME TO FULL TIME FREELANCE
For years Raydene freelanced alongside full time employment and then meant making the most of her out-of-work hours…
“One of the challenges for me coming into being a freelancer full time is shifting my mindset away from, ‘I have to do all of my creative work from 6PM to 1AM’. It actually took me a really long time.
I had to figure out how I could get myself into my own head space for my own business now at 9AM. Because I really do prefer to work during the daytime, but certainly the creative practice had been kind of solidified in the evening hours. Pulling myself into that was really difficult and is starting to become a little bit easier.”
WORKING WITH COACHES
Ray has worked with creative and business coaches, one-on-one and in collaboration (of course!) to help figure out what she wants to do. She shared one defining moment…
“She was like, 'well, what's the biggest number that you could possibly think of? What would that be?'
And I was like, 'maybe I could make $60,000? Maybe I could make that in a year on this business, if I did all of these things, X, Y, Z?'
And she said 'I think you can do more'.
And I was like, 'more than $60,00?! How is that possible?!'
And so I figured out how it would be possible if I wanted to make more than $60,000. And I have! I fully credit her for pushing me outside of my comfort zone of creating goals. Like not even just doing the actual work, but thinking about the work that I would do. And so I set up a plan…”
FORCED DOWNTIME
Ray and her husband (also a self employed creative) need to remember not to work. To help with that she’s taken up a new hobby…
“We're like, no, no, no, no, no, we don't need to be working all the time. We do get to have our breaks.
Something that I have given myself to help with this: I signed up for ceramics classes and became a part of a studio here in Cape Cod. And so that's like forced downtime and is really rejuvenating... Finding something else that pulls me away that I'm just as passionate about definitely helps with the balance..”
More from RAYDENE HANSEN
Raydene on Instagram
Raydene’s website
RSH Collective website
Raydene’s ceramics
Lo Harris episode of Being Freelance podcast
More from Steve Folland
Transcript of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland and Freelance Creative Director & Web Designer Raydene Hansen
Steve Folland:
So when I introduce you, what will I call you? So freelance copywriter, freelance designer, freelance.... what would it be for you?
Raydene Hansen:
<laugh> that's like such a big question. <laugh>
Steve Folland:
We've got creative director and web designer based in Cape Cod, Raydene Hansen. Hey Ray!
Raydene Hansen:
Hi, Steve. Thank you for having me.
Steve Folland:
As ever, how about we get started hearing how you got started being freelance?
Raydene Hansen:
Oh my gosh. So I went to art school to become a photographer. And while I was there, I was like, 'oh, I don't think that's really what I wanna do'. And I had so much joy when I was producing photo shoots for myself or collaborating with other photographers to make all of their pieces come together for their photo shoot. And so during my time there, I was certainly learning the photo side of things, but I also found out that I really liked putting puzzles together and I also love bringing cool people together.
Raydene Hansen:
I went to art school in Denver, Colorado, and then I moved across the country to Brooklyn, New York. And I worked for a decade in media, places like the Huffington Post and New York magazines, The Cut, and most recently, Cosmopolitan magazine on their digital team. And at all of those places, I was doing as many different things as I could. Learning is something that's always been really interesting and important to me. And so as I was working on my photo skills and my production skills, I was also realizing that I love to design. So I just started teaching myself design and asking my coworkers to teach me the things that they know and just really fell in love with that creative space.
Raydene Hansen:
Also, during this time at different companies, I kind of worked in some pretty toxic environments and with people whose personalities, I just didn't really align with, including their values and things like that. And so for a six month stint I left media and worked for a brand. And during that time I worked with some really brilliant creators and we were doing really big, fun things. I was part of their production team and I realized that they were also really kind and they were really inclusive. I was like, wait, I love this!
Raydene Hansen:
But I missed the variety of creation that I got to do when I was working at a media company. And I realized that, you know, I can expect those same things and look for a company or a team that will give me those while I'm doing the work that I wanted to do. And so that was actually when I found Cosmo. Their digital team is just the coolest and the kindest. I was really able to be the person that I was, or that I wanted to be - I could do the good work that I wanted to do. And, this is the important part, they were kind and they supported my dreams, right? So my whole dream was not to be at Cosmo for the rest of my life and the people who were there really supported, what I wanted to do.
Raydene Hansen:
And that was building a design business and collaborating with lots of cool people. And being there during that time was how I was able to really build my business after work hours, because I felt supported during the day - I wasn't totally drained after an entire day of work. Whereas at other places I certainly was, and I was like, I don't want to do anything. I wanna just abandon all creative efforts after work. So yeah, that's the beginning and kind of the middle and the end. With lots of other things in the middle
Steve Folland:
Just to put it in perspective, when did you start at Cosmo?
Raydene Hansen:
So I'm not currently there - that was the part I missed. So I started working at Cosmo about three years ago. I'm terrible with years - like, what year is it right now? I don't know! So putting it to a specific year is very difficult to me, but about three years ago.
Steve Folland:
And then when did you start, with this space in your evenings to do freelance work - when did that kick in?
Raydene Hansen:
So I feel like I never really had just one job. I was always doing something in my off hours. It was just how much energy I had when I was doing it. So, you know, initially I started doing the photography that I wanted to do, after hours and during my lunch hours, if I was lucky enough to have one of those. Yeah, work-life balance at those times was not ideal. So I had been doing little bits of things throughout the time that I lived in New York, but about five years ago is when I like really started to focus in on the design after hours and that was doing projects for friends, or friends of friends - really little things where I could feel comfortable doing it for little or no money as I was learning, I had this other full-time job that was supporting me financially and with benefits and things like that.
Raydene Hansen:
And then over the last two years I was really working two full-time jobs. So I was at Cosmo and I was building a business in the rest of my time - so from 6PM to 1AM I was building the other half of what I do. And then at some point, you know, there was this breaking point where I had to have a conversation both with myself, with my husband, and then with my boss at Cosmo. And I was like... this is the dream that I need to follow to buildmy business - RSH Collective. And I can't do both of these things anymore because I will not survive.
Steve Folland:
So how did you start to build it from small projects for friends? How did you get more clients?
Raydene Hansen:
I feel incredibly grateful that almost all of the projects that I have, have come through referrals or word of mouth, which is both really wonderful and totally terrifying, because that means that I don't know if I know how to get clients, if someone hasn't already told someone about me <laughs>. But you know, I will say - that is how you found me too, right? So you found a website that I created. And that is part of it too. So whether it is directly, like 'you should work with this person', or you are credited on this website, that is how most people come. So I think maybe the moral of that is keep crediting myself on websites so that people can find it <laughs>.
Steve Folland:
Yeah. It's a good point actually. Cause not everybody gets to do that in the thing that they do. Whereas actually, if you create a website it's quite normal or easy to put that thing at the bottom saying who made it.
Raydene Hansen:
Yeah. And, you know, I've gotten to work with some really incredible people who are all about sharing, sharing, and that means sharing who did this... and the collaborations that that happened to make it become what it is.
Steve Folland:
So have you ever freelanced simply by yourself as in, without collaborating with other people?
Raydene Hansen:
Yeah. So the way that RSH Collective works is we're all individually doing our own projects. I have a lot of goals with this collective - so this is kind of like phase one and I've gotten the chance to work with a number of business coaches and creative directors and creative coaches in helping me figure out what I want to do with this. And so, in this phase one, I just want to bring together a bunch of people whose work I really love who have similar values to mine. And then, if I am the person who is hired to do a project, great, if I cannot for whatever reason, either my workload or skill set, I then simply pass it off to someone else who is part of the collective. So that's kind of phase one - we are coming together. We have connections built and RSH right now is essentially just a resource. Down the line what I want it to be is more of kind of the agency set up. But I'm still wrapping my head around the words that I want to fully describe it.
Steve Folland:
So at the moment a project might come in, where it makes sense for you or some of the collective to work together to create the final product, and you might lead that - but equally something might come in where you go, well, actually you only need this one person from the collective, so here...
Raydene Hansen:
Exactly. And another part of what is beginning to happen is that there are other groups - like a collective is not a unique idea, right? There are so many incredible collectives doing lots of different things all over. So partnering with other collectives that have a totally different industry or skillset or whatever it is. So, you know, social media, SEO, things like that, that we're not covering on a minute scale, we're kind of covering more broadly - partnering with more groups like that as well. So then we can kind of pass our skills around and share each other with our clients.
Steve Folland:
And so presumably as well, each of those individual freelancers who make up the collective can bring projects into it as well. How formal does it get? Are there agreements or anything in place? Like if other people are listening and going, 'huh, I kind of like this idea, I wonder how it works?'
Raydene Hansen:
So right now, in this first phase, it's relatively informal. If ever there is like a contract that comes through and any percentage is staying with the collective itself, then we would put together that contract. That's something that I make sure is in place for any project that I'm working on and that I recommend that each of the other designers, or copywriter, whoever it is - that we're working with. So in terms of the individual projects, that's how it's working right now, but in the future that's what I also wanna figure out. So, if you're a really awesome collective owner and have advice, please send it my way! <Laughs> So, 'yes' and 'no' and 'eventually' is the answer <laughs>.
Steve Folland:
And if a project is done by the collective, who bills and dishes out the money?
Raydene Hansen:
Right now at this point, it's whatever the collaborator or the designer on the project prefers,. So I've done it both ways where, you know, the designer just fully takes over invoicing the client. And so then the collective is completely outside of that. And I've done it where RSH Collective is the entity. That's like doing all of the billing and contracting, etc. And then any of the people that are a part of it are being paid from the Collective itself, which means the taxes are super duper fun. <laughs>
Steve Folland:
Ayou have people in your collective from different countries in the world as well?
Raydene Hansen:
Yes. And so far I have recommended that they do their own invoicing. So I have had to do a lot of research and thankfully I'm a part of a lot of communities that have some amazing resources like Freelance Founders is my go-to; everyone is just so generous with their knowledge and they're kind and curious, like all of these things that I just really appreciate.
Steve Folland:
All the way back to art school collaboration was important to you. And you're still doing it today. So what do you think makes a good collaboration? How do you know who to collaborate with?
Raydene Hansen:
A few different things. Of course, the combination of skills that are needed for a project is certainly up there. I think one of the biggest things for me in terms of personality is communication style. So someone who is open and transparent in their communication, whether that is for criticism or just to make sure that we're really working within their schedule. And then kindness is something that is just an absolute must for me, I just don't want to work with anyone who isn't just completely lovely. Yeah, those are some pf the big things.
Steve Folland:
What is it that you get from collaborating with others rather than just working on projects by yourself?
Raydene Hansen:
I guess I see collaboration in two different ways. So one way is just kind of coming together in the beginning stages and letting someone kind of run with the project. And checking in if they need to and being a part of the process, however they desire. And one of my favorite things about that is just being a cheerleader for that person. When I first moved to New York, I had a conversation with a new friend of mine and he was asking, 'if you could do anything, like what would it be?' And I was like, well, honestly, if I could get paid for telling people that other people are really great, I would do that. <laughs> and essentially I built a business doing that and continue to build a business doing that.
Raydene Hansen:
So, I'm thinking 'this is a really awesome person, you should certainly work with us, or you should work with us to make your project happen'. So that is one part of it. The other part is just the joy that I get in hearing other people's ideas, things that I would never have thought of, just feel very exciting to me. So it just gives me an energy that working by myself doesn't always offer. However, I am lucky enough to live with an artist. My husband is a watercolor artist - sorry, he would prefer watercolor painter, though, I think he's an artist. His work is amazing. So we are really lucky in that we have moments of collaboration and we can come together when we're struggling with something and just get a different set of eyes on it. So I don't totally feel alone in my freelancing, even when I'm the one working on a project, because I have that other person in my home to help with that.
Steve Folland:
You mentioned coaches.
Raydene Hansen:
Do you mind if I shout out a couple of them?
Steve Folland:
So long as they're lovely?
Raydene Hansen:
They're Lovely. So the first, and I actually am not sure if she would call herself a coach, but in the way that we connected she felt really like a coach and a mentor to me - Frankie Ratford of The Design Kids puts on designer boot camps. And I did a boot camp - a bedroom bootcamp with her. So I was at home. She was at her home. Everybody else was at their homes in 2020. And she was the one that helped me really figure out the beginning structure of this business. So she could see my love for collaboration and wanting to with other incredible people and helped me form this 'collective' idea. So that's something that from this little seed that she planted, I was able to kind of expand on and create goals around.
Raydene Hansen:
So that that's kind of the creative coach. And the business coach is Sarina Virk Torrendell, and she has launched a beta program to help small business owners launch their business. And so it was just a group of eight of us who would come together weekly and talk about the goals that we have for our business and push each other to create bigger goals. And I think that was the thing that really helped me figure out where my business could go. So I had this little seed of an idea and I was like, yeah, maybe I'll make like 10 websites. You know, like it felt so possible that I could do that thing. And she was like, 'well, what's the biggest number that you could possibly think of? What would that be?'
Raydene Hansen:
And I was like, 'maybe I could make $60,000? Maybe I could make that in a year on this business, if I did all of these things, X, Y, Z?' And she said 'I think you can do more'. And I was like, 'more than $60,00?! How is that possible?' And so, you know, I figured out how it would be possible if I wanted to make more than $60,000. And I have! I fully credit her for pushing me outside of my comfort zone of creating goals. Like not even just doing the actual work, but thinking about the work that I would do. And so I set up a plan. I cut myself off at a hundred thousand dollars because that just seemed too big - and I was able to put together a plan of what it would look like.
Raydene Hansen:
And of course that plan has not gone exactly as I set it up to, but other things have come in to kind of supplement the places that it was lacking. And, you know, one of those things is figuring out that I could work with larger companies on larger projects and with smaller companies and individuals on smaller projects. That wasn't something that I fully realized until it happened. Where I could kind of create these like tens of thousands of dollar contracts and like the $2,000 to $5,000 contracts and start putting those together to add up to the full year.
Steve Folland:
So, that realization around the different sites. You can work with small project individuals and with bigger projects. How did you overcome what you'd previoulsy seen as a barrier?
Raydene Hansen:
This is an unfortunate answer for anyone listening. But it came to me and I said yes. It was scary. It was scary to say yes to this project because I had built a plan in my mind that was not this.
Raydene Hansen:
I'm gonna just jump around a little bit, but I promise it comes back together. So I had been doing building websites in Squarespace, that's kind of the bulk of what I do with individuals, small businesses and, you know, people like Lo [Harris - you can hear her story in the previous season!] People who are launching their illustration business in a different light. So she had a website, but wanted an update and, small companies around Brooklyn and things like that. And part of something that's really important for my business is to make sure that I'm also, as I'm doing the work and collecting the money for that is that I also wanna be able to give back. Philanthropy in all of the definitions of it is really important to me.
Raydene Hansen:
So I wanna make sure I'm either giving my time, my skills, my money, to organizations or charities that I believe in. So I put in an application to do a project with the city of New York, and it's the New York City Small Business Resource Network - rolls right off the tongue - and they had this awesome project where they were providing websites for small business owners who had been impacted by COVID, which so many were. And they were partnering with designers who worked in Squarespace. And I was like, amazing! These are two things that I love, I love Squarespace and I love helping people. And I applied and was chosen as one of those designers. This was in January and I was so stoked and this was like, you know, a pennies pennies project.
Raydene Hansen:
And it was amazing. It felt so good to give someone this thing that they needed. And mostly it just cost my time. I was so happy and I was like, I wanna do more of that! And because of the buzz around this program that they launched, the Small Business Resource Network got all sorts of funding. And so this tiny little pilot program turned into a humongous project and I was asked to come back as one of the designers and be paid properly this time. So I was able to say yes to this humongous project that was now funded, that was doing all of the things that I wanted. And then I had to say no, or 'could you wait?' for some of the smaller things that I was doing, which was really, really, really scary.
Raydene Hansen:
Cause as a new freelancer and I think anyone in the world, you just have moments of doubt. What if no one ever wants me to create a website again, if I say that I can't do it right now?! So I had those worries and then I started saying, 'I can do this if you can wait until September'. And people were like, 'oh yeah, no problem'. And I was like, what?! <laugh> So, it's been very cool to see the values that I have - this open communication and transaparency work for me. And certainly there have been people who are like, 'uh, you know, I can't wait that long' and I'm like, 'okay, completely fine, here are some incredible designers that you should work with'. And some people have gone off and worked with those designers. Some are part of the collective, some others outside. And others are like, 'thank you so much for sending this list but I'm willing to wait'. Yeah, it's, it's been pretty cool.
Steve Folland:
So while the smaller projects are waiting, you could work on the big thing.
Raydene Hansen:
Yes. I mean, certainly, I was willing to put in more hours if I needed to and, you know, some weeks were slower than others and so I could kind of trickle in some of the work for the ones who are waiting. Andthe process that I have, a lot of the work up front is with the client, to have them really do their homework first. So if there's any branding that they have, collecting all of those assets - if they don't have any branding, figuring out who they are and how we can talk about that to eventually create a brand for their business. So there are things that, even though they were waiting, they kind of had homework and assignments that they could work on in their own time too.
Steve Folland:
And to go back to working with this second coach, it sounded a bit more like a mastermind - as in it wasn't just you and a coach, it was you and other business owners?
Raydene Hansen:
Yes. I tend to join programs like that. So I'm actually taking a course right now (in a roundabout kind of a way) through Bank of America, through Cornell universities, putting on a women's entrepreneurship certificate program - I had applied to be a part of it, what feels like a million years ago, but they had a really long wait list and my time came and so I said, yes, and it's really similar; it's a little bit more hands off in that it's kind of like on our own time, but I think there are probably 80 other women who own various kinds of businesses who are part of this. And so again, it's a lot about collaboration and connecting with other people and learning from each other. Those are the kinds of programs that I tend to jump on because I certainly find value in working one-on-one with someone, but I think at this point I need more perspectives to kind of figure out what it is that I want to be doing and how I can get there.
Steve Folland:
And I guess when most of your work comes your way via referrals, all of these are more people all the time that you're getting to meet.
Raydene Hansen:
Completely <laughs>. Yeah. I suppose maybe I have been doing all of the right things to make sure that continues without realizing it!
Steve Folland:
When it came to working with those coaches - where did you meet them? How did you know who would be right? Because there's so many coaches, right?
Raydene Hansen:
That's a really interesting question. I think the thing that will draw me in about a program or coach, is the language that they're using. How they're speaking about the thing that they're doing. And if those things align with how I'm building my business. If there's curiosity, kindness, collaboration, you know? So if all of those things come across in the way that they're speaking about it, or the way that they present the information, I feel more easily connected and I can say yes to whatever it is. I think the other ways that I have found people and programs is through the communities that I'm already a part of. And so if someone is in those, there's a higher likelihood that I will connect with them in some way. So, yeah. Referrals, I suppose - whether it's directly or indirectly.
Steve Folland:
Now you mentioned earlier that in the past you've had bad work-life balance experiences. So how's it going for you now?
Raydene Hansen:
I think one of the challenges for me coming into being a freelancer full time is shifting my mindset away from, I have to do all of my creative work from 6PM to 1AM. It actually took me a really long time. We moved from Brooklyn to Cape Cod and I was trying to get a structure where I was not signing on to Cosmo at 9AM. I had to figure out how I could get myself into my own head space for my own business now at 9AM. Because I really do prefer to work during the daytime, but certainly the creative practice had been kind of solidified in the evening hours. And so kind of pulling myself into that was really difficult and is starting to become a little bit easier.
Raydene Hansen:
And some of that is making sure that I'm joining in on programs that start at 8.30 or 9AM to like kick off the day and, you know, sit down and do that. In terms of the balance between working and not working, I think I've slowly been able to recognize that I do not have to be working all of the time. Just because I had been working all of the time and, you know, my husband - his worth work ethic is absolutely incredible. And, you know, he is like at his desk at this time, every day and working and working and working. And so that certainly helps. But there have been times where we're both working on projects over a weekend and then the next weekend we're like, but we should probably be working though...
Raydene Hansen:
And we're like, no, no, no, no, no, we don't need to be working all the time. We do get to have our breaks. Something that I have given myself to help with this is, I signed up for ceramics classes and became a part of a studio here in Cape Cod. And so that's like forced downtime and is really rejuvenating. It's also, you know, community building and we're meeting people in a new place, new people. And so that really helps - finding something else that pulls me away that I'm just as passionate about definitely helps with the balance.
Steve Folland:
Proper hobbies to get you away from a screen! You can't go touching your screen when your hands are covered in clay. That's a genius idea.
Raydene Hansen:
Yep. Fully tactile, no screens involved. It's wonderful.
Steve Folland:
Now, Ray, obviously you've not been full-time freelance for that long but you have been freelancing for years alongside jobs. So if you could tell your younger self one thing about being freelance, what would that be?
Raydene Hansen:
When I was younger freelancing was not even a thing that like existed in my life. My parents both had full-time jobs and went to work every day and they came home and they had their weekends. And that was the norm. And, you know, hearing the question now, I feel like the things that I would say is: you will be able to build the big life that you want and do it in a way that is true to your values. There doesn't have to be a big amount of compromise to make it happen. I think the other thing is, taking small steps will lead to big strides. Nothing is a huge leap. I think it just takes a number of - maybe many, many, many numbers of - small steps to make it happen.
Steve Folland:
Ray, it's been so nice to speak to you. Thank you so much. All the best being freelance!
Raydene Hansen:
Thank you for having me.
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