Seven things I’ve done to Level up my Illustration Business in 2025
Illustrating at the CBRE Workplace Summit, my biggest even yet!
Core blimey, the year is almost half way through! It’s been a really amazing one for me so far in terms of development. I moved back to London in January which really put a poker up my behind in terms of money but also made me step back and say “Woah, things really need to change around here!” I decided early on in the year that this was the time to stop mucking about with all this imposter syndrome rubbish and really back myself! Just as an experiment, to see where it got me.
So without further ado, here are some things I’ve done which have really shifted my mindset and moved things in my business forward in 2025!
Mentoring sessions and courses
See someone doing something amazing you’re jealous of! Good news, most illustrators are very generous and will literally teach you how to do that thing! Like most illustrators, I find I work best with a brief or a starting point. Jane Porter’s online course was amazing for this! I got so much out of this course; it gave me designated time to create, helped me to develop my digital style and allowed me to be less precious about making stuff for the first time in ages!
I also had some mentoring sessions with Katie Chappell, live illustration extraordinaire! She gave me amazing tips for how to improve my work and, most importantly, encouragement! It is all very well your friends, family and the instagram echo chamber telling you how great you are but if it’s coming from an expert in the field, it really (as the youngun’s say) “hits different”.
A comic I made in Jane’s amazing Online Comic Course!
2. I did things which scare me.
I won’t wang on too much about this because we all know the drill- feel the fear and do it anyway and all that! But it really is worth being reminded because in the moment, when you are feeling that fear, it really does feel quite like it shouldn’t be happening and the sensible thing would be to run a thousand miles! But when you push through, when you sit down and go “Nope, I got this”, it really is amazing what you can achieve!
3. I said no to jobs to make time for development.
This is a scary one and obviously I am incredibly fortunate to be able to do this, but in order to grow you have to stop saying yes to quick fixes. It’s like cutting back the garden to make room for the light to flood in to those new shoots, it might look pretty bare and scary at first but soon things start to grow!
4. Reached out to past clients
I know, criiiiiiiinge. But it really has been very fruitful for me. Even if you’re just offering to do some free portfolio work for someone, it often leads to paid work in the end. People have bad memories, it’s ok to remind people you exist!
5. Taken time off
For years I grinded away at illustration, trying to make it a viable business and the result was a cycle of burnout which didn’t result in much creativity, productivity or development. I can’t stress enough how important it is to step away; give yourself time to miss it, have inspiring experiences, LIVE! It will make your art better.
The view from our digs in Frigiliana, Spain. Not pictured: the many cuts and grazes from our death defying hike.
6. I invested money back into my business.
Again, I’m very lucky to have been able to to this, but every time I made money this year I spent quite a lot of it on either equipment, web development or aforementioned education. It’s an old saying but you do have to spend money to make money. Plus, if clients see that YOU value your, they will value it too. For example, this website is pricier than the janky Adobe portfolio one I made myself 4 years ago when I was at Goldsmiths, but 'I’m hoping it will result in more work and pay for itself!
7. Started calling myself an illustrator.
This is a deceptively obvious one but something I’ve really struggled with for years. I’ve always said “I do a bit of illustration on the side” or “I work in community arts and I do illustration too.” But recently I’ve done away with all that. Again, it’s about projecting confidence; how is anyone going to believe in you if you don’t even seem to believe you can do what you’re offering? The other important thing is to see yourself as someone running a BUSINESS. Again, super obvious but until this year I definitely didn’t see it like that.
Anyway that’s just my two cents, mumble mumble something about what do I know anyway. No Georgia! Shoulders back! Stand up tall! You are an illustrator, building a thriving business!
Let me know your thoughts!
