I’m Kareena Ravaliya and I am a Freelance Graphic and UI designer. I help build and enhance brand visual’s identity by reviving creative, functional and artistic design solutions.

Tell us about your journey, how has your passion for entrepreneurship developed over the years?

During my studies, I was disheartened to find out that creatives and female designers are undervalued in the industry. From that, I naturally gained a drive during my undergraduate degree, to think of unique ways in which I could help distinguish myself as a graphic designer, especially seeing as there are a lot of obstacles for female ethnic designers getting into the industry. By honing in on my niche and understanding my values as a designer, I was able to help build a brand for myself and pave way for freelancing opportunities.

What have you learnt from being part of the programmes that we run here at Westminster Enterprise Network?

By taking part in the programmes at WeNetwork, I’ve learnt the fundamental and essential skills of freelancing. By attending workshops and talks, I have learnt how to build my portfolio and define my pricing strategies in order to prepare invoices and convince clients to procure my services. All of these skills have been valuable in helping launch my freelance career, especially seeing as I had no idea where to start at the beginning.

What has happened with your business since you received funding through The Big Idea Competition?

Receiving money from the competition has been a rewarding experience. Since receiving funding, I have invested money into new graphic design equipment and helped build a workspace room for myself. By doing this I have been able to work and design more efficiently, especially seeing as I was doing intricate design work whilst sitting on top of my bed before. Now that I have a dedicated design space, I am grateful I don’t have to work from my bedroom!

How do you balance your business, studies, and social life?

This is a question I always get from my friends and family. I’ll be honest and say I found it very hard at the beginning to balance everything. Going out with friends and then coming back to work, I found myself in an endless cycle of burning out. However, you have to hit that period of burning out, in order to better understand how to find a balance between everything. Until you embrace the work hard, play hard lifestyle, will you then be able to pay equal attention to professional growth and most importantly to the things and people that matter the most to you.

What’s next for your business? Are there any updates you would like to share about your business that we do not already know?

I have had had an exciting start to the year by landing a big client project with Harrow Council by designing their logo. I am currently working with the team to finalise and launch the logo which is a long but worthwhile process. This will hopefully translate into my freelancing opportunities and allow my business to gain a momentum for the future.

What are some of the challenges you have faced when trying to start a business?

Confidence has definitely been a big challenge for me at the start. By making the leap into freelancing, you are ultimately being forced to put yourself out there which is an absolutely daunting experience. But, had I not gone through that experience, I wouldn’t be the position I am today. With the industry I am working in, you are also constantly learning new software skills and having to adapt. Majority of the beginning involved me staying up till late watching photoshop and illustrator YouTube tutorials, in order to enhance my skillset and most importantly have reassurance that the work I am doing for my clients will be worthwhile.

What advice would you give to any student thinking of starting a business?

My advice would be to really see as an enlightening experience. Once you have spent time honing in on your niche and planning your business, the rest of work will naturally come and reward you after. No business should ever go upwards. It should always have some faults and setbacks which you can use to help improve, refine and make your service thrive.

Where do you hope your business to go in the next 5 years?

Hopefully, I would like my freelance business to have gained a momentum and generate a regular stream of clients through word of mouth marketing. By doing this, my freelance aims to partner with big branding/design studios to help target bigger businesses and brands. By regularly completing the work I do, I hope to prove that there is a real intricate process to designing the visual identity of brands that should not be disregarded but should instead be valued, especially in in the digital age of visual marketing.

Have you learnt any skills or anything about yourself that you didn’t know before you started your venture of starting a business?

During the process, you are constantly learning something new every day. That’s the beauty of it. The journey forces you to challenge yourself and you will constantly discover how your skillset and service is integrated into the world you are surrounded by.

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Many thanks to Kareena and the WeNetwork team for this article! Find out more about the Westminster Enterprise Network on here.

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